ORBE is Defining a New Genre of Life-Enhancing Objects
The way we live today requires new typologies of furniture, says ORBE founder Jobe Burns.
Jobe Burns is in it for the long haul. Amidst a world driven by viral moments, the 28 year-old designer has little interest in making something for one-off hype. Instead, his desire to create goes hand in hand with a quest for longevity – something he feels the design world should get on board with more. “I wish that there was more space for an open critique, to discuss the longevity of ideas and how to build, opposed to how to create a singular moment,” he says.
Despite only being 28, Burns has already had a career full of pretty impressive moments. During his studies, he launched the Concrete Objects label alongside Samuel Ross, with the mission of creating Brutalist-inspired “objects for daily use”. The partnership spawned collaborations with the likes of Suicoke and Nike – making Burns’ name a well-known one across both the design and fashion industries.
Today, this idea of making objects that are truly useful remains a key area of interest, although the scale of his projects has grown to encompass architecture and interiors. In particular, Burns likes to examine the spaces we occupy and how we define ourselves within them. This is evident through his design company ORBE, which launched its first collection last month and is set to exhibit in conjunction with Paris Fashion Week. In a nutshell, he describes the brand’s output as “components necessary for a sense of fulfilment”.
“ORBE exists in the home, because we believe that’s where identity begins,” he says. “ORBE really exists as a human-building-life company, we’re concerned with habits, identity and life itself.”
Rashidi Noah
Rashidi Noah
Rashidi Noah
Rashidi Noah
Rashidi Noah
From the team’s London studio, an experimental approach is applied across a range of soft and hard furnishings. Earlier this year, they released the first phase of home goods – a collection cleverly titled “Soft Launch”, which was made up of squishy, plush furnishings crafted in Kvadrat fabrics. For Burns, the collection provided a chance to “break the expectation of traditional objects”, and many of the pieces could double up as something entirely different – transforming from a lounge chair to a table for example. The notion of pushing boundaries, Burns says, is a huge part of their design process, along with creating objects that genuinely offer a new perspective on how we live.
In addition, he seems committed to keep production localised, with 98 percent of it happening in the UK - a difficult but important feat to pull off, he says. When it comes to being an independent creative in the UK, it’s not just production that’s difficult right now. Funding is scarce, and studio prices are skyrocketing, but Burns seems eternally optimistic about what is to come. “I’m really excited for this new wave of talent,” he says, namechecking Eugene Angelo, Kazeem Kuteyi and Jackson Lloyd Ezrah as some of his ones to watch.
Ahead of a busy few weeks for his studio – an installation at Paris’ 3537 location is taking place from June 24 to 26, and a new drop of pieces from the collection is imminent – we caught up with Burns to see what the future may hold for ORBE.
Let’s start with design’s role in your life thus far. When did it start becoming something you wanted to do for a job, and how were you influenced to take this path?
Subconsciously it’s been there from young, my mom has a small humble lighting store and she was obsessed with interiors whilst my dad was busy sculpting (repairing) cars.
As a practice, it never become a thing until I was around 18/19. I worked in fashion a lot and I wanted to build my own brand, as I developed more products I discovered 3D printing through a friend, and that completely changed my course.
How did you go about achieving this?
I just engaged with as much as possible. I worked for free for a long time, I bought myself a 3D printer, enrolled in a Spatial Design course of Chelsea College of Arts, and started making as much as possible. I didn’t go to class much, I spent most of it in the casting workshop making my own stuff, that’s where Concrete Objects was born.
What steps did you take to get to where you are now, launching ORBE?
After Concrete Objects and my sculpture show in 2019, I pivoted to focus more on spatial Design and architecture, more built environments. That essentially has become my focus for the last 3 years, building things from the ground up, full scale. That has really formed my understanding of behaviour in space, how to build life itself and the components necessary for a sense of fulfilment.
Observing our interactions with life at both micro and macro scales essentially shaped the foundation for ORBE.
What is the idea behind ORBE, and what makes it unique?
Contemporary homeware choices are tired: Ikea or a Mario Bellini, Swoon or a Togo. From there, I become obsessed with Jacque Fresco’s approach to circular systems. So ORBE takes form as a design company that fulfils the requirements to build contemporary life, in a spherical way.
I’ve always been interested in the universe of materiality, how far can we push things, wheres the edge of this, what are capabilities outside of the intended use? This usually forms new ideas. ORBE exists in the home, because we believe that’s where identity begins, so you’ll see us grow beyond that space as we expand. ORBE really exists as a human-building-life company, we’re concerned with habits, identity and life itself.
How do you see the brand developing?
We will expand beyond product into day-to-day services and experiences, whilst introducing multiple product categories. When you think of spaces and habits that form your life, ORBE will be vessel for that.
What does your design and production process look like for the pieces in the collection? How do you source and make decisions about materials and fabricators, for example?
We are experimental first. Our studio has essentially been a place to dream and we just make it by any means. We really focused on radicalising materials, disrupting a sense of expectation and placing it right back inside a normal setting. We 3D print, cast objects, model objects, whatever works to get the idea in front of us and then we figure out how the hell can make this at scale.
Production wise, we produce 98% of our works in the UK. Sourcing materials and fabricators has proven difficult to get the correct quality and sustainability, but also producers with the adequate skill sets. Production has really been difficult here.
Social Sculpture, Nike, 2019Courtesy Of Jobe Burns
Concrete Objects x SuicokeCourtesy Of Jobe Burns
Adaption Chair, MIXING-ROOM, 2019Courtesy Of Jobe Burns
Body Language 001Courtesy Of Jobe Burns
POTENTIA seriesCourtesy Of Jobe Burns
Could you talk through the soon-to-be-released pieces, their inspiration, and details on the making process?
The next few releases begin to focus more on our day-to-day uses, products that identify with our already-homes. Sofas, lounge chairs, towels, rugs, and bedding Our approach for these was about restricting our process and identifying something that felt instinctively human. Large solid foam forms undergo specific slices, insertions, and rotations and are then coated with an industrial rubber, and although the forms appear solid and block-like, they’re incredibly soft and tactile.
The forms are reduced to an almost pre-evolutionary state, yet we recognise they’re made for the the body. Brutalist theories are layered with tactility and softness, that introduce a new perspective and experience with industrial processes.
What is important to you as a designer in 2023? What continues to motivate you to go down this path?
I like intersections, the sphere in the middle of two worlds, I like to play there. I think thats where I can create something of value, and something I’m proud to offer people. There still feels like so much untapped space. Working between multiple spaces really motivates me though, the presence of something in one space always highlights the lack of something elsewhere, plus the chaos of it all makes me feel human.
What do you think of the UK’s independent creative scene at the moment, particularly in the design world? What are the difficulties facing creatives based here, and what are the positives?
We are about to experience a new horizon, there are some great people working on some really interesting ideas. I’m really excited for this new wave of talent – and have my eye on Eugene Angelo; Kazeem Kuteyi of New Currency; Aaron Kudi; Derrelle Elijah; Nigel Matambo of SUNUNGURO; Mac Collins; Jackson Lloyd Ezrah ; and Omotunwase Thalis Osinaike.
I do wish, though, that there was more space for an open critique, to discuss the longevity of ideas, how to build, opposed to how to create a singular moment. I think designers, artists etc need support from institutions and government too, and infrastructure to assist on converting ideas [to reality] is key. Also, to have better accessibility to production and manufacturing. But we are at the centre of opportunity – there is so much grey space awaiting definition.
Lastly, where is the design world headed and why?
It’s getting broader, we are seeing more and more people who aren’t from design, engage with design much more. I believe the design world is expanding, new roles are being defined and the young creatives are not just the small hire to do graphic identity for a corporation, the designers and artists are the actual founders now.
Hopefully this leads us towards a more human-focused design world – the overlapping of multiple disciplines to solve problems, and provide grounds for change and ideas to expand.
