DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT: PELLE

A young designer couple from New York

Formed in 2011, Pelle is the design studio of Korean-American designer Jean Pelle and German designer Oliver Pelle. Their very first collection debuted at ICFF 2013 to warm reception.

Currently based in Brooklyn, New York, the couple originally met at the Yale School of Architecture and both have extensive experience working in architecture. Oliver spent seven years at Robert A.M. Stern Architects, and Jean worked for Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, Eric Owen Moss Architects in Los Angeles and EHDD Architecture before establishing her own studio in 2008.

Each of Pelle’s designs holds a certain level of personal importance for the designers. They are inspired by materials and forms that they enjoy and find artistic or beautiful. Such personal investment shows in the carefully composed hand built Bubble Lamp Chandeliers as well as in their handcrafted glycerine Soaps Stones.

The couple’s Quadrat Series was also met with success. The Cube and Cuboids work together with a variety of discrete tabletop objects that plug directly into the Quadrat grid. These interchangeable tabletop pieces come in the form of a glass puddle, a mirror-polished brass plate, an intricately carved oak tray, and hand-thrown pottery pieces. Each tabletop piece is custom-designed by the designers and made to order by local artists and artisans.

To top it all, this year their Dorit Candle Holders and Soap Stones made their entry at the MoMA Design Store in New York.

What inspires this young couple? Watch our interview with Pelle and take a dive into their world.