Dezeen Magazine

Radnor Studio

Radnor opens studio in old Brooklyn factory

Online design retailer Radnor has opened a new studio and launched an updated furniture collection inside The Old American Can Factory in Gowanus, Brooklyn.

Radnor Studio
The Marilyn Twin Bed frame by Adam Rogers and Radnor features a rattan headboard attached to curving cane-like pieces of wood

Radnor moved its studio to a space within the 130,000-square foot (12,077-square-metre) historic industrial complex, which spans six buildings and houses spaces for more than 300 artisans and creatives. Radnor's interior features exposed pipes and beams on the ceiling, white brick and plaster walls and curtains that serve as wall dividers.

"It is important to Radnor that they are rooted in community and craft, which is why the move to Gowanus, and the Can Factory in particular, came so naturally," the design studio said.

Radnor Studio
Bunn Studio worked with Radnor to produce a small coffee topped with a stone surface and a series of site specific woven rugs

Radnor was founded in 2016 by Susan Clark and works with designers to create homeware and furniture lines that launch seasonally in retail spaces around the world. Its latest work, the updated Radnor Made collection, was launched in the collective's renovated studio space this week.

"This presentation will be a departure from previous installations, as it will be done completely in the Radnor Studio, which is their home base for design and collaboration with the designers and makers that they work with," the team added.

For the series the designers created fabricated pieces produced that aim to focus on hand-craft.

"We considered the materials, production processes, and mindsets that went into their conception and actualisation," Radnor added. "This rigorous exploration of alternative approaches is integral to Radnor's philosophy and is at the heart of our goal to create a highly skilled, ethical and sustainable community of design and craftsmanship."

Radnor Studio
Existing elements of the old factory's interior, such as the exposed plumbing were left by the designers

New York's Bunn Studio worked with Radnor to produce a small coffee table with visible joists topped with a reddish stone surface. The work forms the latest addition to Radnor's Pillar Series of furniture pieces defined by traditional woodworking methods.

Bunn Studio also created a series of rugs that feature patterns of intricately woven cords designed to "complement their surroundings" in the Radnor studio. "The site-specific rugs are characterised by subtle directional shifts that echo and complement their surroundings," it said.

Radnor Studio
To create division in the space Radnor hung white curtains

Other pieces in the updated Radnor Made collection include the Marilyn Twin Bed created by Portland designed Adam Rogers. For the frame, Rogers attached a rattan headboard to curving cane-like pieces of dark wood to create a work that illustrates its simple method of crafting.

Bunn Studio and Adam Rogers previously worked with Radnor to curate pieces for a model residence in David Chipperfield Architect's Bryant Park residential tower.

Photography is by Matthew Williams.