Huddle Tables by Matthew Kroeker
Designer Matthew Kroeker has been on a bit of hiatus lately. His most recent launches of memory were the Bristle stools made of wood disks and steel rods, and the highly popular black walnut Camila rocker for HutJ, both launched in 2007-2008. But after four years out of the spotlight, the Winnipeg native — and OCAD grad — is back with a furniture design: the Huddle Tables, a limited-edition collection of wooden forms with Robertson machine screws drilled onto the top to create skeletal bowls that can never move. The Standard spoke to Kroeker last week about his re-emergence.
What inspired the Huddle Tables?
I’ve always wanted to pay tribute to the uniquely Canadian Robertson head screw in one of my designs. A screw is perhaps the ultimate object of utility so translating as well as repeating that mechanical function into the delicate and graceful form of a bowl seemed suitable, and also a striking form to look at.
It seems like a complex idea to develop.
It was hard to fully understand with old-fashioned sketches and mock-ups; sometimes the sooner you get to 3D modelling the better. I replicated the screws virtually in the computer, creating a ton of different circular arrayed patterns and curvatures to make sure they weren’t too widely spaced, thus losing the visual effect, or too tightly massed together which in turn would make it difficult for the finish to reach all the internal surfaces.
Did you install each screw yourself?
Yes all of them! These pieces are by no means an efficient piece of manufacturing design. But the process was actually somewhat gratifying and meditative. I’d call it industrial basket weaving.
It’s your first launch in four years. What have you been up to?
I decided I needed to buckle down and take care of my family for a while. These experimental design projects are very immersive and a little selfish at times. They don’t yield much in terms of revenue either. So I just decided to focus on a few industrial design projects that pay with actual money: thermostats, housewares and medical equipment to name a few. It’s almost as though I have two jobs. Even though I don’t talk much about the more commercial projects, they still lend a certain amount of technique and know-how to my explorative design projects.
What is Canadian design? Other than Robertson head screws, of course.
I’m not really sure. Globally, Canada tends to be igloos, snowshoes and deer antlers, and although we’re experts at designing around those stereotypes we have more to offer. To me, Canadian design simply draws from our past experiences. These events and experiences are as diverse as the country we live in.
Does this launch mark your return to the design scene?
Yes – I think this latest project has rekindled something in me. I have a real urge to create. If I can find the time to create a couple neat objects in between working the daily grind, I’ll be a happy man.
