Dubai-based Interior design firm Studio Van Oliver has joined forces with homewares brand Bound No.82 to launch a new furniture and décor collection, available now in the UAE.
The collection was previewed at Dubai Design Week, featuring statement furniture that blends organic materials with contemporary silhouettes in a signature matte black finish. “We received some lovely feedback from both clients and designers. It’s a unique aesthetic – solid pieces of natural wood crafted into clean and contemporary shapes, and I think the balance between organic and modern is what people loved,” says Amanda Gush, founder of Bound No. 82.
“We also had great feedback on the vintage pots and boards, they were a real conversation starter. People loved their uniqueness and were pleased to see genuine antique pieces available in the UAE.”
For interior designer Becki Willis of Studio Van Oliver, the collaboration was a long time coming. “Amanda’s pieces have been featured in my designs since I first launched Studio Van Oliver. We’ve always had a very similar design aesthetic and so it felt like fate that one day our brands would come together,” she says.
“We started designing the collection towards the end of 2022, and it was very much a combined effort. We knew we wanted to highlight the raw and rustic beauty of natural wood, true to the Bound No.82 aesthetic, but give it a contemporary form and bold black colour – the Studio Van Oliver influence. The collection is quite literally a meeting of minds.”
The furniture is hand-crafted in small workshops from natural teak. Once designs were finalised, the pieces were built and sent to dry in a kiln for three months. “After that, the traditional wood-burning technique Yakisugi was used to retain the natural beauty of the wood whilst giving it our signature matt black finish,” says Gush.
While the collection currently stands at 12 pieces, the pair say there is potential for more. “We had so many ideas in our original concept, but wanted to focus on a smaller collection of pieces to maintain a feeling of exclusivity – these are statement pieces, designed to spark conversations and make a space unique,” explains Willis.
“We have loved the collaboration process and would love to evolve and expand the collection in the future – watch this space.”
10 per cent of profits from the collection will be donated to Emirates Red Crescent’s Tarahum for Gaza campaign.