Deft founders Martin Tallie and Zani Alberts.
GQEBERHA-BASED DUO Martin Tallie and Zani Alberts and their brand Deft are at the forefront of contemporary furniture design. Established in 2020 as a creative outlet, Deft's design principles spring from Martin and Zani's architectural studies, and their consciously crafted business philosophy is embedded in their entire manufacturing process, with the duo leading with a hands-on approach.
Furthermore, the 2021 Design Indaba Emerging Creative laureates have an ongoing collaboration with Greenpop, an environmental organisation that's focused on forest restoration. This means that for every Deft furniture piece sold, a tree is planted. Here the duo chat about how they complement each other, and achieve a balance in terms of practicality and aesthetics, their personally preferred pieces and more.
Martin rates the solid oak Avondmaal dining table as his favourite design to date. Pictured here alongside the cheeky Apostel bench, which mimics the table's grand detailing, the 12-seater is all about strong, graceful curves.
The Roly-Poly server/media unit (pictured here in Blazing Blue) is designed in modules, and can be arranged in various combinations of drawers, doors and open shelving.
Every day is different. Being in a small team means balancing many different roles. Most of our time is spent personally crafting our furniture. We remain conscious about our processes, constantly communicating new ideas and jotting down design details throughout the day.
This story is from the 125 edition of VISI.
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This story is from the 125 edition of VISI.
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