Every designer aspires to create work of lasting value and quality. Rottet Collection‘s core principles are centered around achieving precisely that. Recently, DesignSpec Co-Founder Fiona Sanipelli had the pleasure of engaging in insightful conversation with Rottet’s Global Director Sandra Sharma, and Director of Marketing Kyle Rottet. They discussed the inspiration behind the studio’s design aesthetic, delved deeply into the process of creating their furniture collection, shared their vision for future projects, and expressed excitement to be featured in the upcoming DS Collection.
What was the impetus for starting the Rottet Collection, and how many years was it in development?
Kyle Rottet: Lauren and her team of architects and designers at Rottet Studio have been designing custom furniture, products and casegoods for corporate and hospitality clients for decades. Realizing how many hotel guests were calling the design studio to purchase furniture items from the hotel projects that were designed specifically for that project but not available to the public, Lauren eventually decided to start a furniture line that would meet the demand for Rottet design pieces while filling a void in the marketplace that was functional, luxury furniture.
Your product line is a beautiful mixture of sophisticated and avant-garde design. What were the core aesthetic principles or concepts you adhered to when designing the collection?
Kyle Rottet: Our goal is to create elegant, sophisticated, and durable products that can be passed down from generation to generation. More often, in today’s world, people are throwing products away. They’ll use them until they reach a breaking point, and throw them into landfills. We’re proud to say that our products are made to last.
Sandra Sharma: Our designs incorporate the use of light, particularly through reflection and refraction, similar to the Light and Space Movement of the ’60s and ’70s. Back then, artists used unique materials to influence light and the perception of volume. Larry Bell, for example, stopped painting what he called “illustrations of volume” and instead focused on creating the volumes themselves. Rottet has taken this further by creating functional art pieces like the Dichroic Table and the Ovo Mirrors.
Our goal is to create elegant, sophisticated, and durable products that can be passed down from generation to generation.
– Kyle Rottet –
It’s refreshing to see the unique furniture that is presented in your collection. Some of the pieces there are pretty sculptural, like Terror Of The Sea by Livio Saganic. Can you tell me a little more about that?
Sandra Sharma: Livio Saganic, a Croatian born artist used to live and work in a loft in New York, and associated with many artists like Louis Bourgeois (1911-2011) who also lived and worked there contemporaneously. Today, Saganic has a vast barn studio in New Jersey with an impressive collection of items. The studio houses three stone sculptures and several three-dimensional wall pieces. The space must be experienced in person, as the movement brings to life the philosophy of his design.
Is there another product from your collection that has special significance?
Sandra Sharma: The Float C Table has great customization options with the ability to choose from any Pantone color for the tabletop. We’ve recently established a partnership with a new glass manufacturer located just outside of Venice and Padua, making it possible for designers to get the exact color they envision for this piece.
Kyle Rottet: The Float Collection is all extremely significant as each piece represents the essence of Rottet Collection—light, elegant, understated and intriguing. Each piece is designed to look like a sculptural work of art while also functioning as practical, everyday furniture. We did a very interesting experiment with placing the Wood Float Lounge Chair in Central Park to gauge the response of people who happen upon it. Most individuals who passed by seemed perplexed and questioned whether they could sit in the chair, which was precisely the intent of the experiment. Eventually, people started standing on it, and there was even a young ballerina who gave an impromptu dance performance on it. The entire concept behind the Float Collection was for the products to be an integral part of the architectural environment that would not disrupt or distract from the surrounding environment—the products are intended to be light, airy, and almost overlooked as they float within their scene.
The entire concept behind the Float Collection was for it to be so architectural and artistic that people wouldn’t realize it was functional furniture.
– Kyle Rottet –
Now that you have developed your product line, do you incorporate the pieces into your projects or primarily keep them in the marketplace?
Kyle Rottet: We always aim to incorporate the functionality of our products into the projects. For instance, our Powerful Tables are stylish pieces that can be placed anywhere. They provide the convenience of hidden power outlets without the clutter of power cords hanging everywhere. While we didn’t design them with a specific project in mind, they are suitable for commercial and hospitality applications. Additionally, they are great for home use, as everyone needs to charge their phone all the time.
Several years ago, we designed the Artis Chair for Artis Capital Management. The functionality of the swivel chair has proven to be so great that we have used it in numerous projects. To expand on its success, we created the Artis Ottoman to complement it and make it even more welcoming.
Sandra Sharma: Many designers using DesignSpec will find the Artis Chair fascinating because it occupies less floor space than a typical armchair without looking or feeling small.
Could you tell us a little bit about how your pieces are fabricated?
Sandra Sharma: Lauren has favorite makers all over the world. We have spent the last two years traveling and discovering new artisans far away and in our backyard… from glassmakers in Padua to textile makers in France and Italy to upholsterers and metal workers even as close by as Los Angeles. One of our embroiderers has a rich history, being founded during the court of Napoleon and later acquired by Chanel in 2015. We have been fortunate to find many exciting and exclusive manufacturers. I am constantly sourcing interesting new makers. Currently, we are in talks with a Scandinavian brass maker founded in the 1600s and a family-run ceramic planter in Belgium. We will be showing more and more of these collaborations making these artisans’ work accessible to our clients and the DesignSpec community.
The detailing on your furniture is incredibly precise, almost machine-like. How do you achieve this type of perfection? Is there a review process that happens before orders are shipped out to ensure the highest quality?
Sandra Sharma: The initial design and prototyping process is arduous. We review prototypes with every manufacturer, which typically results in multiple iterations before they are finally approved to be manufactured for our clients.
DS Collection & Rottet
How can the DS Collection help you achieve your goal of getting more exposure for the Rottet Collection?
Sandra Sharma: We’re excited about the prospect of marketing the Rottet Collection to everybody who uses DesignSpec. With DS Collection, we aim to streamline the specification process for both our designers and other design professionals. It is important to us that specific pieces from the Rottet Collection are highlighted and that users have access to the latest versions of the products. We are thrilled at the prospect of designers outside of Rottet being able to easily specify the products they like from our collection. We also conveniently offer 3D models and png images of all our products to trade members through our website to be incorporated into design presentations and project renderings.
Are there any upcoming products or collaborations you are particularly excited about?
Sandra Sharma: We are actively cultivating partnerships with artists like Suzanne Tick and Livio Saganic. We plan to develop more collaborations and provide designers with the opportunity to work on commissioned pieces by a thoughtfully curated group of international artists, serving the needs of both our trade clients and our projects. By investing time in locating and nurturing this group of artists, we are focusing on saving time for designers and enabling them to direct their efforts towards creative design rather than dealing with the challenges of sourcing and logistics.
Where do you think the future of product design is headed? What innovations or changes do you anticipate?
Sandra Sharma: There is a growing trend towards fewer temporary and disposable products. People are shifting towards investing in higher quality, non-mass-produced items. This change is not only beneficial for the environment but also for consumers who are tired of constantly replacing poor-quality items. In the long run, continuously replacing products is more expensive. There is a noticeable craving for unique items with a rich backstory in product design.
DesignSpec is proud to partner with Rottet Studio on our upcoming product catalog, DS Collection. The collection will feature products available for purchase as-is, with the option for some items to transform into something else. DS Collection empowers users to customize and blend elements to create their own unique designs.
