When House of Fritz Hansen in Soi Somkid first came to life in 2017, the white house from the 1950s it inhabited was polished into a showroom to display how luxury Danish furniture pieces could fit into a Thai home. Sleek and clean minimalism usually comes to mind at the mention of this Scandinavian name -- but the global rebrand that has been set into motion since last year is injecting quite a popping touch of colours, fun and modernity to its overall aesthetics.
For Thailand's flagship store, artist-designer Jaime Hayon was recruited to revamp the space. Hayon is known to infuse a roly-poly cuteness to things he designs -- and the new interiors of the house are reminiscent of a Jetsons cartoon, with curved doorways and pastel colours that emit a retro-futurism feel. A striped, black and white rabbit sculpture he created adds a playful welcome to the garden in front of the building. During the Jaime Hayon Design Showcase which ended last week, furniture and décor pieces that Hayon designed for Fritz Hansen were highlighted, alongside a handful of abstract paintings he had created while in quarantine in Bangkok.
The fast-talking 46-year-old is among Spain's biggest design exports -- after founding Hayon Studio in 2001, brands and clients all over the world have steadily sought his artistic vision to deck everything from ceramics and furniture to interior design and installations. Besides commercial work for hotels, restaurant and retail projects, Hayon's exhibitions and shows are displayed at major galleries and fairs on all continents such as Daelim Museum and Art Basel. The innumerable awards from design magazines and authorities acclaim his success in the contemporary creative world so much so that it would not be too fawning to describe him as a modern-day Dali. In fact, his likeness to the Surrealist painter was how he first got his start in the design world.
Fritz Hansen's artist-designer Jaime Hayon.
Twenty-something years ago, Hayon was just trying to sell his handmade ceramics when he met the owner of BD Barcelona, Oscar Tusquets Blanca, by chance. Based in Barcelona, the company brings together the world of art and design by working with legendary artists and architects to create design furniture and objects.
"Oscar met me in one exhibition and was very fascinated -- he said, 'Man, you remind me of Dali'," Hayon recalls. "I asked, 'How could I remind you of him?', and he answered, 'He was my friend!'. Oscar is about 75 years old now and when he was young, he was really good friends with Dali. He made editions of Dali's furniture, as well as stuff by [Antoni] Gaudi."
Getting to work amid this mesh of art, design and décor at BD Barcelona was the first step in the right direction for Hayon. The works and products he designed there would eventually lead to recognition and had other global names come knocking on his door. Fritz Hansen was one of those big brands that approached him -- and the Madrid-native can now proudly count himself as part of the company's heritage for the past 10 years. Besides the Fritz Hansen lounges and showrooms in Bangkok, Seoul, Singapore and China, Hayon has also designed a handful of fun yet iconic pieces for the brand, be it the Ro easy chair, Plenum sofa, Happy Hook (a wall hook in the shape of a smiley) and Ikebana vases.
Ikebana vases.
"When I started out it felt pretty bizarre," the designer recalls his involvement with Fritz Hansen in the early days. "People were only designing for function -- a chair needs to be a chair. I said, 'Ok, but then what?'. In my style and view of looking at things, objects are speaking to you and communicating something to you. You want to love them and embrace them. I'm not so interested in how much a product sells. I'm more interested in people loving it. In the end, people buy things because they really love them."
As an artist who leaves a dash of tradition, the unexpected, positivity, attention to detail and a love for "working with crafts more than anything in the world" in his works, Hayon can be credited for all the colourful lightheartedness that Fritz Hansen is today.
"Fritz Hansen at the beginning was too dry and serious for me," he says. "It was a bit too boring and gentleman-like but I think we can be very stylish, cool and modern while being elegant too."
Introducing new colour combinations and materials to the Danish brand is what he did and he revels in the opportunity to bring his fresh vision to an old company that dates back to 1872.
The revamped House of Fritz Hansen.
"Working with multinational clients that are very big is not easy," Hayon describes his work process. "They have an economy to run and this is no joke. If you do it wrong, you might make a company fail big time. We are like surgeons, trying to be precise with everything, but we're also bungee-jumping from the mountain with the client! Big CEOs of big companies I've met are exactly like this -- they could be in a disaster but they still risk it. It's proven -- if you don't risk or dare, you don't see anything new."
A Spanish background and identity do play a significant part in Hayon's aesthetics and open-minded approach to things.
"The joy of enjoying everything you do is very Spanish," he reflects while noting that his main studio is based in Valencia. "In Spain, we love life. People are happy and open. There is this sense of fraternity where you can be at a table with people you don't know and can have a party with them. When you work like that too, creativity comes out of conversation and thinking. It's unlike Germany, which has very cold weather and strict rules. To live with beautiful weather, sunshine, food, the beach and happiness bring colour and joy to life and that's a reflection of me."
Whether it's ceramics in Japan or displays at the Pompidou Centre, what's instantly recognisable about Hayon's aesthetics is roundness -- where tribal figurines that would otherwise have been grotesque get a cute treatment.
Happy Hook.
"It's like with strawberries I could make something quite salty," he laughs. "How I use my inspiration is very curious. I'm on the edge of things --something really ugly and terrible can be an inspiration for me. I'm inspired by Gaudi, Frank Lloyd Wright, Viennese architect Josef Hoffman, but also by African tribal art and primitive things."
On that note, he can conclude that his success and proudest achievement after 20 years in the business of art and design is simply his energy.
"What I'm most proud of is my attitude and energy -- more than the actual projects," he says with a smile. "I've always been someone very open-minded, who never wanted to lose interest in anything. I don't think creativity is linked to knowing how to paint or how to draw. You can be an economist and be very creative, it's just the way you look at things. I always look at things in a different way."
Visit House of Fritz Hansen at Soi Somkid. Open Tues-Sun 10am-7pm.
