Flashback with Michael Young and EOQ

TLmag looks back at British industrial designer Michael Young‘s collection for Hong Kong-based furniture and lighting brand EOQ. Rooted in a spirit of industrial adventure mixed-in with the idea of classic design and innovative manufacturing, EOQ – following the recent economic downturn – has access to a precision engineering plant, allowing them to find different machines producing different results. With a long-term commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility, the brand to turned to recycled aluminum for their first collections with Michael Young.

“I realised that if I could capture the engineering skills employed by local industry and put that depth of knowledge in aluminium research into furniture and lighting design using a similar mass-produced nature, I could design a state of the art and relevant product.” – Michael Young

Yi Chair  – Photo: Ivy Photography

Young’s Yi chair was inspired by Danish designer Hans Wegner’s “The Chair” – how this icon gained attention in the United States after helping President John Kennedy relieve his back problem. Even though this model was not designed in aluminum, wood remains an iconic Asian material. In designing this chai,r there is a real understanding of what wood can offer.

Joseph Pendant Lamp  – Photo: Ivy Photography

The soft Asian silhouette of the Joseph collection belies the reassuring strength of an object crafted from a solid block of aluminum. It is through the processing performed on the aluminum block that light can pass through and thus illuminate the room. Joseph collection shows the idea revisited Asian lanterns.

Today, Michael Young  is represented by San Francisco-based Hedge Gallery.