<img class="size-full wp-image-21309 aligncenter" src="https://d213h1b7vxzzl3.cloudfront.net/editor/OM-furniture.jpg" alt="OM-furniture" width="700" height="394" />
Furniture is like the main course of a meal, the chocolate in chocolate cake, the protagonist of a movie, you get the drift. They make up the bulk of what an interior looks like and are arguably the most important elements of a home. No compromise should be made as far as choosing quality furniture is concerned. Many of you are probably familiar with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/omhome/" target="_blank">OM</a>, a subsidiary of SGX-listed Nobel Design Holdings Ltd, was founded in 1999 to provide affordable fashionable furniture to Singapore consumers who appreciate design and quality. Their showrooms showcase furniture and furnishings from an international cast of world-class designers, and we had the opportunity to sit down with a few of them for brief conversations. Read on for interesting insights as well as to see some of their fascinating furniture.
<img class="size-full wp-image-21310 aligncenter" src="https://d213h1b7vxzzl3.cloudfront.net/editor/Matt-Cole-middle-Managing-Director-of-m.a.d.-and-his-team.jpg" alt="Matt-Cole-(middle,-Managing-Director-of-m.a.d.)-and-his-team" width="700" height="365" />Matt Cole (middle, Managing Director of m.a.d.) and his team
What are some of the difficulties you faced while building up this business? What keeps you going?

Matt Cole: For years, we developed furniture for other people. We came to point where we weren’t enjoying what we were doing. So we took a step back and thought, “Let’s see what we can do and create. Not just create things for other people. Let’s do it for ourselves.” And it was really that kind of entrepreneurial lightbulb moment. And then we forged forward. I get up every morning, I’m happy to go to work. I love working with our team. The designs we create make us happy everyday, we’re doing what we love and that’s the most important thing. We’re having fun and I hope it reflects in our designs and our products.
<img class="size-full wp-image-21311 aligncenter" src="https://d213h1b7vxzzl3.cloudfront.net/editor/Mark-Daniel-and-Amanda-Ip-m.a.d.-design-team.jpg" alt="Mark-Daniel-and-Amanda-Ip-(m.a.d.-design-team)" width="700" height="1244" />Mark Daniel and Amanda Ip (m.a.d. design team)
Which is your favourite piece of furniture / most memorable work and why?

Mark Daniel: Probably the Transit group. What we’re really good at and what I think people respond to with our designs is the fact that we can mix materials really well. With this design, it was the idea of a continuous line that sort of moves through the chair. It appears very simple but it’s a really complicated piece to make. This was one of the first items we introduced, which was 6 years ago. It’s still our bestseller.

Why furniture design? Is it a field you’ve always wanted to pursue? 

Amanda Ip: I don’t think I realised that I wanted to do furniture design until in university. It was when I was in a workshop creating furniture that I realised that I really want to design furniture. It’s the process of actually creating things and being able to put something that you’ve made in someone else’s home that they interact with every single day.
<img class="size-full wp-image-21312 aligncenter" src="https://d213h1b7vxzzl3.cloudfront.net/editor/Sean-Dix-dix-designarchitecture.jpg" alt="Sean-Dix-(dix-design+architecture)" width="700" height="1244" />Sean Dix (dix design+architecture)
What do you think is the most important thing to keep in mind when doing furniture design?

Sean Dix: What’s really fun about furniture design is context. We’ve been making furniture for thousands of years. The reality is that nobody needs any of this stuff. So if you’re gonna use resources to make more stuff, at least make stuff that has a reason to exist, that’s gonna be durable and look better when it ages.
<img class="size-full wp-image-21313 aligncenter" src="https://d213h1b7vxzzl3.cloudfront.net/editor/Silvia-Marlia-SAND.jpg" alt="Silvia-Marlia-(SAND)" width="700" height="1244" />Silvia Marlia (SAND)
You value the importance of our relationship to nature and harmony — from colours to materials — which children need to grow. We understand that your objective is to assist children to be free to express themselves and to modify their environment with non-intrusive furniture made with natural materials. Which piece of your work demonstrates this the most? 

Silvia Marlia: I would choose the MM1, which is a wardrobe on wheels. It’s a metaphoric example of how children should start their journey of life. So they have this trunk they can take with them, that’s why it’s on wheels, so they can move it around. It’s beautiful, it doesn’t have any sharp angles, and it’s made all in plywood.

Any words for aspiring designers out there? 

Mark Daniel: A lot of what design is, is about understanding the form. We live in a digital age, you can draw anything and it can look absolutely beautiful. Always have the big picture in mind. You still have to find the shape on your sketchpad. You can’t do that with a mouse and a screen. It just doesn’t translate the same way.

Amanda Ip: You have to think about how they’re actually gonna use this piece of furniture or this pencil or this bottle. Because that’s the ultimate goal, it’s how that person interacts with what you’ve designed.

Sean Dix: First thing you gotta do is go work for somebody you really respect, get your foot in the door because you have no value to them as a young designer. But if you prove that you’re enthusiastic and you’re willing to learn, then you’ve got a great opportunity to work for somebody whose work you already like, who really knows what they’re doing. You need to know what everybody else is doing and you need to try to stay away from it. Develop your own language.

Silvia Marlia: To follow their inspiration, keep cultivating, keep being disciplined. Because this work is a lot about being very organised. It’s a very complex process that involves a lot of people. It’s never just the designer that designs and comes up with the piece. It’s always teamwork.

Check out their work:
<img class="size-full wp-image-21314 aligncenter" src="https://d213h1b7vxzzl3.cloudfront.net/editor/Bloom-Dining-Chairs-m.a.d..jpg" alt="Bloom-Dining-Chairs-(m.a.d.)" width="700" height="470" />Bloom Dining Chairs (m.a.d.)
<img class="size-full wp-image-21315 aligncenter" src="https://d213h1b7vxzzl3.cloudfront.net/editor/Cobble-Table-and-Chairs-m.a.d..jpg" alt="Cobble-Table-and-Chairs-(m.a.d.)" width="700" height="412" />Cobble Table and Chairs (m.a.d.)
<img class="size-full wp-image-21316 aligncenter" src="https://d213h1b7vxzzl3.cloudfront.net/editor/Sling-Stools-m.a.d..jpg" alt="Sling-Stools-(m.a.d.)" width="700" height="448" />Sling Stools (m.a.d.)
<img class="size-full wp-image-21317 aligncenter" src="https://d213h1b7vxzzl3.cloudfront.net/editor/Sprint-Chair-Stool-Sean-Dix.jpg" alt="Sprint-Chair-&amp;-Stool-(Sean-Dix)" width="700" height="490" /><a href="http://om-home.com/collections/dix-collection/sprint-chair-stool/" target="_blank">Sprint Chair &amp; Stool</a> (Sean Dix)
<img class="size-full wp-image-21318 aligncenter" src="https://d213h1b7vxzzl3.cloudfront.net/editor/Chomchom-Chair-Sean-Dix.jpg" alt="Chomchom-Chair-(Sean-Dix)" width="700" height="490" /><a href="http://om-home.com/collections/dix-collection/chomchom-chair/" target="_blank">Chomchom Chair</a> (Sean Dix)
<img class="size-full wp-image-21319 aligncenter" src="https://d213h1b7vxzzl3.cloudfront.net/editor/Dowel-Sofa-Sean-Dix.jpg" alt="Dowel-Sofa-(Sean-Dix)" width="700" height="491" /><a href="http://om-home.com/furniture/sofa/fabric/dowel-sofa/" target="_blank">Dowel Sofa</a> (Sean Dix)
<img class="size-full wp-image-21320 aligncenter" src="https://d213h1b7vxzzl3.cloudfront.net/editor/MM1-Wardrobe-Silvia-Marlia.jpg" alt="MM1-Wardrobe-(Silvia-Marlia)" width="700" height="536" /><a href="http://om-home.com/collections/sand/mm1-wardrobe/" target="_blank">MM1 Wardrobe</a> (Silvia Marlia)
<img class="size-full wp-image-21321 aligncenter" src="https://d213h1b7vxzzl3.cloudfront.net/editor/Overalls-Square-Table-Silvia-Marlia-Sunrise-Bed.jpg" alt="Overalls-Square-Table-(Silvia-Marlia)-Sunrise-Bed" width="700" height="536" /><a href="http://om-home.com/collections/sand/4988-2/" target="_blank">Overalls Square Table</a> (Silvia Marlia)
<img class="size-full wp-image-21322 aligncenter" src="https://d213h1b7vxzzl3.cloudfront.net/editor/Sunrise-Bed-Silvia-Marlia.jpg" alt="Sunrise-Bed-(Silvia-Marlia)" width="700" height="506" /><a href="http://om-home.com/collections/sand/sunrise-bed/" target="_blank">Sunrise Bed</a> (Silvia Marlia)
Interested to own these charming pieces? Visit <a href="https://www.facebook.com/omhome/" target="_blank">OM</a>’s showroom at East 16 Tai Seng Street Level 8 S534138 or 177 River Valley Road Liang Court #02-24 S179030 today! For further enquiries, feel free to contact them at 6235 0777 (Tai Seng) or 6837 0060 (Liang Court).

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