TGM NEWS — craftsmen

Celebrating Seven Years on Burnside!

AIRBNB PROCESS | 2015

A look into our ongoing collaborative design process with Airbnb.

Photos by Arthur Hitchcock

TGM | AIRBNB

In honor of the new year, we would love to share some information about a project truly defined a lot of 2014 for the TGM team. Earlier in the year we were approached by Aaron Taylor Harvey from Airbnb, and began discussing the possibility of creating custom furnishing for a new call center here in Portland. Those discussions eventually developed into a full collaboration between Aaron, his talented partner Rachael, and our team of designers/fabricators. 

This project involved creating an entirely new line of products for their new workspace. The overall scope of the project fluctuated over time to fit their needs, but in the end it provided an exciting challenge for us company-wide. Our process involved a lot of initial research, and learning on-the-fly/pulling from past experiences. We were able to augment our operations + process through necessity + organic growth, which in turn led to us really discovering our production abilities + limitations. It also created a cohesive goal that really seemed to stimulate our internal talents + passions. 

Airbnb + it's team of architects/designers had precise standards, which is something that we were incredibly appreciative of. We worked closely with them to ensure those standards were met + exceeded throughout the entire process. We enjoyed thinking about home use vs. busy commercial office use, picking the right density of seat cushion foam, + we absolutely loved all of their fabric choices. We utilized both traditional + modern fabrication techniques, which included everything from custom welded steel brackets to laser cut acrylic panels for integrated charging stations.

It was amazing for our team to be able to grow + learn while creating for a company that definitely thinks differently than most. They were continually supportive of our design choices, and in turn had some incredible input themselves!  To see the products from casual sketches to a beautiful + functional piece of design was the best part of our year.

The final implementation of the work was astounding. The office is buzzing with activity, yet it maintained a comfortable atmosphere. Observing our work + the work of other local designers working in concert with it's intended audience was an heart-warming experience that we hope to recreate again.

Please check out some of the recent press about the space:

http://curbed.com/archives/2014/12/17/airbnbs-portland-office-design.php

http://www.wired.com/2014/12/airbnb-invents-call-center-isnt-hell-work/

https://homes.yahoo.com/news/office-spaces-airbnb-creates-call-160321088.html

Photographs of our work + our process will be posted in separate posts! 

FRITZ HANSEN CHAIR RESTORATION

Our photographer took a few moments the other day to observe one of our craftsmen at work. Matt Dune Donnelly carefully prepped, sanded, + assembled these amazing Fritz Hansen dining chairs throughout an afternoon. The restoration process of these vintage pieces is a delicate + time consuming process, that requires a lot of thought and research. The final product however, is a piece of design history that has its original beauty in the spotlight once again.

Restoration work by Matt Dune Donnelly of The Good Mod

Photography by Arthur Hitchcock