George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg have earned a reputation for their multi-disciplinary approach to design, seamlessly blending innovation with craftsmanship. In this exclusive interview, the duo reflects on the philosophies that guide their work, their creative journey, their longstanding collaboration with Molteni&C, and their unique approach to materiality.
This feature originally appeared inside est magazine issue 54: ‘Time to Play.’
In partnership with Molteni&C.
Your practice is known for its multi-disciplinary approach. What core principles or philosophies guide your approach to design across different disciplines?
Glenn Pushelberg: We are not interested in repeating ourselves, so we look for partners who are open to exploring potential. Maybe this was more of a challenge for us when we were younger, but we have always placed importance on working with partners who share similar values to us, partners who are looking to innovate.
How do you stay creatively inspired and maintain a fresh perspective in your work?
George Yabu: Nature keeps us creatively inspired; it is at the root of who we are and what we do. More than ever, nature is threatened by the pace and build out of urban centres and the impact of climate change. As it becomes harder to access, nature becomes the epitome of luxury. This is a sad truth, but it urges us and our partners to think better about our creative outputs. It also means finding ways to make people aware of the beauty of nature and why we need to protect it. Sway, our first outdoor furniture collection for Molteni&C, was designed to be one with nature and we hope this feeling reverberates to those who use it so we can together become more cognisant of our surroundings.
The Sway modular sofa and coffee tables by Yabu Pushelberg for Molteni&C combine teak, aluminum, and polypropylene rope, drawing inspiration from nature with their fluid, organic forms.
Can you talk about your relationship with Molteni&C and how your creative vision aligns with their design philosophy?
Glenn Pushelberg: Our mutual respect, trust, and admiration of one another can be seen through our three collections; the Surf sofa, Tivali kitchen and our oudoor collection; Sway. Molteni&C provides us with the freedom to explore our ideas, and we can trust that they can be brought to life with their technical prowness and integrity to craft.
The Sway outdoor collection seamlessly blends modern aesthetics with a Japanese influence. How did you approach balancing innovation with Molteni&C’s Italian heritage of craftsmanship?
George Yabu: The gentle disposition of Sway was crafted through its details. How we achieved this sensibility is through the collection’s form and materiality. Throughout the design process, I was guided back to my Japanese heritage, and the attributes that so succinctly define craftsmanship in Japan. At the same time, Molteni&C’s Italian heritage brought a poetic element to the collection, along with their meticulous engineering skills.
The Surf modular sofa, designed by Yabu Pushelberg, was inspired by sitting in a beach house, watching the waves and sketching their fluid movements. The final design aims to captures that same fluidity and undulation.
What do these collections represent in the broader context of your design portfolio, and how does it reflect your evolution as designers?
George Yabu: We continue to dream bigger and think about how we can apply our ideas to new challenges. Each collection we’ve created with Molteni&C resolves a different challenge in design. So much outdoor furniture today is big and bulky and in no way relates to its surroundings. Being aware of what is on the market, and how little it correlates to the outdoors guided us towards the concept of Sway.
We wanted to create a collection that could be one with nature’s elements. When you are low to the ground, you are put into a position where you are one with nature and everything is lifted. The leveling of Sway allows you to root yourself in your surroundings and feel more present.
Collaboration is a key element in creating iconic design pieces. What has been the most rewarding aspect of working with Molteni&C?
Glenn Pushelberg: Despite the scale and prestige of Molteni&C, at the end of the day they are a family business. They work with their gut. It is so much easier to create beautiful things with people when you can have a genuine partnership. You can see the authenticity of the partnership in our collections.
Lastly, do you have a piece from the Molteni&C collections that you are especially drawn to?
Glenn Pushelberg: Our beach home in Amagansett grounds us, and that feeling often leads us to some of our most pure ideas. Many of our product collections have been conceived in that house, like the Surf Sofa for Molteni&C. The design was inspired by the waves; we have one of the sofas there now. When you get closer to yourself and what matters to you, you can unleash a bounty of potential.
George Yabu: We also have the Sway collection on our outdoor terrace in our Toronto home. It’s funny, our love for Bennington grew so much that we noticed the foundation beginning to tilt, requiring us to re-prop it to preserve the structure. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it allowed us to focus on enhancing our outdoor porch.
Visit Molteni&C’s Melbourne Flagship at Industry Lanes, 459 Church Street, Richmond VIC 3121. Stay tuned for the opening of a second location in Sydney in 2025.
