Studio Visit

Meet Sydney's Newest Furniture Maker, Architect-Turned-Designer Jun Kim

Sydney designer Jun Kim is an architect by trade and a furniture designer by passion. In the midst of freelance architecture work and interior design projects completed under Studio Keemm (the practice he runs with his wife, Angella), he launched his one-man furniture brand Oure just a couple of months ago.

We visit the pair at work in their Bondi apartment, and Jun’s furniture studio in Marrickville, to see what they’ve been making these past few months.

Written
by
Sasha Gattermayr

Jun Kim of Oure – a one-man furniture company based in Sydney. Photo – Nic Gossage. Styling and production – Lynsey Fryers.

Jun designs and develops prototypes in his light-filled Bondi home. Photo – Nic Gossage. Styling and production – Lynsey Fryers.

Jun views his object designs like small-scale architecture, and applies the same philosophy to their structure and development. Photo – Nic Gossage. Styling and production – Lynsey Fryers.

Jun is a trained architect, and still operates as a freelancer a couple of days a week. Photo – Nic Gossage. Styling and production – Lynsey Fryers.

Photo – Nic Gossage. Styling and production – Lynsey Fryers.

The legs of the seamless Pop side table slot gracefully into place to support the flat table surface. Photo – Angella Kim.

Jun’s Marrickville studio is where he experiments with materials and makes all of his designs. Photo – Nic Gossage. Styling and production – Lynsey Fryers.

Jun and his wife Angella founded interior design practice Studio Keemm when they arrived in Sydney four years ago. They have been running it ever since. Photo – Nic Gossage. Styling and production – Lynsey Fryers.

‘Designs for Oure take inspiration from the type of lifestyle Angella and I want to live and the type of furniture and objects that we want to surround ourselves with,’ Jun explains. Photo – Nic Gossage. Styling and production – Lynsey Fryers.

The Pop side table comes in two heights. Photo – Angella Kim.

Writer
Sasha Gattermayr
17th of August 2020

Unlike the rest of us, New Zealand-born designer Jun Kim is not slowed by a pandemic. In fact, he’s ramped things up.

In addition to the interior design projects he completes with his wife Angella under their four-year-old practice, Studio Keemm, and freelance architecture projects, Jun has now launched Oure – a brand building thoughtful, handcrafted furniture designed and made from his studio in Marrickville.

But it’s probably fair to say Jun’s always had a lot of projects on the go. After studying architecture in Wellington and working for years as a graduate architect, he moved to Sydney to study object design at UNSW, and later established Studio Keemm with Angella. Juggling many different design hats is just the way he operates, so he naturally views his latest pursuit as a transition rather than a deviation.

‘While I was working in architecture, I was always fascinated to see how different designs in furniture and other smaller objects could dramatically change a space,’ Jun explains. ‘I’ve always been interested in furniture and objects, as I’ve thought of them as smaller scaled architecture.’

It was during his time as a freelance interior designer that Jun developed the prototypes for the first collection of furniture, two of which have just been released. Among these is the Pop side table – a sure-fire hit (we’re calling it!). Crafted from solid timber, three ovaltine, paddle-like legs protrude above the flat table surface, and give the appearance of each component slotting perfectly in place. The second is the Ette stool, consisting of an elegant timber A-frame and sharp, razor-thin seat.

Jun’s completed pieces are underpinned by a fascination with simple geometry and clean minimalism. ‘We like designs that are bold, yet simultaneously understated,’ says Jun. ‘We believe good design should not demand attention, but still have a presence.’

Check out Oure’s range here. For up-to-date information and product previews, visit their Instagram here.

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