CBY are a design studio and workshop in North London. In a small team, everyone involved gets to play an active role in making and designing.
This cross-pollination has lead to our growing contribution to the world of furniture and things, CBY objects. We are consistently approached to help create unusual and inspiring projects, particularly furniture, interiors, and exhibitions.
While working on a CBY object or a unique commission, our team communicate in a shared language of materials, tools and processes. Our experience of being involved in a wide array of bespoke projects, has allowed this language to grow and develop. It means that we are able to identify qualities lurking in materials and find ways to draw these out. CBY objects showcase a design process rooted in making, which values simplicity of form and function, as well as playfulness in aesthetics.
The nature of our team means we often develop close working relationships with our clients. This helps when developing design solutions tailored to suit a brief or a need. Within our workshop and studio we try to maintain an experimental culture, to emphasise play and discovery as well as hard work and skill. We always aim to look past the obvious, to surprise and be surprised.
The Studio
CBY today is driven by Aiko Kubo and Sam Kennedy, whose sense of aesthetics and understanding of making gives the company it’s direction. They are assisted by a team of able and skilled collaborators, who enjoy getting their hands dirty, learning new skills and producing beautiful projects together.
Before meeting on master programmes in Stockholm, Aiko Kubo worked in the furniture industry in Japan as a designer, while Sam Kennedy worked for a number of years as a sculptor and cabinet maker in Scotland. After graduating with Masters degrees in textiles and furniture design, respectively, Aiko and Sam moved to London to join CBY. Working in the workshop and Studio is a way to satisfy their curious hands: to experiment with materials, play with tools, and find ways to combine the two in new and original designs.
CBY (Commissioned by you) was started in 2013 by James Gilpin (currently director of Made by Us, Barcelona). Working from a shared workspace in North London, James utilised his broad set of making, design and business skills to produce a wide array of high quality commissions, developing the company’s brand and winning clients, many of whom we still work with today.