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DESIGN GRAND DESIGNS Specialising in custom made
furniture, interiors and homeware, Borien studio are a husband and wife team of creative craftspeople. One half of the duo Robin Grundy tell us how they do what they do so well. words Richard Seabrooke – How did you and Eoin come to meet and then come to work together? We met in Dublin at IADT in the model making and film design course. Our skills have always complemented each other so it was a natural progression after college to start working together. – Can you describe a little about your individual paths before joining forces? After college I worked in fashion styling and design for the Selfridges group in Toronto initially. I was interested in the art and installation side of windows and interior display. Eoin worked between film, fabricating and collaborating with artists. While we were in Canada he worked with artists such as Kent Monkman, Douglas Coupland and Dan Bergeron. He worked and travelled with Maser for 15 years as well. When I began designing fashion directives on a corporate level, Eoin came on board with the build and logistics on each project. That led to us teaming up and working on our own for the likes of Hermes and Canada Goose. – You’re artists, furniture makers, retail specialists and much more. Why do you think it’s important to be multidisciplinary over specialising on one aspect or craft? In a freelance world, you have to be adaptable. Each job leads to the next and we both like a challenge, so this makes our work diverse. – What was the catalyst for starting Borien? When we moved back to Ireland in June 2018 we rebranded. Borien is a blend of our names which legitimizes our partnership. We wanted to focus our business on the natural path it was taking into furniture and interiors. We have since designed our own brand of table legs which we are rolling out this year, as well as our bespoke pieces. – A Canadian and a Dubliner living in County Wexford. What drove the decision to move to Ballygarrett? How’s it working out? We weighed up our options coming back. We needed a workshop onsite so we could be here for our kids and we always wanted to experience rural living after being in downtown Toronto for ten years. This seemed like our chance to try it. This, plus the housing crisis, made it a quick decision. Ballygarrett has beautiful beaches and an idyllic space for the kids to run free while still being commutable for work in Dublin. – What’s your process when approaching a project? For me, excitement, mood boarding and brainstorming with the client comes first. We need to get to know the client, their space and their wants from the project. I then sketch some ideas, Eoin tells me to make less things float on the wall, then I revise and we get started! The beginning is my favourite. The excitement of possibilities and searching for beautiful materials is very enjoyable. 16