Q&A: Get to know our furniture & product designer David Moreland
We’re going behind the scenes at Città & introducing you to our talented team. This week, we chat with David Moreland about his role as our head of furniture and product design.
David studied 3D Design at Unitec and developed his career in furniture design and production before joining Città in 2014.
In our latest journal post, we speak to David about the designs he’s most proud of, the best part about what he does... and his love of all things music.
Tell us about yourself and what you do.
I’m the Head of Furniture & Product Design here at Città. We are a multi-disciplinary design studio that works on everything from tables, chairs and lighting to all types of accessories and homewares. Recently, we have also worked on a few of our store interiors, which has been fun. Our Commercial Bay fit-out features a wall of floating shelves paired with a customised version of a new sideboard range we have coming out, which we are really happy with.
Città Commercial Bay product feature wall.
Città Commercial Bay featuring the new sideboard range & floating shelves.
When did you first realise you wanted to pursue a career in design?
I think I’ve always wanted to do this—I didn't have a lightbulb moment or make a conscious decision that it was going to be my career. I studied 3D Design at Unitec, which encompassed all aspects of design. I ended up making furniture for most of my assignments and have never looked back.
Where do you get inspiration for your designs?
Anywhere and everywhere really! Sometimes it can be the smallest spark from a completely random place. The longer I have been doing this, the harder it is to not consider the commercial aspects of any given project right from the start. I try to run before I can walk with any new design and embrace the mistakes, because often that’s where something unique can be found.
Can you talk us through your creative process? How do the furniture and product collections come to life?
I have hundreds of unrealised projects in drawing pads, so I regularly look back at these sketches to look for something we might not have run with earlier. I work collaboratively with Nikolai and we both have different strengths. One of mine is attention to detail, so I am heavily involved with the development of the construction and internal workings of any given piece. Often these aren’t necessarily noticed or even seen by the customer, but I like releasing a fully developed product where we have considered every aspect and achieved the best result possible.
From left to right: Alex Buckman, Nikolai Sorensen & David Moreland.
Do you have a design you’re most proud of?
I’m really proud of the collaborations we have been releasing. There have been two nice lighting ranges with local designer Alex Buckman and the Liana sofa with Scott Fitzsimons. There is also the Acre dining chair coming out that we have been developing with Michael Young for more than four years—it will be amazing to finally set it free into the wild! I’m also proud of Nikolai’s work. He’s such a great designer and only going from strength to strength. I couldn’t ask for a better person to be designing with.
The Liana sofa & armchair designed in conjunction with Scott Fitzsimons.
What’s the best part about what you do at Città?
The team I work with is amazing. It’s a great environment to be able to come into every day, which makes everything easier and fun. I also love that we get to turn designs into reality. Being able to realise (some) of the ideas that pop into your head is incredible—it’s a dream really.
Which upcoming design or project are you most excited for?
The aforementioned Acre chair project with Michael Young is an exciting one. The chair uses both 3D plywood and eco plastic, both of which are challenging materials to work with. It was certainly a process we learnt a lot from, but the product is both beautiful and durable and one that I am very happy to say that I have worked on.
The Acre chair seated at our new Tatamu table in oak, being released early 2022.
How do you enjoy spending time outside of Città?
I love music, to the point where we have a turntable in the studio at work for the overflow of records from my personal collection. I also love going to watch live music. We have been a bit starved of this for the last year-and-a-half but that means I have seen a number of local acts perform, which has been great. I’ve got Tame Impala tickets for December, which I’m looking forward to—fingers crossed!
