Ideas Into Action

AT HIS PRODUCT DESIGN STUDIO, LUIS PONS TURNS THE INEFFABLE INTO REALITY

Product and interior designer Luis Pons established his Miami Beach studio in 2003 to, as he describes it (albeit through a play on words), explore the extra in ordinary design. “It all comes from my personal need to translate reality, changing its perception and creating new meaning,” says Pons. “I feel the desire to extract from our context with its own resources, the teachings and values of our culture, and integrate them into our designs.” He called his firm Design Lab, and, true to its name, the place is an experimental hub for ideas and concepts that run the gamut from furniture, lighting, textiles, and ceramics to full-on commercial and private design commissions. When it comes to product design, Pons is interested in “popular and simple solutions that carry strong impressions in our subconscious and are fully integrated in our daily human routine.” Case in point: the Torii, a pandemic-inspired three-dimensional toroidal structure that acts as a temporary wall in outdoor environments, although Pons’ own description is much more poetic: “a customizable social distancing device that embraces, protects and enhances the experience of togetherness while making people feel safe.” While Pons has made a career bringing out-of-the-box ideas (from inflatable furniture to lamps made out of Slinkies) to fruition, the Torii aligns with the designer’s mantra post-COVID. “The pandemic gave me a new perspective that allows us to align our actions with our purpose,” he says. “We removed distractions and unnecessary expenses and now produce more with less.” As for what’s ahead in 2023? “Our desire is to engage in projects that raise the standards of living for people,” says Pons. “We want to plant more and build less.” luispons.com above: Pons’ ceramics feature removable parts that assemble like a puzzle. below: A dresser from the Tangara St. Barth collection, a collaboration with Vermeil