Indonesian designer Alvin Tjitrowirjo discusses his passion for homegrown materials and local artisans, as well as the creative process behind weaving Asian elements into his contemporary designs
“The furniture that we make is a physical embodiment of the values that we believe.” Alvin Tjitrowirjo, founder and creative director of AlvinT, lives by this motto. The Indonesian-born product designer, who’s also a Gen.T 2020 honouree, started his namesake design studio and furniture label in 2006 after returning from his studies in Australia.
“The idea was to create a high-quality furniture brand with pieces made out of local materials and manufactured by local craftsmen and manufacturers,” Tjitrowirjo shares. “It has its own identity and character. We want to respect tradition, but we don’t want to be bound by tradition; (this) was a new way of thinking in Indonesia, but that’s what we did.”
Tjitrowirjo’s keen sense of identity and strong passion for his Indonesian heritage plays a key role when it comes to his designs. The pieces that the label produces are a reflection of his design sensibilities; each embodies a contemporary reinterpretation of traditional materials; his pieces are available on The Artling, an art and design online platform headquartered in Singapore.
“I believe that the furniture that we make is a physical embodiment of the values that we believe,” he says. “When we design an object, we allow the material to participate in the design process. Understanding the character of the material and making the design work with the material is important for us. We want to appreciate the material’s traditions from the past, and we want to carefully integrate that into the design.”