First Dates for those who create: Studio Swine tells us about their working relationship

Date
10 February 2016

To celebrate Valentine’s Day this weekend, throughout the week we’re talking to creative partnerships (some of which also happen to be romantic ones) about working together and still feeling those little butterflies after years of doing so. We meet the lovely duo Studio Swine, the Anglo-Japanese design studio formed of architect Azusa Murakami and artist Alexander Groves.

Azusa Murakami

How did you meet?

At the Royal College of Art, on the design products course.

How did you know you could work together?

We started dating and decided to work on a piece together for a show that no one was going to see.

What’s been your favourite project you’ve worked on together?

Terraforming – our latest project where we designed a film and objects for a sci-fi.

What makes your creative relationship special?

Both coming from a non-design backgrounds like art and architecture makes us approach design in a unique way. As we live and work together, we are able to talk about and discuss design 24/7.

What’s the best thing about Alex?

Breadth of general knowledge.

What’s the worst thing about Alex?

Accommodating.

What does your future together look like?

Travel/ Work/ Fun.

Above

Vivek Vadoliya: Studio Swine

Alexander Groves

How did you meet?

At the RCA. Azusa was the year above and we were both so busy with projects we didn’t really talk until the Iceland Volcano grounded flights and we got stuck in Milan together after the furniture fair.

How did you know you could work together?

We made our first piece, Pig Truck, out of scrap materials from my parents’ garage during a summer holiday. It took two intense weeks of making and improvised design.

What’s been your favourite project you’ve worked on together?

Our last project Terraforming – a design collection and short sci-fi – was really hard work and really fun as it was the first time we worked in a film studio with a crew and having to make the whole world the film exists in rather than using real world locations.

What makes your creative relationship special?

We both have a really different approach so still surprise each other and yet we share the same end vision. We see the function of design somewhat like music, we don’t need another chair or another love song for the practicality but we do need something that expresses our time now. 

What’s the best thing about Azusa?

Very determined and disciplined.

What’s the worst thing about Azusa?

Sometimes too disciplined – quick to rule things out.

What does your future together look like?

It looks hazy behind the drapes of mosquito nets – we are going into the heart of the Amazon next month for a new design project and filming.

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About the Author

Emily Gosling

Emily joined It’s Nice That as Online Editor in the summer of 2014 after four years at Design Week. She is particularly interested in graphic design, branding and music. After working It's Nice That as both Online Editor and Deputy Editor, Emily left the company in 2016.

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