LAB DE STU

LAB DE STU | RMIT University
(Transcript with notations)

VISUAL: LAB DE STU. RMIT Industrial Design and Furniture Design graduates Adam Lynch, Dale Hardiman and André Hnat?jko talk about how they formed their design collective LAB DE STU. RMIT University logo.

VISUAL: Adam Lynch, Dale Hardiman and André Hnat?jko are sitting together in a row facing the camera and each taking a turn to speak to the camera. Title at the bottom of the screen reads: Adam Lynch, Dale Hardiman and André Hnat?jko, RMIT Alumni.

Adam Lynch: I'm Adam Lynch.

Dale Hardiman: I'm Dale Hardiman.

André Hnat?jko: And I'm Andre Hnat?jko from the Melbourne based ...

VISUAL: Excerpt of video taken from LAB DE STU’s website ie two rows of photographs moving across the screen. Each photograph is of a different design project by the Collective, Lab De Stu. Across the centre of the screen is the title: LAB DE STU.

André Hnat?jko: ... design collective - Lab De Stu.

Adam Lynch: We started as a design collective. We all met first year university.

VISUAL: As seen earlier in the video - Adam Lynch, Dale Hardiman and André Hnat?jko sitting together and Adam is speaking.

Adam Lynch: We'd noticed that ... at the time there was four of us, that we were all getting along really well in the class together and we all ...

VISUAL: Close up of Adam Lynch speaking to the camera.

Adam Lynch: ... had similar ideas of what we ...

VISUAL: As seen earlier in the video - Adam Lynch, Dale Hardiman and André Hnat?jko sitting together and Adam is speaking.

Adam Lynch: ... wanted to go and wanted to pursue further than just what we were ...

VISUAL: Close up of Adam Lynch speaking to the camera.

Adam Lynch: ... learning at Uni. So we met in a little cafe on Cardigan Street and sat down and brainstormed ...

VISUAL: Photograph of Adam Lynch, Dale Hardiman and André Hnat?jko looking at each other, taken from LAB DE STU’s website. The title LAB DE STU moves from the centre of the screen to above the screen on the white wall that is in the background of the photograph.

Adam Lynch: ... a whole bunch of names and came up with the design firm which has now stuck and been around for three years.

Dale Hardiman: I think the most interesting thing about the three of us in Lab De Stu ...

VISUAL: Video of Adam Lynch, Dale Hardiman and André Hnat?jko sitting together and Dale is speaking.

Dale Hardiman: ... is the broad range of areas we actually cover.

VISUAL: Photograph close up of two bare and cut tree branches (twigs) bound together at right angles with coloured plasticine strips – black, orange and green. (Typist researched that these photos were taken at an exhibition called White Stick / Irregular Forms by Dale Hardiman at Dudley House, Bendigo in September 2012).

Dale Hardiman: My ... what I do is very much around process ...

VISUAL: Another photograph of the same project of twigs joined at the top corner of a frame and bound with orange and blue plasticine type strips.

Dale Hardiman: ... and materiality ...

VISUAL: Photograph taken looking down from above at a workbench used during the project. One of the two saucepans on the bench has a blue substance inside it (the melted plastic beads which when stretched forms the plasticine type binding strips). Also on the table is a fork, pliers, a kettle, tape measure and a piece of yellow fabric.

Dale Hardiman: ... so I mean my furniture doesn't actually ...

VISUAL: Photograph of Dale’s hands holding some of the stretched green plasticine type product over the saucepan on the workbench.

Dale Hardiman: ... end up most of the time ...

VISUAL: Photograph of a two seater bench made out of twigs and bound together by the same green plasticine type strips on exhibition in the gallery at Dudley House, Bendigo. Other pieces from the project are in the background and part of a chair of sticks bound with yellow plasticine is in the foreground.

Dale Hardiman: ... being commercial work; it's very much ...

VISUAL: Another photograph showing a broad view of the exhibition pieces by Dale that were on display in the gallery – eg tripod, tri-stool, chair, lamp base.

Dale Hardiman: ... concept work ...

VISUAL: Another photograph of Dale standing in the gallery speaking with two young people wearing backpacks. He is surrounded by his finished pieces.

Dale Hardiman: ... as opposed to the other two ...

VISUAL: Montage of six video screens split into thirds, each third has the same style of lamp shade hanging on a cord. All are multi coloured including the background and the colours of lamps and the background changes through the six shots. This project is called Polly Popper by Dale (Polly) and Andre (Popper) in June 2013.

Dale Hardiman: ... who work on very much commercial work and I think that feeds in really, really well.

VISUAL: Screen is split in two – on the left is a photograph of a desk lamp made with different sized dowel and rubber for the joins and lamp. The project is called Mr Dowel Jones by Dale Hardiman and Adam Lynch (May 2013). The photograph on the right is all the components or parts of the same Mr Dowel Jones desk lamp lying set out on the floor – five different lengths of dowel, electrical cord, globe, shade, two different rubber joins for the dowel.

Dale Hardiman: We all have different ...

VISUAL: Camera pans over a photograph of a Mr Dowel Jones desk lamp in a different position.

Dale Hardiman: ... strengths and weaknesses and together, the three of us can actually tackle things quite interestingly.

VISUAL: Video of Adam Lynch, Dale Hardiman and André Hnat?jko sitting together and André is speaking.

André Hnat?jko: The benefits of being a design collective means that although, we can still work on our own individual ...

VISUAL: Black and white photograph of Dale Hardiman standing in the Bendigo gallery and bending over a twig chair that he is in the process of building (as seen earlier in the video). A saucepan with steam rising from it is on the floor beside his feet.

André Hnat?jko: ... styles and our own ...

VISUAL: Colour photograph of André pulling on the end of a giant party popper which has coloured streamers coming out of the end, shooting up into the air.

André Hnat?jko: ... objectives, it ...

VISUAL: Photograph of Dale Hardiman and Adam Lynch sitting in an office together. Dale is looking at a computer screen and Adam is sitting beside him with his feet up on the desk beside the computer. They both have their backs to the camera.

André Hnat?jko: ... because we get to work alongside each other ...

VISUAL: As seen earlier in the video - Adam Lynch, Dale Hardiman and André Hnat?jko sitting together and André is speaking.

André Hnat?jko: ... we get to mingle and experiment with each other's techniques. So like with myself, I get to work with Dale's crazy and wonderful material and I get to go do Adam's factories and get to see all these big machines.

VISUAL: Screen is split into three photographs of lamp shades – Project is called Popper. On left is a male holding a lamp shade over his head; in the centre is André Hnat?jko looking at the camera and holding a half eaten hamburger and standing behind a lamp shade which is hanging from the ceiling to about his chest level; on the right is a photograph of three different shaped red lamp shades.

André Hnat?jko: And although, these things that I could do ...

VISUAL: Same image as before but gradually each photograph transitions off the screen and is replaced left to right by: André standing behind four different coloured and styles of hanging Popper ceiling lamps; two blue popper hanging ceiling lamps; and André standing on one leg and hanging on two ceiling lamp shades.

André Hnat?jko: ... I would not normally do them if I was being a designer by myself and it's really good to have that ...

VISUAL: Video of Adam Lynch, Dale Hardiman and André Hnat?jko sitting together and André is speaking, followed by Dale speaking next.

André Hnat?jko: ... you know, the broadness, I guess.

Dale Hardiman: I think one of the most important things is dialogue. I mean as a ...

VISUAL: Camera has moved back and to the side of Adam Lynch, Dale Hardiman and André Hnat?jko sitting together and Dale is speaking.

Dale Hardiman: ... I guess, beginning in furniture and working by myself, there was no real ongoing dialogue between myself and someone else; it was very much internalised. So I mean an idea can't really expand without conversation. I think that's one really important thing is that between the three of us we can actually have lengthy conversations ...

VISUAL: Close up of Dale Hardiman speaking to the camera.

Dale Hardiman: ... about processes or materials or actual forms so that from that ...

VISUAL: Photograph of Dale Hardiman and Adam Lynch standing beside each other and looking at the camera. Dale is wearing a copper lamp shade on his head like a hat and Adam is holding a duck.

Dale Hardiman: ... a form can take on something else and it doesn't just stagnate.

André Hnat?jko: I guess it's kind of how we ...

VISUAL: Video close up of André Hnat?jko speaking to the camera.

André Hnat?jko: ... established ourselves by being recognised as a group from ...

VISUAL: Video of Adam Lynch, Dale Hardiman and André Hnat?jko sitting together and André is speaking to the camera.

André Hnat?jko: ... entering ...

VISUAL: Photograph of Dale Hardiman and André Hnat?jko smiling at the camera at a Design Awards ceremony (location unknown).

André Hnat?jko: ... by entering Awards such as Fringe Furniture ...

VISUAL: Screen in split in two. On the left is a photograph of a coloured sphere shaped lamp – the two halves of the sphere have been joined in the centre circumference and it is on a metal stand with an electrical cord coming out of the bottom of it. On the right is a promo flyer which reads: See us at Design: Made: Trade: & Vivid. Stand AF4, 18-21 July 2013 Melbourne Exhibition Centre.

André Hnat?jko: ... and the Vivid Design Awards.

VISUAL: Videoi close up of André Hnat?jko speaking to the camera.

André Hnat?jko: It kind of ... I don't know, it kind of made us realise that we could do it ...

VISUAL: Photograph of Adam Lynch, Dale Hardiman and André Hnat?jko standing under an awning in front of a caravan in a park. Hanging from the awning are five of their colourful Popper lamp shades. They are sitting on coloured stools designed by Adam Lynch called 1/5 thimble. A timber stand is in front of their display which reads: Lab De Stu (there is other text at the top but it is too small to read).

André Hnat?jko: ... we could put ourselves out there and that what we were doing was something that was ...

VISUAL: Camera pans down a photograph of four different sized black hanging lamp shades on a background of rough grey timber floorboards.

André Hnat?jko: ... in a direction that was good for us and good for the industry.

VISUAL: Three photographs taken from Lab De Stu’s website of popper lamp shades in white, yellow and blue.

Dale Hardiman: Entering competitions and being shortlisted or finalists for awards ...

VISUAL: Dale Hardiman speaking to the camera, looking over at Andre beside him and then quickly back to the camera.

Dale Hardiman: ... it put us on par with the professional designers.

André Hnat?jko: Yeah.

Dale Hardiman: So I mean as part of an exhi ... competition I was in two years ago, Bombay Sapphire, that was ... I was exhibiting with 30, 40 year old designers who had been designing their entire lives ...

VISUAL: Video of Adam Lynch, Dale Hardiman and André Hnat?jko sitting together (as seen previously in the video) and Dale is speaking to the camera.

Dale Hardiman: ... and I was basically the youngest to enter the competition and it just really showed that what we were doing, especially 'cause the three of us had all been through different ...

VISUAL: Video close up of Dale Hardiman speaking to the camera.

Dale Hardiman: ... competitions and have won various competitions across Australia that we really ... the work that you're doing as a student is also on par with the professional industry so designers working full time in their own practice; student work is very much at the same level.

VISUAL: Video close up of Adam Lynch speaking to the camera.

Adam Lynch: André and I got to go to London last year after the Vivid Design Awards in Melbourne which is a design competition which is open to students, professionals and anyone else that likes to design or create products.

VISUAL: Video of Adam Lynch, Dale Hardiman and André Hnat?jko sitting together (as seen previously in the video) and Adam is speaking to the camera.

Adam Lynch: So from that we were selected by Suzanne Trocmé ...

VISUAL: Photograph of Dale Hardiman standing at their display at the London Design Festival. On the back wall of the display corner is their brand: Lab De Stu and the projects are presented on different sized timber boxes - the stool, three popper ceiling lamp shades and Mr Dowel Jones desk lamp.

Adam Lynch: ... to go to the other side of the world and ...

VISUAL: Camera pans across two photographs of some of their projects on display in a gallery.

Adam Lynch: ... exhibit our products in the Commonwealth Exhibition in London as part of the London Design Festival ...

VISUAL: Screen splits into five photographs of various shots of stools designed by Adam Lynch. The encased metal/plastic cylinder shaped stool looks like a salt/pepper shaker called the thimble and the other type of stool has metal legs and is called 1/5 thimble. The photograph of the thimble stool in the centre changes through a range of colours – light blue, white, orange and yellow. The top left photo shows the thimble in a stack of three.

Adam Lynch: ... so doing that exposed us to huge-scale manufacturers like Ikea ...

VISUAL: Video of Adam Lynch, Dale Hardiman and André Hnat?jko sitting together (as seen previously in the video) and Adam is speaking to the camera.

Adam Lynch: ... and Conrans and the other kind of big players in the world.

VISUAL: Camera pans quickly across from Adam Lynch to Dale Hardiman and then stops on André Hnat?jko as he speaks to the camera.

André Hnat?jko: From that it made you realise how great the Australian design industry was and how promising it is and how being a part of it, you know, there's real career possibilities out there, here and internationally.

VISUAL: RMIT University Logo and website www.rmit.edu.au. This video features the song “Twins (Ft. fourstones)” by DoKashiteru. Available under a Creative Commons Attribution licence.

End of video

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