Meet the maker | Amy Shaw

My vision is New Zealand made furniture, but global. Since the pandemic we’ve taken greater control of our supply chain because it’s hard to develop all the things you love offshore. By building our own patterns in our factory we can utilise our team’s incredible skillset to push the boundaries and create new shapes. Challenging what is available to the local market through thoughtful manufacturing while reassessing the impossible.

We are very lucky that David’s been doing this for 40 years and without disregarding the impressive range that he has built, our offering was quite traditional. David’s a baby boomer and that has always been his market but I’m looking at the next wave of designers and having run my own fashion store and brand for a long time, I knew we also needed to create and grow a digital community around us. Although our website and our social branding have changed, the bones and the heart of the business are the same – the R&D, comfort, well-made furniture, and local suppliers.

There were about 150 manufacturers in Christchurch when David started his business. Only a handful remain but those which survived all bring something unique to the New Zealand market, having become entrenched in the South Island over the past 40, 50, or maybe 60 years. These companies have incredible foundations for the second generation to build on and everyone says the same things about their parents – it’s an amazing legacy something that is difficult to sustain.

David’s always been a pioneer. Matteo was such a forward-thinking design for the time, being one of the first in New Zealand with a lower boxy cushion. I also love Flynn, which is a strong style across all regions, and as much as Richmond is not my style, it has been a consistent seller every month since we started the business. I respect the legacy pieces, being in the range for 15-20 years they have been tweaked along the way, but you have to commend their ability to remain relevant.

When designing the Solstice collection, which we photographed in Arrowtown, we first looked at what was missing from our range, then what we had that wasn’t quite right, and finally how people use their homes. Everything needed to be multifunctional, especially the smaller pieces. Allowing everything to be separated and put back together differently removes the restriction of a living setting which must look the same for the next 20 years, it can serve different purposes in different environments.

The Arnold was the first piece I designed for David Shaw and is one of the best sellers in our range. I’m proud of this piece because I’d never designed furniture before, but my lack of experience enabled me to ask, “what if we change the frame to do this, this, and this? Or we make that part stronger? Will it perform differently?” This, paired with David’s manufacturing knowledge, has really worked for us. He’s always been a huge part of the R&D and although I have the creative direction, we are the perfect team because while I can’t create some of the things that he can, he probably isn’t as aware of the market’s needs as I am.  

The organic forms came in because I love curves and I felt we needed more softness and sculptural elements in our offering. Looking at New Zealand homes they feel very square; often people have square or rectangular coffee tables with square fireplaces and a square kitchen. There’s nothing better than putting a little curved chair into a space to provide softness and a change in geometry, incorporating a square chair just doesn’t have the same visual impact as a couple of Arnold’s, for example, with a couple of square items. Presenting things that feel like they’re handmade in shapes that aren’t mass produced anywhere gives us a point of difference.

I design with the fabric in mind, altering the form a little bit because of it and vice versa. It all happens together but I always think about how I want a piece to look in the end and consider which textures will be interesting. I’m always looking for textiles that create an emotive experience, rather than just putting a plain fabric on it I lean towards interesting things like Fleece – I really liked the texture and the development of bouclé.

Sustainable thinking is a way of life. It’s how we’ve always operated, and our partners are all sustainably conscious too, but we’re starting to make a wider and more focussed impact in certain areas of production. For example, we don’t have wastage or a large carbon footprint, we repurpose foam off cuts to make underlay, and we give other off cuts to kindergartens for sensory play – reducing waste and avoiding landfills while supporting education.

We’re continually finding ways to operate as circularly as we can, but our vision has always been buy once, buy well. Our ‘Passport to Quality’ is David’s personal guarantee that your investment is going to last. I love the concept and it’s a nice final touch to show it is made in New Zealand by local people, which is a beautiful way to back what David does and the level of quality he does it at.