Black Rec-cir-cut Planter by Llot Llov

Berlin-based design studio Llot Llov was founded by German designers Ania Bauer (born 1977) and Jacob Brinck (born 1979) in 2009. Bauer graduated from the Design department at the highly regarded Universität der Künste (University of Arts) in Berlin in 2010, while Brinck completed his Design qualification at the Fachhochschule Potsdam just outside of Berlin in 2008. The pair met through Berlin’s famed nightlife and began collaborating in 2007, before the knitted Matt (2009) lamp put the designers on the map and pushed them to launch their own studio.

Craft is a central tenet of Llot Llov’s product designs—macramé, woodturning, and metalwork in particular—a mission that was clear from the beginning with the wonderful hand-crafted feel of the Matt light. Another, more recent, example is the Osis (2015) series created for Gallery Bensimon: drawing reference from silk painting techniques using salt crystals to create striking textures in the ink, Llot Llov developed a companion technique using water-based colors and salt on wood. The resulting pattern, which unites the designer’s hand with organic and unpredictable elements, is quite emblematic of the studio’s overarching aesthetic, which the two lead designers describe as “poetic but minimal.”

Llot Llov was initially based in Berlin’s Mitte district in a studio that was attached to a gallery showcasing their work. In 2010, the studio moved to the hip and alternative neighbourhood of Berlin Neukölln, where Bauer and Brinck continue to lead a small team of assistants and freelancers. In 2016, Llot Llov won a material innovation prize at the German materialPREIS award for their innovative surfaces for the Osis collection. The studio’s work has been featured at Design Week Milan, Design Week Paris, Möbelmesse Cologne, Design Week Hong Kong, and ICFF New York.