Studio Truly Truly

Rotterdam-based design studio Truly Truly was founded by Australian designers Joel and Kate Booy in 2013. The husband and wife team originally hail from Brisbane, where they both first studied and later taught graphic design and typography at the Griffith University Queensland College of Art. When Joel Booy was accepted into the prestigious Design Academy Eindhoven, the duo relocated to The Netherlands to expand their design practice into 3-dimensional space.

The breakthrough for the designer team came in 2014, before Joel had even graduated from his Bachelor of Design Studies in Industrial Design, when they were selected by IKEA to develop a piece for the brand. This collaboration resulted in a deconstructed couch for the IKEA PS 2017 collection, consisting of a metal frame and 18 cushions that can be infinitely replaced and re-ordered to create new textile arrangements. Indeed, textiles are quickly becoming one of the studio’s trademarks with Soundskins (2017) in collaboration with Sonos speakers; following on from the collaboration with the Swedish furniture giant; the Translation (2015) throw rug designed for the revered TextielMuseum in Tilburg, the Netherlands; and two projects in spatial design in 2016 for Dutch Invertuals in Milan and Northmodern in Copenhagen also incorporating the duo’s affinity for fabric.

Studio Truly Truly operates at the interface between the design industry and art with pieces encompassing objects, furniture, lighting, textiles, and spaces. The studio garnered considerable attention with their solo exhibition at the Salone del Mobile in Milan in 2017, following on from previous international exhibitions, including at Dimore Gallery, Milan, Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, and a solo showing at the Dutch Design Week in 2014, amongst numerous others.