“It’s a lot easier to sweat the small stuff — all those little details that make a product great — when you really enjoy what you do for a living. That’s why I say so often, ‘If you don’t like what you’re doing for a living, please, go do something else.'” — Jonathan Ive
Since 1988, architect Bob Isaac has been designing and building custom residential and commercial furniture for clients throughout the Midwest as part of his company, ISAAC & MAY. In 2010, Bob expanded with the launch of BaughbLabs, the product design and development studio of ISAAC & MAY.
Using metal and other natural materials, each piece he designs is hand crafted and in limited edition. Collectors of fine watches and vintage bicycle parts, and those craving unique accessories for their home and work space will appreciate his attention to detail and nod towards classic design of a different era.
The beginning
Although ISAAC & MAY customers are most familiar with Bob’s custom commercial and residential furniture, the product design actually began well before furniture. The first projects were one-of-a-kind pieces, and usually at the special request of a friend or client. He set up his own workshop and began to fabricate the initial prototypes himself. The initial designs were conceived − and in some ways constrained − so that they could be fabricated using readily available extruded aluminum bar, angle, tube, and common fasteners. More importantly the designs needed to be able to be fabricated using hand tools. The quality of the prototypes improved with experience and better, more specialized tools.
The process
“Good design is consistent to the last detail.” — Dieter Rams
While not totally abandoning his beloved Moleskine sketchbooks, Bob now does most of his early conceptual work digitally using various sketch and vector-based drawing apps on an iPad. He often finds inspiration in ways not traditionally connected to architecture or product design. He posts in-progress work, sketches, and final art on his Pinterest page. Once concepts and key details are established, they are refined on a Macintosh using 2D CAD then 3D modeling software, resulting in final renderings and technical files used by vendors to fabricate parts.
Let’s talk
If you are interested in anything you see on this site, or would like to inquire about a custom piece, please contact us.
Follow Bob on Twitter: @baughblabs