The two trained architects find liberation in the physicality of furniture design
Photography by CHRISTIAN ANWANDER
Words by DEGEN PENER
California has long been a pioneer and bastion of inside-outside living, but that hasn’t always translated to an embrace of outdoor furniture by inventive designers. So architects and interior designers Molly Purnell and Rachel Bullock of LAUN saw an opening. Back in 2018, when the pair debuted their chic Hollywood Regency-inspired DeMille chair, “it didn’t feel like as many contemporary furniture designers were really pushing the envelope on outdoor at the time,” says Bullock.“We just felt like there was an opportunity to really explore more.”
Since then, the two have created a host of pieces that bring color and playfulness to poolsides and patios, while also hewing to modernist clean lines, from their zigzaggy Ribbon benches and Confetti terrazzo side tables to the jewel-toned Mondos collection in neoprene and high-gloss fiberglass, in collaboration with Chet Architecture, named after a surf beach in Ventura.
“As architects it was very liberating to be able to physically make an object.”
“As architects, it was very liberating to be able to physically make an object,” Bullock says, noting that she and Purnell previously made drawings rather than crafting designs. The duo, whose firm is located in a loftlike space in DTLA’s fashion district and whose interior design clients include musician Drew Straus and actor Satya Bhabha, first met in architecture school at the University of Texas at Austin, and later each moved to Southern California.
One of the huge pluses of working in L.A., they say, is the wealth of fabricators and machine shops that dot the city. “We make everything locally. People can do everything here and are so talented,” Bullock says. For LAUN’s Dawn collection, inspired by the work of Pasadena-born sci-fi writer Octavia Butler, Purnell recalls approaching a manufacturer of o-rings (silicone loops that help seal lids on containers) to make them a spool of the material in a custom color. The pair used it to create waterproof fringe for side tables.
“I think it’s so fun to just drive to a shop in some random neighborhood that you’ve never been to,” says Purnell. “You get either one of two reactions. One is like,‘No thanks.’The other is, ‘Sure, that’s a challenge for me. I’ve been stuck stamping the same metal form for 35 years. I’ll try to make something else.’” launlosangeles.com.
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Feature image: In the alley next to their DTLA Fashion District building, Laun’s Rachel Bullock (left) carries their Ribbon chair, made from layered aluminum tubes, and Molly Purnell holds an aluminum Confetti table.
This story originally appeared in the Winter 2024 issue of C Magazine.
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