July 2025 · Press

Interior Design, 10 Questions With Studio Goons

Interior Design interviews Studio Goons on simple solutions, humble materials and Evolving Forms, the studio's first solo show at St Vincents in Antwerp.

Interior Design featured Studio Goons in its DesignWire Designer Wednesday newsletter on 1 July 2025, under the line "Unveiling a new era of diverse craft". The interview, 10 Questions With… Studio Goons, with words by Georgina McWhirter, follows Evolving Forms, the studio's first solo show, presented by ST VINCENTS in Antwerp, Belgium.

Paul Trussler describes the work as "rooted in our strong desire for simple solutions. Judged lightly these solutions might be considered dumb, even rudish, yet there's a strong philosophy and quiet sophistication behind each piece." The interview also follows the projects the studio has taken on, from pieces for the set of a ready-to-wear presentation for Amomento to furniture for a chapel at Loyola University in New Orleans.

Brace Bench, Brace Stool and Five Points Table by Studio Goons on a blue carpet, with photographs on the gallery wall, Evolving Forms at St Vincents, Antwerp. — Brace Bench and Brace Stool by Studio Goons with the Five Points Table, Evolving Forms at ST VINCENTS, Antwerp. Photograph by Eline Willaert.

Asked about a theme that runs through the work, Mia Kim goes back to the start of the studio: "we knew that we were going to design things that could last for a long time, would be cherished, and would be adaptable to people's lives." It came, she says, from an architect's perspective on the lifespan of a well-designed building and a fashion designer's perspective on how luxury products should be treated and worn, and it was the launching point for Evolving Forms.

On how the pieces are made, Trussler is direct: "Between the two of us, we have hand-built every Goons piece." Kim, for her part, describes the Paris fashion schedule as the thing that teaches you to trust your own decisions quickly while still aiming at perfection.

Brace Chair AC by Studio Goons in birch plywood with wool cushions, on a blue carpet against a white wall. — Brace Chair AC by Studio Goons, Evolving Forms at ST VINCENTS, Antwerp. Photograph by Eline Willaert.

On materials, Kim explains that the studio works almost exclusively in a single material, a conscious decision to simplify production, while collecting discarded architectural timbers and scrap pieces of stone, leather or wool along the way. "We are obsessed with simple materials."

End Table Chair, two Totems, Original Stool and Corner Table by Studio Goons in dark-stained wood on a herringbone floor. — End Table Chair, Totems, Original Stool and Corner Table by Studio Goons. Photograph by Paul Lehr.

The interview also turns to the architecture behind the work, from references to Le Corbusier's Five Points to Trussler's time working for Frank Gehry. "Once the curtain is pulled back on these secrets, techniques, and methods, you carry them with you for the rest of your life," he says.