A creative partnership forged in sleepless nights: RÜÜ protective leather accessories born from collaboration.
Social experiments are not where Toomas's inventiveness ends, his creativity is played out in the real world too and you only need to mention mock-ups and prototyping before you notice a sparkle in his eyes and instantly become his new best friend. He is a tinkerer, which melded with his perfectionist tendencies makes him particularly thorough. He is always ready to sacrifice sleep and nerves for a better result, though he never acts out. Even if rulers and other blunt objects start flying from my side of the desk, he is quick enough to duck, but does not retaliate!
My
own creative journey has been led by a passion for preserving and enhancing the
natural beauty of leather and other natural materials. Exploring the technical
possibilities of design so that the inherent aesthetics and the very tactile
properties of the materials are able to speak for themselves. I have been
fortunate enough to realise many of my ideas and dreams through leatherwork,
but working with Toomas's technical mind and prior experience in construction
has allowed us to develop a concept which showcases those natural properties
even further. RÜÜ inspires me to aim for even greater simplicity and
minimalistic design.
Our
work together has required many sleepless nights, where ideas, discussions and
prototypes are considered alongside a lot of blood (from occasional awl jabs),
sweat, and a few tears, not to mention the blisters and some really stupid
jokes. It's been fun, inspiring and at times frustrating, but our willpower and
stubbornness to succeed has taken Toomas from apprentice to master of leather
craft and has made me feel much more at home with technical gadgets and
appliances. The result of all this is: RÜÜ. Derived from the Estonian
word meaning: protective outer garment or armour, RÜÜ solves your issues of
portability and protection of valuables in a beautiful, simple form.
Neither
Toomas nor I would ever have predicted that a random dialogue would develop
into an accessory brand in a few years’ time. Despite that, we have sold pieces
in Singapore, London and at home in Estonia, all without marketing the brand.
Our work was also recognised by the 'Design-A-Bag' international competition in
Hong Kong. So
the amount of energy spent on the project is finally starting to pay off.
Sleepless nights don’t feel so hard anymore and how could they when the process
has been so fascinating!
