As both designer and maker, John Doolin’s approach to furniture owes as much to a great respect for the traditional skills of cabinet making as to modern design principles and methodology.
Initially becoming interested in furniture design through woodworking in his early teens, John choose to study Industrial Design at the National College of Art and Design, believing it would provide him with a solid foundation in the principles of design and the use of modern manufacturing techniques and materials.
It was while at NCAD that John further developed his manufacturing skills using plastics, metals and glass, working not to any predetermined hierarchy of materials but rather assigning materials according to their suitability for each specific component.
The guiding principle throughout his work is the belief that the real value of any product is not only in the sum of its size and materials, but in the way in which it serves its user - the function it performs.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Industrial Design
in 1999, early commissions grew through personal recommendations
to larger scale projects, leading in turn to the foundation of Imbue
Furniture Design.
