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WORDS Amelia Brown
Local furniture designer Frederick J P Eksteen of Oakstone is one to watch.
Contemporary. Minimal. Unique. That’s how Cape Town-based furniture designer Frederick J P Eksteen describes the design aesthetic of his furniture design brand Oakstone.
Frederick developed his design knowledge hands on, from industrial and interaction design, rotational moulding, advertising and marketing, to 3D rendering and animation. After climbing the agency/corporate ladder far enough, he embarked on his own furniture design brand where he could truly express himself and design pieces he would like to own. Oakstone offers signature furniture – both concept and bespoke commissioned pieces.
Frederick loves working with natural materials like wood, marble and leather, but also introduces metal for contrast. He plays with this sense of contrast visually through colour, physically with warm materials (wood) combined with cold materials (steel), and sometimes more abstractedly by designing a modern take on a classic design, like his Au Chante chandelier.
“It’s difficult to confine my inspiration to one specific genre,” explains Frederick, “but I do like to gather inspiration from everyday activities.” One of his daily forest walks with his dog Rufus, for example, inspired the piece entitled Twiggy: a stylised arrangement of vertical and diagonal lines depicting decaying trees with broken branches. “Other influences would be the places I’ve travelled, items that evoke memories, influential people in my life, other hobbies and even just playing around with patterns and shapes.”
His favourite piece at this moment is his latest: the Au Chante chandelier. “I believe that my design language has become more confident, mature and simplistic,” he says. “Simplicity is something I always strive for. As Nicholas Burroughs puts it, ‘Minimalism is simply the perfect amount of something’.”
Pieces are currently commissioned and made to order, but an online shop is in the works that will host Oakstone’s growing signature collection.
In the meantime, keep track of Oakstone online or make contact with Frederick on Facebook.
