Roderick Vos’ philosophy as a designer is simple and concise: ''Good design should be self-explanatory,'' in other words, a design object should not require intellectual and conceptual explanations in order to be appreciated, used and enjoyed. For Roderick Vos, art and design are two different beasts, with the latter being in the service of everyday life, utility and efficiency. A firm believer in the disarming power of simplicity and beauty, he strives towards creating objects that make the people who use them happy, placing more emphasis on the emotional impact of a product. Like a researcher armed with a child-like curiosity and eagerness for experimentation and play, he seeks new ideas in the factories and workshops where his products are manufactured, drawing inspiration from getting to know different materials, crafting techniques and the craftspeople themselves. 

The new Roderick Vos showroom occupies a 1910’s renovated building with two floors, and is part design studio, part showroom and part retail shop. In a recent interview, Vos stated that designers these days have to be more versatile as entrepreneurs, so he set out to create a multi-purpose space that could cater for that necessity. More like a wunderkamer than a design shop, the new showroom has a playful air to it: apart from an impressive array of Bucketlights hanging from the ceiling and the studio’s collection stylishly curated all across the space, the showroom features a cartoony (and fully functional) electrical switchboard that looks like it came straight out of a steampunk movie. If the aim of this new space was to dissolve the boundaries between designer and customer, the professional and the casual, work and play, then the cheerful appeal of Roderick Vos’ new studio makes us think it has hit the mark.