Born from a true collaborative shared vision with the team over at Commune, a Los Angeles-based design studio with a reputation for holistic work across the fields of architecture, interior, graphic and product design. The firm has designed residential, commercial and hospitality projects worldwide, a wide array of home and lifestyle products, as well as graphic and branding concepts for the fashion, arts and entertainment industries. Commune stands for community of like-minded architects, interior designers, graphic designers, consultants, artisans, and builders led by principals Roman Alonso and Steven Johanknecht.

Commune for R+D.LAB Glassware casting shadows on a wall.

The project started with the idea from our first meeting in their beautiful studio, sharing our passion for design and products with purpose. They’ve been dreaming of the perfect glassware for a long time and it was natural for us team up together and adapt our signature glassware with their California lifestyle. Playing with scale, we’ve designed a full collection to provide the perfect vessel for any occasion from the perfect pour of tequila to a tall glass of iced tea.

Commune for R+D.LAB Glassware casting shadows on a wall.

Commune for R+D.LAB Glassware casting shadows on a wall.

Commune for R+D.LAB Glassware casting shadows on a wall.

The collection has launched as apart of the The Great Commune Shop Experiment; a new physical interpretation of their online store. In the spirit of Comme des Garcons’ guerilla stores from the 90’s, where they’ve dropped a modular structure in the middle of an unfinished space within the 1924 Spanish Colonial building that houses their new studio in the heart of MacArthur Park in LA. The space is the perfect platform for our project and allows us the opportunity to connect with the audience that appreciates our aesthetics.

Commune for R+D.LAB Glassware casting shadows on a wall.

For the visuals David Kitz was selected to photograph the collection, a perfect choice as he’s been a long time collaborator with us. David is an LA based artist and photographer, his work explores the representational parameters and material qualities of the medium of photography. He has recently been delving into questions surrounding objecthood through still life compositions, particularly exploring how mood, meaning, and at times narrative can be formed through the interplay of inanimate objects. For us his images have perfectly captured the spirit of our collaboration project.

The collection can be found on communedesign.com/shop

Commune for R+D.LAB Glassware casting shadows on a wall.

PHOTOS: David Kitz (IG: @davidkitz)
WORDS: Jay Vosoghi