New lifestyle label Departo offers essentials for global nomads
Glenn Pushelberg and George Yabu, founders of Yabu Pushelberg and Yuichiro Hori, the founder of the furniture label Stellar Works join forces for the new brand
Glenn Pushelberg and George Yabu, co-founders of the multi-disciplinary design firm Yabu Pushelberg, and Yuichiro Hori, the founder of the furniture label Stellar Works, all know a thing or two about travelling. Being at the helm of their respective international companies, the trio is well versed in the act of being perpetually in motion and making discoveries while on their jaunts around the world.
They’ve worked together to translate this philosophy into physical form – a new accessories and lifestyle label, which they’ve named Departo, that launched online last week. A play on the Japanese expression for ‘department store’, as well as the idea of departing, the direct-to-consumer e-commerce brand is built upon distilling the experience of finding well-made souvenirs and objects in different parts of the world, and bringing them together to form a dynamic collection that works both on its own or in unison.
Armed with the catchphrase ‘essentials for global nomads’, Departo’s inaugural collection includes furniture, ceramics, textiles, glassware and metal. Elegantly utilitarian folding chairs, tables and stools stand alongside low profile coffee mugs, old fashioned cast iron candle holders, frayed edge linen placemats and stylish glasses – all priced affordably, making them perfect for everyday use.
Subtle in its design statement and uncompromising in quality, the accessible collection represents the label’s expertise and experience in the design industry, while empowering buyers with its openness to interpretation
With Yabu and Pushelberg serving as Departo’s creative directors and the power of Stellar Works behind the manufacturing, plans are already well underway to push the product assortment to beyond what most design labels currently offer. The ethos, however, will remain simple and be rooted in love.
‘When we were young designers struggling to get by, we would save our money up and spend all of it towards something beautiful and interesting,’ Pushelberg and Yabu recall. ‘That feeling – that desire – for an object so beautiful, so timeless, that we would keep it forever, is what we wanted each and every Departo product to embody.’
INFORMATION
www.departo.co
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Pei-Ru Keh is a former US Editor at Wallpaper*. Born and raised in Singapore, she has been a New Yorker since 2013. Pei-Ru held various titles at Wallpaper* between 2007 and 2023. She reports on design, tech, art, architecture, fashion, beauty and lifestyle happenings in the United States, both in print and digitally. Pei-Ru took a key role in championing diversity and representation within Wallpaper's content pillars, actively seeking out stories that reflect a wide range of perspectives. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children, and is currently learning how to drive.
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