This series, COLLECTIBLE In-Depth, unveils the backstage of contemporary creation. Tackling various topics from personal designer processes to the position of collectible design on the global design market, COLLECTIBLE In-Depth offers different views to suit all tastes. Today we speak with Atelier Ollin.

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COLLECTIBLE: Why do you focus on contemporary collectible design? What does it mean for you?

Atelier Ollin: For us, collectible design is a way to slow time. Unlike mass production, it carries memory, touch, and care. We see it as creating modern heirlooms—objects that hold presence, not just function. Our practice isn’t about trends but about shaping pieces that can live across generations, carrying stories and histories with them.

C: What makes design collectible in your eyes?

AO: Collectibility is not about rarity alone, but resonance. A collectible piece speaks to memory and emotion—it holds weight beyond material. The cold of stone, the warmth of leather, the curve of a familiar form: they create recognition and intimacy. That intimacy is what makes something worth keeping, revisiting, and passing on.

C: Can you talk about a new piece / collection that you release for COLLECTIBLE this year?

AO: We’re presenting Umbral—a family of stone, steel, and leather objects that live in the thresholds of daily life. A console that becomes stools, a stepped table recalling temple foundations, a shelf that doubles as lantern. Umbral means threshold in Spanish, and the pieces invite pause, gathering, and reflection—an architecture of modern ritual.

C: What ethical considerations guide your material choices and sourcing practices?

AO: Stone grounds our practice, but we approach it with reverence. The volcanic stone we use is hand-chiseled in Mexico by master artisans continuing centuries-old techniques. Stainless steel is worked in Brooklyn, where we fabricate each piece ourselves. We avoid glue, favoring mechanical assembly—so that parts can adapt, shift, or be replaced, extending life and use.

C: How do you navigate the tension between innovation and tradition in your approach to designing collectible objects?

AO: Our work lives in that tension. We draw from sacred and everyday forms—temples, train stations, boxing rings—and reinterpret them with contemporary clarity. Tradition provides weight; innovation allows transformation. Together, they create atemporal objects—pieces that acknowledge where we come from while imagining where we might go.

C: What role does storytelling play in enhancing the value and appreciation of collectible design objects within a collector’s portfolio?

AO: For us, storytelling isn’t a layer—it’s the foundation. Every object carries a narrative: of place, of craft, of material memory. A table is also a mountain moved, a mirror is also a portal. When a collector lives with our work, they live with these stories, and in time, their own memories add to them.

COLLECTIBLE: Why do you focus on contemporary collectible design? What does it mean for you?

Atelier Ollin: For us, collectible design is a way to slow time. Unlike mass production, it carries memory, touch, and care. We see it as creating modern heirlooms—objects that hold presence, not just function. Our practice isn’t about trends but about shaping pieces that can live across generations, carrying stories and histories with them.

C: What makes design collectible in your eyes?

AO: Collectibility is not about rarity alone, but resonance. A collectible piece speaks to memory and emotion—it holds weight beyond material. The cold of stone, the warmth of leather, the curve of a familiar form: they create recognition and intimacy. That intimacy is what makes something worth keeping, revisiting, and passing on.

C: Can you talk about a new piece / collection that you release for COLLECTIBLE this year?

AO: We’re presenting Umbral—a family of stone, steel, and leather objects that live in the thresholds of daily life. A console that becomes stools, a stepped table recalling temple foundations, a shelf that doubles as lantern. Umbral means threshold in Spanish, and the pieces invite pause, gathering, and reflection—an architecture of modern ritual.

C: What ethical considerations guide your material choices and sourcing practices?

AO: Stone grounds our practice, but we approach it with reverence. The volcanic stone we use is hand-chiseled in Mexico by master artisans continuing centuries-old techniques. Stainless steel is worked in Brooklyn, where we fabricate each piece ourselves. We avoid glue, favoring mechanical assembly—so that parts can adapt, shift, or be replaced, extending life and use.

C: How do you navigate the tension between innovation and tradition in your approach to designing collectible objects?

AO: Our work lives in that tension. We draw from sacred and everyday forms—temples, train stations, boxing rings—and reinterpret them with contemporary clarity. Tradition provides weight; innovation allows transformation. Together, they create atemporal objects—pieces that acknowledge where we come from while imagining where we might go.

C: What role does storytelling play in enhancing the value and appreciation of collectible design objects within a collector’s portfolio?

AO: For us, storytelling isn’t a layer—it’s the foundation. Every object carries a narrative: of place, of craft, of material memory. A table is also a mountain moved, a mirror is also a portal. When a collector lives with our work, they live with these stories, and in time, their own memories add to them.