We live in an age of technological marvels, yet the products in our homes have never felt more disposable. Somewhere along the way, we traded longevity for cheap production, and consumer electronics turned anti-consumer. Parts are glued, seams are welded, and repair has been designed out. We’ve accepted a reality where the things we buy are made to end up in landfill.

Much of the technology inside these products is mature. Electric motors, fans and heating elements have worked in roughly the same way for decades. When the core of a product can no longer be improved, there are mainly three ways left to sell more: make it cheaper, add features or make it break. The result is products that are more complex and vulnerable than they need to be, and new models every year that essentially does the same job.

When something breaks, it’s easy to feel the urge to upgrade. But is the new product measurably better than the one you have? Will it add more value to your everyday life? Most household products are built to do one job and meet one specific need, and that need rarely changes. Yet planned obsolescence and yearly model updates keep pushing new products on us.

The convenience of buying new often outweighs the benefits of repair, especially when we lack the knowledge, parts or information to fix things ourselves. For many, it hardly feels like a choice at all. We want to challenge the idea that buying new is the only option, and bring back the emotional connection to the objects we use every day.

Emotions play a big part in what we buy and what we keep. We have always attached meaning to objects that outlast us: the tools, watches and furniture passed down through generations. We believe materials that age well, products that openly invite repair, and the prospect of caring for something for years can make repair a habit. Turning products into belongings, and make holding on to them feel like the natural choice.

To us as product designers, this is rather the rational choice. We design from the owner’s point of view: someone without technical expertise, who should still be able to understand how their product works and keep it working. We build what most people would choose if they were actually given the choice, the version that should have been the default all along. That means no over-engineering and no unnecessary complexity, but no compromises on quality either.

We’re also honest about where we stand. We’re in no position to develop unique components or take on the industry’s biggest players, and we don’t need to. Instead of chasing new technology, we refine what already exists and has proven itself, using standard components and open-source solutions. We know a thing or two about what works and what doesn’t. And because our business model doesn’t depend on people replacing their products, we’re free to do what established manufacturers have every reason to avoid.

None of this is new. In the 1970s, household appliances cost far more relative to income, and repairing them was the obvious choice. Products were built to be serviced, and repair was part of everyday life. Cheap production and costly labour have since turned that logic upside down.

We’re currently developing an electronic device for everyday use, engineered around a radically traditional view of longevity. The work spans product, system and people: permanence and honest mechanics, business models and supply chains, psychology and user behaviour.

We avoid smartification. The product itself should be as analogue and mechanical as possible, working independently with no risk of software obsolescence. Advanced technology still plays a crucial role behind the scenes. It’s what lets us make a promise that has been forgotten over the years: that your product can always be repaired. The technology belongs not in the product, but in the system around it.

We’re building the final revision of something we’ve all lived with for a century, with a single ambition: that it should be the last of its kind you’ll ever need to buy.

Get in touch if you would like to learn more.

More details coming soon.