Text by Jeanne Tan
Photo by Ilco Kemmere
Robert Bronwasser is the founder of SMOOL by Robert Bronwasser. He lives and works in Amsterdam.
How would you describe yourself in one word?
Bright
What is your strongest quality?
I’m a creative perfectionist with a clear vision of what design should be: creating products that you can enjoy everyday.
Your weak point?
I’m not good at managing people or being managed.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
To be more disciplined and focussed. Sometimes I end up doing too many different things at the same time…
(How) Does your personality translate into your work?
I’m always very positive and try to enjoy life as much as possible, so I want to design products that people enjoy and that add value to their lives. I put a lot of love and energy in my work; it’s a passion I want to share with everyone – my reward is when a product is used with pleasure, every day.
Have you always been a designer?
I guess I was born as a designer since, as far as I can remember, I was always drawing and building things – something that was very much encouraged at home. So I thought I would be an architect like my father, but then I discovered industrial design… and I knew that this was the right choice for me.
Was there ever a point in your career when you wanted to give up being a designer?
Sometimes just for a few minutes… but then I soon realise that a designer is the only thing I want to be.
If you could meet the newly graduated version of yourself now, what would you tell him?
I started working for myself directly after university. So if I could do it again, I would tell myself to first travel around the world, meet people, visit interesting cities, and start working with some senior designers to learn what design is really all about.
If you weren’t a designer, what would you be?
I love to create things that have a positive effect on people, so if I wasn’t a designer I would be a musician. It would be great to perform for enthusiastic audiences.
And if you had the time, is there something new that you’d like to try?
I would love to wake up one morning and be able to play an instrument!
This interview was published in Connecting the Dots #9 for the Milan Design Week 2014.
For entire magazine click here.