David grows up in England and studies Naval Architecture. He goes back to basics with the purchase of a block of land, complete with ruined buildings. Once restored, the family seeks a somewhat different experience: sell and buy a boat, Hornpipe. They set off on an open-ended journey across the sea. The family spend some time on the Caribbean and Tahitian islands along the journey. David finds commission work and becomes inspired by local carving, architecture, the local people and their artforms. It is here that ritual emerges as an essential theme in David’s work After a stint of six years onshore at New Zealand’s East Cape and artist residency lures them to Hawke’s Bay. They build a home here and David builds a studio to carry on his practice. Ideas are flowing like never before; something is gathering mometum. It sees the creation of many furniture pieces. Raft-like forms and a fascination with boat-building methods inform a new piece: Body Raft. David takes it to the Milan Furniture Fair and Cappellini purchase its world design rights. Soon after he wins an Arts Fellow trip to Antarctica. He realises a deeper challenge is at hand: the degradation of the environment. His work weaves through these issues and becomes synonymous with the natural world. David begins to play with geometric structures found in nature. One particular experiment stands out and becomes the Coral light. It is developed as a kitset to reduce its ecological footprint. This establishes a new modus operandi for the growing company. Many new lights appear, taking inspiration from the natural wordl and translating them into products that can be assembled at home. Today David Trubridge is one of the world’s preeminent designers and a recognised leader in environmentally responsible design, also know as slow design. Countless influential international publications have featured David’s iconic work, which ultimately launched the ”raw sophistication” trend.