Behind the design: bringing the Pinch vase to life with Jamie McLellan

At Città, we’re excited to introduce the latest addition to our accessories collection—the Pinch vase. This distinctive design emerged from a creative collaboration between internationally renowned designer Jamie McLellan and our in-house design team.

Jamie brings more than 20 years of international experience as a product and furniture designer, having worked across a diverse range of industries. After six years in San Francisco leading the design team at Allbirds, Jamie recently returned home to Aotearoa New Zealand. Now based on Auckland’s Waiheke Island, he continues to create inspiring designs from a home studio surrounded by nature.

We chatted with Jamie to explore the story behind the Pinch vase, hear about his design journey, and learn about his life on Waiheke Island—including the essentials that fuel his creative process.

Hi, Jamie! Tell us about yourself and what you do.

Hi! I am an industrial designer with a passion for furniture, which is infused in everything I work on—be it a chair or a pair of shoes. My approach is to distil an object down to a single, hopefully novel idea, and then celebrate it in a beautiful, maximalist way. I love building families of objects where these singular ideas become interconnected and speak to each other through a shared design language.

When did you first realise you wanted to pursue a career in design?

My high school design teacher, Andrew Kerrison, was instrumental in pointing me toward design as a career. I would never have known about the Wellington School of Architecture and Design if Mr Kerrison hadn’t marched our class down to one of the school’s open days. I am forever grateful—I can’t think of a better way to have spent the last twenty-plus years of my working life!

How did the collaboration with Città come to life?

I had a growing folder of object ideas and, in an inspired moment of bravery, I reached out to David Moreland [Città Head of Furniture Design] and asked if he might be interested in seeing them. Dave said yes, so I met with him and the Città design team. There were a bunch of ideas they felt were worthy of further exploration, including the Pinch vases. It was a special moment for me to engage with such a deeply collaborative team, producing beautiful work with such collective humility.

Can you talk us through the Pinch vase—what makes the form special, what do you love most about the design?

The idea is quite simple, but something I have been fascinated with for a while—a cylinder that is squashed or ‘pinched’ at one end. I love how such a simple gesture can produce interesting forms that also offer functional and ergonomic opportunities.

In the case of the Pinch vase, the top is squished into a ‘figure of eight’. This unique shape makes floral arrangements fan out in a ‘widescreen’ effect. It also allows for lovely asymmetric floral arrangements when only one side of the vase is filled. Another nice thing about the form is it feels really lovely to hold.

I also love the quality of the Pinch vases. Drawing a nice shape is easy, but translating it into a real, repeatable, functional and beautiful object is—by far—the biggest challenge in the design process. The Pinch vases are a testament to Nikolai Sorensen, Città’s Head of Accessories Design, and his relentless pursuit of perfection. I am so impressed that the fluid shaping, where the vase goes from convex at the base to concave at the top, remains fair and wobble-free.

The colours are very bold—how did you determine these?

They sure are! The colours began as a wide exploration of colour in nature. I liked the idea of bringing these colours inside. Many of the colours I felt drawn to were very close to my daily surroundings. For example, looking out the window at the time, the pōhutukawa trees were just about to explode into flower, and their buds were a beautiful soft green.

With the help of Imogen Tunnicliffe, Città’s Head of Textile Design, we narrowed it down to the three launch colours: a bright citrus yellow, a light ‘pōhutakawa bud’ green, and a deep charcoal green.

I understand you recently moved back to New Zealand. Can you tell us about your Waiheke Island studio?

We recently moved back home to New Zealand after spending several years living in San Francisco, where I was working for Allbirds. My ‘studio’ is currently more of an ad-hoc work-from-home setup. In the summer months, I work from a glamping tent toward the top of our property—it’s a sweet spot with a great view. But in winter, it gets pretty cold, so I migrate back down to the house.

What are three essentials in your studio?

Bambu P1-S 3D Printer

I recently bought a very easy-to-use, very affordable, very fast, and very good quality 3D printer. It has completely changed my design process. Gone are the days of needing to be a technician to operate a 3D printer.

iPad

I used to be very particular about my sketchbooks—the type of pens I had to use, only sketching on one side of the paper, and NEVER letting anyone else draw in them! Then Covid happened and I couldn’t get into the office to use the scanner to digitise my doodles. So, I decided to try an iPad like all the cool kids in the office. Since then, I have never touched another sketchbook. These days, I feel naked without my iPad.

Fresh Music

I have to work with music. Sometimes it is calming music to take the edge off all the coffee. Other times it’s obnoxiously fast music to help me grind out a chunk of work. I love asking people what they currently have on high rotation. This is another reason I enjoy working with David Moreland—he always has his finger on the pulse and is never short or shy of recommending his latest musical discoveries.

Visit Jamie McLellan’s website to view his work and learn more. The Pinch vase is now available to shop in-store and online.