The finished furniture of the Tria Omada series

From theory to practice

Product design meets craftsmanship: Carrying out a very personal project

Design student Clarissa Kellermann is turning her dream of personalised furniture into a reality. The student is completing a practical semester at Karsten Schillings' joinery workshop. Over the course of this semester, they produced the Tria Omada furniture series. The Festool Domino DF 500 and 700 joining machines proved to be the ideal companion for this project.

You can tell that Clarissa Kellermann is passionate about joinery. The 30-year-old design student is enthralled by working with wood, material combinations and minimalistic product design. Clarissa developed her love of craft during her project design studies. It is no wonder that she chose a practical semester in the joiner's workshop. She has struck gold with Karsten Schillings' workshop in Münster. The focus during her time there is on independent project work. When asked about the creative process, Clarissa responds with: "First, I visualise my ideas, experiment with new materials, build models and prototypes." This is how the idea for the "Tria Omada" furniture series came about, which consists of a table, bench and stool.

„The Domino connecting dowels were installed to be visible and were therefore skilfully incorporated into the design.“

Clarissa Kellermann - design student

Working with the Festool joining machine Domino

Smart implementation

"Tria Omada" is Greek and translates as "group of three". This refers to the three-part composition and design of the furniture series. These were designed with a connecting construction, which always follows the same application and can be implemented perfectly using the Domino DF 500 and 700 joining machines, along with the Domino corner connector. "As part of my research, I pursued the idea of using the Domino milling grooves as a visible connection system, thereby turning these into a design element," says Clarissa. Using the corner and surface connectors and the Domino wooden dowel resulted in a robust connecting construction.

Simplicity meets elegance

The furniture series is reminiscent of the simplicity of traditional rustic furniture. "The Domino connecting dowels were installed to be visible and were therefore skilfully incorporated into the design. This gave the items of furniture a unique feature that further underlines their delicate character," says Clarissa as she describes the Tria Omada furniture series. However, it is not all about the design – it is built for everyday use too. For instance, the table can be dismantled into three parts, thanks to the Domino corner connector, making it easy to transport. Clever detail: The central panel can be turned around and easily removed. This means that the user can choose between two different surface variations.

Successful trial

The project was completed after two months. Right from the first trial, Clarissa was beaming because she was able to make the furniture series a reality – from the idea through to the implementation – based entirely on her ideas. "Completing the project is very exciting for me. I think it's great to observe how the rough wooden structures can be changed into fine details through my own work," explains Clarissa with satisfaction. The table, bench and stool are taking pride of place as exhibits in Karsten Schillings' joinery workshop. They can therefore offer inspiration to future workshop participants. The project has further strengthened Clarissa's passion for joinery; in future, she would like to combine modern design with innovative craftsmanship.

Finding more projects and products of Clarissa Kellermann on her website, clarissakellermann.de.