“We make things that we ourselves need but struggle to find,” explain George Wilkins and William McCallum. The Tauranga, New Zealand–based duo connected in college, where the two business majors discovered a toolshed on campus and a shared love of tinkering. They sold their initial pieces outside the school library, and post-grad set up the George & Willy workshop in a boat shed.
That was just a few years ago and since then, they’ve been busy tackling all sorts of household basics, from pegboards to laundry racks: “the kinds of things you’d be stoked to find in your granddad’s shed,” they say. Join us for a look at George and Willy’s world.
Above: After coming across a discarded roll of kraft paper, the designers mounted it on their studio wall for making lists and sketches. It proved so useful that they produced a finished version: See Blank Slate: Wall-Mounted Kraft Paper. Above: Ideal for keeping to-do lists, the George & Willy Daily Roller, shown here and top, is the latest iteration of their best seller. It’s available in a range of sizes, and comes with powder-coated aluminum fittings in black or white. This one, with a 224-millimeter-long bracket (approximately 8.8 inches) is $103 USD, and includes a roll of brown paper and mounting screws. The rollers fit universal kraft paper rolls. Above: Made of birch plywood, the Bang Bang Pegboard is sold as 1,000 millimeter (39.3 inch) squares that can be hung together. It’s available in natural or white and comes with eight removable dowels and two shelves (one short, one long); $243 USD. George & Willy designs are all made in the duo’s New Zealand studio and most flatpack for efficient shipping. Above: The George & Willy Project Trestle Desk is made of architectural grade plywood; $287 USD. Locking slots hold the tabletop in place and the trestles are secured with black yachting rope. This design is only shipped within New Zealand and Australia. Above: The 1,6oo millimeter long (62.9 inch) Draughtsman Table can be used as a dining table, meeting table, or work station. It has a galvanized steel frame and a plywood top that’s finished with matte polyurethane; $360 USD, available only in New Zealand. A Coffee Table version of the design is currently sold out. Above: The George & Willy Commercial Clothing Rack, $250 USD, is composed of steel piping and socket clamps. It’s 1,800 millimeters long (70.8 inches) and comes in white or black powder-coated steel or galvanized steel. For a 1,400- millimeter (55.1 inch) version, check out the Industrial Clothing Rack. (Find other options in 10 Easy Pieces: Metal Clothing Racks and 10 Easy Pieces: Freestanding Wooden Clothing Racks.) Above: The duo devised their Hanging Drying Rack, $272 USD, when they needed a compact way to dry their laundry. Read about it in Object of Desire. For more international household basics, take a look at:
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