WYE’s history dates back to the time when Ferdinand Krämer and Franziskus Wozniak were both students and flatmates. An industrial designer and an engineer with management training respectively, they share a common passion for nature and sustainable products. WYE is their brand, launched in 2019, with the aim of producing eco-conscious furniture that thinks circular.

“We, as designers, enter people most intimate spaces. This gives us the chance to use furniture to inform people about sustainability, new materials, and smart solutions. We have the responsibility to keep an eye on the entire process from the idea up to the resources used for the production,” explain Ferdinand Krämer and Franziskus Wozniak.

At WYE furniture has a minimalist style and is conceived to last decades. Suitable for both indoor and outdoor spaces, the pieces are made out of Neolign, a new material developed by WYE that is produced thanks to the extrusion of wood chips, special color pastes and polymers. The material looks, feels and smells like wood but no tree has been cut to produce it. Its abrasion resistance is four times more than Bangkirai, one of the strongest wood essences.

Stools, tables, lowboards and console tables are part of the first collection called Chamfer. The design language is committed to geometric shapes that allow for a good interplay between light and shadow. The matte surface of the parts in Neolign contrasts with colder and smoother metal surfaces. The material combination is optimal not only because of their aesthetic, but also because they are versatile when processed on an industrial scale — which keeps prices reasonable.

“I worked a lot in the area of capital goods by designing machines. Machines are tools and that’s why the design process aims at absolute reduction to the essential. We tried to translate this design philosophy into the aesthetic of our furniture,” says Ferdinand Krämer.