Crafted, Clad, and Clipped: The Story Behind Ideaworks' Herd Edition Speakers
We often create amazing products, spaces, and interiors with our craftsmen partners, but we rarely get to display these publicly. The Ideaworks' Herd edition bespoke speakers aimed to show, in a single product, some of the amazing skills of the people we collaborate with.
The Starting Point: JBL M2 Studio Monitors
The project started with a very basic pair of JBL M2 Studio monitor speakers, our long-time favourite. They were available in the same range of finishes as the first Fords, any colour as long as it’s black.
We loved the JBL Waveguide's sculptural form but needed JBL's permission and help to recreate it. They gave us the coordinates to recreate the Waveguides and connected us to their specialist subcontractors. Instead of using a black resin-filled mould, we machined them exactly from a solid aluminium block.
Engineering Meets Material Innovation
We created two pairs of Ideaworks' Herd Edition Bespoke Speakers. Later, one polished set was gold plated and installed on a project we can’t share. The other set was sent to our specialist veneer refinishers, who used beautiful real wood burr veneers to resurface the complex surfaces in a way that made it appear they had been carved from solid burr blocks.
A Collaboration of Craftsmanship
Our specialist leather partners applied suede to the back panels and tanned leather to the lower panels. They covered the rest of the speaker cabinet with exquisite Italian hair-on-hide.
The tuned bass ports were sprayed with bronze liquid metal to make them look and feel like turned metal. Additionally, the solid brass vertical trims, embossed with the Ideaworks logo, were surfaced in bronze to tie the edges together, while horsehair grilles over the bass driver completed the theme.
A Living Display at our Experience Centre
Once fully assembled, they were shipped to our London Experience Centre for display. However, it was clear that the hair-on-hides were perhaps a little too furry. We soon brought in a local hairdresser, who gave them a smart haircut. To this day, it remains their most unusual assignment.
The Herd Edition Bespoke Speakers travelled thousands of miles and featured at numerous events. Now on display at our Experience Centre, they continue to attract attention every day.
Let’s Create Something Extraordinary
Do you want to collaborate and create something equally wild and wonderful with us? We would love to hear from you!
Come see for yourself. Get in touch to book a private appointment – simply email info@ideaworks.co