Many people think that a product is born from a sudden inspiration. The reality is decidedly less romantic. For us, a product almost always starts with a phrase like: "Is it possible that there isn't a well-made solution?"
Or from a request from the people around us. Our mothers, for example, are probably the toughest research and development department we know: "A small table would be good here.", "This is too bulky.", "Why do I have to assemble fifty screws?" or "And where do I put this?"
After years, we've understood one thing: when someone complains about an object, they're probably not the only one. And that's exactly where a new LEMI product begins.
1. First, we find a problem
We never start by saying: "Let's make a new piece of furniture." We start by asking ourselves: What problem can we solve? It could be a lack of space, an inconvenient object to use, something impractical, or simply an existing product... but one that could be designed better. If we don't find a real need, a new product will very likely not be born.
2. Then sketches, drawings, and modifications begin
At this point, we move on to design. Paper, pencil, 3D software, new ideas, changes, and more modifications. MANY MODIFICATIONS. Because the first drawing is almost always the one that convinces us least after a few days, one detail changes another detail, or one measurement influences all the others. And what seemed perfect on Monday, often no longer pleases us on Friday.
It's part of the game.
3. Measurements must work in most homes
One of the questions we ask ourselves most often is: "Will this measurement really work?" We don't design thinking of a perfect home. We think of large, small, modern, classic homes, apartments, narrow living rooms, and terraces. We look for proportions that allow the product to fit naturally into very different environments.
Because a good design is of little use if, in most homes... it simply doesn't fit.
4. Assembly must be as trauma-free as possible
Here, a principle we care deeply about comes into play. If we can save the customer half an hour of assembly, we do it. Indeed, if we can save them an hour, even better. Let's be honest. How many of us have bought a desk on super offer, opened the box, seen two hundred screws, three unlabeled bags, and a forty-two-page manual... and decided it would stay in the basement for a few more weeks? Exactly. Us too.
For this reason, already during the design phase, we consider how to make the product simple to assemble, or, when possible, we make it so that it arrives ready for use. Less time spent with an Allen key in hand means more time to enjoy the product.
5. Then the prototypes arrive
And it's probably the most important phase. The first prototype is rarely the definitive one: we observe it, we use it, we move it, we have others try it, and we look for everything that doesn't work. A fold to modify. A detail to lighten. A measurement to correct.
Sometimes, just one centimeter is enough to completely change the perception of an object.
6. The last question is always the same
When the product finally seems ready, we ask ourselves one last question: would we really buy it? Not because we designed it, but because we believe it genuinely improves a space. If the answer isn't a confident "yes," we go back: we modify it and we try again.
Even if it means starting over.
7. Only then does it arrive on the website
When it passes all these phases, the product officially becomes one of LEMI's products.
Not because it's perfect. Perfection probably doesn't exist. But because we are convinced that it has succeeded in solving a real need, with an essential design, durable materials, and a design conceived to simplify the life of those who will use it.
And that's exactly what, in our opinion, every good design object should do.
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