New Zealand born with Tahitian and Fijian ancestry, Fletcher Vaughan is a self-taught designer with a lifelong interest in art and creative pursuits. He has been at the helm of Fletcher Design since its inception in 1999. With a reputation that extends beyond the boundaries of New Zealand, his leading design studio has provided commercial furniture solutions across a vast range of workplace environments, education and public spaces for 20+ years.
Fletcher Vaughan – Founder & Creative Director
“Steve Jobs once said, ‘Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower’, and as much as this resonates with me I feel that the word innovation is overused in our industry. I prefer intuition. I’ve never felt the need to do what others are doing; I do what feels right. Sometimes this means defying the trends but it’s also about pushing boundaries,” Fletcher says.
Fletcher’s intuitive approach to design has yielded many positive results over the years. “When we launched our first modular seating range (Landscape, 2004), there was nothing else like it in New Zealand. It was picked up internationally in 2012 and is now sold globally through various partnerships.
“We’re proud to be considered market leaders with our offering. Portrait (originally designed in 2002) is another example of this – it’s still one of our best-selling collections and features in many public spaces the length of New Zealand. One of our more recent designs, Perch (designed in 2018 by Lance McGregor), has been a real game-changer in human-centric workplace design. There’s nothing else like it.”
Portrait (1st Image) and Perch Seating (2nd Image): by Fletcher Design
“From the beginning, we made the decision to build the brand around New Zealand designed and made. We really believe in the talent of our design community and we support New Zealand-based businesses and local talent whenever we can. We’ve collaborated with some of the country’s most respected designers and makers – some of these relationships enduring fifteen-plus years,” Fletcher says.
“Being New Zealand-made is a real positive for our customers. Our supply chain is robust. Our lead times are flexible and we can physically eyeball every unit before it is delivered to site.”
Landscape Modular Seating: by Fletcher Design
Fletcher Design is best known for its soft seating, which comprises around 80 per cent of the collection. Fletcher explains: “When I first started out, I wanted to focus on soft. I felt that no one else was doing a good job of locally designed and made commercial soft seating so I made it my mission to elevate it. I wanted us to be the ‘go to’ for all things ‘soft’ through innovation, service and quality; we were prepared to take on the established imported alternatives.”
Field Seating: by Fletcher Design
Fletcher freely admits he’s not big on talking; he likes his design and method to speak for itself. From the outset, the company’s core message has been clear: ‘Strive for perfection and creative excellence in all that we do’. “Every product we make, we ask: Is this the best it can be?,” he says. “In manufacturing, we do not cut corners. We work closely with our craftsmen through every step of the quality control process.”
“We do business in the same way that we design furniture. When we interact with our clients in the design and business communities we ask ourselves the same kind of questions – Is this the best solution we can offer? Are we making things easier for our clients? We’re big believers in up-service instead of up-sell.”
Stratospheric – Corian & LED Lights: by Fletcher Vaughan
Finding the time to be creative can be a challenge. “When you have your own business, you spend 90 per cent of your time managing the business,” Fletcher explains. “Experience has taught me that when I’m afforded the time to design, I embrace it. I also make sure that when inspiration does hit, I store it away upstairs until I have time to work through it further.”
In order to keep the creative fire burning and when time permits of course, Fletcher likes to pursue other interests. Karting is his preferred method of letting off steam and engaging other parts of the brain. “I figured I was too old to make it in F1 so this was the next best thing.” He claims it’s the perfect brain-break from anything business-related.
Fletcher’s other passion is sculpture, where he has previously enjoyed success with some high-profile exhibitions and buyers. “Sculpture, unlike furniture design, has few constraints. I pretty much have the freedom to do as I choose. It allows me to work and seek resolutions in different ways – sculpture doesn’t necessarily need to be comfortable to sit on.”
KartSport Auckland Club Day