Suchi Reddy on a Carl Auböck Paperweight

Carl Auböck’s brass hand paperweight connects with my guiding design principle of “form follows feeling” and the belief that good design—calibrated carefully to the human scale—influences our well-being, creativity, and productivity. This disconnected hand becomes an object but also reminds us of the hand as an everyday tool, one through which we not only act and make but experience and sense our surroundings. Designers and artists often talk about the “hand” being present in their work—but only in reference to the hand of the creator and not to describe its importance in the perception of space.

This ethos is embedded in our very name, which was chosen to signify the thoughtful craft that we emphasize in our projects.

What I love about this little sculpture is that while it is a mass-produced object, it’s still deeply personal. It is personalized through touch, its polished brass gaining a patina. It cannot remain pristine, but our connection to it deepens the more we touch it.