Gabriel Tan

Gabriel Tan is a furniture and product designer whose practice works at cultural intersections, often exploring new ways to reinterpret tradition, craft, and technology. Based between Singapore and Porto, Portugal, he leads Gabriel Tan Studio, which he founded in 2016. Many of his projects redefine established design archetypes in a sustainable and socially conscious way through the subtle synthesis of Asian and European influences. He also is the co-founder of Origin Made, a craft-driven design brand based in Porto, celebrating handmade traditions since 2019. With his interior design practice, Studio Antimatter, he pursues a holistic approach to interior design, in which furniture and lighting come together to create emotional, tactile spatial experiences.

Gabriel's had an unorthodox path to design. At 19, while training as a naval combat officer in Singapore, he discovered industrial design books at the public library. That intrigue and obsession led him to enroll in the National University of Singapore's Industrial Design programme, with an exchange semester at ECAL in Lausanne in 2006. In his final year of university (2007), Gabriel co-founded Outofstock, an international design collective with three other partners from Singapore, Spain, and Argentina. After almost a decade of collaboration, with work produced by clients across Asia and Europe, Gabriel established his independent practice, Gabriel Tan Studio in 2016.

Today, Gabriel Tan Studio designs for a selective roster of international brands, including ClassiCon, Herman Miller, B&B Italia, and Louis Poulsen. He serves as the Creative Director of Japanese furniture brand Ariake since its inception in 2016. In 2025, Gabriel received Singapore's President's Design Award for Designer of the Year, the nation's highest design honour, and was named Louis Poulsen's first-ever Designer of the Year.

Although the form of the Soft Stone Sofa was originally inspired by nature, I sought to develop a systemic logic for the design.