Praxis furniture is the design and hand-craft of Lorenzo McKechnie, operating exclusively from his studio in East London. Aside from the physical act of making being a passion of his, having the full control over the quality of the pieces is something foundational to the vision the studio has. As such, the studio only releases limited runs or one-off art-objects and conceptual furniture pieces.

Lorenzo’s studies and career leading up to Praxis were somewhat unrelated to design. Deciding to pursue a career in contemporary design came after graduating in Philosophy and French Literature in London. Although an unorthodox route into the world of contemporary design, Lorenzo sees this as an opportunity for an alternative and organic perspective on design not influenced by industrial, product or artistic design practices and preconceived modes of thinking which may be the product of traditional design education.

Although his skills were self–taught, Lorenzo comes from a long lineage of craftsmanship, most notably from his late grandfather Giovanni Lama, a renowned fine-furniture maker and restorer in the north-east of Italy. Lorenzo’s propensity to keep his process in-house is borne from a belief that each process informs the other, whilst also seeking the calmness of being lost in the act of creation he saw in his grandfather as a form of meditation.