Inside Rrotatorr: Vintage Design, Curated with Intention
This Secondhand September, we’re celebrating the creative minds behind businesses that are reimagining the value of preloved design. One such visionary is Fay, founder of Rrotatorr — a beautifully curated platform offering vintage and contemporary furniture and objects for hire and sale. With an eye for sculptural design and timeless aesthetics, Fay brings together pieces that tell a story and spark inspiration. We spoke with her about her journey, her creative process, and what she sees ahead for the world of circular interiors.
Hi Fay, it’s lovely to meet you! To start off, could you introduce yourself to our community and tell us a little about Rrotatorr?
First of all thank you so much for the kind words and including me in this project - it’s so great to connect with other circular brands such as Curate & Rotate and also for my work to be recognised.
My background started in fashion design - and up until I founded rrotatorr no-one could have convinced me my career would ever veer away from the fashion/ clothing industry! I stumbled upon this passion and I’m so thankful I did.
Rrotatorr was founded through a personal journey - furnishing my apartment. I’d already found a love for preloved clothing and naturally I began looking at preloved furniture. From there my love for vintage and postmodern furniture design began! I didn’t have the space for the amount of pieces I was finding and the urge to own them outweighed the space practicality! So rrotatorr was born! I could continue to buy pieces and have a purpose for them.
What was your career path before launching the business? We’d love to hear how your background led you to where you are now.
I eventually studied a degree Digital Media & Visual Communication in my late twenties and have had experience in the fashion industry for so many years from retail in my teens to fashion design and garment tech so I’ve seen the industry from so many angles. I’ve gained a lot of my expertise from working in jobs and moving my way up so learning and up-skilling on the job is something I’m used to. As I said before I found a passion for vintage furniture and I knew I could intertwine these 2 passions by offering the pieces for shoots and events. They all come under the same creative discipline - Art, Fashion, Design & Architecture and I believe they inform each other in some way, so I just went for it! I do believe if you have situational skills and experience you can put your hand to anything that you’re passionate about.
We absolutely love your curation.Can you tell us how you bring it all together? Where do you find your inspiration, and what do you look for when sourcing pieces for Rrotatorr?
Thank you so much! I only buy pieces I like and that provoke a feeling in me when I see them! I figure if I get that reaction from something then so will others! And those are the people that I want rrotatorr to resonate with. I want to build a community of creatives that share appreciation for timeless design. The pieces I curate are sometimes up to 60 years old but they can easily be placed in a contemporary space and feel current. You cannot match good design and I have a massive respect for the designers of the past - they were absolute genius.
Have there been any ‘pinch me’ moments along the way?. We’d love to hear about any highlights or surprises that have stayed with you.
Some pinch me moments that come to mind are Hypebeast being one of my first rental clients. I couldn’t believe that my little business was going to be a part of the Hypemag launch in London, swiftly followed by the REFY event in London for the launch of their new product. Rrotatorr was reaching the clients I could only have dreamed of and it felt really good. Aside from the highs I get from being the owner of some amazing iconic design pieces from the 70’s of course! I still get so excited when I purchase new pieces.
Are there any favourite events or projects where your pieces have been featured? We imagine there have been some amazing collaborations!
Honestly I appreciate every single rental I get. I’ve had so many amazing clients from REFY, Hypebeast, De Savary to name a few. I’m so grateful I get to be a part of all of these amazing brands in some way and I love to see how they curate their own selection of my pieces to fit their aesthetic.
Do you have any personal favourites within your collection?
One of my ultimate favourites and pieces I’d never thought I would own in this lifetime is my De Sede Terrazza sofa! What a surprise that was when I made a cheeky offer to the seller and to my surprise they accepted! Such an iconic piece of design history. I also love the one of a kind pieces such as studio made pieces - I have a Ron Arad ‘One Off’ Studio piece on its way - a 1 off piece made in the early 2000’s by his experimental design studio in London - super excited to get this one in!
Since it’s Secondhand September, we’d love your top tips for shopping secondhand furniture. Any advice for people just starting out or looking to refine their eye?
My advice to anyone shopping second hand is know your stuff! I research a lot and get to know pieces/ designs so that when you do start looking online or at markets you know what you may be looking at. By recognising pieces that someone else may not put any value to, you can find a lot of amazing pieces for great prices. I also have a lot of vintage Italian design magazines which are like sacred documents to me! There’s nothing better than the source so explore and figure out what it is that you like and find some original references.
And finally, where do you see the future of vintage and circular furniture heading? We’re curious to hear your perspective on what’s next in the world of sustainable interiors.
That’s a great question and not one I’ve thought about much. I do feel that vintage furniture/ design is becoming ever more prevalent - you see that even iconic vintage pieces from the likes of Ikea are being reproduced now but for me there is nothing like the original. I don’t believe in overproduction and I hope that the designers of today can continue offering thoughtful, bespoke made, low production pieces that are built to last and will age well, making way for a new generation of collectibles. I hope that the continuation of younger generations appreciating vintage and mid century design pieces continues and that the restoration and preservation of said pieces becomes more important than fast, low cost, low quality disposable furniture.
Thank you to Curate & Rotate for putting together these thought provoking questions - it’s been a pleasure, Fay x