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MyGadget: Marcel Opstal: Keep it essential
JP/Yuliasri PerdaniIn 1997, American architect Marcel Opstal and his wife, Maya Basyroel, booked one-way tickets to Jakarta and started their furniture business, Box Living
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JP/Yuliasri Perdani
In 1997, American architect Marcel Opstal and his wife, Maya Basyroel, booked one-way tickets to Jakarta and started their furniture business, Box Living.
The couple works with local artisans in Central Java to create their high-end furniture and decorative accessories. They incorporate traditional craftsmanship and modern techniques, such as the use of computer numerical control cutting, in the production process.
Box Living enjoys distribution in upscale showrooms worldwide and has worked in a number of luxury hotel and residential projects in 29 countries, including the UK, US, the Bahamas and Japan.
Taking his first step toward the retail market, Opstal recently opened the Box Living retail showroom in Kemang, South Jakarta.
'What we're trying to do with the store is give you eclectic things of international, Asian furniture,' he said.
Opstal relies on his smartphone and laptop to do most of his work, but he still prefers paper and pencil to sketch his initial designs.
'[Computer-based sketching] is not as intuitive as a pencil. A pencil is like you're not thinking 'Oh, I have to click this and I have to click that.' So it's really fluid and really natural.'
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A phone to get the job done
My number one gadget is my iPhone 6 Plus. It's like I live on that because everything happens on that. It comes to the point where computers or laptops are almost not needed, 80 percent of the time. By the time I get to the office, I've replied to all of my emails.
A timeless laptop
It's a Macbook Pro 15-inch. I choose Mac because it is a classic that doesn't go out of style. It is timeless. It keeps continuing and you know what you're going to get.
I am not over-the-top about Apple. But if they had a car, I would definitely buy it.
I didn't get an Apple Watch yet. I thought, I'm a little bit scared to do that, because on the one hand, you want to have this technology, but on the other hand, you don't want it to dominate your life. Where if you wearing it, it's like, 'Oh my Gosh, I'm never gonna get away from it.' At least when you put your mobile phone down, it's physically separated from you.
Apps that keep inspiration flowing
I use Pinterest for a lot of research, to look at design cues and influences. I use iTunes for the music. I do not use Instagram. I'm not a social media or selfie-taking type of person.
