In Brief with Paul Phanoulas

Paul Phanoulas is the Founder and Director of New Territory - a digital design studio based in Auckland, New Zealand.

Four years ago, New Territory built the award-winning Simon James website and their portfolio includes industry leading brands like Jasmax and Almighty, as well as initiatives for charities and artist programmes.

We appreciate Paul's purposeful design approach and global outlook and are thrilled to share Paul's In Brief, where he discusses his five favourite things.

"The Liaison Chair, particularly in the leather finish shown, strikes the right balance for me between design and function. It’s a chair built for comfort and sophistication, and could just as well fit in a repurposed old warehouse as much as a refined architectural box. Its low-slung, relaxed posture conjures thoughts of unwinding, glazed with a scotch in hand, smoky incense and a vinyl record spinning. The piece doesn’t demand attention, but it elevates the space it’s in without trying."

"The Brass Book Weight, with its stoic yet elegant presence, perfectly captures Studio Henry Wilson’s signature brutal but beautiful approach. It’s an object that feels timeless, both in its materiality and its design; and as a collector of beautiful picture books, makes them into beautiful home objects instead of hidden on a shelf. I’ve admired Studio Henry Wilson for a while, and this piece, gifted to me by my dear friend Zoe for my 30th, is one I know will stay with me well into old age."

"The Ren Shelf captures my attention with its simplicity, yet there’s a refined quality to it that’s hard to ignore. The raised lip is a subtle but thoughtful detail, almost acting as a frame for whatever it holds while maintaining its own understated presence."

"The Bloom Pendant Light stands out to me with its intricate interplay of light and shadow, created by the dimpled interior casting onto the glass. This illusion provides depth and dimensionality to it that transforms the lighting experience into something sculptural. I’ve taken one of the larger ceiling fixtures and flipped it onto my own base for it, making a strong statement piece with a hell of a lot of presence."

"During my time at uni, I spent a lot of time researching parametric design practices and working with Voronoi patterns in code. The Bone Bowl from Tom Dixon immediately brings those patterns to mind, but it’s executed with a simple elegance that elevates whatever it holds—whether practical, fruit or ornamental pieces—turning it into a functional design statement. The glimmer and reflections from its surface also capture a sense of light within the bowl, adding an extra layer of dimension and intrigue."