Collaboration, curiosity, and the pursuit of timeless design. Behind many of today’s most refined furniture collections is the quiet power of collaboration. For German design duo Markus Jehs and Jürgen Laub, partnership is not simply part of their process; it is the foundation of their work.
The two designers first met while studying industrial design at the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany. In a program known for intense competition, students were often encouraged to work independently and pursue recognition on their own. Yet Jehs and Laub discovered something different. Instead of competing, they began exploring the creative potential of working together.
What began as a cautious collaboration quickly revealed an unexpected truth: their combined thinking produced stronger ideas than either could achieve alone. That realization became the catalyst for a lifelong partnership.
From Stuttgart to the Global Design Stage
After an internship in New York in 1990, the two designers deepened their professional relationship. Shortly after graduating, they founded jehs+laub studio in Stuttgart in 1994, where they began designing furniture, lighting, tableware, and interiors for international brands.
Over the following decades, their portfolio expanded to collaborations with leading manufacturers across Europe and the United States. Known for their disciplined approach to form and proportion, Jehs and Laub’s work reflects a balance between technical precision and subtle elegance.
Their designs are often recognized for:
- Clean, architectural silhouettes
- Carefully engineered structural details
- A focus on material honesty and durability
- Forms that feel both modern and timeless
This design philosophy has allowed their work to move fluidly between environments, from collaborative workplaces and hospitality interiors to lounge and public spaces.
A Long-Standing Partnership with Davis Furniture
The studio’s relationship with Davis Furniture began with the Tre stool, an early project that established a strong creative alignment between the designers and the manufacturer.
Over time, that partnership grew into one of the most productive design collaborations in the contract furniture industry. Together, the studio and Davis have introduced dozens of collections, many of which have become recognizable staples within the North American commercial market.
Among the most celebrated is the Ginkgo chair, introduced in 2011, which helped solidify the designers’ presence in the U.S. market and demonstrated their ability to blend sculptural form with practical functionality.
Since then, their collaborative portfolio has continued to expand with seating, tables, and interior elements that share a consistent design language: refined, thoughtful, and quietly distinctive.
The Power of Creative Chemistry
For Jehs and Laub, design is as much about relationships as it is about objects. Successful products emerge not only from technical skill but from trust between designers, manufacturers, and the people who ultimately use the furniture.
Their approach is rooted in close collaboration with the companies they work with, developing ideas through dialogue, iteration, and shared understanding.
This philosophy mirrors the way they work with each other. Decades after forming their studio, the pair still relies on the same principle that brought them together in the first place: the belief that great ideas evolve through collaboration.
Why Saevoya Highlights Designers Like jehs+laub
At Saevoya, we curate products and partners who bring depth, design integrity, and longevity to the environments we help create. Designers such as jehs+laub embody this philosophy, developing furniture that is not only visually refined but engineered for real-world performance.
Their work reminds us that thoughtful design is rarely accidental. It is the result of curiosity, collaboration, and the relentless pursuit of better solutions. And sometimes, the most powerful ideas begin simply with two designers deciding to work together.
