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Wooj Design Founder Sean Kim Shares What’s in His Shopping Cart

04.26.22 | By
Wooj Design Founder Sean Kim Shares What’s in His Shopping Cart

Sean Kim is the founder and designer behind Wooj Design – the home goods company that believes good design shouldn’t be synonymous with high cost and exploitative labor. Their modern home goods are ethically made using a combination of robotic and craft manufacturing methods, allowing the brand to create its products at a manageable scale and stay mindful of their 5-person team. Wooj Design’s best-seller, the Wavy Lamp, has been one of their most talked about releases to date, garnering hordes of design-loving devotees – all understandably obsessed with the Wavy Lamp’s wiggly 3D-printed shape and the warm, ambient light it brings to a room.

wooj founder sean kim

Founder of Wooj Design, Sean Kim

Design wasn’t always on Kim’s radar though. Originally a student of psychology then a software engineer, Sean actually blames burnout for his early experiments as a maker. Looking to break up with the barrage of screens that punctuated his time as a programmer, Sean dedicated his spare time to building tangible objects like furniture and home goods. It wasn’t long before he caught the design bug and pursued design full time, marrying his engineering experience with his passion for designing handheld objects through tech-driven manufacturing methods like 3D printing. Sean went on to start Wooj Design while working towards his graduate degree in design, using his technical background to create the unique, geometric shapes that Wooj is known for. Today, Sean works with his team to design, manufacture, and assemble Wooj Design’s modern and accessible home accents from the brand’s Brooklyn-based studio. We caught up with Sean to do a little shopping and discover the design he appreciates in his everyday life. Read on for a peek inside his cart!

braun clock

Alarm Clock BC22 by Braun

“Well, it’s a classic. I have one on my bedside table and it does everything I need it to do while being very unintrusive. It also has made it such that I don’t keep my phone at my side at night and in the morning, which is always really helpful!”

$50
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craighill money clip

Vapor Bronze Station Money Clip by Craighill

“The latent minimalist in me (ugh) identifies with having as few things in my pocket as possible. I probably should actually get this because my current wallet is just my vax card folded in half. I have a Craighill keyring which I also love!”

$35
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bathing culture sanitizer

High Spirits Sanitizer by Bathing Culture

“My girlfriend got me this hand sanitizer at the outset of the pandemic and it has become a staple thing I have around all the time. It just smells really really nice (kind of an effervescent cedar-y or a nice cocktail) and doesn’t seem to dry out my skin when I use it. It’s great!”

$10
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moon pendant light

Moon10 Natural Pendant Light by Graypants

“This pick is near and dear to my heart. I first encountered the Moon series by Graypants in 2012 right as I was graduating from college. At the time, their blend of artisanal and digital production really captured my imagination and led me to experiment with laser cutters and 3D printing. This was effectively the beginning of my design journey and eventually led me to do a graduate program in design. Always have wanted to meet this team!”

$325
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wooj wavy lamp

The Wavy Lamp by Wooj Design

“I designed the Wavy Lamp at the beginning of the pandemic to take my mind off of the (very rough) state of things at the time. Since then, it’s become the defining product of my studio and has enabled us to grow and evolve. We 3D print and assemble the lamps in our studio in Brooklyn (we used to print and assemble them in my closet), so we get to know each and every lamp we send out.”

$130
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@design_milk These wiggly wonders have officially launched on Design Milk! Order yours at the link in bio 🔗 #repost @wooj #process #processvideo #designtok #designmilk #homedecor #decorhaul #homedecorhaul ♬ original sound – sped up songs ❤️‍🩹

Shopping Sean’s picks? Share a photo of your haul and tag us @designmilk to be reposted on our Instagram!

Alexa is commerce editor at Design Milk. She lives in Miami, Florida with her fiancé Alex and retired greyhound, Phoebe. A longtime art and design enthusiast, Alexa’s first stops in any new city are the art museums. When she’s not writing about her favorite DM shop picks, she might be buried in a book, binging reality tv or adventuring around her city with her partner and pup.