Behind the Design:
Tribes by David Abad for tossB

September 26, 2017

Anyone who’s been to Barcelona knows its intoxicating, magical charm -- from the Gaudí architecture to the thriving and eclectic art scene. For designer David Abad, it’s the place he grew up, the place he draws inspiration, and the place he settled his design studio, davidabad.

I spent my summers in my family’s metal workshop; it really instilled in me this desire to work with my hands.

Tribes Chandelier

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Born in Barcelona in 1967, Abad grew up amidst a thriving mediterranean design scene, with many now-iconic Spanish and Italian designers first cutting their teeth. His family’s industrial design business offered easy access to metalwork, an artform that now comes natural to David. In 1988, he joined the family business, and in 1996 he started his own project DAB dedicated to design, editing and production of lighting elements.

I ran my own lighting collection until 2010, when I sold my designs to the B.lux. From there, I opened up to interiors and furniture, but I really never left lighting.

Tribes 1 Chandelier

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Abad’s collaboration with tossB couldn’t be more apropos. Clean, simple forms and meticulous craftsmanship are pillars for both brands. Add to that Abad’s ability to prototype and engineer on the fly and you have Tribes: A fixture that’s simple, sophisticated and stylish.

Available in gold, black and white, Tribes is both spotlight and soft light -- a rare fixture that’s hardworking when you need it, and mood-setting when you don’t. Like Abad’s home city of Barcelona, it’s a fixture that’s eclectic in all the right ways.

Tribes was actually inspired by an Indian peace pipe. Initially, the idea was to create the pipe as a table and reading light, but I loved how the intersecting pipes created a more graphic buildout. It really grew from there.