Louis Rouffaud
At the intersection of fine art, responsible design, and banging music, you find gomi speakers. We interview the Co-Founder Tom Meades about why these speakers are receiving global recognition.
Interview with Tom Meades, Co-Founder of gomi studio
These speakers belong in an art gallery. In fact, they’ve been in many. Originating as a prototype through a university project, gomi has quickly gained traction and global recognition.
Their designs have found their way to some of the most prestigious galleries on earth from MoMA to Paris Fashion Week.
In early October, I had the pleasure to chat with Co-Founder Tom Meades. Starting with the inception of the business, we cover all aspects of gomi from their responsible design principles to future products and collaborations.
This small but mighty studio located in the heart of Brighton is making waves. If you haven’t heard about them yet, you’ll certainly know them soon.
From uni to MoMA: the gomi origin story
While finishing his degree at the University of Brighton, Meades came up with the initial prototype of the gomi speaker. As someone who studied 3D design, he elaborates,
“I’m passionate about how art doesn’t need to just be on a canvas. Instead, it can be on the products that we use every day. Objects that we use can be made both beautifully and unique.”
Finding art and beauty in everyday objects is exactly what separates gomi from the rest. After releasing the first prototypes, Tom was invited to numerous exhibitions from Dutch Design Week to London Craft Week to talk about his university project. Although getting recognition for the project, he quickly moved on starting a 6-month internship in Amsterdam after graduation.
During his short stint in Amsterdam, an individual named Pawan reached out to purchase a speaker. Upon hearing it was just a concept, Pawan asked if they could apply for funding to get the project off the ground. Sightly bemused, Tom agreed thinking nothing would truly come of the conversation.
A couple months later, Pawan would reach back out with the news that they had reached the final stage of the funding round, and that Tom had to return to the UK immediately. With initial funding secured, he was able to begin building out the team and business.
Six years since, the university project is now a full-fledged design studio collaborating with businesses like Spotify, Heineken, and is even available in the MoMA Design Store.
Responsible design throughout every product
gomi is giving plastic bags a new life
Each gomi speaker, power bank, and wireless charger is handcrafted. This handmade processing leads to marbling patterns which are never exactly duplicated. Leaning into this, each gomi product comes with a unique edition number, like you would find on the back of a fine art print.
In the UK, plastic bags (more specifically LDPE plastic) cannot be recycled by councils. That is until the gomi team processes the bags into small plastic pellets. From there, they are molded into the beautiful products that we see from gomi.
An added benefit of this processing is that the plastic now can be recycled with other polyethylene or HDPE plastics (think plastic bottle caps or chopping boards).
Designed for disassembly
During the initial research, Meades and the founders were looking at other speakers to see how disassembly and repair could work. However, they often ran into the same issue.
“What we kept finding is that [other speakers] were just glued together, which means they’re not designed to be recycled. It also makes it super hard to repair. If the battery or literally any other part breaks, you can’t put a new one in.
That was a real frustration that we found at the very beginning of the project. I think that’s where design has so much value — if at the very start of the process you can design for the end of life of the product, then it doesn’t need to end up in landfill or incineration.”
Instead of glue, they opt for screws and silicon rings to create a vacuum inside of the speaker ensuring quality sound. All of which can be taken apart and individually recycled. This design element is also found in the other gomi products, another way responsible design can create products made to last.
Repurposing e-bike batteries
All batteries require certain rare metals, ranging from cobalt to copper. This need has contributed to more industrial-scale mining operations, especially in the DRC which is notorious for human rights abuses. Although repurposing batteries doesn’t solve these issues, it’s a preferrable alternative. Both reducing resource extraction and manufacturing emissions related to producing new batteries.
Understanding this reality, Tom and his team were brainstorming where they might be able to repurpose old batteries and Lime e-bikes came to mind. After a quick email, the conversation started and gomi had found their supplier.
With most still functioning at 90 to 95% capacity, repurposing these battery cells became a legitimate option. Once removing any damaged cells, the rest are tested for capacity, cleaned, safety tested, and lastly retrofitted to be used in gomi products.
An ingenious way to stay true to the ethos of the brand.
Understanding the product lifecycle: how gomi keeps your speakers running
We’ve all had that speaker we love. Inevitably after the years of filthy bass drops, the quality begins to wane. With other speaker brands you would be out of luck and out of options. At gomi, things are different.
Once purchased, customers get the benefit of a 2-year warranty for free fixes and repairs. Though, due to their quality, that 2-year warranty will likely be surpassed.
But when an issue does arise, what happens then?
Welcome to gomi For Life. As mentioned, these products are designed for disassembly, and this is where the benefit comes in. Past the 2-year free warranty, standard repairs cost £20 for power banks and £50 for speakers. This price includes everything you would need for servicing from postage, new parts, and labor for the repair.
Most electronics companies don’t value their own products. Once they break, they want you to trash the old and buy a new one. Luckily at gomi, your speaker can get serviced and can play on in perpetuity. Long live the tunes.
What’s next? High profile collaborations and the future of gomi
Business at gomi studio is certainly looking up. Towards the end of our interview Tom mentions some high-profile collaborations coming down the pipe. Those being with the always iconic Vans, the travel brand, Antler, and the British designer fashion label, Paul Smith. No lack of renown, that’s for sure.
Along with collabs, gomi also has a new version of the battery pack coming out with a clear plastic casing inspired by 90’s pop culture. Rest assured it’s still produced with recycled plastic bags, repurposed e-bike batteries, and all the responsible design elements signature to gomi studio.
Before ending the call, we ask what Tom is listening to on those beautiful gomi speakers. In the current rotation, he mentions the likes of Yussef Dayes, Joy Orbison, Jamie XX, and Svesda.
Looking for more?
Underground Sound dives into the intricacies of the Music Industry in our dedicated section which features innovative businesses like gomi, leading music industry conferences, our new Music Jobs Hub, and much more. Check it out today.
Don’t forget to sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep updated with all things music.
