Jeff Weber is a quiet man, as low-key, modest, and unassuming as you might expect from a guy born in Blue Earth, Minnesota. The soil there is so rich that people say it's blue, and it also proved to be fertile ground for the curious mind of young Jeff.
'As a kid, I was very interested in the way things worked mechanically,' he recalls. 'I was always tinkering - building things or tearing things apart.'
He also spent a good deal of time with his grandfather, an eccentric ad agency art director whose rebellious ways, as well as his fine tastes, made a lasting impression. It was his grandfather who first told him about the field of industrial design.
Once Weber learned more, 'I never really thought about doing anything else,' he says. 'Creatively, it was a good niche for me.'
Indeed, that innate curiosity he had as a boy has turned into a full-blown passion for finding better ways of doing things as a designer. His interests range from 'human-powered vehicles' - bicycles, that is - to water-purifying systems to systems furniture. 'I'm continually fascinated by design and how it affects people,' says Weber. 'It's with me all the time.'
He particularly relishes the conceptual development stage - understanding the problem and devising a solution. 'When the light bulb goes on - that's my favourite part,' he says. 'I become very anxious to produce something physical, whether it's a quick mock-up or just a sketch to analyse.'
Weber credits his love of furniture design to working with Bill Stumpf, who's been designing for Herman Miller for 25 years. 'Bill is so knowledgeable and enthusiastic, I'm always learning from him.'
It was his position with Stumpf's Minneapolis firm, now Stumpf, Weber + Associates, that led Weber to his association with Herman Miller. As the principal designer of the Caper seating family, Weber's goal was to make the chairs not only functional and comfortable, but affordable. 'Too often, good design is expensive,' he says. 'I wanted to break that cliche.'
The knowledge Weber has gained in the contract furniture industry has fuelled his current quest for more thoughtful designs in home furnishings. 'I'd really like to take what we've learned about things such as seating comfort and apply that same technology to residential furniture,' he says. 'We live so differently than we did 20 years ago, and we need to address those changes.'
