In a world where youth is put on a pedestal and the phrase “products for the ageing population” is usually a euphemism for “sterile and cheap,” Remsen is a new design company that is subverting the status quo in real time. Its mission is actually quite simple: to show that getting older should be met with joy, not shame, and to create products that this clientele not only needs, but really want.
Remsen’s first product line has just been launched, made possible by the thoughtful and highly creative collaboration of Brooklyn-based architects Spencer Fried and Sam Zeif, who met at Yale and worked at firms such as Herzog & de Meuron, Post Company and Tankhouse.
The elegant pill container from Remsen is an upscale version of the conventional plastic container.
The brand’s core ethos – to redefine aging through the design of timeless everyday products – was developed over four years. In 2020, Fried and Zeif spent a lot of time in their respective multigenerational households, learning firsthand what the daily routines of older loved ones look like and how often certain products let them down.
“(My wife’s grandmother) had a plastic shower chair… which she abandoned out of shame. Her pill bottle was stored in her walker. And she loved going to the supermarket because she could use the shopping cart instead of her walker, more like everyone else,” Zeif tells ELLE DECOR. “There was something profoundly missing, not in the way these products worked, but in the way their appearance and beauty – or lack of beauty – made users feel. It was just completely joyless.”
Fried also says his mother and grandmother underwent hip and knee surgeries during the COVID-19 pandemic, creating the sudden challenge of retrofitting the home with mobility-enhancing and accessibility-enhancing features, but with few stylish options available.
The Remsen grab handle has a grooved profile to support dexterity and tactility.
“These are two people who curated everything in their own homes. Their furnishings, their furniture, their accessories, their art, and then they didn’t even get the opportunity to curate for this moment in their lives,” says Fried. “They had to resort to what was already there, and that’s really the lowest common denominator.”
The company has launched two products – a grab bar and a pill container. “The grab bar is such a strong design because it draws less attention than people are used to,” Zeif tells us. “Usually it’s plastic, maybe hollow metal, or plastic that’s meant to look like metal, and it has a giant sign on the wall.” Remsen’s updated version of this object has a ridged profile to improve dexterity and tactile sense, as well as a streamlined, elegant and minimalist feel.
Both products, currently available on Remsen’s website, share the goal of “impacting as many people as possible,” says Fried. “Many of these products are actually age-independent. Aging well is a life project,” he adds. “Our target audience are people who are thinking about who they want to be in the future.”
Remsen’s key twist was developed specifically for arthritic hands.
Remsen has other new products coming up, including a shower chair, a keyring for arthritic hands and playing cards that focus on legibility. Ultimately, it all comes down to feeling like yourself as you age, without sacrificing any pride or personal aesthetic.
Fried says, “What a blessing to be able to grow older and create the life you want, with more freedom of action. Everything around you should reflect that.”
Stacia Datskovska, Assistant Digital Editor at ELLE DECOR, covers design, decor, and architecture with an eye for trends and culture in general. She has written for USA Today, the Boston Globe, Teen Vogue, Apartment Therapy, and more.
