About

We make six objects, and we mean to keep making them.

Selm is a small studio in Brooklyn that designs objects for sound and light. We started in 2019 with one speaker and a box of paint chips, and we have added something only when we could stand behind it for ten years.

Ines Marlow and Theo Akande met building speakers for other companies. They kept seeing the same thing: good sound inside a box nobody wanted on show, replaced every three years for a new feature it did not need.

So Selm makes fewer things and keeps them working. Each object has one job and one control you can find in the dark. Every part is kept in stock for ten years, in every colour, and the workshop that assembles them is the same one that repairs them.

Founded in Brooklyn: 2019
Objects in the range: 6
Repairs last year: 1,140
Of spare parts for each: 10 years

What they are made of. Five materials across the range, chosen to last, to repair and to look better worn.

Cast aluminiumThe shell of Speaker One and the base of the Dome Lamp. Cast in one piece, so there is nothing to rattle, and powder coated in the colourway.
Painted steelThe Dome Lamp's shade and the Desk Clock's case. Pressed from one sheet and painted twice, so a knock shows the colour underneath, not bare metal.
Wool feltHeadphone One's case and the inside of its cups. Pressed in Pennsylvania from undyed wool, and replaceable by hand in a minute.
SiliconeEvery foot, every ear tip and the ring under the Charge Puck. Soft enough to grip a shelf, tinted to match the shell rather than painted.
Moulded paperEvery box and insert. Made from recycled newspaper, with no plastic, no foam and no glue. Keep it for a return, or put it in the recycling.

Five colours, chosen slowly. Every colourway is one we promise to make spare parts in for ten years, so we add them one at a time.

ChalkThe first colour, in 2019. A warm off-white that sits with wood and plaster.
GraphiteFor rooms that would rather not notice. A soft black that hides fingerprints.
SignalThe red of Speaker One's power light, now the whole object. New this winter.
SageA grey green for Headphone One, chosen to sit well on a desk and a coat.
OchreThe colour of the Dome Lamp at its lowest setting. New this winter.

The studio. Nine people between the studio and the workshop. These four answer the support inbox most often.

Ines MarlowCo-founder, design
Theo AkandeCo-founder, engineering
Rosa LindqvistHead of repairs
Sam OkaforCustomer care

See the range. Six objects in five colours, all in stock.

Shop all objects Read the journal

What they are made of. Five materials across the range, chosen to last, to repair and to look better worn.

Cast aluminiumThe shell of Speaker One and the base of the Dome Lamp. Cast in one piece, so there is nothing to rattle, and powder coated in the colourway.

Painted steelThe Dome Lamp's shade and the Desk Clock's case. Pressed from one sheet and painted twice, so a knock shows the colour underneath, not bare metal.

Wool feltHeadphone One's case and the inside of its cups. Pressed in Pennsylvania from undyed wool, and replaceable by hand in a minute.

SiliconeEvery foot, every ear tip and the ring under the Charge Puck. Soft enough to grip a shelf, tinted to match the shell rather than painted.

Moulded paperEvery box and insert. Made from recycled newspaper, with no plastic, no foam and no glue. Keep it for a return, or put it in the recycling.

Five colours, chosen slowly. Every colourway is one we promise to make spare parts in for ten years, so we add them one at a time.

ChalkThe first colour, in 2019. A warm off-white that sits with wood and plaster.
GraphiteFor rooms that would rather not notice. A soft black that hides fingerprints.
SignalThe red of Speaker One's power light, now the whole object. New this winter.
SageA grey green for Headphone One, chosen to sit well on a desk and a coat.
OchreThe colour of the Dome Lamp at its lowest setting. New this winter.