Designer David Ericsson’s desire to make a timepiece to please himself has resulted in a range we can all appreciate.

You know your product is a hit when it starts attracting celebrity customers. Among those who have purchased David Ericsson’s Void Watches in recent months are American film actor Robert Downey Jr, beautiful Dutch actress Madelief Blanken and Maarten Stekelenburg, goalkeeper of the Dutch national football team. “I’m more happy than surprised,” says the Swedish-born Ericsson, who moved to Hong Kong to work as a design consultant in 2006. “Sometimes I’ll come up with an idea that I think is fantastic but no one else does. This isn’t one of them.”

Ericsson launched Void Watches in 2008. “Fashion watches are often quite detailed with lots of colours and all that,” he says. “I wanted to get away from all the bells and whistles.” That’s exactly what he has done. Void’s wristwatches are sleek, clean and minimal, with a square, half-steel, half-glass face. The brushed surface of the metal evokes the fine grain of bamboo. There are no new inventions involved with this watch – “and that’s sort of the point, to make something unique using existing technology,” says Ericsson.

Beyond the watches, Ericsson and his partner Alexis Holm recently launched Square Street, a new brand that pays homage to their studio’s location with a series of handmade acetate sunglasses and leather goods, including a wallet folded from a single piece of calfskin. “Our aim is to create a brand that is really good value for money,” says Ericsson. “Whatever we do, we try to keep the supply chain quite short to keep it in a reasonable price range.”

Ultimately, though, Ericsson’s goal is simply to satisfy himself. “I was working with clients and you see them do something successful and you wish you were involved all along the way,” he says. “It’s more fun designing things with myself in mind rather than designing orthopedic equipment I hope I’ll never have to use. I’m quite egocentric in that way.” voidwatches.com