Light bulbs, switches, door handles, latches, knobs – these are small, rather mundane home fittings that we don’t necessarily consider as designer items, much less associated with glamorous crowds comprising rock stars and fashion elites. Enter Buster + Punch.
Founded in 2013 in a garage in East London, it is an interior fitting brand that has redefined humble home fittings into exquisite design elements that lend a refined touch to any space. We ask founder and creative director Massimo Buster Minale to share more.
![home-decor-massimo-minale-151021_massimo9838_rgb-2-copy-768x1024-1](https://sonadecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/home-decor-massimo-minale-151021_massimo9838_rgb-2-copy-768x1024-1.jpg)
WHERE DID THE NAME BUSTER + PUNCH COME FROM?
My middle name’s actually Buster and my brother’s is Punch. Our parents were the ‘creative sort’.
YOU GRADUATED FROM BARTLETT SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE – A LEGIT PRESTIGIOUS ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL. HOW DID YOU LAND UP IN THE GARAGE?
I am an architect by trade. After graduating from Bartlett, I went on to work for Zaha Hadid, Foster & Partners and Richard Rogers. I worked on many landmark London buildings and loved every minute of it.
However, designing skyscrapers is very slow and my brain works very fast. By day, I would work as an architect and then I started to make custom motorbikes in my garage in East London at night.
“By day, I would work as an architect and then I started to make custom motorbikes in my garage in East London at night.”
massimo buster minale
Word about my bikes got out. Soon, I was building them for London’s notorious rock stars, fashion designers and the elite. Those same customers knew I was an architect and asked me to start making fittings and furniture for their homes.
That is how Buster + Punch – the love child of my passion for custom motorbikes, interior products and architecture – was born. Architecture is a noble but slow process littered with filters everywhere you turn.
Buster + Punch, on the other hand, is the complete opposite for me as I get to be 100 per cent creative and design without any filters. It’s a more pure process, which is why I love it so much.
![home-decor-massimo-minale-bp-massimo-003-copy-768x1024-1](https://sonadecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/home-decor-massimo-minale-bp-massimo-003-copy-768x1024-1.jpg)
COULD YOU SHARE SOME OF YOUR OBSERVATIONS ON THE EFFECT OF 2020 ON YOUR CUSTOMERS’ PREFERENCES?
The obvious thing is that they are spending lots more time at home and it’s placing a focus on the finer details of their homes.
We’ve been increasing our community interaction to give the best free content and advice to help them navigate which finishes or products would really make a difference in their spaces.
We have also launched a new website and improved our customer journey to include AR, so they can visualise our products in their homes in real-time.
Previously, solutions like AR and how-to videos were things we simply didn’t have enough time in the day to create. Now, we’re able to make informed and powerful content.
![home-decor-massimo-minale-1-busterpunch_buster_bulb_tube_lifestyle_2-scaled-1-1024x1024-1](https://sonadecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/home-decor-massimo-minale-1-busterpunch_buster_bulb_tube_lifestyle_2-scaled-1-1024x1024-1.jpg)
WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT BUSTER + PUNCH’S WORLD’S FIRST DESIGNER LED BULB?
In 2013, the world was gripped by the resurgence of the Edison filament bulb, which could be seen in every bistro across the globe. People were captivated by the ambient it creates, but it was really bad for the environment.
There had to be a better way. So, in 2014, we bet all of our time and money on trying to invent the world’s first designer LED bulb. At the time, existing bulbs were very bright and very cold, and the LED chip was always hidden behind opal plastic.
![e57e26_3cc237e740e1484f9aa656acc0133e88mv2](https://sonadecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/e57e26_3cc237e740e1484f9aa656acc0133e88mv2.jpg)
We launched the Buster Bulb in Milan Design Week in 2015 and won several prestigious awards for our efforts. It was so different from anything else on the market because, rather than try and mimic the Edison light bulb, we reinvented it.
![e57e26_1086b7786ed4473bad014ab1caf8dcb3mv2](https://sonadecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/e57e26_1086b7786ed4473bad014ab1caf8dcb3mv2.jpg)
The large manufacturers were trying to change how the LED chip fundamentally worked, whereas we looked at it from a different angle and changed the parts surrounding the chip to make the first ambient LED light bulb with a coloured shell.
To this day, our Buster Bulb looks like nothing else on the market and, with over 15 global patents, it should, hopefully, remain unique for a long time to come.
![e57e26_8a1e3c827e4f49c8a6d6006606878aeemv2](https://sonadecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/e57e26_8a1e3c827e4f49c8a6d6006606878aeemv2.jpg)
COULD YOU SHARE SOME OF THE MOST EXCITING PROJECTS YOU’VE DONE?
We fundamentally try and reinvent the most boring types of home fittings. These reinventions were initially dreamt up in a garage surrounded by custom motorbikes and the energy of London’s sub-cultures.
![hnd-sol-luminaire-busterpunch-dimmer-2g_brass_dimmer-knobs-2g_brass](https://sonadecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/hnd-sol-luminaire-busterpunch-dimmer-2g_brass_dimmer-knobs-2g_brass.jpg)
It is this heritage and lifestyle that we constantly try and harness into our brand’s culture and everything we create. To do this, constantly embarking on unexpected projects one would never expect from an interior products company is a must.
“We want to get you as excited about the prospect of opening a kitchen drawer or flipping a light switch as you are when you pull a designer handbag over your shoulder or glance at a Patek Philippe watch.”
Massimo buster minale
In the last few years, we have launched a rap video with Ms Banks on Spotify, been the first interior brand to introduce a shoe collection with Justin Deakin in London Fashion Week and filmed a short movie about cyborgs with supermodel Cajsa Wessberg.
Soon, we will launch a capsule collection with rock star Travis Barker. By cross-pollinating with exciting projects in music, fashion and film, we’re always evolving the way we design ‘ordinary’ home fittings, making us original and different. This is what we love.
![hnd-sol-luminaire-rhe_busterpunch_07](https://sonadecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/hnd-sol-luminaire-rhe_busterpunch_07.jpg)
DO YOU CONSIDER BUSTER + PUNCH A LUXURY BRAND?
Luxury comes in many forms. But it’s not something to do with how much something costs. It’s all about the experience, like having a beach to yourself when the sun sets, that’s a luxury.
![home-decor-massimo-minale-3-closet_bar_steel_lifestyle-1-1024x1024-1](https://sonadecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/home-decor-massimo-minale-3-closet_bar_steel_lifestyle-1-1024x1024-1.jpg)
Buster + Punch is about the experience and the journey, from when you discover us to finding the piece and the finish you want, then waiting for it to arrive, the unboxing, and finally living with it.
We want you to feel the work and the thought and the craft behind each product at every stage. It’s a different kind of luxury you’ll not forget in a hurry.
![home-decor-massimo-minale-bp_sthlm_store_hardware_main_room_011128-682x1024-1](https://sonadecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/home-decor-massimo-minale-bp_sthlm_store_hardware_main_room_011128-682x1024-1.jpg)
HOW DO YOU IMPART THE APPRECIATION FOR THESE EVERYDAY FITTINGS TO HOMEOWNERS?
The everyday details are everything when it comes to an interior. Everything feels more finessed and coherent when home detailing is the foundation for an environment.
This is why we use solid metals, cutting edge engineering and the precision of the human hand to craft our pieces. We know what that adds to the way you experience a place.
![hnd-sol-luminaire-4-door-handle_brass_lifestyle-2-1](https://sonadecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/hnd-sol-luminaire-4-door-handle_brass_lifestyle-2-1.jpg)
We want to get you as excited about the prospect of opening a kitchen drawer or flipping a light switch as you are when you pull a designer handbag over your shoulder or glance at a Patek Philippe watch.
![home-decor-massimo-minale-bp_lg_heavymetal_chandelier_closeup-2-1-1024x1024-1](https://sonadecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/home-decor-massimo-minale-bp_lg_heavymetal_chandelier_closeup-2-1-1024x1024-1.jpg)
DIGITAL CONTACTLESS SWITCHES ARE IN OUR FUTURE. ANY PLANS TO PIVOT?
Today, Buster + Punch is very much analogue, and that is what people love about us. The satisfying click of our light switches or the tactile nature of our door handles – we make solid metal products because they feel human and we associate weight and touch with quality and reassurance.
![hnd-sol-luminaire-3gsw_blackp_brassdet1-683x1024-1](https://sonadecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/hnd-sol-luminaire-3gsw_blackp_brassdet1-683x1024-1.jpg)
In the digital world, we are the antidote in many respects. That being said, we are passionate about craft, innovation and technology and have been working on something very exciting in this field for some years now.
![hnd-sol-luminaire-1-2g_dimmer_smoked_bronze_steel](https://sonadecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/hnd-sol-luminaire-1-2g_dimmer_smoked_bronze_steel.jpg)
We can’t reveal what this is today but soon, we are hoping to marry our analogue with the digital in a very smart way.