Re-emerging from the shadows of the industry, British design is making a rollicking comeback — witness the recent successes of designer Tom Dixon and manufacturer Established & Sons. Viable London, a young design studio, is yet another testament to this renaissance of British talent. Magnus Long, Charles Trevelyan, and Gala Wright conceived the studio three years ago, shortly after they met while participating in a Milan design show, and it has already assembled a distinctive collection of furniture and lighting.

Coming together from disparate academic backgrounds — Long studied furniture and design, Trevelyan materials engineering, and Wright physics — the trio has created a catalogue of designs married not by any one guiding aesthetic, but by the fruits of collaboration. The studio was immediately propelled into the industry limelight following its introductory exhibition in 2005. The premiere included Trevelyan's widely publicized Shelflife , an angular bookcase replete with nesting chair and ottoman; the sinuous Standing Hanger ; and the streamlined Mekong lamp/side table. While many studios falter on follow-up efforts, Viable London succeeds in bringing savvy designs to market each year. In both 2006 and 2007, the studio exhibited at Milan's Salone Satellite fair for new designers, debuting the Petit Fleur pendant shade, the Aperture Cabinet, and the OTT Hooks — a design that was later lauded as Elle Decoration 's best accessory design of 2007.

This year has ushered in even more opportunities for Viable London. Salone Internazionale del Mobile — the inaugural presentation by yet another new British manufacturer, Decode London — included three Viable London designs, most notably an apartment-friendly version of Shelflife , called Shelfdesk. The studio's latest furnishings — Cabinet 414 , with its muscular facade, and the supple Slope Chair — reveal a design dexterity befitting its name.

-Brian Fichtner