For this week's post we're excited to expand into design. After all, for some that's how we found our way into this wonderfully creative vinyl industry. Design is also less discussed but so important in how we consume our records. From how they were first marketed to home owners as furniture pieces, to design innovation with Braun to the pieces we are able to share about in this feature today. Meet Debra Salyer the Co-founder and Chief Design Officer of Wrensilva. Debra leads design for all of their consoles alongside the rest of a team of skilled artisans and sound engineers.

Handmade in San Diego since 2016, Wrensilva is reawakening the spirit of HiFi with a truly unmatched music experience. Their build-to-order record consoles are a centerpiece for home listening, blending timeless design with modern audio performance. Each piece, meticulously crafted with premium American hardwoods and carefully selected materials, embodies our unwavering commitment to heirloom quality that can be passed down. With a team deeply rooted in music, sound engineering, and design, they ensure that every Wrensilva console delivers exquisite aesthetics and creator-approved music immersion. Seamlessly switching between vinyl and streaming music, the consoles offer music lovers the freedom to enjoy their music however they listen in their homes.

When she's not at work, Debra is a devoted builder at heart. "...so much of my free time is spent making things for myself and loved ones. I sew, cook, and, of course, design furniture that I occasionally get around to actually building!"

How did you get into your industry / What motivated you?

I guess you could say my journey to co-founding Wrensilva began back in the ‘00s. Scott and I were making furniture in the vibrant San Diego makers scene, which was (and still is) brimming with skilled craftsmen and locally sourced materials at exceptional quality.

At first, it was a balance with daytime commitments of crafting commissioned furniture and nighttime endeavors on our first console projects. The early expressions of the record console models started taking shape in a modest workshop in North Park, and in 2016, that passion transformed into a full-time pursuit.

We met Greg Perlot, a former senior executive at Sonos, who had worked on this idea from the other side of the musical divide: wireless HiFi. When Greg shared his vision of bringing back classic high-fidelity stereo in a contemporary way and wanted to blend the convenience of streaming with the true essence of vinyl, it was a spark of inspiration that eventually became what Wrensilva is today.

Now, we’re devoted to offering design-inspired music lovers a seamless blend of analog and digital music experiences for their homes. Along the way, we've assembled a formidable team in San Diego and around the world, reviving the idea of HiFi with a fresh take and impeccable design. From our workshop on Main Street, San Diego, we create pieces of art that will last for generations - truly a new generation of HiFi.

What is a day in the life like?

I start the day early, answering emails and trying to take care of any communication and team obligations.

Then I hunker down somewhere far away from distractions to play with materials, refining designs, obsessing over parts and finishes. I spend a lot of time developing better ways of constructing our consoles and working on diagrams and documentation for our builders.

In between, I work on possible future Wrensilva product stories in the form of limited-edition ideas and partnerships. That’s the most fun part of my job!

In your opinion what has been your favorite / the coolest thing you've worked on?

I can’t say much about this yet, but there are a few very recognizable names from both the audio and design world with whom we are currently exploring some very exciting partnerships.

What has been / is the most difficult part of your job?

As we’ve grown, I spend less and less time in the workshop building prototypes myself, and I sorely miss it. Not only do I have very specific ways of constructing pieces myself and what I find beautiful in raw materials, but I really miss the ‘zen’ of the woodshop. It’s incredibly satisfying to puzzle out how to construct a piece best and then simply focus on creating that beautiful something with your bare hands.

What advice do you have for someone wanting to get into pursuing what you’re doing?

I think the best way to learn design is to try to understand the why and how of what others have done before you.

I think the best way to learn design is to try to understand the why and how of what others have done before you. Go to museums and see pieces up close. Read books or online resources and subscribe to publications that teach techniques that you might never use, but you’ll learn to understand the whys and how and possibly utilize a version of that knowledge someday in your own way.

My thought process throughout any design generally starts with how I want someone to experience a piece, then moves to form and materials and how I might celebrate them, and finally, to the best way to construct the piece.

“Good design is actually a lot harder to notice than poor design, in part because good designs fit our needs so well that the design is invisible,” a quote by author Don Norman from the book The Design of Everyday Things and a book I highly recommend that any aspiring designer read.

Are you a vinyl collector yourself? What drew you to it?

1000%. I had my first turntable as a little girl, it was pink and purple, and I had a Rolling Stones album and Simon & Garfunkel album that I’d play at 45 speed because I liked the music more when it played fast.

What types of things are happening in your industry / with vinyl that you’re excited or worried about? i.e. innovation, or trends you’re seeing.

I’m completely astounded every time I go into a record shop these days. They’re just full of people of all ages and walks of life excited about appreciating and collecting music.

Certain folks will tell us how they remember people throwing out their vinyl collections and record consoles. Why are we building them now? The thing is, anecdotally speaking, we hear from others that they remember their grandparents' or parents' records and that they never did throw them away because they always cherished them.

What did get thrown away were poorly constructed versions of record consoles (the nicer ones are quite collectible). In recent years I’ve been seeing various furniture manufacturers try to capitalize on vinyl’s popularity and are manufacturing the same old junk cabinets with a shelf or two moved and marketing them as audio furniture when they’re not. Disposable culture concerns me as an insidious trend and one I take pride in trying to fight.

Who has been influential to you and your growth as a professional in this industry? 

I take a lot of inspiration and frankly, courage, from other female furniture designers past and present. There are the famous greats of course, like Ray Eames and Eileen Gray, but there are also women furniture designers of today that are really presenting concepts that are interesting and fresh. Lara Bohinc is a great example of this. Her forms are abstract but functional, her pieces are fascinating.