Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Age: 32
Occupation: Furniture designer.
Instagram: @ejrbarnes
Hometown: London.
Studio location: London.
Describe what you make: I make items to live with, like furniture and homewares.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: I recently designed a collection of works for my first solo exhibition, which is being shown by Emma Scully Gallery in New York. It all feels pretty important to me, but really furniture isn’t very important at all in the scheme of things.
Describe the problem your work solves: My work solves the problem of me being creatively unstimulated and requiring money to be alive in a comfortable way. Hopefully, for others, it solves the problem of not having furniture that makes them happy when they are around it.
Describe the project you are working on now: Finishing up a long-term interior fit-out in London that includes several custom works alongside vintage items sourced to complement the space, which I’m very excited about. It’s interesting to watch things come together over an extended period—sort of waiting to see how the new pieces fit together with each other and the gaps that get filled by items with a bit more age. This way of working is much more rewarding that putting together a render of a load of new things and finding that the result is a bit two-dimensional.
I’ve also finished a series of works for a jewelry shop designed by Hollie Bowden, including a vellum and stainless steel cantilevered display case. It’s a wonderful thing to be given the chance to work with materials that are less often used in contemporary design, and a big part of that is learning so much from the specialists who produce these materials and finishes.
I’m extremely lucky to have somehow developed a way of working with clients that allows a lot of flexibility and a long-term approach. I have no interest in churning things out or having a big team—I prefer working project-to-project with people who understand why I do what I do and want to be involved in making interesting things.
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: “A Room on East 79th Street,” my show at Emma Scully Gallery, opened on October 12!
What you absolutely must have in your studio: The only thing I consistently have in my studio is a mess. It turns out the cliché of the well-organized designer/maker is not applicable to me. Good light is important, in-ear headphones to drown out angle-grinder noise, whatever it is I need in the moment that I can never find, etc.
What you do when you’re not working: I’m getting very good at being in the pub. Most of the time, I’m there with people who want to talk about chairs though, so maybe that’s work as well…
Sources of creative envy: Andrée Putman, Shiro Kuramata, Olivia Bossy, Piero Portaluppi, Eyre De Lanux, Gala Colivet Dennison, Joseph-André Motte, Grace Prince, Eileen Gray, Maria Pergay.
The distraction you want to eliminate: Instagram, though it’s a continuous source of inspiration and contact with excellent human beings. Also, the pub.
Concrete or marble? Marble.
High-rise or townhouse? Halston’s high-rise.
Remember or forget? Invent.
Aliens or ghosts? I’m a cross between both. Couldn’t possibly choose.
Dark or light? Dark.
