Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Age: 35
Occupation: Product and furniture designer.
Instagram: @gregorybuntain and @fort_standard.
Hometown: Westfield, NJ
Studio location: Red Hook, Brooklyn
Describe what you make: Contemporary home goods and furniture using long-lasting natural materials and finishes helping to transform everyday living spaces into ideal environments.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: I’m really proud of the smaller products like the Crest Bottle Opener and Standing Bowl, which have become far-reaching and are sold around the world. I’m most proud of the Strata Credenza system that I designed and launched last year. It checks a lot of boxes for me personally and has quickly grown to become our best-selling design in an entirely new category of furniture for Fort Standard—we’re largely known for our dining and coffee tables.
Describe the problem your work solves: I aim to design pieces that are bold in their simplicity and honest in their functionality. I develop concepts from material- and process-based explorations in an attempt to make original work that is void of trend and has an air of timelessness. I want every piece to stand the test of time through its design, quality of materials, and construction methods. All of our furniture is made to order so the majority is customizable to meet each of our client’s unique needs.
Describe the project you are working on now: We are about to launch our brand-new Cooperage Dining Collection, a small occasional Tombstone Chair, and some exciting new variations of our Strata Credenza.
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: We are having an exhibition of new work debuting at our showroom, Colony, at 324 Canal Street in New York. The opening is May 2 from 6–9 PM and will be open from May 3–9 from 12–6 PM or by appointment.
What you absolutely must have in your studio: Coffee and bubbly water have always been a staple, but more recently, Air Pods. They can transition from an office call to listening to a podcast underneath my ear protection when I’m out in the shop.
What you do when you’re not working: Motorcycles, Land Rovers, snowboarding, and travel. The past two years have been packed nonstop with travel and working extra hard to make up for the time away. This August, I’m checking an item off my bucket list and embarking on an adventure riding a 30-year-old dual-sport motorcycle I’ve been rebuilding across the Trans-America Trail, a 5,000-mile cross-country GPS-guided route that is 90 percent off-road. The GPS loops you back into civilization every 150 miles to refuel or find a hotel but will be doing an average of about 200 miles a day for 3–4 weeks. Starting solo on the coast of North Carolina, I have a good friend meeting me in Colorado to ride the more technical second half with me and ultimately landing up to the Oregon coast. I plan to camp most nights but will stay in hotels every few days to shower and have a proper bed.
Sources of creative envy: Donald Judd, Isamu Noguchi, Poul Kjaerholm.
The distraction you want to eliminate: Email.
Concrete or marble? Marble.
High-rise or townhouse? Townhouse. I’ve lived in the same brownstone in Fort Greene for 13 years.
Remember or forget? Can you repeat the question?
Aliens or ghosts? Aliens.
Dark or light? Light.
