Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Age: 43
Occupation: Artist and designer.
Instagram: @julian.mayor
Hometown: Doncaster, South Yorkshire, UK.
Studio location: Doncaster, South Yorkshire, UK.
Describe what you make: With a background as a product designer and a constant interest in making things, I have created distinctive and original pieces of furniture for the past 15 years. The pieces are designed on a computer and then made by hand in my studio. Their aesthetic has a technological sensibility, but with the warmth and unique appeal of being handmade.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: Three stainless-steel sculptural benches near Tate Britain. Their form was developed as a reaction to the site, a fluid series of volumes inspired by their position near the water and to the layers of history contained within it. The surfaces are made up of a complex series of planes that act as angled mirrors to ambient light, allowing the shapes to react to light conditions and the color and brightness of the sky.
Describe the problem your work solves: In the beginning, making things by hand was a necessity but now it is a choice. I like the precision of a technological design process but I also love the individuality and unrepeatability of a work that is made by hand.
Describe the project you are working on now: A show of my work just opened at THE NEW at Twentieth in Los Angeles. Working with Stefan Lawrence, the owner and curator, has been really satisfying. His design vision is demanding and exacting, resulting in pieces that I am really proud of and that push my design, making and engineering skills to the limit.
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: A bar and glassware (in collaboration with Vissio Mexico City) for Maestro Dobel Tequila, to be presented at Design Miami in December 2019. It’s a really great project and I can’t wait for people to see it.
What you absolutely must have in your studio: Music is essential in the studio. My assistant Chris and I listen to everything from the Eagles through Happy Mondays to Future.
What you do when you’re not working: Spend time in London with my partner Lydie and our two kids, Lucas (3) and Elliot (1). At the moment, the boys love the Science Museum in Kensington—there’s so much great stuff for kids to do there.
Sources of creative envy: Lynn Chadwick, a British mid-century sculptor; Tom Sachs and his idea of bricolage; Monir Faramfarmaian, Iranian mirror artist; Bethan Laura Wood; and of course Ron Arad, who was my teacher at the RCA. I also love the writing of Zadie Smith, a British author living in New York.
The distraction you want to eliminate: Overthinking things. It’s a bad habit but I really can’t help it!
Concrete or marble? Concrete.
High-rise or townhouse? High-rise.
Remember or forget? Remember, I hate falling out with people.
Aliens or ghosts? Aliens.
Dark or light? Definitely dark.
