Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Age: 31
Occupation: Designer and artist.
Instagram: @kate.hands.co
Hometown: The New York suburbs.
Studio location: Alameda, CA
Describe what you make: I create furniture and lighting that lie in that special sludge between art and function.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: The Tubie Chair. Partly because it was an ode to Eileen Gray, a female furniture designer that was way ahead of her time, and partly because of the engineering. There needed to be an atypical, hidden way to provide structure, and it ends up requiring lots of tiny custom-milled parts. The nice thing is this means if I make a set of these chairs, I have about a week sitting at one machine, which is super nice to tap into zen mode. I feel like that set a standard for my typical way of designing: how to impose fabrication conundrums that I have to climb out of later? Definitely masochistic but also the real fun of it all.
Describe the problem your work solves: Furniture that enlightens rituals or habits that are otherwise overlooked.
Describe the project you are working on now: New lighting sculptural works for a solo exhibition at Alcova during Milan Design Week. They’ve been on and off three years in the design phase already, but the concepts are close to my heart and I wanted to get the details just right. Seeing them come together has been a huge trip. The concept is around how our lifestyles at home reveal an incessant reliance on nature. I wanted to create an experiential environment in which to understand this. One of my favorite producers, Phoebé Guillemot, created a soundtrack for the space, and there will be other elements of movement and time passing within the space.
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: I’m in the latter part of a project for interior design firm Studio Ahead. It has been a real treat to work with them and super excited to see the pieces amongst some Northern California legendary makers. By the summer, I’ll also be working on a spin on the quintessential outdoor dining set. There aren’t enough good ones out in the world!
What you absolutely must have in your studio: Music. I like starting the day with sounds that allow me to think and feel through problems: dub, lover’s rock, folk, and R&B. And then for the night work session, sounds that push and churn, like dance music.
What you do when you’re not working: Northern California is the king of many environments within a day’s drive—beach, lush redwood forests, mountains, desert, beautiful green-blue rivers. That’s where I spend my non-work time. Also, cooking big meals for friends, walking around the neighborhood with tea in hand, playing records…
Sources of creative envy: The encompassing, overwhelming, and spiritual way you feel when entering a massive architectural space. This is impossible with furniture.
The distraction you want to eliminate: Needless to say, my phone. I mostly use it to look at art from around the world, but they are just photos and not like seeing the real thing. It can feel mentally exhausting and at odds with the reason I wanted to look in the first place.
Concrete or marble? Concrete with a cement substitute
High-rise or townhouse? A modest cabin, attached to a huge workshop in a barn with skylights and a club sound system. Is that too much to ask?
Remember or forget? I forgot the question already!
Aliens or ghosts? Angels.
Dark or light? Light.
