Brian Volk-Zimmerman knows that the difference is in the details. The owner of VOLK Furniture—a contemporary design studio based in Brooklyn—creates timeless pieces with an elevated level of craftsmanship, from porcelain pendant lamps to ash credenzas with fabric-lined drawers. “We’re all responsible for taking care of this planet, and as someone whose livelihood is based on creating objects,” he says, “I feel it’s necessary to try to produce things that will not go quickly out of style or whose usefulness will become obsolete.”
This year, VOLK Furniture expanded its lineup with three considered new pieces. The St. Charles dining chair, a svelte wooden form featuring a bolster back and sumptuous seat cushion, was devised as a smaller, leaner version of the line’s existing armchair, while maintaining the original’s plushness. The Pacific nightstand, also born from a previous design, features surprising sculptural legs beneath a simple wood construction. And the St. Charles daybed—Volk admits it’s his favorite new piece—is an inviting double-bolster lounger beckoning for weekend reading or catnaps. Volk can attest: “I’m guilty of having napped on the one we have in the studio several times in the last few months.”
Such evolutions of existing designs make it clear that Volk truly believes in the integrity of everything he creates. “The nightstand and daybed evolved out of a desire to change the function of an existing piece,” he says, which led to creating something new inspired by a tried-and-true mainstay. Rather than cycle dozens of brand-new pieces out every season, riffs on his existing oeuvre build out the collection slowly and intentionally. As buyers finally begin to lean away from the fast-fashion mentality, Volk seems to be on to something. And given the success of his line, why reinvent the wheel?
