Interior designer Trip Haenisch resounded loudly on our radar when his work was featured on the cover of Elle Decor last summer. Yup, the one with Courteney Cox on the cover. Of course, to Haenisch, working with celebs is all part of a day’s work, as he also counts Aaron Sorkin, Christina Aguilera, and Cher (Cher!) among his clients. But don’t get the wrong idea. Haenisch’s work reveals not a trace of bling. His style is understated and clean. His Friday Five feels wonderfully insider-y — in addition to a concept car and very famous fashion designer, Haenisch spotlights his favorite photographer, furniture designer, and yoga retreat.
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New York City native and textile designer Thomas Paul is in this week’s Friday Five hot seat. A former neckwear and scarf designer for Bill Blass, Calvin Klein, and DKNY, he went off on his own — in an entirely new direction: the home. You can definitely see the neckwear inspiration in his designs, which range from bedding to pillows to rugs and our favorite: the Luddite collection. P.S. he still does scarves, too!
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Industrial designer Samuel Wilkinson, who opened his own studio in late 2007, has designed a number of award-winning items, including the Plumen 001 light bulb ( a collaboration with design brand Hulger), which earned him the grand prize from the London Design Museum of “2011 Design of the Year” and the “Black pencil” from the D&AD. His work spans the range, from furniture to accessories, and even includes a tech-y terrarium, the Biome, that uses a smartphone or iPad to control its climate, water level and nutrients. Our personal favorite? The Hoof table, which has funny hoof feet. Wilkinson’s Friday Five is equally diverse, with picks that span categories.
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Chip DeGrace oversees the creative engine that gives FLOR its reputation as an innovative, environmentally responsible company that’s basically synonymous with modular floor covering. As the Senior Vice President, Creative, DeGrace, who was once a commercial interior designer, directs product design and catalog strategies. The company is on a retail tear of late, with plans to open about a dozen freestanding retail outlets this year. Yesterday marks its 11th flagship store opening, in Boston’s Back Bay, right on the well-shod heels of the Georgetown store opening in D.C. last month. In this week’s Friday Five, DeGrace shares insight into his personal life and cultural inspirations.
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Industrial designer Stephen Burks was born in Chicago, went to the Illinois Institute of Design’s Institute of Design there, studied architecture at Columbia University in Manhattan, and today works out of his studio there. He’s designed for a wide-range of high profile companies — Boffi, Cappellini, Missoni, Calvin Klein, and Estee Lauder to name a few. We’ve featured a number of his projects, including one of our favorites, Circus Shelving for Mattermade. His newest collaboration, DALA by Stephen Burks with DEDON, is a line of outdoor furniture made from handwoven recycled food-and-drink packaging and fully recyclable polyethylene. In this week’s Friday Five we’re privy to Burks’ favorite artists.
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For this week’s Friday Five we tapped New Zealand-based furniture and lighting designer David Trubridge. Trubridge is trained in Naval Architecture (or boat design), has worked as a forester, and taught himself how to create furniture. He presented his inspiration in terms of the five elements, along with gorgeous landscape photographs he took himself. Not coincidentally, this also happens to be the structure of the book he is writing about his life and design.
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Canadian furniture designer Thom Fougere’s minimal pieces are as beautifully stark as a Winnipeg winter. Deeply ensconced in the design scene there, Fougere’s Friday Five brings us on a tour of the city’s bests, as well as thought-provoking looks at the art of collecting, and an introduction to off-the-beaten-path artists and film makers.
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I met designer Luca Nichetto this past September when Foscarini invited Design Milk on a trip to its home office in Italy, and a tour of the Venice Biennale. Nichetto was one of four Foscarini designers, including past Friday Fivers Vicente Garcia-Jimenez and Ionna Vautrin, to join the group of bloggers to discuss not just their own works, but the hallmarks of good design overall. In addition to creating five lamp styles for Foscarini, Nichetto has designed items in pretty much every home category, including furniture for Casamania and Moroso, Venini vases, and even a porcelain sink and tub. For Friday Five, Nichetto revisits his youth and looks around at his everyday world.
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Reiko Kaneko designs bone china steeped in the English tradition, but with a Japanese twist. She established her design studio in London’s East End in 2007, after studying Arts and Design at Central St. Martin’s College. Kaneko’s Friday Five gives us a glimpse into her world of modern-day London, and illuminates her Japanese roots.
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Architect Michael Ferguson of Space International has designed retail environments for Nike and Kitson, masterfully re-envisioned mid century masterpieces by Schindler, Buff & Hensman, as well as Thorton Abel, and created contemporary residences throughout the Los Angeles area. Currently, the studio is developing a new retail concept for UCLA’s Student Union. In this week’s Friday Five, Ferguson expounds on his city, Los Angeles. He says, “It’s a complicated urban form with a number of contradictions. Part dystopian infrastructure, part Elysian dream, our city (like our work) has a form of brutal elegance which one can only find if they know how to look in the right places.” Here are some of his favorite “Elegant Brutalisms” from the city that shapes them.
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