2020 Year in Review: Where I Work
Every month, we drop in on designers in their space to get some insight into how and where they work, because we’re the type of people that are just as interested in the designer as we are the product they designed. There’s something about getting a peek inside someone’s workspace, how they function and their process to help really appreciate their work that much more. Now that the year is coming to a close, we’re taking a look back to see everyone featured in our Where I Work column in 2020.
Where I Work: Jason Miller of Roll & Hill
Jason Miller is the founder of Brooklyn-based Roll & Hill, a lighting manufacturing company he launched in 2010. A designer himself, Miller works closely with lots of independent designers to create the brand’s extensive range of collections. Their Sunset Park headquarters is home to their on-demand production practices, where parts are assembled all by hand, one lamp at a time. For this Where I Work, Miller took us inside to see how and where it all happens for Roll & Hill.
Where I Work: Gloria Kondrup of HMCT Archetype Press
The multihyphenate Gloria Kondrup originally planned to study law but her career trajectory took at turn after discovering a love for art. Since attaining a bachelor’s degree in fine art and a master’s degree in design, Kondrup has been sharing that love of graphic design and typography with students as a professor at ArtCenter College of Design. In this Where I Work, the professor, design consultant, director, and executive director took us through the spaces, aka type heaven, where she accomplishes it all.
Alex O’Dell (left) and Kyle Hoff (right)
Where I Work: Kyle Hoff of Floyd
Detroit-based Floyd launched in 2014 with the goal of creating quality furniture that was designed for the home and not to end up in a landfill in a couple of years. Over the years, the brand, co-founded by Kyle Hoff and Alex O’Dell, has become known for their practical, well-thought out designs that are minimal and easy-to-assemble. Floyd finished construction on their newly expanded, 5755-square-foot headquarters in Detroit’s Eastern Market district this year, and for this Where I Work, co-founder + CEO Kyle Hoff took us inside the space and his work life to see more.
Where I Work: Sylvie Johnson of Merida
Dakar-born, Paris-based Sylvie Johnson ventured into the art world completely by accident after visiting a textiles exhibition and falling in love. She immediately took a year off to dive into learning to weave, which led to an apprenticeship for a couturier that had worked for Christian Lacroix and Chanel. Now, the textile designer is the Creative Director of Merida, a textile design house in Fall River, Massachusetts, where she’s reinvigorated the brand by re-engineering the looms, experimenting with new materials, and working on new techniques. For this Where I Work, Johnson shared a glimpse of the two spaces she works in and how she goes about it.
Where I Work: David Stark
David Stark is a New York-based event producer, designer, author, and President + Creative Director of his eponymous, full-service event design and planning firm, David Stark Design and Production. Founded in 2006, the company has become a go-to expert for fully immersive experiences providing their innovative expertise to the likes of Target, Kiehl’s, Uniqlo, non-profit The Robin Hood Foundation, The Whitney Museum of Modern Art, and The Metropolitan Opera, in addition to a range of one-of-a-kind events for a host of celebrities. This Where I Work had us visiting the busy mogul in his company’s Industry City headquarters in Brooklyn to see where he works and how he makes it all happen.
Photo by Vero Kherian
Where I Work: Windy Chien
After stints at Apple and owning her own indie record shop in San Francisco, fiber artist Windy Chien found her calling bringing aesthetics to the middle of function, science, and history to highlight what’s most intriguing about knots and that is – the journey of the line. She spent 2016 learning a new knot every day of the year for The Year of Knots, which she now displays on her studio walls mixed amongst a sea of works in various stages of progress and size. We popped into her San Francisco studio located on the second floor of the Heath Ceramics tile factory to see her art and space in this Where I Work.
Where I Work: Catherine Bailey of Heath Ceramics
Heath Ceramics co-founder Catherine Bailey had to make a complete shift in how and where she worked this year, as many people around the world had to do. Instead of staying put at home, she moved to her property in West Marin, California in March to set up a simpler life and work existence in two vintage trailers. For this Where I Work, Heath creative director Catherine Bailey filled us all in on the business in the time of a pandemic, where she’s working, and how she has been getting it all done.
Where I Work: Sarah Zames of General Assembly
Brooklyn-based General Assembly is an interior design and architecture studio founded in 2011 by interior architect Sarah Zames and partner Colin Stief. The practice focuses on ground up and full renovation projects, as well as designing lighting and furniture, with residential projects that span throughout New York state, from NYC boroughs to upstate and the Hamptons, and across the pond to London. In this Where I Work, we headed to Brooklyn’s Gowanus neighborhood to check in with Sarah Zames to see how and where she works.
Where I Work: Duan Tran of KAA Design
As with many people around the world, KAA Design partner Duan Tran had to carve out a workspace at home during the ongoing pandemic. Luckily the licensed architect, husband, and father of three, designed an addition to his Culver City, California home last year that added much needed space and a spot for Tran to work. For this Where I Work during quarantine times, we (virtually) visited Duan Tran at home to see how and where he gets his work done.
Where I Work: Benjamin Pardo of Knoll
Back in 2005, Benjamin Pardo landed at legendary design brand Knoll where he’s the Senior Vice President and Design Director, which means he’s in charge of all product and showroom design around the globe. With more than 30 years in the design world and the last 15 with Knoll, it’s no surprise that his workspace is just as impressive as his resume. Since the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Pardo is working from his home office in New York where he’s surrounded by a collection of design objects, most notably by Ettore Sottsass. In this Where I Work, Benjamin Pardo shared his home workspace and how he uses it.
Where I Work: Daniel Schofield
Located on the river Thames, Daniel Schofield’s studio is housed within an old plastics factory where he designs modern furniture and objects with a clean and understated appeal. Since the launch of his studio in 2012, he’s partnered with many British brands like Benchmark, Another Country, Ercol, SCP and Conran, where he worked closely with the late great Sir Terence Conran. We checked in with Daniel Schofield to learn more, in this Where I Work.
Where I Work: Signe + Peter of Space Copenhagen
In 2005, Signe Bindslev Henriksen and Peter Bundgaard Rützou launched Space Copenhagen, a design studio specializing in a variety of disciplines, from furnishings including furniture, lighting and refined objects, to interior design for private residences, hotels and restaurants, to art installations and art direction. In this Where I Work, we virtually headed to Denmark to see inside the offices of Signe and Peter, and the Space Copenhagen team, to see where they make it all happen.
