WE’VE MOVED OUR NEW YORK STORE FROM 250 HUDSON STREET TO 30 HOWARD STREET IN SOHO.
I’VE ALWAYS DESIGNED ALL OUR STORES MYSELF BUT THIS TIME I ASKED THE HUN (WHO YOU KNOW AS MY BETTER HALF, MICHELE) TO DESIGN IT.
DOING THE FURNITURE COLLECTION WITH HER HAS BECOME AS MUCH ABOUT HUN’S EXECUTION OF IT AS MY DESIGN CONTRIBUTION. IN THE PAST, I’VE BEEN FRUSTRATED BY HUN’S PATCHY COMMUNICATION AND WILDLY FREESTYLE APPROACH BUT I ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT WAS MY FIRST ATTRACTION TO HER – A PRIMAL INSTINCTIVE ENERGY THAT I LACKED. THE FURNITURE IS ALL ABOUT HER RELATIONSHIPS WITH ALL THE TEMPERAMENTAL ARTISANS IT TAKES TO PRODUCE IT – SOMETHING I WOULD NEVER HAVE THE PATIENCE – OR TENDERNESS – TO DO.
WHEN WE FIRST STARTED THE FURNITURE, MY STATEMENT OF INTENT WAS “A FUR ON A ROCK NEXT TO A FIRE IN A CAVE”. THE “ROCKS” WE MAKE ARE STYLIZED MARBLE OR ALABASTER BOULDERS FACETED LIKE WEIRD SIGNATURE CRYSTALS THAT USUALLY SUPPORT THE SIMPLEST OF BENCHES OR TURN INTO A BED.
I THOUGHT THE NEW STORE SHOULD BE SCATTERED WITH NEW EXPERIMENTS OF THESE ROCKS CAST IN DIFFERENT MATERIALS IN NEW PROPORTIONS AND WE DECIDED ON CONCRETE, PLASTER, STYROFOAM, ROCK CRYSTAL AND CAMEL FUR UPHOLSTERY.
HUN HAS BEEN IN NEW YORK WITH HER CREW INSTALLING AND CASTING IN SITU IN WHAT I LIKEN TO A JOSEPH BEUYS-LIKE AKTION.
IN THE SAME WAY THAT I THINK RUNWAY SHOWS ARE COLLECTIVE CEREMONIES OF BEAUTY AND THE CLOTHES I SELL ARE RELICS OF THOSE CEREMONIES, I THINK OF HUN’S SPONTANEOUS INSTALLATION AND CONSTRUCTION OF THIS SPACE WITH OUR ROCKS AS A MAGIC ACT. I WON’T BE THERE TO MUTE HER ENERGY – THIS IS ALL ABOUT HER IN A CAGE WITH A WILD COYOTE.
THIS IS AN INTIMATE STORY ABOUT CREATION, CONFLICT, COLLABORATION, AND LOVE. I HOPE YOU’LL COME BY AND SEE IT.
Comments