In This Moment: Lightning Interviews
14-Apr-2021
This has been a year like few others. New issues and opportunities have catapulted to the center. Old truths have persisted. We asked a handful of furniture-makers around the world to weigh in.
We're experimenting with a new series called In this Moment: Lighting Interviews. You'll gain a window into the lives and insights of creators who fashion stunning furniture out of otherwise discarded materials.
In our inaugural interview series we hope you gain inspiration from furniture-makers around the globe: Victor Valencia right in our backyard in Brooklyn, New York, Hamed Ouattara in Burkina Faso, and Craig Bamford in England.
Victor Valencia
Valencia Designs
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Your name and what you do?
Victor Valencia. I create custom furniture.
Favorite current movie, book, or series for fun?
Mystic Pop-Up Bar, a Netflix series.
Your most interesting recent furniture project?
The one I'm currently working on. I am building out a sprinter van with all reclaimed wood for counters, storage shelving, and bed.
In this moment -- climate, pandemic, other factors -- one key way you see sustainability shaping the furniture field?
More people have been stuck at home craving more efficient, more creative, comfortable home spaces. Materials have been in demand because of the rush to remodel. Using what we already have and just finding a way to reimagine it extends the story and life of vital resources.
In your practice, one concrete change you've made to further sustainability?
Using reclaimed wood is not always the easiest, fastest route but I've continually chosen to use it because of the challenge.
What else should we know?
My designs change while in fabrication. Sometimes, for example, a piece has some sort of character that needs highlighting, and so the whole piece takes a turn (and sometimes, not at all).
Tell us something funny.
I’m really shy about taking pictures and also about getting interviewed.
Hamed Bransonkabra Ouattara
Studio Hamed Bransoka-Bra Ouattara
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (West Africa)
Your name and what you do?
My name is Hamed Bransonkabra Ouattara. I am an artist and a designer.
Favorite current movie, book, or series for fun?
My favorite movie is AMISTAD, a Steven Spielberg movie released in 1997 and SEE YOU IN AFRICA a book by professor Joseph Ky-erbo. This book deals with many issues related the situation in Africa at the turn of the century.
Your most interesting recent furniture project?
I am currently working on a line of furniture that is simple and airy -- akin to the seemingly light but sturdy feather -- as a response to the current world situation in this moment - climate, pandemic, and other factors.
One key way you see sustainability shaping the furniture field?
To the art of design I am convinced that sustainability can bring a lot. The choice to work with materials abandoned after use is one serious avenue. It really brings into question our capacity to become aware of what is happening right around us now.
In your practice, one concrete change you've made to further sustainability?
I take into account the human aspect, the natural, in the creation process to allow for longevity in a world where nothing lasts.
What else should we know?
I work in a harsh environment where everything is challenging, a challenge every moment. (Alongside constant electricity outages), I design and build 90% of the time around the rhythms of the sun. Gaining access to the infrastructure to tap solar energy for my workshop seems essential here.
Tell us something funny.
Residing in a difficult environment where everything has to be built, at times I'm creating for necessity. But it makes me laugh when the art community asks: WHAT IS THE DESIGN?
Craig Bamford
SASA Works
Camberwell, London
Your name and what you do?
SASA Works. I am an architect, artist and a maker.
Favorite current movie, book, or series for fun?
Steps to Freedom – Reshad Field.
Your most interesting recent furniture project?
Roha table and chair made from a single piece of 400 year old Scottish oak.
The swirls and patterns in the wood tell the story of the tree’s life…
In this moment -- climate, pandemic, other factors -- one key way you see sustainability shaping the furniture field?
Imagine if we shaped the future of design by combining sustainability with a more focused attention on things of beauty, which are not only made with carefully sourced materials but also to last through the generations.
In your practice, one concrete change you've made to further sustainability?
To learn to listen more deeply to the materials that we use and to the land that we design spaces for – and allow the natural form and essence to shape the design – this often leads to the most ecological process and method being revealed.
What else should we know?
African art and artifacts have always been a source of inspiration – how to connect to and be inspired by nature.
Tell us something funny.
Yesterday we overheard a daughter talking to her father – “Daaaddd I’ve got a problem” – she said. Long pause and VERY deep silence. …..”I have been trying to draw a caterpillar all day” … made us laugh so much – as it is a perfect “problem.”
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***The above interviews were slightly edited for clarity and language.
