KELSIE RUDOLPH
Emphasizing form, shape and proportion over ornamentation, Kelsie Rudoph sculpts small-batch ceramic furniture pieces. The Montana-based designer was inspired by French architecture after an artist’s residency at Versailles. Her Doux collection translates the timeless qualities of architectural elements—lamps posts, archways and pillars—into contemporary designs using template and slab-building techniques.
NADER GAMMAS
American-born and Dubai-based designer Nader Gammas’ latest lighting collection, Vessels, is composed of nine pieces inspired by the diverse world of cup fungi. The natural forms are clustered in organic configurations, showcasing the raw beauty of nature with artistry and technical skill. Available through Studiotwentyseven.
PIERRE BOWRING
Bow Glass Works’ artisan and owner Pierre Bowring worked as an abstract painter before discovering glassblowing in college. Working out of his East Chatham, NY, studio, he believes in elevating everyday items into functional art. “Utilizing form and color, I can create something funky, something wild, something unexpected,” says Bowring. “I can also create something elegant and refined.”
ALEXANDRA KOHL
Informed by minimalism, organic architecture and her love of horses, Alexandra Kohl’s medium is truly unique—horsehair—which she weaves to create tapestries, pillows, furniture, lighting and tassels. The horsehair is collected from local farms near her North Salem, NY studio. After cleaning and brushing the horsehair, she places strands of hair between linen threads on a loom to create woven patterns. Her work is currently on display in the windows of Lafayette 148 in NYC.
ELLEN ROBINSON
Ellen Robinson handmakes her ceramic pieces in her Brookyln studio. Her sculptural vases, bowls, trays and lighting are designed to be used and lived with as functional art. Working with terra-cotta, she forms the clay using hand-building techniques. “Touch is recorded in the clay,” notes Robinson. The embedded markings are then highlighted with a white glaze.
STEPH TROWBRIDGE
Steph Trowbridge started her creative journey as a woodworker, but after taking a pottery class she became fascinated with ceramics. “I loved how malleable clay was compared to wood, so it pushed me to try and bring that sort of style to woodworking as well.” Working with both mediums, she explores the ways they work together and separately. Her latest series, the Draped Collection, conjures the texture of fabric in her wood and ceramic pieces.
BECCA VAN K
Mixed-media fiber artist Becca Van K’s practice combines the folk-art techniques of needlepoint wall art, chair caning and weaving. Using recycled chair frames, she says, “There is an element of kitsch and craft in these mediums that are not generally viewed as ‘high art,’ which I embrace. I continue to enrich my knowledge of craft, and am constantly scheming ways to make work that is in deep connection with a craft from the past while using materials and aesthetics that speak to a contemporary audience.”
ANNIE DOWNING
Texas designer Annie Downing has created a collection of hand-crafted concrete tiles with Popham Design out of Marrakech, Morocco. Downing’s designs are inspired by travel, antique textiles, architectural details and playful moments. Each concrete tile is formed using a hydraulic press method, versus kiln-fired, then air-dried and cured. Four patterns in 20 vibrant colorways can be mixed and matched, ranging from geometric to painterly designs.
AARON GETMAN-PICKERING
Aaron Getman-Pickering’s Dark Night table lamp is an example of cold-molding—a technique mainly used for boat building that this Hudson Valley artisan has mastered. Thin strips of wood are layered and fastened over a plywood form with an end product that is “beautiful, lightweight and strong.”
EARTH TO PEOPLE
Earth To People founders Jordan and Brittany Weller launched their mindful design studio in 2023. The newest collection, Salvage & Sap, consists of furniture and lighting made from salvaged and organic materials, including cedar felled by windstorms and recycled aluminum. Tree sap, harvested by hand, is used as a non-toxic binding agent, a “glue” technique that dates back thousands of years.
CLAUDIA MILLS
Finding weaving’s combination of mathematical rigor and tactile diversity challenging and irresistible, Claudia Mills has been making rugs for more than three decades. With a contemporary aesthetic and a love for bright prints and plaids, she balances color and textural elements. Her team of all-female textile artists work out of her studio in Old City Philadelphia. We discovered her happy and colorful rugs at the Field + Supply artisan fair.