Assembly: Q&A with Ladies & Gentlemen Studio

“Our motto is to always stay curious and never stop exploring.”

Ladies & Gentlemen Studio’s latest expedition brings them to London. Exhibiting as part of London Design Fair’s Guest Country Pavilion, alongside 12 other US-based design studios, Assembly will mark the first time that Ladies & Gentlemen Studio has exhibited at London Design Festival. Needless to say, they’re pretty damn excited!

Co-founders Dylan Davis and Jean Lee describe the practice as a “bi-coastal based design studio operating between Seattle and Brooklyn.” The studio “embraces the best of both coasts” and although mainly operating out of Brooklyn, Dylan and Jean find inspiration in nature and the understated, an approach typical of Seattle design. Founded in 2010, Ladies & Gentlemen Studio creates a diverse range of products from furniture to jewellery, each sharing a warm and playful aesthetic as well as a sophisticated, minimalist style. It’s pretty dreamy.

With London Design Festival creeping up on us, we caught up with Jean to find out a little more about the studio, its origins and day-to-day workings, and why showing at London Design Fair is a big moment for the studio.

First thing first, why Ladies & Gentlemen Studio? Where did the name come from and what’s the meaning behind it?

In the early days, our designs were very much vintage inspired, so Ladies & Gentlemen had the old-timey reference while representing both of us. Also, the name was broad but recognisable. We wanted a name that can serve more as a platform and allow us to go in any direction we want to rather than a name that was overly definitive.

How would you describe your approach?

Although we don’t subscribe to any particular design approach, we often relate with a more minimal philosophy in the sense of doing the most with the least. But to us it’s less about rigid reduction and more about capturing the essence or the spirit of an object. We often refer to our work as "playfully austere".  At its core, our work is about these complementary opposites.  On one hand we're minimalists: we believe good solutions are simple, honest, and direct. On the other hand, we believe that products have the power to relate to people by creating a sense of connection and wonderment.  We strive to have a bit of both of these elements so ideally our products have both a functional and intrinsic value.

Creatively, why do you work so well together?

While we have very different work approach, our values and aesthetics align very closely so it allows us to create end products that are cohesive yet complementary. We’re open to voicing our own opinions and also willing to work things through so we both land on a design that we’re both excited about.  

Dylan is very organised and orderly in the way that he works. He likes to get really technical with materials and likes thinking creatively about production processes and creating systems to make things more efficient. I, on the other hand, work more organically and like to seek out unexpected moments through discovery and experimentation. I also like meeting and working with people outside of our studio, so I will often initiate collaborations with different makers, photographers, artists, or anything or anyone that strikes our interest to expand and experience new things.

Immediately after university, you both got different design jobs. Was there an epiphany moment when you decided to set up a studio together?

We first started working together as part of a design exhibition curated by Jamie of Iacoli & McAllister  (we go WAY back!). We then became part of a Seattle-based design collective called JOIN Design (www.join-design.com/) back in 2008. It was a time when there wasn’t much of an independent design scene in the Pacific northwest. The collective brought together an amazing pool of designers and makers. It was initially based in Seattle and has since expanded to many places along the west coast.  The collective essentially put Seattle on the map with other more recognisable contemporary design spots – New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami etc.

The studio is split between Seattle and Brooklyn, how does that work? What are the benefits of not being based exclusively in one location?

Both Dylan and I, and our studio, are based in Brooklyn, which is where we spend most of our time. A chunk of our operations and production is still in Seattle, with a handful of manufactures we trust and want to continue to work with.

At our core, we still relate with being part of the Pacific Northwest and being drawn to more natural things that are subtle and understated.  Being in the East Coast on the other hand has taught us on how to be more of an opportunist and not second guess ourselves, which we tend to do a lot when we were in Seattle since people tend to be less spontaneous there.  Generally speaking, the benefits of being part of both locations is that we can continue to cultivate what we’ve started in the Northwest while expanding into a new territory and learning new things.

Why does exhibiting as part of Assembly appeal?

We have never been to London or exhibited our work as part of London Design Festival, so to have the opportunity to be part of a group show, and be shown alongside with other designers we know and admire, is something that’s very exciting and appealing to us as an American studio. This will be our first time exhibiting at LDF – we’re stoked!

What opportunities does the UK design scene present?

We want to expand our exposure and reach the European market. London Design Festival has such a huge international presence and, with so many attendees, I think it’ll have a huge impact for us as an American studio. There are also many great London-based brands that we love, and designers we love, so I hope we’ll get an opportunity to make some great connections when we’re there.

Assembly is the first time that the US has had a collective presence at the London Design Fair. What about the American design scene particularly excites you at the moment?

We’re excited to be recognised as one of the design studios representing the American design scene. The American independent design scene is still considerably young compared to other well-known countries such as London, Italy, Japan and Scandinavia. But, because it’s still emerging, there’s a wide range of design aesthetics and approaches to every studio’s work. Each studio operates differently and that diversity makes it more interesting. There’s also a sense of openness and supportiveness between US design studio, which makes being a designer all that more exciting and fun.

What sort of reputation does the London Design Festival have in the US?

LDF is known to be the biggest design festival after Milan Design Week. The scope of work is huge and many of the designers we know that have shown there have had an amazing experience and have received a lot of positive feedback.

What will you be showing as part of Assembly?

We will show Float, our latest light that was made in collaboration with Seattle-based glass designer John Hogan. We will also present a series of balancing sculptures made in collaboration with a Brooklyn-based designer/sculptor called Pat Kim. They’ll also be a couple of brand new hanging sculptural mobiles inspired by some of our favourite artists such as László Moholy-Nagy and Alexander Calder.

Hungry for more London Design Festival goodness? Check out our roundup of Zetteler clients taking part in the festival.