Fall 2024 - Full site in the works, but here are the basics:
The 3 Main Categories of the Studio output are: Projects, Products, and Consulting.
1. PROJECTS
This is how almost all our products begin - with projects.
There is a specific ask, or need from a client or customer, and then we set about the work of making things that work for that very specific set of constraints.
This calls back to my training in theatre set design, site specific installation art, and sculpture.
I don’t create new furniture ideas ex-nihilo - out of nothing - “hovering over the deep,” as it’s been written.
No white page in a sketchbook, or vectored voids on, digital screens.
The things I make in 3D do not start in 2D, they start in 4D.
Physical to Physical.
I see this as the distinction of “Craft-Based” Design.
Craft starts with what is already here.
It is the appropriate application of material towards human flourishing.
Here is an example of how some of our past projects have started simply by sending an email:
“Hi Eric, we have a bar we are opening in Ojai, CA and we need some stools that fit this vibe…” - Shelter Social Club
“Hi Eric, we are looking to make a wall mounted soap/shampoo caddy that we can we can sell with our products…” Rudy’s Barbershop
“Hi Eric, we are refreshing the Lobby at the Saguaro Hotel, and we’d like to hire your team to do the furniture and a ping pong table!…” The Sagauro Hotel (Palm Springs, and Scottsdale)
“Hi Eric, we need a four-season outdoor chair that is indestructible and looks better with age…” Autocamp Yosemite & Russian River
“Hi Eric, we’d like you and the team to design our new guest bedroom furniture, and then lead a workshop of volunteers in how to fabricate it.” Arcosanti
“Hi Eric, we have a coffee shop that we are opening, we’d like you to do all the furniture…”
It is precisely the specificity of the request that drives us to make work that is tailored to the site and context of the space and place.
In essence, our goal is to be: As Appropriate As Possible.
2. PRODUCTS
As I mentioned above, my products start AS projects - or requests.
The projects I listed above gave us the Octahedron Stool, Park Lounge, Park Dining Chair, Snack Chair with Leather, Snack Arc Back, and many more…
I never have to imagine a potential customer, or demographic - because I have already made the thing for a specific customer.
Since 2014 our products have been primarily distributed through commercial or retail partners - our biggest partner being West Elm.
From 2018-2023 the product business operated under the name Amigo Modern.
Brief Covid Aside: In 2020 we lost our main product manufacturer here in LA, and have been finding ways to recover and develop new products since.
2024 - Everything is back under one roof now - all production takes place within a 30 mile radius of the studio, using a network of trusted vendors, and all sales and distribution come through the studio.
HOUSELINE - Moving forward, our “In-House” products will be a part of our “Houseline”.
The products that will be a part of the Houseline are products that I have actually lived with for years and years.
I know they work, I know they will last, and I know their true value - in the sense of how they are used.
Items from the Houseline are available through our online shop - soft launching summer 2024 onward
LICENSING -
I am always down to license!
I will license anything that I am not producing myself here.
I have licensed pieces over the years to companies like West Elm, and Crate&Barrel, to small studios like Ravenhill Studio, or currently with Mexa Design from Guadalajara.
If you have a manufacturing company and you need more designs to keep your factory running, then I have ideas for you!
You can see some of my past licensing projects on the Furniture Page
3. Consulting - This is similar to the project side of the biz, except it typically does not result in objects being made…
There are 2 forms of consulting that I offer at this time.
Both are new-ish. Both are based on experience and not formal training.
My formal training is consistent with the North American BFA-MFA pedagogy.
The consulting I offer is in line with gaps that I see in the marketplace for both consumers and producers.
Producer Consulting - This is a process based service to serve fellow producers of physical things.
So if you make stuff, and you want to run a business making stuff, and you are having a hard time with any of it, I can talk through some of it with you for a fee.
This is a new service I am developing with very specific offerings such as: How to Pick Colors for your products, How to build a collection of products that work together, How to get ready for a trade show/craft show, etc…
The idea here is fill in the gaps that school misses - which is largely HOW to do all the stuff that a biz requires after you’ve designed/made a THING!
Consumer Consulting - This is a process based service where I help you make decisions for your space. This could be a bathroom, a living room, your whole home, backyard, office, etc…
I am NOT a full service interior design company.
I am a person who thinks about and through things in way that orchestrates the built environment to create specific results.
This service can take many different forms. I can simply come to your space and talk through it with you and that’s it. I can help you move through your decision making process in a way that feels like you are really choosing your choices.
I can also add onto that basic service in many different ways. Some may turn into a project I manage myself with a team, some I may pass you off to a more appropriate designer or firm better suited to your needs.
Rod+Weave Chair