Female Makers We Are Still Obsessed With
AD has long championed the work of independent makers, whose cutting-edge creations offer new windows into the world of craft. These 16 women, previously profiled in our pages and online, are making a name for themselves in their chosen mediums, whether they construct handwoven rugs, anthropomorphic lamps, or bewitching light fixtures. Sourced by some of the biggest interior designers in the business, these makers are likely already on your radar. If not, it’s time to get caught up. Here are their stories. Article by AD
“It all starts with shape and color,” says this rising-star French ceramist Alice Gavalet. Using a knifelike tool, she slices earthenware into flat forms that she then hand-assembles into three dimensions, firing the results before painting them with colorful enamels for one last bake, all in her petite workshop just outside Paris. The wild and whimsical pieces (squiggly striped vases, mirrors outlined in zany shapes) take inspiration from Ettore Sottsass’s playful objects, Jean Dubuffet’s graphic compositions, and her nine-year-old daughter’s spontaneous drawings.
Anna Karlin has always followed her instincts. Just two days after starting a job at a big-time London design firm in 2006, she quit. Four years later, she moved across the Atlantic to Manhattan to set up her own art-direction firm, and a few years later, in 2012, dared to create a line of furniture. Each risk produced reward: Her art-direction business has landed clients like Adidas, Lululemon, and Fendi. And her product line—which started with sleek glassware, a hoop-shaped light, and some chess-piece stools—has captivated the design world. Now, from a moody studio-slash-showroom in Chinatown, her sculptural furniture, lighting, and accessories have become new classics. annakarlin.com
Bec Brittain has an impressive pedigree: She was lighting designer Lindsey Adelman’s first paid employee. (“New York’s lighting scene is like a family tree,” she explains.) But since going solo in 2011, Brittain has quickly established her own branch. Her flexible SHY light system—an infinitely reconfigurable constellation of LED tubes and metal rods—has become her own lighting-world claim to fame, winning her the attention of clients ranging from Mike D of the Beastie Boys to J.P. Morgan. More recently, she has pivoted into a more collectible, commission-based practice. becbrittain.com
“We’re a family business on both sides of production,” says Lily Stockman, who cofounded a hit textiles line with sister Hopie and works with five family-run studios in India to realize their hand-block-printed patterns. After starting with graphic scarves in 2013, Block Shop has expanded into a home collection that includes pillows, bedding, rugs, and fabric by the yard. Marked by eye-popping geometric motifs and sunny SoCal palettes, it’s all on display at their Los Angeles showroom. blockshoptextiles.com
D’Apollonio’s ceramics practice began eight years ago, when she signed up for an introductory course in traditional Japanese raku pottery in her native Switzerland. After relocating to L.A. in 2014, she landed a high-profile commission: The French fashion brand Céline requested three ceramic displays for an advertising campaign. The work evolved naturally from there—a continuation of a process that, she insists, “is actually very simple.” First she draws her ideas; then she coils the clay into the desired form. “I don’t have any structure,” she notes of her entirely hand-built technique. “Whatever I want to do, I do.” carmendapollonio.com
Eny Lee Parker, reflecting on her love of clay. “It’s like collaborating with Mother Nature. You can manipulate the medium, but you never know what will happen when you fire it.” She first clicked with ceramics during a 2016 residency through the Savannah College of Art and Design, where she was getting her master’s degree in furniture design. The thrown-terra-cotta tables, planters, and vessels she made at the time debuted at Sight Unseen Offsite just months later, launching her career before she had even graduated. In the years since, Parker has evolved that hand-hewn language, achieving commercial success with sculptural lamps dappled with finger marks and topped with glowing orbs. enyleeparker.com
“Idda means ‘her’ in Sicilian dialect,” says artist and designer Gabriella Picone. It’s a word she heard often growing up between New York City and Lipari, the Aeolian island off the coast of Sicily. Now it’s the name of her new studio, which she launched last year while hunkering down in another seaside locale, the North Fork of Long Island. What started with paintings, one-of-a-kind ceramics, and whimsical, limited-edition pareos (the sarong-like skirts worn by Sicilian women in hot summer months) has now expanded to include Italian-made home staples. All draw inspiration from the Sicilian lifestyle, especially its art of dining. “Every meal is so considered—your whole family sits down, you talk, you tell stories,” reflects Picone. “I wanted my work to address this ritual of coming together.” iddastudio.com
Upon returning to India after attending Parsons School of Design, Leah Singh experienced her homeland’s vibrant textiles with fresh eyes. “I saw an opportunity to modernize these traditions and target a new market,” explains the designer, now based between New Delhi and New York. Age-old techniques, she learned, were languishing as artisans pushed their children toward office jobs. But at local Indian markets she connected with producers from across the country who could stitch, weave, and print her patterns on pillows, carpets, throws, and more. “I don’t change the way they work,” says Singh, who adapts these customs with her own color palettes and architecturally inspired motifs. “They’re so special. They’ve been there for so long. I want to highlight that.” leahsingh.com