bERT&dENNIS design studio, a partnership of designers Bert van der Grift and Dennis van der Burch, was founded in 2008 in The Hague, The Netherlands. Van der Grift studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague; Van der Burch is a self-taught designer, as well as the founder of an upholstery studio with a reputation as one of the finest in The Netherlands. The studio is driven by a passion for furniture and textiles—working with a diversity of materials including hardwoods and plastics, it has designed pieces including furniture, electronics, and toys. bERT&dENNIS’s work is characterized by understatement, functionality, an absence of adornment, and a distinct irreverence.

Designed: Slope Sofa

Led by designer Bret Recor, Box Clever is a San Francisco-based design studio that works on projects ranging home furnishings and tech products to branding and packaging solutions. Box Clever creates purposeful, expressive designs that embody big ideas and challenge convention.

Designed: Poise Table, Poise Bench and Poise Stool

Brad Ascalon Studio NYC was founded in 2006. The multidisciplinary design studio specializes in furniture, packaging, consumer products, environment design and development, as well as site-specific sound composition and installation art projects.  His collaborators have included Ligne Roset, Design Within Reach, Bernhardt Design, L’Oreal, Shu Uemura, and Esquire magazine.

Ascalon grew up immersed in the world of art and design. His grandfather was a sculptor and noted industrial designer and his father is renowned for his large scale art installations throughout North America. Brad’s work has been exhibited globally, the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan, 100% Design in London,  Maison et Objet in Paris, and the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York; it has been featured in publications including *Wallpaper, The New York Times, DWELL, The London Telegraph, Le Figaro, Architectural Digest, and Interior Design.

Designed: Perimeter

Partners Nick Cronan and Josh Morenstein founded Branch to solve complex industrial design and branding challenges for clients ranging from Fortune 500’s to start-ups. Branch designs iconic, enduring experiences that captivate the curiosity and attention of consumers; our products, packaging, and branding innovations enable our clients to differentiate themselves and define their markets.

Products: Drift Tall Stool, Drift Low Stool, Drift Coffee Table

Whether furniture or lighting, tableware or electronics, Cédric Ragot seeks to balance conceptual and functional concerns in every piece he designs. His eponymous design studio—which he founded upon graduating from the French National Institute for Advanced Studies in Design—counts among its clients such leaders in the field as Cappellini, Roche Bobois, and Rosenthal. Ragot’s work has been exhibited in Paris, Hanover, Milan, and New York.

Sadly, we lost Cédric in March, 2015.  

Designed: Stabil Table

Studio Chad Wright is the laboratory of designer Chad Wright. Whether designing furniture or objects or creating installations, the studio’s goal is to synthesize ideas with objects, poetics with relevance, and product with person. A native Californian, Wright worked at some of San Francisco’s leading design studios before striking out on his own in 2011.

Designed: Twig Chair and Sprig Stool

Claudia & Harry Washington is a furniture and space design studio founded by Salvadoran couple Claudia Vasquez Washington and Harry Washington. Their creative process is grounded in their own philosophy that design is meant to connect people to their own human nature and to the essence that makes them authentically happy.

Designed: Pila

Derek Chen is the founder of Council Design. A designer in his own right—by way of Engineering School and Silicon Valley—he is also the founder of Urbana Design, a company named after the Illinois city where he spent much of his childhood. Through Urbana Design, Chen produces sleek tabletop items and contemporary furniture. His work has been covered in media outlets including Wallpaper*, The New York Times, InStyle, and Plaza. Chen’s work reveals the engineer’s eye for the strategic application of technology as well as an awareness of the visual and tactile appeal of natural forms and materials—it is an easy blend of high-tech and hand-craftsmanship. He lives and works in San Francisco.

Designed: Section Bench

Eric Pfeiffer leads Pfeiffer Lab, the Oakland-based design studio. Devoted to addressing the design and future of ordinary objects, the studio has designed furniture and artwork, toys, tools, and tabletop items.  Pfeiffer’s designs have received international media attention and are available at design destinations including Design Within Reach, The Conran Shop, and the MoMA Store. While Pfeiffer Lab’s clients are diverse, ranging from GAP and Northface to DWR, OXO, and Room and Board, the same core values—beauty, materials, honesty, and necessity—guide the studio’s process in the development of every piece.

Designed: Plank Side Chair and Plank Lounger

Harry Allen established his design consultancy, Harry Allen Design, in 1993.  Since then, he has designed furniture, lighting, products, packaging and interiors for dozens of clients, including Magis, Areaware, Ikea, Steuben, Johnson & Johnson, and Marc Jacobs.  Allen’s abiding interest in art and the possibilities of new materials informs every project he undertakes.  His work has been exhibited around the world and is part of the permanent collections of the Philadelphia Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, and MoMA. 

Designed: Lat

Artist and designer Jonah Takagi says he founded his Washington, D.C.-based multidisciplinary atelier as an outlet for his overactive imagination——happily, the products of this prodigious imagination, largely furniture and lighting, have been extremely well-received to date. After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design, Takagi toured with several indie bands playing bass guitar before turning his attention to design full-time. Born in Japan and raised in New England, Takagi’s work draws from a wide range of influences. His designs have been displayed around the world: he has shown at IMM Cologne, in Japan, and in Milan at the Salone Satellite at the Milan Furniture Fair.

Designed: Index Tables

Karim Rashid is one of the most recognizable designers working today. With an international reputation, Rashid works in 35+ countries and has over 3000 designs in production for clients ranging from Alessi, Magis, and Swarovski to Dirt Devil, Method Home, and Samsung. Rashid’s work is a part of 20 permanent collections worldwide and he exhibits frequently; he is also a sought-after guest curator and lecturer. In 2009, Rizzoli released his latest monograph, Karimspace, devoted to interior architecture projects. Rashid holds honorary doctorates from the Ontario College of Art & Design in Toronto and the Corcoran College of Art & Design in Washington, D.C. An ardent advocate for the role of design in everyday life, Rashid is engaged with every aspect of the built environment.

Designed: Careem Chair and BasiK Desk

Mike Simonian and Maaike Evers lead the progressive industrial design studio Mike & Maaike. Formed as a design laboratory, the San Francisco studio works both independently and with clients to create products, furniture, wearables and environments. Maaike is Dutch, Mike, Californian. Their distinct backgrounds and unique approach to design have resulted in a diverse body of work marked by experimentation, substance and strong conceptual narratives. Mike & Maaike's work is recognized internationally and exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide.

Designed: Mute Chair, Divis Table, Divis Bench, Swarm 

Now based in Stockholm, Monica Förster grew up in the northernmost part of Sweden, close the Arctic Circle. The influence of that spare landscape, with its pure, resilient forms, remains a powerful influence in her work. Endlessly fascinated with technology and new materials, Förster is known as an innovator in the both furniture and industrial design categories. She has designed for brands including Poltrona Frau, Modus, Offecct and Tachini and has garnered numerous honors, including Excellent Swedish Design and Germany’s Design Plus.

Designed: Layers Table

Nendo is a design firm founded in 2002 by Oki Sato. Currently based in Tokyo and Milan, nendo’s practice spans architecture, interiors, product and graphic design. Since achieving international recognition for bloomroom, an installation for Milan Design Week 2006, the firm has launched new products annually with manufacturers including Cappellini, De Padova, Guzzini, Oluce and Swedese. German publisher daab is set to release nendo, the firm’s next monograph, in June 2008.

Designed: Radial Shelves

Led by principals Jonah Becker, Claude Zellweger, and Scott Croyle, One & Co is driven by an informed intuition that combines art and science, business and creativity, intelligence and beauty. The company works on design projects for industries as various as home furnishings, consumer electronics, sporting goods, fashion, and transportation; its clients include Nike, Microsoft, Sony, Timex, and Palm. The firm has earned accolades from the design community including BusinessWeek/IDSA Awards (2006, 2005, 2002) and I.D. Magazine Design Review nods (2005, 2002, 2000, 1999). Committed to creating memorable products and meaningful experiences, the San Francisco-based agency includes designers from around the world.

Designed: Drake Chair, Chrysalis Stool and Periodic Table