Kim Salmela was only 22 years old when a friend who worked for Prince asked her if she wanted to be the singer’s creative director for a new nightclub he was opening. Her concept, which was modeled after a sensorial progressive dining experience, was striking in its innovation and Prince took notice.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and an offer she couldn’t refuse. Needless to say, design school was put on hold. Though the nightclub never came to fruition, Salmela stayed on the musician’s team doing everything from set and costume design (she recalls dressing his dancers in ductwork from Home Depot for one show) to throwing his personal parties. “I would get a phone call from Prince at eight at night that he wanted to perform and that meant we had to have a party and there had to be a theme,” she says.
It was a whirlwind two years and “a massive training tool for me—to think creatively, economically, and quickly,” she says. But she was burned out and ready to refocus. She went back to school and opened a furniture store in Minneapolis while doing interior design work on the side. Product design came naturally, and out of necessity, and in 2006, Salmela closed her store and moved to Los Angeles. It wasn’t until recently, however, that she was ready to claim the spotlight for herself, launching her own eponymous furniture line.
In addition to expanding to textiles in the fall, her latest releases include the Burke and Maya sofas, each of which display her modern global-chic style with clean and simple lines. “I want my furniture to be high design but practical and usable,” she says. “Design is all interrelated. I’m very hands on and people trust that.”
Salmela’s Lewis sofa features a hardwood frame done in espresso and ivory upholstery
