Perhaps better known for his roles in movies (The Expendables, Idiocracy) and larger-than-life TV characters (Terry Jeffords on the sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Terry Crews is also a talented illustrator and artist. As a teen growing up in Flint, Michigan, Crews received an art scholarship at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. But a full athletic scholarship to play football at Western Michigan University took the multi-hyphenate on a different trajectory: to the NFL. Not letting his art background go to waste, he earned extra money by painting portraits of his teammates.
After retiring from football in 1997, the ever-evolving Crews tried his hand at another ambition (and skill) of his, acting, before establishing Amen&Amen, a design house he cofounded with fashion designer Nana Boateng that supports creative talent in art, music, fashion, and design. This year, his lifelong passion for creating came full circle when he collaborated with Bernhardt Design on his eponymous furniture collection, which debuted at ICFF in May.
The sleek Lilypad swivel chair rises from the table recalling its floating flower namesake.
Crews has been integral to the design world throughout his career, investing in young designers like Ini Archibong, whose exhibition brought Crews to Salone del Mobile in Milan. That led to an introduction with Bernhardt president Jerry Helling, where the two found they were mutual admirers of each other’s work. They started their partnership soon after, working closely throughout the process on crafting “functional sculpture; creating a piece of art that you can actually use,” Crews says.
The series of tables and chairs is a take on what one might find in a modern Egyptian palace. “We took a big story and stripped it down to its essence; we wanted nothing extraneous,” he says. “I’m excited by the effort that goes into making things simple.” The sleek Ibis sofa, for example, recalls the outstretched wings of the sacred bird, while the Float table and Aire bench mimic smooth rocks and pebbles along the shore of the Nile. The Lilypad, a unique table with a swivel chair rising from the top like the floating flower after which it is named, evokes both strength and serenity. The Egyptian sky god Horus was often depicted in ancient art sitting on a water lily, so “when you sit on it, you’re subconsciously a god,” says Crews.
Building on the success of this collection, the athlete-cum-actor-cum-furniture designer is already working on new ideas. “The design world is a family, and I love that,” he explains. “Whatever direction Hollywood wants to go, this is something I can do that satisfies me.”
