Craftsmanship is at the heart of Workshop/APD’s guest designer series for Arteriors. “We never want our work to be minimal and cold. We want it to express a hand, a person, an action that is translated to a material and a texture,” explains Andrew Kline, design director and senior associate at the New York firm.
Workshop/APD design director and senior associate Andrew Kline
Workshop/APD is well-versed in product design. Most recently, there were rug and hardware collaborations with Warp & Weft and SA Baxter, and soon, a luxury capsule collection of furnishings with Jean Lin, founder of Colony, the designers’ co-op, will make its debut. When the opportunity with Arteriors came up, Kline says the studio saw it as a chance to “work with a heritage residential brand committed to expanding its presence in the hospitality and commercial worlds.”
With just a project brief and wishlist from Arteriors in hand, the Workshop/APD team hatched a range of pendants, chandeliers, wall lights, and sconces as well as mirrors and accessories that spans four styles: Bend, Cut, Glaze, and Roll, which are inspired by the alchemy of making. “We became fascinated by the idea of these fundamental acts, simplified down to a verb,” he says. Some pieces exhibit glass, for example, that is silvery-gray and rippled or etched like delicate crystal, while others nod to the techniques of glazing and rolling clay.
The Cut oblong and round mirrors for Arteriors feature an etched gradient slice pattern and a black-painted wood frame
In many ways, Workshop/APD is representative of the collection’s target market, “so we thought a lot about our own specifications,” Kline explains, pointing out the necessity for variation and shifts in scale and form.
One standout is the Bend chandelier, a departure from Workshop/APD’s original vision of a metal armature holding a 44-inch piece of glass that would have been too challenging to produce or ship.
“Arteriors challenged us to divide the textured glass shade into two pieces. It ended up being a beautiful update,” says Kline, noting that the glass now aligns “perfectly with the armature’s stems to highlight its geometric design. As designers, we sometimes dream of things that aren’t practical for larger-scale production.”
This article originally appeared in HD’s 2021 Product Marketplace issue.
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