This week, we are pleased to introduce you to one of our newest vendors – Jonathan Adler! Potter, designer, author Jonathan Adler’s work can be described in three words: Modern American Glamour. He founded his company in 1993 as a production potter; he now makes everything from pottery to furniture to lighting and more! We hope you enjoy reading this interview with Jonathan Adler and make sure you check out his products now on DesignerInc!
What makes Jonathan Adler unique?
I make what I want to make and hope that other people like it as much as I do. We don’t just make “stuff,” we make the stuff that lets you be the most glamorous, eccentric version of yourself. My motto? If your heirs won’t fight over it, we won’t make it.
How did you get started in this industry?
I went to college at Brown, but spent every moment next door at RISD making pottery. After college, I moved to New York and got fired from one job after another; I was unemployable. I gave myself a year to figure it out, and I taught night classes at a pottery studio called Mud, Sweat, and Tears in exchange for studio space. Barneys saw one of my collections, placed an order, and that was it – it was on. I became a full-time production potter and the rest of my career has been an insane creative odyssey of making more, more, more.
What is your favorite piece that you have designed?
That’s an impossible question to answer – whatever is the most recent thing is usually my favorite thing. But I think I nailed it with our Dora Maar bowl. It doesn’t look like it was designed; it just looks like it is supposed to be that way. The best pieces don’t look like they’re created, they look like they’re uncovered.
Who or what inspires you most when coming up with designs?
Inspiration is everywhere – I always keep my eyes and my mind wide open.
What is your favorite part about the manufacturing/design industry?
My favorite part of being a designer is getting to make exactly what I want to make. We have the resources to create whatever I can dream up, and it’s magical.
Your bio talks about your pottery. Can you tell us why you enjoy creating pottery?
I’m not a spiritual person, but from the moment I touched clay at summer camp as a 13 year old, I felt a connection. Pottery is at the core of everything I make. The pottery studio is where I work out all my ideas.
I read in your manifesto about the Three L’s. Could you elaborate on that?
Layer, layer, layer. Start with a chic foundation and accessorize with abandon. I am a minimalist product designer and a maximalist interior designer.
What are your favorite colors to put together?
Navy and white, black and gold, and red and brown are “always” combinations.
How do you spend your time when you are not creating new products for your business?
Reading, watching TV, and paddle boarding (not all at the same time).
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
The Amangiri in Utah. It’s bone-crushingly expensive, but it’s worth it.
Thanks for sharing with us more about yourself, Jonathan. We are looking forward to beginning this partnership together!
As an interior designer myself, I always love to see how fellow designers use my products in their projects – that’s why I’m so excited to partner with DesignerInc. I love to see how my stuff can help a client be even more chic than they already are.