Rabbit Hole Distillery
Retail design has been in our wheelhouse since the start, it is so keenly informed by the behaviors of people we would call it a mathematical equation or even scientific. The hand curated collection of merchandise partners perfectly with the brand guidelines for the bottles, guiding the customer experience through passive wayfinding. This design collaboration with Four Board Woodworks, directed by Ed James and Distillery Founder and Whiskey Maker Kaveh Zamanian came together for a grand re-opening of the distillery. Fueled by Kaveh’s vision and passion for the perfect libation, pairing this reimagined retail space, with the perfect hospitality team, within an architectural masterpiece was a treasured experience.
Artist Spotlight: Siosi
Those crushes that start from a distance. You watch, you swoon, perhaps you manage the courage to DM. And then, despite every schoolgirl story - the result isn’t crushing, its enlightening.
We long followed fellow Bloomington creators Audi + Ivy of Siosi Design, but it wasn’t until the right clients came along that the moment to reach out arose. These clients shared an excitement for commissioning functional art that no one else had, and Siosi created just that: two smooth, substantial and minimalist pieces that would act as both bench and table. Sure, emails work fine to send drawings back and forth, to decide details on size, wood type, and finish, but what about the first date? A design courtship isn’t complete without geeking over process. Lipstick or no lipstick?
No lipstick. Bloomington is roots, it’s home. Acceptance. It’s limestone, craftsmanship, tall trees, and basketball. It’s a stop at Nick’s and a hug and a kiss from Dad.
Something we were glad to sense when greeted with warmth in a chilly workshop. The furry friend is protective, but that is a form of sweetness too.
We saw progress on the pieces, and asked more than 20 questions. You must know these women, powerhouses on integrity in design. So, get to know them. Crushing yet?
You both started in fine art school, what caused you to move into furniture?
Audi - In 2012 I finished up an MFA in photography from IU, realized academia wasn't for me, and knew that I wanted to find a way to make art and a living. Starting a furniture design studio was a gamble, but Ivy and I had recently collaborated on designing and making several oddly shaped frames for my MFA thesis show, knew we worked well together, and decided to go for it! I am the third generation of entrepreneurs in my family, so running a business is in my blood ... we bought basic equipment, rented out a space for $300 a month, and started making and designing. Seven years later, we have a 4500 sq ft studio: wood, metal, and photo all under one roof. You know it's your dream job when you look forward to going to the studio on a Sunday.
Ivy - My personal practice has always included components of function. It was a very organic movement into focusing on fine furniture. When we were first conceptualizing a business, Audi and I thought about Exhibition Fabrication, but quickly realized we wanted more control, more time, and more of our own voices in our work. Fine furniture is limitless.
How do you individually find inspiration? Does inspiration come naturally or do you work for it?
Audi - Sometimes inspiration comes naturally, sometimes we have to work for it. I often wake up with design ideas, or ways to problem solve a build. Going to museums, travel, and even instagram are all inspiring ... looking at art, going for a swim, visiting other makers, time in the shop just looking at the wood we're about to work with is also very important processing/inspiration time.
Ivy - Inspiration starts to bubble up immediately when talking to a client or assessing a need...from there it needs to be wrangled, recorded, and then the editing process begins. Inspiration is often informed by our skillset as a way to expand our capabilities. - Right, it's a constant thinking outside the box--about the box itself.
We have to ask: what is it like working with your partner? When do you find yourselves having to compromise?
Audi - It ain't always easy, but it is our collaboration that makes this work. Every piece has some sort of collaborative brainstorming session, we problem solve, think about process, consider design ... together; and sometimes that means compromise, or a frustrating conversation - but it's the process of collaboration that makes our work better.
Ivy - Ultimately, it's a huge advantage. We don't work with anyone we don't like. We don't have to answer to a boss we can't stand or feel undervalued by our team. I can't imagine working in an environment like that and so many, too many people do that everyday, for their entire careers. We compromise a lot of our "non-working" time. We bring work home everyday. Work comes on our fancy dates and home for the holidays. We're working on work / life balance.*
Your work is unique for so many reasons in our book, but what makes it unique to you?
Audi - As women, partners, and self taught woodworkers, we are already outside of the norm in this industry. And our collaboration is very tight - our brains work differently ... very differently ... so the designs that we produce are coming from different perspectives that are brought together. Our hope is to make timeless designs, and we think that our powers combined are much more valuable than our individual skills.
What are ways you can recognize quality when buying furniture?
Audi - Always look at the bottom of the piece. If the bottom has been treated with as much care as the top, you've found a maker with integrity. Attentions to detail and design is also a sign of a thoughtful, careful maker - look at the piece from far away, as a whole, and then get up close and see the quality of craft - it's all important.
Ivy - A piece has to have quality in the sense of "it's degree of excellence" sure, and that's something you learn by comparison, but for me a piece also has to have a quality to it...a distinctive attribute or characteristic. That something special...whether it's the tactile properties of the piece or a distinct maker's hand. That's what I look for.
What’s next for Siosi?
Audi - We're big dreamers. We'd love to build a shop and small home just outside of Bloomington - we've had the privilege of combining work and life, professional and personal; and we'd like to take that to the next level by having a shop and home on the same land. The goal is to host clients in the guest house - they can see their pieces in progress, choose the slab for their dining table, or just hang out with us for a weekend ... and there will be a golf cart, and swimming, and good food + wine. It may be a few years until we manifest the dream, but we're working towards it.
Ivy - I want to supply tables to the stars! For real, I'd love it if we were the "celebrity must-have" tables. Janet [Jackson], if you're reading this, I will make you the most beautiful table, bed, chair,...whatever you want, we'll make it special, all for you.
Chicago: NEO NOD
Small business is synonymous with reinvention. You can be in this industry ten years, and each day brings a new “thing”: sometimes a challenge, sometimes an innovation. It’s the fire that keeps us growing.
In 2018 we were trusted to tell stories outside of the home, and to help define brands so the public could easily “read” them. Mission: set. The visual, the feeling is easy. But does it work for 10 people, does it work 300?
Chicago may have had some answers, so we went. Neo Con is the national showcase for commercial design. It was an opportunity to dive into product and materials specific to high-function. Because we’re suckers for the city, we thought one day at the Mart, one day for the city. Neither was enough.
Answers we received, more questions we came home with.
Nevertheless, a new path forged.
NOD x 2018
All photo credit @LukeMetzinger
Photos. They document the adventures we have been on in 2018, and we are better for the hurdles, the learning, and even... dare I say... failures. What a compliment to our team, to be brought in on multiple commercial projects, a national product line launch, and even healthcare and co-working conceptualization. Concepts that are cutting edge and revolutionizing the way people think, and will ultimately behave. Of course, our sweet spot, proven more so by the years adventures, are the intimate relationships of highly personalized residential design. Working with some of the most talented architects in Louisville, we have kept our operation small, invited in passionate partners to hone our talents, and added skilled people to help us transition in growth. We are still that small studio, in lock step with our art community, and craftspeople, but 2017 forced our physical growth in a positive, all be it not for the risk adverse, direction. 2018 will mark our 10 year anniversary in Louisville. Some raw captures here of the work we do, the spaces we have had a hand in, and the true joy of the journey.
When we closed out our small 450 square foot studio at the end of summer, we rested. But, if only for a minute, to recognize the true purpose of our work. The work we attract and the talent we share. How do we innovate, is there a pivot point? It all rests here... in the studio.
“Working in a studio:
The boss in a factory relies on compliance. More compliance leads to more profits. Do what you’re told, faster and cheaper, repeat.
This is the history of the twentieth century.
The studio, on the other hand, is about initiative. Creativity, sure, but mostly the initiative to make a new thing, a better thing, a process that leads to better.
It’s peer to peer. The hierarchy is mostly gone, because the tasks can be outsourced. So all that’s left is leadership.
Initiative plus responsibility. Authority is far less important, as are the traditional measures of productivity.
You can tell a studio and factory apart in about three minutes.”
-Seth Godin
The future is exactly as you make it, and we could not feel better about what we have started here.
Thanks for giving this a read. See you in the new year.
Natalie + Julie + Luke + Taylor + Joe
NYC
“I cannot tell you what will happen, but I can tell you it will be different when the light pours in.” -Morgan Harper Nichols
10:
Standing in the dry husks of midwestern cornfield
When I grow up: I will live in New York City.
20:
This is New York City. May I never leave it. It shows me how people can get along. It shows me a view of a world far bigger than mine. Touching all of the textures. This is my New York. Contributing to this flavor is my life.
Photos by Luke Metzinger
44:
Am I grown up?
New York lives in me. It travels with me in every experience, it is who I show my children they can be. It flavors my every leaning.
The same could all be said of travel. Travel is lifeblood. It is the push of seeing everything through a lens other than your own. Less selfishly. With more empathy. From you derive knowledge, skill a communication you did not have before.
Now Streaming: Light and Consciousness
It was the windows, without question. Our group of phototropic souls would lean into the light and grow. That was the plan as we brought our mangled and long-collected boxes and binders into the space this February. Boxes of samples, works and stories long-accumulated now had a shell to land in….