02.27.24
Sight Unseen Collection
Punk and Playfulness Co-Exist in Nice Condo’s Monumental Furniture
Combining influences from Brutalism and Memphis with traditional wood craft, Chris Held and Sara Graham create monumental designs that — while often statement-making in some way, from the off-kilter color palette of a dining table to a cabinet with sawtooth hardware — are intended to anchor a space and fit with a variety of interior styles. The pair work under the studio name Nice Condo, and have recently joined the Sight Unseen Collection with three key pieces. “Challenging the expectations of a client in formal ways quickly veers into sculpture, and I’m not interested in making sculpture,” Held says. “I’m interested in making things people put in their homes and spill drinks on — live life on and around.” That’s true for works such as their Colorway Table, whose baltic birch plywood shell is plastered with seven different colors of linoleum sheeting and topped by a thick slab of butter yellow. Or the Trinity console, whose thick, inky-black linoleum legs are softened by the inclusion of walnut burl veneer. Another standout, the white oak and bent plywood Jackson Highboy, includes shelf storage, drawers, and an armoire-like top, but the piece comes in three separate parts, so it can be broken down and installed without hassle in tight New York apartments. “I learned my lesson living in New York for so many years,” says Held.
A big influence on the light-toned, West Coast vibe of Nice Condo’s collection comes from Held’s years spent studying woodworking at the now defunct Oregon College of Art & Craft, then earning his master’s degree at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Having worked in furniture design and fabrication for over 15 years, he started Nice Condo in 2019, and Graham, a fashion marketing whiz, came on board officially last year to help the company grow, after advising behind-the-scenes for some time. Another major aesthetic marker is the result of the pair’s tendency to marry high craft with common materials. “I prefer to work with flat sawn domestic hardwoods, usually light or medium in tone, and pair those elements with plywood, laminate, and powder-coated steel,” says Held. “These are useful, sturdy materials that mix well to comprise an interesting whole in my opinion. I’m much more interested in what design and labor can bring to a piece of furniture than attempts to dazzle with opulent materiality. The work is very proletariat in that way, and I guess that’s kind of punk.”
The designer’s iconoclastic outlook has had a sizable impact not only on the collection but also on the New York design scene as a whole over the past decade, as the founder of the excellent Jonald Dudd exhibition that takes place during NYCxDesign each May. The showcase brings together emerging, experimental, and avant-garde designers, providing them the type of platform that Held felt was missing when he landed in the city 10 years ago. Having visited design fairs across Europe before his move, “When I finally got to New York Design Week, I was pretty disappointed,” he says. “I guess it just lacked a sense of inspiration for me.” Two years in, he started Jonald Dudd to fill a “hole in the market” and “create a show where people that were making work like my own might have a platform and be part of the conversation.” Held notes that over the past few years, the city’s design scene has opened up and diversified somewhat, thanks to a rise in more independent shows and a simultaneous boom in galleries that carry collectible design — a term he very much dislikes.
Recently, Held and Graham have embarked on a new adventure: moving themselves and the Nice Condo production studio to Philadelphia, where all of their pieces are handcrafted and made to order. “There are some really interesting things happening in the design world in Philly,” Graham said. “I think a lot of that is adjacent to the food scene. We’re seeing a lot of really great restaurants open with beautiful build-outs and spaces.” Thankfully, the pair haven’t abandoned NYC entirely, and are currently prepping for this year’s edition of Jonald Dudd. Will we be seeing a Philly version in the near future? They’re not ruling it out.
© Alex Yudzon
© Stan Narten
© Alex Yudzon
© Stan Narten
© Ryan Dausch
© Alex Yudzon