Clay Brown’s work is shot through with an imaginative sense of play that is, quite simply, fun — but that’s not all it is. Somehow his pieces come off as minimal and spare yet highly referential and evocative, like his resin Island lamps, which call to mind cake domes; the Formica and birch I’m Ready cabinet, which could be a “mini-bar or maybe a wardrobe for a toddler;” and the jagged yet precise aluminum 1234567 bookcase, which is sharp but not at all forbidding. His Stave cabinet, part of the Sight Unseen collection, rises to a steep peak in darkly moody colors but it’s also… friendly. With its oxblood Thumbprint pull by Sam Stewart — with whom Brown has worked on several projects — it’s like a classic wooden toy scaled up to human proportions.

“I’ve always been making stuff; it’s something I can’t really imagine life without. I guess it started with making a million oven-bake clay sculptures and cardboard swords as a kid,” says Brown. Encouragement at home and a high school with a “great arts program” allowed him to pursue painting and metalworking early on. A lifelong native of Cincinnati, Ohio (except for a short stint in New York), Brown completed his Bachelor’s in industrial design at the University of Cincinnati earlier this year, spending much of his time learning fabrication techniques, getting accustomed to different materials, and securing invaluable internships. “The program gave me the chance to work with and learn from some great people and designers who’ve played a huge role in kick-starting my career, including Matteo Guarnaccia, Sam Stewart, and Christian Kotzamanis of MOCK studio.” Below, we chatted with Brown about his process, being inspired by black metal, designing in the Midwest, and what’s been driving him lately. I wanted to ask you about your approach to material and process. Do you tend to start with a material and then figure out what you’d like to do with it, or does a design usually come first? I’d love to hear more about how imagery and symbolism play a role in your approach.

My work typically starts with an idea and from there I’ll figure out what techniques or methods are necessary to make it real. That’s where it gets really fun. Learning how to execute all the steps needed to see your idea come to life, it’s so rewarding. I enjoy making things that are recognizable or loosely referential. I hope that my work can remind lots of people of lots of different things at once. It’s nice making things that maybe feel familiar in a way.

Can you tell me a little more about the Stave cabinet, in particular? Does it get its name from stave churches, with their stacked, pointed architecture?  

Yeah, the Stave Cabinet was kind of my attempt at trying to make an object that possessed some kind of non-secular attitude, like an obelisk with unknown origin. The name comes from the 13th century Norwegian stave churches, which were usually blackened with tar and constructed from solid wood. I’ve been captivated by stave churches since I learned that those Norwegian black metal guys were burning them down in the ‘90s.

Do you think living in Cincinnati affects your work, or that being outside of the NY-LA design axis offers some benefits?

I love living in Cincinnati. Fall has been really beautiful this year. Sometimes I feel like I might be missing out on something not living in New York, but it’s been nice to just go for short stints for a project or a show and spend time with my brother who lives in the city. It’s exciting to know that it’s possible to pursue object or furniture design in other places in the US other than New York and LA. There’s a slower pace to life in the Midwest, which I find very comforting. It’s nice to be able to drive 15 mins and be in the woods. I also still have access to my university’s decked out shop space, which is totally a dream come true. It’s the best facility I could ask for really.

Tell me a little bit about the internship program at your school that allowed you to work with designers like Sam Stewart.

Every other semester at my university we had the opportunity to intern full time with a company or designer of our choosing or whatever we could get our hands on really. I was lucky enough that Sam needed help the summer of 2022 preparing for his solo show Daisy Chain. We did a ton of resin casting and mold making, I learned a good deal about cabinet making and some crating tricks. I love working with Sam because of how honest he was with me in the studio. I felt very connected to each piece we were working on and involved in all the planning and coordinating behind the scenes. I love what he does because he believes in it so much, and it was a very cool thing to be a part of.

What’s been inspiring your work lately?

My work lately seems to be a mix of ancient motifs and things I grew up with in the 2000s. Somewhere between Gothic cathedrals and Spongebob lol. I love Sam Raimi’s 2002 Spider-Man. The Green Goblin’s character design is just flawless. Also, as I’ve been getting into sewing lately, and it’s been exciting to explore adapting some visual characteristics from medieval garments and tents into textile lamps I’ve been developing. I love the use of color, materials, and building methods found in Medieval architecture and objects. Despite the Middle Ages being totally miserable for most people, I’ve always found the medieval/ fantasy visual identity very charming – from illuminated manuscripts to Ralph Bakshi’s 1978 animated Lord of the Rings. My brother would take me to the Ohio Renaissance festival as a kid, we would dress up and everything. Those are really fond memories for me.

What are you working on now? And what’s next?

Since finishing school I’ve been working on some fun lighting projects with MOCK studio and taking on any freelance work I can find. I’ll be teaching a birdhouse making class this winter, I’m pretty excited about that. And I would love to build myself a bicycle.  But we’ll see! Excited to see what happens next.

And, given what’s in your website bio, I have to ask: What is the optimal lightbulb tone? And what’s your preferred sock color?

Hahaha, I always use 2700K LEDs. I have a pair of Cincinnati Bengals socks I really like.