Los Angeles, studiosamklemick.com
A former fashion designer, Klemick transitioned to furniture two years ago after falling in love with wood-working and realizing she could use her new passion to address some of the more wasteful practices of her former industry. Many of Klemick’s works combine salvaged construction materials and deadstock or vintage textiles; her standout Bell chair, whose pillowy upholstery was inspired by Margiela’s famed 1999 Duvet coat, uses bleached lumber and factory seconds fabric, while her Quilted Side Table makes use of reclaimed Douglas fir. A newer body of work pairs fashion and furniture even more conceptually, with stools sporting giant carved ribbons. After showings in London, Milan, Miami, and a wonderfully sensitive recent joint exhibition with Canadian designer Jeff Martin for Objective Gallery, we’re excited to see where she goes next. 

What is American design to you, and what excites you about it?

The first thought that came to mind was, I don’t know! I hope American design is something that can be inclusive and free of definition, allowing room for everyone to have their own point of view. Maybe American design is then individualistic? There are trends that ebb and flow, but at the same time I feel like at any moment, depending on what city you are in or what designer’s studio, you could see something you have never seen before.

What are your plans and highlights for the upcoming year?

My first plan is to take a minute! The past year has been an incredible whirlwind. I was constantly producing new work, and I think this year I need to take a minute to pause and reflect a bit, but I also already have plans for my next large body of work, so we will see how much pausing I really do. I will also be part of Haworths second Design Lab, I’m super excited for this. The theme this year is sustainability, which ties in directly to my practice. I work with almost exclusively recycled materials, this is something very important to me. Haworth is opening their doors to us to utilize their resources for sustainable material exploration and research. Having never formally gone to school for this I am beyond pumped to have this opportunity to learn from their team and specifically Patricia Urquiola who heads the design lab. Potentially there is also a fashion collaboration in my future that I’m trying to put into the universe, and the rest will hopefully just be small wonderful surprises along the way.

What inspires or informs your work in general?

My background in fashion is at the forefront of what informs my work. My relationship to textiles and proportions — I learned all of that from my experience as a fashion designer. The first thing I ever noticed about people as a kid was the clothes they were wearing. I used to make my mom draw the characters in films that had my favorite dresses on. (She literally had to pause the VCR to do this) I find so much inspiration and reference from films. When I have a theme or concept I want to explore I make myself movie lists and playlists and live in that world.

My work has evolved over the past few years. It started from a fascination with duvet comforters and Margiela’s ‘99 collection, I think you can see it in the upholstery. I was watching a lot of movies about sleep and dreams at the time. The new stuff that I’m making explores my relationship to textiles in a more literal way. I am working with fabric again and draping it over forms, scanning these things and translating them into lumber. With this sculptural approach I am able to express my ideas in a very direct way. On deck is a long list of melancholy films for me. There’s a nostalgia and sentiment I want to begin to explore. Please send recs.