“USM asked me to “do something” at their space on Greene Street in Soho, New York City. Two years later, we found ourselves erecting a piece of architecture inside and several wall-like pieces that divided and anchored space. We hosted a dinner with We Are Ona and a dance performance by choreographer and Gaga dancer Ben Green and Alex Batkin. We even dragged one of the pieces up to 4.5 acres of raw land to take photos of it in the summer grasses. I thought: How wild can you be inside a hard set of limiting parameters?

We ended up treating USM as architecture not furniture and musing it could become a wall, a protective surface, something to anchor to — like shelter from a storm? We wanted to build self-assembled structures that help you live — accessories for living, essentialist shelter. Our love of the mountains pushed us to think about the room you set up yourself, the one you carry and build on the spot. Nomadic living and portable atmosphere were concepts. I love abstract thinking, liminal space creation, blurring lines, and reducing “lifestyle” to some core essentials. Material integrity and exposed structure is a studio value; this is why we collaborate well with existing architecture. We tried a step further, requesting it in raw steel without paint or powder coat. Then we filled it with my archive of cast glass, Chris’ hand carved wood magnets, Vera’s collections of bird nests and Rebecca’s favorite rock.

I’ve loved USM since before I can remember; it has also represented elegant, urban, European order. The restraint, the repetition is something we strongly identify with; discipline is god to me.” LD

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARCO GALLOWAY