Jason Phillips
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How would you describe your work?
I have always been torn between two worlds; art and design. And they are two different worlds. On one end, ‘art’, which is the purest of expressions, does not intend anything but to evoke a feeling. ‘Design’ has a goal in mind. In the case of furniture design, the goal is to be functional and beautiful. I would categorize my work as a hybrid. My furniture is functional with a tendency towards sculpture.
How did you get your start?
I have a background in Industrial Design but my passion for design began much earlier. My family started a furniture company called The Phillips Collection over 25 years ago. They would travel to Southeast Asia, sourcing carved teak, Chinese lacquered cabinets, and other historical pieces of that part of the world. I would travel with them to villages where artisans were carving marble, weaving baskets, and building furniture. I appreciated the perspective this gave me on craft. I found I was a talented artist and pursued fine arts throughout my childhood and adolescence. I studied at the Huntington School of Fine Arts in New York and spent a summer in the South of France quarrying my own limestone for sculpture and painting landscapes. I attended The University of Michigan and graduated with a degree in Industrial Design (Magna Cum Laude). During my college years I was accepted into the Universidad de Sevilla—a Spanish university with a prestigious fine arts program—where I studied for a semester and maintained a 4.0 G.P.A. Since then I have joined the family business, at a point when we were transitioning to contemporary. In 2007 I founded Jason Phillips Design; a brand that would serve as a conduit for my fresh ideas that embrace technology, form, and design.
How would you describe your creative process?
If I am working for a client, I suspect I take a similar approach as most designers. I make sure I understand not only what my client in asking for but also who my client is. Are they bold and daring or conservative and precise? Armed with a clear image of what they want, ideas start forming in my head. With computer-aided design tools I’m able to quickly render my concepts. It is not only a benefit to my client when they can see a realistic interpretation of my proposal. I too find it helpful to see resolved concepts during the ideation phase.
From what or whom do you derive the greatest inspiration?
Right now I’d say from the blogs. I am very tech-savvy and follow a lot of design blogs. Every morning and throughout the day I tune in and am able to see what was on display at the shows like ICFF (the International Contemporary Furniture Fair), great new products from designers around the world, and it doesn’t stop there. I follow fashion blogs, automobile blogs, and luxury blogs. I find this to be an ever-growing source of new ideas.
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Do you consider your work to be timeless? If so, how?
My design evokes emotion but that doesn’t necessarily make it timeless. The use of bold colors, purposeful forms, and modern materials may at one point all be out of vogue. For now, and I imagine the foreseeable future, my designs should remain current. I would be quite an elitist to think otherwise.
What do you foresee having a profound effect on your medium of expression? How will it be affected?
Technology and sustainability. It is amazing where it has brought designs of today from where we were even 10 years back. Students are learning 3D modeling and rendering, which helps to quickly visualize problems and create completely new design solutions. I expect computers to get faster, renderings to become crisper, and the forum for displaying one’s designs to become more virtual. As for sustainability, I aim to create works that are environmentally responsible. As a founding member of the SFC (Sustainable Furnishings Council), it is my duty and passion to preserve our planet and to propagate the values and misconceptions behind what it takes to be ‘green’. I imagine in the years to come this will be a theme prevalent in the works of all designers.
What sets your work apart from others?
I wouldn’t want to think I have unique talents but rather I express what I find to be balanced form and aesthetics. Because we are all so different, if we remain true to ourselves in the designs we produce, we will each stand unique. I do make an effort to be relevant to today and to push my own boundaries.
What do your clients find to be the most valuable part of your work?
I am able to quickly and clearly put concepts onto paper in fresh new ways of thinking.
How would you describe your workspace?
Sterile. I am fanatical about keeping a pristine workspace. A clear desk and organized office help balance my mind. Cluttered space, cluttered mind, right? I like to keep small design objects around my office. I find that helps stir the creativity. Right now I have a shelf with 25 miniature iconic chairs that I look at every day. I also keep an archive of great design books, magazines, and catalogs in a library. Oh, and of course, I have to have the dual-monitors on my desk for my renderings.
How would you define luxury today?
Detail and pedigree. It’s not all about ‘blinging’ something out with diamonds anymore. It’s about refined detailing. Bespoke tailoring at every corner. That, married with a respected brand, is true luxury.
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