This Brooklyn designer crafts modern furniture using forgotten techniques

This Brooklyn designer crafts modern furniture using forgotten techniques
This Brooklyn designer crafts modern furniture using forgotten techniques

A element of the Abuelo bureau by De La Vega ModelsCourtesy of De La Vega Designs

Mark de la Vega likes to press the boundaries of layout. While his remarkably collectible furnishings parts reference all the things from art deco to early modernist motifs, the founder and principal of De La Vega Designs is on a mission to generate his possess aesthetic vernacular. “I like to combine disciplines, and you can see that in most of my operate,” he tells Business enterprise of Dwelling.

Born in Mexico and elevated in Boulder, Colorado, de la Vega grew up surrounded by art and style and design. “My father was an summary painter and had a large influence on me,” he suggests. “I was just one of people youngsters that was often rearranging the home furniture, and I would sit and attract continuously in the course of my everyday living.”

In school, he researched industrial design and style at the Art Institute of Colorado before shifting to New York to embark on a profession in household furniture style. By 2008, he’d landed a task at Studio Sofield, where by he used his days crafting customized parts for the brand’s large-conclusion clientele. “I honed my skills functioning with some of the best designers and fabricators in the business,” he says. “I had exceptional mentors.”

In 2010, he opened De La Vega Designs—inside a 7,000-sq.-foot loft in a historic dock making in Brooklyn—creating bespoke furnishings for luxury retail purchasers these types of as Harry Winston, Bergdorf Goodman and Tiffany & Co. “I was also fortunate adequate to receive a commission from David Collins for Madonna,” he says. “It was just one of my first household assignments.”

This Brooklyn designer crafts modern furniture using forgotten techniques

L’Elephante chairs by De La Vega DesignsCourtesy of De La Vega Types

The brand released its initial official furnishings assortment, DLV, at ICFF in 2012, and de la Vega claims the relaxation is heritage. “We now have a devoted wooden shop, a metal shop, an upholstery office, a components section and a pictures studio inside of the loft,” he suggests. “It’s a entertaining position to perform.”

De la Vega and his group of artisans hand-craft all of the types in-property from sumptuous—and sustainable—materials such as reliable bronze and sawn wenge wooden. “I like noble products that have remarkable gravity and body weight,” he claims. “As a end result, a ton of my get the job done is major to lift.”

This Brooklyn designer crafts modern furniture using forgotten techniques

The Giac side chair, Carlo mirror and Drum table by De La Vega TypesCourtesy of De La Vega Designs

Alongside with an array of prosperous supplies, de la Vega depends on a medley of intricate artisanal procedures to forge his eye-catching items. The Abuelo bureau, for instance, options a dozen drawers bedecked in a sensitive cracked eggshell (“coquille d’œuf”) complete, and the brand’s bestselling Giac chair showcases a sinuous, hand-sculpted forged aluminum body. “It requires up to 11 artisans to execute each and every item,” he says. “Everyone on our crew is a expert in their craft, from grasp welders to woodworkers and eggshell mosaic artists.”

Last thirty day period, De La Vega Layouts debuted L’Elephante, an oversized wingback chair clad in curly boucle with playful button “eyes” and carved wood legs that mimic elephant toes. “I’m type of a sluggish mover when it comes to launches or new items,” claims de la Vega. “I sort of just make some thing and then place it out on the flooring and gauge the response—all though tweaking the system in the background.”

Hunting forward, the model has programs to release a re-imagined edition of its strong solid acrylic Drum desk and introduce a scenario merchandise addition to its at any time-well-known Giac collection. “We have developed into a delighted, balanced home furniture studio,” he claims. “The figures could be various, [but] the good quality is nonetheless paramount.”

If you want to understand much more about Mark de la Vega and De La Vega Designs, check out his web site or follow him on Instagram.

Homepage image: Mark de la Vega with Giac chairs by De La Vega Styles | Courtesy of De La Vega Models