In New York it is often hard to catch up with people who are even just a couple blocks away. For this week’s interview, we decided to keep it local, and talk with Jamie Gray, the man behind Matter, the high-end furniture and design store right around the corner from Base’s New York office. For the second part of our interview, we asked Jamie to select 15 key products from the store.

Base: You have your own line of furniture, Matter Made. How did it start? Who designs the products?
Jamie Gray: When I first opened Matter in 2003 it was with the intention of creating a platform for the design community here in the US and abroad, and to give them a space to show their work in a big city with a limited amount of venues. And eventually I wanted to produce a small collection of furniture and product. It’s taken a lot of learning the various facets of the industry to finally get to a point where I knew what type of model I wanted Matter Made to become. Paul Loebach and Christopher Specce were the first designers I worked with to produce furniture pieces and they’ve been a truly instrumental part of making this possible. This year I’ll introduce new pieces from Paul and Christopher as well as many other amazing and talented designers.

A Matter Made product. VICTOR sofa by Paul Loebach.

B: You like to break traditional models with Matter Made products. What would you most like these pieces to accomplish?
JG: Making their owners happy and ideally their children and children’s children too. I might settle for any of the pieces one day doing well at a Phillips de Pury auction.

Orchard ladder no. 2 by Paul Loebach for Matter Made.

B: Do you have favorite materials for different pieces?
JG: I favor pretty traditional materials for just about everything. Wood, metal and stone are my materials of choice.

Periodic table by One and Co.

B: In 2009, you designed the Shaker Chair, which, presumably is inspired by the simplicity of Shaker furniture. What other considerations went into this object?
JG: The original is a pretty tough act to follow. I really wanted to pay homage to a chair that is pretty much perfect in every way—it just doesn’t necessarily fit into a contemporary environment. The idea was to take away what is no longer necessary and be left an even simpler version of the former.

Shaker chair by Jamie Gray for Matter Made.

B: You also designed a Shaker Table. Did you create the chair first, and then the matching table, or did you design the chair already thinking ahead to a table?
JG: They were designed at the same time. It’s actually kind of ironic really—I generally don’t go for the whole matching set thing.

Diamond mirror tableau by Piet Houtenbos.

B: Coming back to 2010, how do you feel about the use of new technologies in design?
JG: The first time I went to Milan for the Salone del Mobile some years back there was an exhibition of products made by rapid prototyping and I was so blown away by what was possible. It opened up a whole new world of possibilities when we began going from digital file straight to 3-D object. And while it’s taken design to a new level, like new technology in any field it does get its share of being abused/overused too. Ultimately, though, new technologies have revolutionized the way things can be made, what can be made and how efficiently. You can’t really argue with that.

Black assemblages by Thaddeus Wolfe.

Bubble Chandelier by Lindsey Adelman.

B: What is the general profile of your clients?
JG: We keep their profiles confidential.

B: There is this trend right now of getting back to home and making it a nest, through furniture and decoration. This has hit the level of mass culture with IKEA and the arrival of accessible design. Do you think that people tend to be more sensitive to design even if they’re filling their homes with the same mass-market products?
JG: Yes I do. Don’t tell anybody but I own a few things from IKEA—they really do get some things right. It’s so much more about your personality coming through when you look at the whole picture. It’s about making a space your own or being sensitive to what you respond to, which in theory should be easier because information is now so readily accessible.

Matter Made, Windsor chairs by Chris Specce.

B: Have you noticed an increase in people looking for alternatives to this mass design, for something more refined or unique?
JG: After the economy dropped out nobody was looking for much of anything. But since then there seems to have been a bit of a paradigm shift; I think people are considering their choices a bit more and, rather than buy something that is mass produced, the trend seems to be leaning more towards something unique.

8 drawer Stack by Shay Alkalay.

B: We’ve seen a lot of collaboration lately in fashion, between young designers and established brands. Is the same thing happening in the design world?
JG: Well, I can say this: I am working on establishing Matter as a brand and as it happens I’m also collaborating with some young designers.

Quilt armchair by Ronan Bouroullec and Erwan Bouroullec.

B: Are there any recent collaborations that you particularly like?
JG: Definitely. I’ll be introducing them all in May 2010.

Satomi Kawakita Ring.

Raimond lamp by Raimond Puts.

B: Business aside, have your taste and stock been affected by this climate of recession? In what ways?
JG: It’s definitely made me reevaluate what I’m doing, but ultimately my taste is the same. There is a small part of me that wants to say we should return to simpler design that is all about basic function and need, but that doesn’t make sense either. In reality I don’t want to live like that. Perhaps it’s more about reducing the amount of excess from the equation.

Short stool by Jonah Meyer.

B: With the Internet, consumers increasingly have the ability to educate themselves about design. Do you find that more and more customers come to you with a good knowledge of design specifically because of the Internet?
JG: Yes, I definitely think consumers are better educated about design because of the Internet. I’m better educated about design because of the Internet. It’s a totally different monster than a newsstand and it requires a good filter, but what an amazing and vast resource.

Bocci 14.14 fourteen pendant by Omer Arbel.

Tile stove by Dick Van Hoff.

B: What are you planning for the future?
JG: It changes daily so I try not to look too far ahead.

Read part 1 of this interview here.

In this video, Pat Berman, Professor of Art at Wellesley College, looks at the “W” logo that our Base Lab team created for the school. Suffice it to say that her analysis is astonishing. It is insightful, intelligent and inspired in a way that reminds each of us of “that great teacher we once had.” A must see for everyone interested in typography.

For more information on our work with Wellesley, click here.

“Visitor Pass” es una serie de retratos de gente que visita nuestros estudios.
Esta semana estuvo con nosotros María Aguilera, con quien hicimos la edición de los textos
del catálogo Ryan McGinness. Studio Franchise.

Read this story in French.

It’s ultra. It’s mega. It’s Hannelore.

It’s UltraMegaLore, an exhibition retrospective celebrating the life and career of Belgian supermodel Hannelore Knuts. Curated for The ModeMuseum Hasselt by Hannelore herself, the show is a personal statement and look-back on her ten-plus years as a model and muse to a host of photographers, artists, and fashion designers. We’ve designed all communications materials for UltraMegaLore, including posters, invitations, banners, and the book-catalogue.

The book cover

The book design is based on the show’s main poster, which contains every image in the book. Each page of the book, then, is a zoom-in on the poster. We’ve also designed a series of six billboards, featured throughout the city, that are as much an extension of the exhibition as advertisements for it. Base Partner Dimitri Jeurissen has acted as a creative consultant on the project, working directly with Hannelore on the curation of the show and overseeing the design of all materials.

The UltraMega show poster

Presented across three floors, UltraMegaLore brings together thousands of images as well as memorabilia from Hannelore’s personal life. Featured on the first floor are designers Azzedine Alaia, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Haider Ackermann, all of whom were central to Hannelore’s rise. The second floor presents Hannelore through the lenses of photographers Inez Van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin, Juergen Teller, Serge Leblon, Craig McDean, Jean-Baptiste Mondino, and Steven Klein. A mix of materials and media from across Hannelore’s career are displayed on the third floor, an attic, including video footage, mementos, and more.

UltraMegaLore is open at ModeMuseum Hasselt from March 27 through June 6.

Here is a sneak peek into the book, which is published by Ludion:

In New York it is often hard to catch up with people who are even just a couple blocks away. For this week’s interview, we decided to keep it local, and talk with Jamie Gray, the man behind Matter, the high-end furniture and design store right around the corner from Base’s New York office. More than just the proprietor of Matter, Jamie is also involved in the design of the store’s own furniture line, Matter Made. With an eye peeled for a bigger Manhattan space, Jamie took time out of his increasingly busy schedule to answer a few of our questions about how he got where he is today, and how he’s going to get where he wants to be tomorrow.

Base: Where do you come from?
Jamie Gray: I was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA.

B: How long have you been in NY?
JG: I’ve been here since 1998.

B: What is your background?
JG: I really tried everything I could in my 20s—I played drums in a band, restored vintage motorcycles, sold advertising, traveled the world—I was all over the map, literally and figuratively. I didn’t really become involved in design until I was in my later 20s. It started with a small collection of mid-century modern pieces I picked up at yard and estate sales while living in Seattle. I also worked as an apprentice to a cabinetmaker while I was living there and really fell in love with the idea of making furniture. The first few things I made were terrible—functional, but horrible to look at—so I decided to go back to school.

B: Did you go to art school?
JG: I did. When I moved to New York it was to study industrial design at Pratt Institute. The brief time I was in the ID department I felt really out of my element and pretty quickly found a new home in fine arts. I finished with a degree in sculpture.

B: How did you decide to open a furniture store in SoHo?
JG: I had been open in Brooklyn already for a few years and it just seemed like a natural progression. I wanted to work with architects and interior designers and they weren’t venturing out to Brooklyn all that often. I also wanted to show more substantial pieces, and the layout of the Brooklyn store couldn’t accommodate what I envisioned. At some point I thought about a bigger space in Brooklyn because I feel a certain amount of loyalty to the borough—it’s where I live and where Matter was born—but when it came down to investing in another store, the city just made more practical sense.

B: What is the concept behind the store?
JG: It may take another seven years to give you a proper answer to that question… Really, I just have a great respect for designers who create timeless works. There’s honestly nothing more gratifying than filling a space with some of the pieces I feel are currently the most relevant or noteworthy works of design, especially when people walk through the door and share my view.

Inside the Manhattan Matter store

B: What are the challenges of running such a store?
JG: Profit margins and limited square footage.

B: You have two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn (closing March 30). Is there a difference in your approach for these two places—the product selection, for instance?
JG: A big difference. Manhattan is more sumptuous, more luxurious, and the pieces I select or produce are a bit more sophisticated. They also generally have a higher price tag. Brooklyn is more accessory- or accent-oriented. I’m definitely selecting the merchandise with the same eyes, but catering to the neighborhoods a bit differently and also to what the spaces can accommodate.

B: How do you determine which items to carry? Is it an instant feeling of needing to have a specific item in your store?
JG: I generally know right away if I like something, and that goes for design as well as fashion or music or food or architecture. I get this very specific sensation when something just looks or sounds or tastes right to me. Sometimes I’ll see a piece of furniture and want it in the store right away—there’ll be a sense of urgency—and other times I’ll keep something filed away for later. I guess I make the determination based on current inventory, compatibility and, of course, urgency.

B: What are you inspired by lately?
JG: Red lacquer and bronze. Hopefully that will make more sense come May…

B: Are there any specific periods of style or design that you’ve found to be particularly inspiring or relevant to your work and personal taste?
JG: I think it’s a pretty broad history of culture and design that informs and inspires my taste. If today I’m really into Bauhaus then tomorrow I might be into the Lascaux cave paintings. Last week might have been Navajo rugs and weavings and the week before I might have been listening to Iggy Pop obsessively. I might be non-committal in that sense—I don’t have a favorite band anymore either. Information is so readily accessible today that you can really dive into an era or a specific designer or trend, then come up for air and dive into something else. It’s sort of amazing and sort of sad at the same time. Lately I’ve been really moved by early American craft and I think that will continue to inform my work in some way.

Read part 2 of this interview here.

While we’ve never been strangers to the world of packaging, our packages have typically been vehicles for delivering our graphic work rather than central pillars themselves of our projects. But with the hiring of packaging specialist Carla Maristany, that is about to change. Working from our Barcelona office, Carla comes to us with 14 years of packaging experience. As we look forward to developing packaging projects in the future, we give you here some of Base’s packaging projects from the past.

Our identity for Chanel’s Maison Michel was centered on hat boxes, which were particularly effective as building blocks for store and window displays.

Our repackaging for Yves Saint Laurent’s Opium perfume

Vaccines for Novartis

Our identity for luxury shop and brand Kiki de Montparnasse included packaging as well as branding of the products themselves.

The identity of Portuguese olive oil producer Herdeiros Passanha is based on a ripe, round drop icon, which translates to the bottle, designed by Michael Young.

Base’s package for the Paradis luxury edition of Hennessy Cognac

Our product identity for Camper’s Mediterranean Sneakers line emphasizes a typeface by BaseLab.

The identity for Downtown New York-based jeweler Karen Karch includes jewelry boxes and shopping bags.

Our product line for Fred Segal Beauty challenged the accepted notion that the product name needs to go on the front, and put all text and logo on the back of the packages.

A devastating 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck Santiago de Chile at 3:34 am local time, today, February 27th.

Thank God, all Base people and families are reported to be OK. The studio suffered only light damage to the walls.

Some images of the damage throughout the city can be seen here.

Viviane Sassen’s first American show opens at Danziger Projects on March 4. The exhibition takes in three series—”Die Son Sien Alles” (The Sun Sees Everything), made in South Africa; “Flamboya”, made in Zambia and East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania); and “Ultra Violet”, made in Ghana. The show is up through April 10.

(images courtesy Danziger Projects)