Look Book, one of WantedDesign’s signature programs, debuted in 2018 at WantedDesign Manhattan as a curated section dedicated to North American design studios. The idea of the program is to offer high-end designers, makers and studios an in-person portfolio for showcasing their work to architects and interior designers.

Past participants of WantedDesign expressed a desire to see a dedicated program designed to connect independent North American studios and firms with the right audience of interior designers and architects.

Presented with Modern magazine, the inaugural edition of Look Book included the following participants:

Brave Matter – Concrete Cat – Crump & Kwash – Jake Whillans – Jason Lewis Furniture – Jill Malek – Lake & Wells -Moses Nadel – New York Heartwoods – Richard Clarkson – Simon Johns – Yuko Nikishawa

View the brochure for Look Book 2018

For the occasion of the debut of Look Book, Nicole Anderson, Executive Editor of Modern magazine, wrote the following:

When I think about good design, and what it is that we seek from it, whether in a small vessel or a larger piece such as a credenza or a table, the oft-quoted words of William Morris—the English designer, craftsmen, poet, and activist of the arts and crafts movement—come to mind: “Have nothing in your house which you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”

Form and function must come together in the equation, but there is something more that needs to be there—we want to live with objects, textiles, or furniture that not only please the eye but also have stories to tell—that will enhance the spaces we occupy and become part of our own personal worlds and narratives. In essence, we want something with soul.

And so did Morris, who lived and worked during a period of rapid industrialization, driving him and other arts and crafts designers to advocate for hand-craftsmanship. In many ways, it is not so different today, when we are inundated with technology and spend much of our time watching screens or interacting with digital devices. It has made us long for items with evidence of the human touch, where there’s texture and color, and even welcomed imperfections.

The outcome is that designers and consumers alike are seeing the value in custom, handcrafted design, and investing in it, thanks in no small part to increasing exposure through social media, the Internet, design publications, and fairs like WantedDesign.

And this has allowed young designers and makers, especially in North America, to pursue their craft and to find an enthusiastic audience for their work.

WantedDesign’s new program, Look Book, is creating that critical, but often absent, bridge connecting independent design studios with interior designers and architects. While there are upsides to mass-production, custom design, whether it’s one-off, limited-edition, or produced in small batches, can allow for a more direct, intimate, and collaborative exchange between studio and architect or interior designer, and perhaps most importantly, provides us, the consumer, with pieces that are innovative, original, and yes, useful and beautiful.

View the brochure for Look Book 2018