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/// IN THE AIR / Jonathan Adler Jonathan Adler / IN THE AIR ///

JONATHAN ADLER
Technicolor

LIFESTYLE

FAREWELL MINIMALISM AND MONASTERIAL AUSTERITY!
A MILLION MILES FROM THE PRUDENT PAIRED-DOWN
TREND AND "CLINICALLY WHITE" INTERIORS, THE
EXPLOSIVE WORLD OF DESIGNER JONATHAN ADLER
IMPETUOUSLY BLENDS POP COLORS, ART DECO
REFERENCES AND BAROQUE JUXTAPOSITIONS.

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Design is a reflection of the world
While humor slips easily into his designs — from his iconic we live in.
"Dora Maar" vase to the decoration precepts of his euphoric
bible "My Prescription for Anti-Depressive Living, 2005" — the
American designer is now at the helm of a business empire,
with the eponymous brand distributed across the globe, and a What is design today? What made you take the leap and become a designer?
mind-blowing New York showroom over more than 6,000m .
2
It must be said that the facetious businessman masters the Jonathan Adler: Design is the reflection of the world we live in. J. A.: That step was taken in an unexpected and empirical way.
art of sweeping away labels, both in his approach to interior And the world we live in is totally chaotic! Life follows no rules My career path was built on my own hesitancy. To me, tripping up
design and in his CV. and the same is true for design. You constantly have to rely on is the only way to get ahead. Design and creativity are the driving
your determination and question yourself. The great thing is, I forces of my business. That's why I'm in this job: to create groovy
A student in semiotics at Brown University, Jonathan decided don't have to care whether I'm fashionable or not. objects and mind-blowing spaces!
to drop out in order to focus on his passion: pottery. His pieces Where does your passion for pottery come from? When you find time to take a break, where do you seek
met with success and caught the attention of Barneys which inspiration?
bought a first collection in 1993. He opened his first store five J. A.: I discovered pottery aged 12 during summer camp. That
years later in SoHo and broadened his creative portfolio to experience played a major role in my life, as if it was my destiny — J. A.: These past few months, I've been in retreat in the small
include design, interior design and publishing, always with the and this is a rational guy who's reticent about New Age mysticism! town of Shelter Island on Long Island, and I've never found
same meticulousness and his easily recognizable made-in- Pottery has always held a central place in my life and my vision nature so inspiring as there. As I talk to you now, I can see an
the-USA touch of glamour. of design. eagle perched in our oak tree. And last night it was as if the sunset
How does this discipline influence your daily work? was filmed in Technicolor: the clouds were rose pink as an egret
The tireless Jonathan Adler is a workaholic; he works skimmed across the translucent water…
ceaselessly on his website and e-stores, and attends meeting J. A.: I've kept a craftsman's approach to design and every one
after meeting with the Palm Springs Hotel, Fisher Price, my projects starts in my pottery workshop. It is actually in the
Barbie, H&M and Amazon among others, all the while center of my offices which occupy an entire floor of a building in
remaining constantly on the lookout for inspiration for his next SoHo.
collection.