As a graphic designer for the past 25 years I have an appreciation for all aspects of design and how it integrates into my life. There are two things that I have identified that I am very passionate about – typography and mod furniture.
The two came together around five years ago. My artist wife Laura Zeck and I remodeled two houses and a condo during that time. We gradually got better at being handy and gained lots of confidence with power tools. Our last endeavor was a former gang/crack house that was a massive 4500-square foot, four story mansion built in 1904.
The house needed major renovation at every level. For instance, when we moved in there was no kitchen and a barely-working toilet. There was so much space to redesign and fill that we decided to take a shot at making some of our own furniture.
A year into the project and a few prototypes later, I created some typography-influenced pieces: The X lounge and the Z perch. My biggest influences were the Bauhaus classics: the Barcelona chair by Mies van der Rohe and the Zig-Zag chair by Gerrit Rietveld. There were quite a few avant-garde type designers in the movement (such as Herbert Bayer and Laszlo Moholy-Nagy) and I am sure it had an effect.
Currently we are working on our third house, an underwhelming mid-century dwelling (way smaller!) in the outskirts of Seattle with good bones to work from. New house, new furniture – my latest work features a few new pieces that are typographically inclined.
The one relative to Gravity Design is the X stool. We will be commemorating our tenth anniversary this year and the X stool will be one of our giveaways at our party in October. Here is a sneak peak:
-Jesse Doquilo
