DSHOP Welcomes Workstead Lighting Collection

4 min read
July 20, 2015
dpages

This summer DSHOP is thrilled to welcome a new collection of lighting by none other than the Brooklyn / Hudson Valley-based design studio Workstead. As part of our introduction of the line we couldn’t resist inviting the company’s founders Stefanie Brechbuehler and Robert Highsmith for a little getting to know you session, which most definitely did not disappoint. They say the very best things in life are born of love and I think you will find such is the case here. Now settle in for a tale that traverses generations, continents, and more than a few late nights. Introducing Stefanie and Robert of Workstead…

Robert was born in North Carolina and got an early start in the arts pursuing a passion for music. However, after 15 years of formal music training, his broadening interests led him to architecture, a familial professional tradition that goes four generations deep. Meanwhile, an ocean and culture away, Stefanie was born in Switzerland and spent her early years as a citizen of the world, first moving to Venezuela before traversing the United States. While in the US, Stefanie received her Bachelors in interior architecture in Chicago and then moved to Rhode Island where she, like Robert, earned a Masters in Architecture with honors from the Rhode Island School of Design. It was during their Masters studies that the pair first met in passing and later fell in love, soon after Stefanie’s graduation. Two years later, upon Robert’s graduation, he moved to New York to join Stefanie where, while he freelanced and she worked at a local firm, they moonlighted on a small kitchen renovation in Brooklyn Heights. Upon the project’s completion it was published in Dwell, filling the pair with the confidence to found their own design studio in 2009. Come 2010 Robert and Stefanie were joined by fellow Rhode Island School of Design classmate Ryan Mahoney. In 2012 Workstead designed the public spaces for the acclaimed Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn and filled it with their lighting. Their work can also be found in the collections of Barneys, Facebook, Levi’s, residences around the world and now, DSHOP. We invite you for a peek at what’s in store…

D: DSHOP is thrilled to welcome the Workstead lighting collection to our offerings. What spurred its creation?

WS: Robert has always been enamored with light fixtures. In fact, he has collected lights for a long time. It all started with refurbishing vintage light fixtures, which once sold, was not sustainable. After some time, too many orders were coming in and we realized that we needed to create a line of new fixtures based on the elemental nature of industrial lighting. Our first and most popular, the industrial chandelier, came about because of a need we had in our new apartment in Brooklyn. The jbox was not centered above the dining table, and we were trying to figure out how to make something work. The industrial chandelier has the ability to ‘re-center’ itself above a table by using a series of articulated joints. Thus the concept of flexible, functional lighting was born. What we have found is that when we need something, usually others do too.

D: When designing something, whether it be a hotel lobby, residential kitchen, or floor lamp, what do you most strive to achieve?

WS: We strive to create designs that, above all, pay attention to context. We are attracted to rich materials, but modern forms. Each client, each project, each task is approached with a fresh perspective on place, scale, materials, and function.

D: As designers who are also business owners… could you offer some insight into the benefits and challenges that come with that dual role?

WS: We are designers, business owners, and also married (Robert and Stefanie). We find that working with Ryan Mahoney, our partner is very helpful. The three of us make a wonderful team and there is always a balance, and a third person to swing the vote one way or another.

D: What advice would you like to give your younger self or architects/designers just starting out?

WS: The best advice is to find a way to do all stages of design well. What we mean by that is design something beautiful. Execute it well. Style it, do whatever it takes to dot the i’s and cross the t’s. Photograph it beautifully. Describe it poetically. Then share it with the world so they will spread the word, share the images, blog about you, etc. It is about the total package, which is so critical in today’s fast-paced internet-centric world. You can be the most talented designer in the world but if you can’t wrap it up at the end, the work will be left unappreciated.

D: Any go-to sources for inspiration?

WS: We don’t do a lot of digging around, to be honest. This doesn’t mean that we are not inspired or look at references, but we feel that an obsession with having to constantly be plugged in to what’s new dilutes our design process. Our design process is very intuitive, and largely based on both the clients we work with, and the craftsmen that we utilize on our projects.

D: What can we look forward to from Workstead in the near future?!

WS: We are currently working on two very exciting hotels – one in Hudson, NY and the other in Charleston, SC. We are also diving into the design of more products, including lighting, as well as numerous exciting projects leading into 2016!