I BELIEVE I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE. I BELIEVE THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO, LIKE ME, LOOK FOR PARED-DOWN OBJECTS, MADE BY HAND, FROM FINE AND LONG-LIVED MATERIAL, FUNCTIONAL, WITHOUT DECORATION. I BELIEVE IN THE HUMAN BEING, IN SELF-POSSESSED PEOPLE WITH CHARACTER, AND THEY ARE WHO I THINK ABOUT WHILE I DESIGN AND MAKE.

I GREW UP AMONG HORSES. LEATHER WAS THE FIRST MATERIAL I TRULY CAME TO KNOW, NOT THROUGH A SHOP WINDOW, BUT IN MY HAND, ON A HORSE: BRIDLES, SADDLES, TACK. THE SMELL OF IT IN THE CLOSET, THE SMELL OF A MATERIAL THAT WORKS AND LIVES, A MATERIAL USED EVERY DAY, CARED FOR AND REPAIRED, A MATERIAL THAT DOES NOT WEAR OUT FROM USE.

I MADE MY FIRST OBJECT AT EIGHT: A DOG LEASH, WITH MY FATHER’S TOOLS FOR REPAIRING TACK. AT FIFTEEN, MY FIRST BAG AND A PAIR OF RIDING BOOTS. I HAD NO IDEA WHAT I WAS STEPPING INTO, BUT THE FEELING IS STILL THERE.

YEARS LATER, IN 2015, I OPENED THE ATELIER, A SPACE WHERE THE WALLS ARE WHITE, THE HOUSEPLANTS GREEN, THE FURNITURE THE COLOR OF STRAW. A SPACE WHERE SILENCE RULES, WHERE EVERY OBJECT TAKES SHAPE IN MY HANDS. FROM LEATHER I CHOOSE FOR ITS CHARACTER AND FOR THE WAY IT AGES. A PLACE FOR OBJECTS THAT DON’T ASK FOR ATTENTION, BUT TO SERVE, OVER THE YEARS.

THE MARK IS THREE ZEROS, BORN OF THE RHYTHM OF THE LETTER O IN MY NAME, BORN OF THE WORLD I GREW UP IN, BORN OF THE AESTHETIC I CAME TO HOLD. ZERO IS CLEAN, ZERO IS NOTHING AND EVERYTHING, ZERO IS DESIGN WITHOUT DESIGN.