MIC3 – Meet the Makers & Opening Night!
With over 280 people in attendance, our Made in Chicago III show opening exceeded expectations—and our beverage supply! Guests mingled with the artists and their creations while enjoying wine, cheese, and hors d'oeuvres. The store provided the perfect backdrop – ancient architecture for modern furniture. If you couldn’t join us last Thursday, don’t worry—the show exhibition runs until May 15th.
Special thanks to our co-sponsor CS Magazine, Jewell Events Catering for their delicious and elegant canapés, and The Kitchen’s savory snacks and sweet treats!
· Jordan Mozer is the founder, co-owner and principal of Jordan Mozer & Associates, Ltd. Prior to earning a degree in architecture, he studied painting, sculpture, English literature, fashion, and product design, all of which inform his work on a daily basis. He is attentive to every client's business plan, the look of each logo he designs, and the craftsmanship of each door pull he carves by hand.
About Jordan Mozer & Associates, Limited:
Jordan Mozer and Associates, Ltd. is an internationally celebrated architecture and design firm founded in 1984. JMA takes pride in work that is personal, inter-disciplinary, seamless and highly customized, with most every detail manufactured locally. For more than twenty-five years, JMA’s team of architects, designers, project managers and storytellers have collaborated with clients as varied as Disney, Marriott, Volkswagen, Universal Studios, Asprey & Garrard, Steve Wynn, Lettuce Entertain You, Barney’s New York and The Rolling Stones (to name a few) to create unique hospitality, entertainment, residential and retail projects throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. During this time JMA’s work has been consistently included in worldwide press, books, galleries, museums and both public and private collections. JMA designs new buildings, adapts existing ones, creates interiors, objects, industrial designs and graphics, and provides full branding services. Founder and creative lead Jordan Mozer also creates myriad artworks including drawings, paintings, sculptures and murals. He makes no distinction between objects and art, giving the same level of attention and artistry to façades, light fixtures and logos as he does to his personal artwork. To infuse commercial projects with idiosyncratic personalities and ensure both originality and conceptual consistency, JMA invents and manufactures most design components including furniture, lighting, hardware, architectural elements, artwork and graphics. JMA has planned small cities and large kitchens, and manufactures most products in the Chicago area. Residential projects begin with establishing a deep understanding of our client’s lifestyle, interests and needs. We create custom furniture, millwork, objects and art and incorporate contemporary and historic pieces sourced from showrooms, galleries, auctions, and artists throughout the world. In all projects whether public or private, JMA’s clients are a fully engaged, integral part of the design process. JMA’s three partners, Jordan Mozer, Karen Lilly Mozer and Jeff Carloss, collaborate on projects as well as business practices and strategies, while holding distinct responsibilities within the firm: Jordan spearheads design of public projects, client development, marketing and public relations. Karen leads residential design, art consulting, Mozer Studio sales and licensing opportunities. Jeff directs and oversees all of the architectural and manufacturing teams.
· Jacob Wener, armed with tutelage from both his father and grandfather, spent many nights in the basement shop perfecting his craft. He earned a degree in Architecture from the University of Kansas and began his career in furniture working at The Golden Triangle from 2006-2010. With roots in the Midwest, the shop lives and breathes by one simple ethos: to bring the art of hand craftsmanship back to the world of home furnishings.
Owned by designer/fabricator Jacob Wener, Modern Industry is a Chicago based furniture manufacturer. With roots deep in the heart of the American Midwest, the shop lives and breathes by one simple ethos: to bring the art of hand craftsmanship back to the world of home furnishings. The company was born as a result of Jacob’s struggle to find contemporary furniture of genuine substance. If furniture is made to be discarded and replaced after 10 years, how will we pass down our heirlooms to the next generation? Our ancestors figured it out centuries ago, crafting beautiful objects out of solid materials that will withstand the test of time.
· Sean Rice, “Lucky” was born in London and is the son of an architect and engineer. After moving to Chicago, he watched his father take on woodworking as a hobby in their basement shop. After receiving a degree in Cultural Anthropology, Lucky began to pursue woodworking full time. His organic live forms collaborate nature and workmanship, beauty and purpose.
Humans have employed any number of strategies over the millennia to make wooden objects that showcase the beauty inherent in the natural variation of wood, while constructing the most utile and durable forms. LiveForm Design attempts to balance the curatorial impulse of live edge furniture and the modern, utilitarian ideal of “form following function”. To that end, LiveForm’s design process starts with the edges and ends of boards that contain the most the most interesting patterns and figuring. These edges and ends would normally be discarded in the service of the practical aims of known furniture shapes. Instead, that information is the starting point for any LiveForm piece. What can we do to extend the wild edge into the structured space? What shapes can we extrapolate from it that still meet the practical needs of furniture? LiveForm Design is—at its heart—collaboration between nature and workmanship, and between organic beauty and strict purpose.
· Ann Clark and Lena Georas have over 40 years of experience working as architects and designers, both in the US and internationally. LAMOU is a furniture design company committed to the exploration and implementation of contemporary technology, creating a series of bent plywood tables with digitally printed wood veneer surfaces.
Art making has expanded Ann and Lena’s design sensibilities and has encouraged a more open approach to architecture. Architecture, art, and design brought the two together after 27 years in the formation of LAMOU; a furniture design company committed to the exploration and implementation of contemporary technology to design and produce one-of-a-kind furniture pieces.
· Scott Himmel received his Master of Architecture degree from Tulane University and has been in business in the design and architecture field since 1979. Over the past 30 years, he has won numerous local and national awards. Truex American Furniture embodies a lost period in 20th century furniture design: 1945-1959. The collection is not about individual pieces, rather a lifestyle of glamour and individualism.
About TRUEX American Furniture:
The seed for TRUEX American Furniture was planted by an image of Billy Baldwin’s weekly salons held at his Amster Yard Apartment in New York City. All of the design stars of the time were there; Dorothy Draper, Evelyn Forbes, and Frances Elkins, with the entire party being overseen by Van Day Truex—the major domo taste maker of the day, and chairmen of The Parson’s School of Design. It was a revelation; here was a truly lost period in the timeline of 20th century furniture design: 1945 to 1959. This was America, New York specifically, at its most glamorous and sophisticated. TRUEX has taken inspiration from this time period and curated a collection of furniture that most typifies the era. The furniture is TRUEX’s reinterpretation of unique pieces made by unique designers for unique clients in a unique era, which has curiously been forgotten. TRUEX American Furniture is not about individual pieces of furniture. It is about a lifestyle and a mindset that America yearns for. It is a about glamour and individualism. These are pieces that are timeless and because of their heritage are sure to become heirlooms.
· Chai Ming Studios is a private label design firm that conceptualizes and creates elegant furniture pieces inspired by classical forms. We value fine craftsmanship and contribute to every step of the design process, from concept to installation. Established by Gary Lee in 2011, Chai Ming Studios has since developed a reputation for refined, timeless award winning work. Our finished work is a product of context, team ideas, and conversations with our clients. We strive to go beyond the modern and contemporary to achieve true timelessness. We don’t believe in assembly lines. Each piece is carefully designed and handcrafted in the U.S.A. by a team of artists and engineers. We believe in relationships. Our network of skilled vendors, suppliers, craftsman and small shop artisans, are invaluable in the process of creating high-quality upholstery and case-goods. Our size allows us to provide intimate customer service, while our large network provides our studio with the resources you would expect from a larger enterprise.
· The 3D Printer Experience exists to foster public awareness of new and emerging technologies, and to help navigate the boundless future. 3D printing is changing the manufacturing landscape. As widespread adoption of 3D Printing continues to democratize manufacturing, more and more people will have the opportunity to contribute to our collective future in a meaningful way. 3D Printer Experience give individuals the power to design and man-YOU-facture; anyone can create, regardless of age, ability, technical experience, or physical location. Using state-of-the-art technology including an industrial-grade laser-sintering machine, they manufacture 3D printed items in-house. 3DPX print using powdered nylon as well as thermoplastic filament, with additional off-site capabilities. Things… Will never be the same!
