Studio Notes | Issue 01
A THOUGHT
What earns its place?
We've been thinking a lot about why some objects feel essential and others feel like they're just taking up space. Not in terms of function, in terms of presence. Some things settle into your life and make it feel more like itself. Others create a quiet friction you can't quite name.
We've started calling this relational aura: the accumulated presence of human engagement embedded in an object over time. It forms through making, use, care, repair, and memory. And it doesn't always produce comfort. Sometimes it produces weight.
This idea has become the foundation of everything we design. Gabriel's paper on the framework has been submitted for peer review and publication. More on this soon - but for now, the question we keep returning to is simple: what in your home has actually earned its place?
FROM THE STUDIO
A year ago it was just Gabriel
A year ago it was just Gabriel, one person doing every layer and every sand by hand. Today our Lincoln, Nebraska studio has four American artisans and seven pieces in active production.
Every piece moves through the same rigorous sequence: sketch, hand modeling, CAD modeling, CNC-cut structure, screen application, then 4–5 layers of proprietary pigmented plaster, each mixed with custom pigment, then selectively sanded back by hand to reveal chromatic depth that can't be planned or replicated. No other studio in the country is working in this material at this level.
FEATURED PIECE
The JoJo Chaise Lounge
Limited Edition of 15 | Custom Colors Available
A harmonious blend of sensuality, power, and playfulness. The JoJo Chaise blurs the line between sculpture and furniture. Its plaster body offering permanence while its mohair cushion introduces warmth and intimacy.
Awarded "Insider's Pick" at Collectible Design Fair NYC.
PERSONAL NOTE
Year One
A year ago we moved our family to Nebraska. Three kids. No safety net. A professorship, a vision, and a gut feeling that this was the right move.
I had every reservation. Nebraska wasn't in any plan I'd imagined for us. But something about it felt right in a way I couldn't explain and I've learned to trust that feeling more than the doubts.
What I didn't expect was how much this place would give back. The studio, the artisans, the students, the community - none of it existed twelve months ago. All of it exists because we went before we were ready.
-Brooke
THE INVITATION
Come See Us
Our work is currently on view and available at Tamara Malas in downtown Manhattan.
143 Ludlow St New York, NY 10002
We're also booking custom commissions through the fall: wall sculptures, mirrors, lighting, furniture, and architectural installations in our proprietary pigmented plaster. Custom colors, custom scale, custom everything.
If you're a designer, architect, collector, or someone building a space that deserves something truly one of a kind, please reach out: [email protected].
Jo McKay - Director of Sales | [email protected]
Dean & Dahl Award-winning American design
deananddahl.com · @deananddahl
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