AN INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS NARDONE & GREG NEUHAUS OF FORM3
We were turned on by the clean and fresh designs that Form3
creates after getting an email from them several weeks ago. Wanting to find out more about how they got started and what they have been up to, I did an interview to uncover what Form3 is all about. Enjoy the interview and be sure to explore their website.
Bryan: Can you talk about how form3 began and what got you started?
Chris: We were both working in the film industry in Los Angeles in the nineties, feeling mostly under-utilized. Greg was art directing and I was a camera assistant. We actually met working on one of the crappiest TV shows ever produced on this planet. To try and counter balance the validity of our days we used to spend our lunch hours having these great, in-depth discussions about art, design and architecture and realized we should collaborate. Greg had been associated with art installations at the West Hollywood boutique KBOND back in 2000-2001 and they offered us our own installation. It was a great opportunity at the right time and we put everything we had into that project. It turned out that we received a lot of recognition thanks to the results of our effort. We consider this to be the true beginning of form3 even though it was sporadic at first as we continued working on really crappy TV shows.
Greg: Then we committed ourselves to NOT relying on crappy TV shows and opened our showroom about four years ago here in Sonoma County.
Bryan: What sets you apart from what other design companies are doing?
Greg: We certainly don’t take ourselves too seriously. I am not sure if other design firms do or don’t, but our work does take a lot of honest consideration and knowledge in order to insure longevity, not only in the designs themselves, but the final product. Again, there needs to be a balance between that responsibility and simply enjoying what it is you do every day. We think it’s important to have a sense of humor no matter what your profession. We try and surround ourselves with people that share that attitude. We feel we can still maintain a professional mindset and at the same time create with an informal, perhaps even unorthodox, design process.
Chris: We consider this to be a time in which design and architecture has distinct and resonating appeal to a broader cross section of the public. People are aware of not only Ikea and Target, but Frank Gehry and Anish Kapoor as well. We believe that has led to more opportunity for small design studios like us. It’s very exciting for us to be part of a greater design community in the sense of shared expression and, perhaps, goals. Whether that’s happening in Austin, Brooklyn, Chicago, Portland or the unlikely town of Petaluma.
Bryan: What inspires you to develop the unique designs you’ve created?
Greg: Without a doubt, for me at least, it has everything to do with great architecture. The real visionaries like Wright, Neutra, Schindler...the list goes on. To see their innate understanding of spatial relation, material, effect of light and honest connection to their work amazes me. It really does. We were recently in Milwaukee to see the addition Calatrava designed for the Art Museum. It’s truly stunning. That led us to take a day trip to see his Sundial Bridge in Redding, CA. It’s super cool. Someone like him answering his own phone in his office when a councilperson from a small city in northern California calls is inspirational to me. That simple act and connection astounds me and inspires me to create. But there are so many aspects of the world outside of architecture that also have that same profound affect. Mainly in the natural world. Whether it’s light filtering through a redwood grove or the timeless nature of ocean meeting land. It’s all pretty amazing and inspiring.
Chris: I can safely say we are definitely inspired to make choices that reflect the impact we want to have on the world. When we opened our studio in Petaluma, we did so in large part because of the type of business we wanted to create. We wanted to make our pieces locally, we wanted to be able to source materials locally, we wanted to be able to walk to work and run errands by bicycle. When we originally opened people came in and told us to start looking at Mexico to have certain items fabricated and we felt that this was a total cop out and an indictment on the intelligence of the buying public that they only purchase thinking of the price tag and not considering the means of production. We are continuously inspired to raise the bar in this regard.
Bryan: How do you go about the actual process of developing your projects?
Chris: Lots of cocktails and dreams.
Greg: We’ll start by collaborating over a pint of something and a few pretzels…then let the dreams begin. I’ll buy the first pint, then she’ll buy the second…and so on.
Chris: It’s definitely a collaborative effort, usually beginning with a simple discussion about form and function, materials and shape and proportion. We still begin almost every project or design with a simple pencil-on-paper or pen-on-cocktail napkin approach. Mostly pen-on-cocktail napkin.
Greg: You never know when inspiration strikes. Both Chris and I come from a Fine Art background where you’re trained to record the smallest idea for further exploration. Fill notebooks. Jot down ideas, drawings, sketches...I think maintaining that connection is crucial in ones’ ability to be honest in their work. The hardest thing to do sometimes is finding your voice and then relating that original response back out into the world. See if it sticks. See if it means anything. We’ll honestly sit in a space for a few hours and envision it the way we would have it turn out with no consideration for budget or the client or any rational way of approaching design except for our intuition.
Chris: We’ve started projects with drawings that have transformed into almost completely different design directions. We often allow the work to show us the way. We have to have that flexibility because the process itself has its own voice and it’s important to recognize that.
Greg: We allow ourselves to think as creatively as we can, then sort of reel that imaginative effort back in and see where it takes us. Then we’ll build prototypes. If we feel they’re refined enough, we’ll put them in our showroom and see how the public responds. If the response is good, of course, we’ll go into more refinement and production. If not, it ends up in Chris’ living room.
Chris: Or in a home of a client with a continuing relationship. It’s great for them because they end up with a one-of-a-kind piece for a small price. It’s great for us because we get the prototype financed and go back to the drawing board to create something even better. It’s mutually beneficial that way.
Greg: Our architectural work is a bit more traditional in terms of process because of municipal code, budget, client concerns…although we still like to push things around in the early design stages. Once it gets to interior finishes, we do find flexibility again to make adjustments you don’t necessarily see at the outset. It’s come to a point where our clients almost expect that from us.
Bryan: What are your future plans for form3?
Greg: Since opening our showroom and committing to this endeavor completely, we’ve tried to make choices that don’t adversely affect the environment. We are big proponents of reclaim, re-use and re-purpose. We have been gravitating toward being the most eco-friendly business we can, so the future is definitely about understanding our relationship to the future of the planet. That means using sustainable-building practices at every turn possible. FSC-Certified and locally sourced woods only, low VOC coatings, eco-bind plywoods and waste creation less than 2% have all become standard operating practice for us. We’re just completing our first ground-up residential commission and have incorporated enough sustainable practices to be LEED-certified and hope our next commission is even more energy efficient. Our goal is to create a structure of beauty, integrity and efficiency that functions entirely off the grid. As far as our furniture designs, we hope to establish connections for representation in various parts of the country including NY, Miami, Austin, Chicago, Seattle and LA. The cities we already love and think would be a good match for our work. Then, of course, total world domination with subservient masses fulfilling our every whim and extensive empire building throughout the universe. pm
::Explore more of Form3's work
Images copyright Form3
Bryan Kelly is a co-founder and contributor to PrairieMod. He lives in a super cool 1970's ranch in West Suburban Chicago. You can email him at bryan@prairiemod.com
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