Malcolm Majer
Malcolm Majer is a designer/maker based in Baltimore, MD. His work is rooted in process and formal exploration, relying heavily on metals, often incorporating elements in wood, plastic, rubber and/or fabric. He runs a fabrication company, giving him access to tools and materials related to architectural fabrication. The result is a design practice that ranges from experimental to practical depending on the venue.
Q&A with Malcolm Majer
Where did you grow up? How did it influence you?
I grew up in Baltimore, then Chicago, then Baltimore again. I'm not sure how it influenced me but I know it did.
What’s the most prized object you own? Why?
I have a hard time finding a prized object, I prefer making things and seeing things to owning things. Every object of mine that I really love is a tool or a vehicle, things that facilitate an operation or an experience with a humble dignity.
In a world overflowing with objects, why continue making new things?
I decided that I like the special things that other people make much, much more than I like a mass produced object, so I can forgive myself for making things as long as I make them special.
What design movement, current or historic, do you think is the most overrated and why?
I'm not a fan of chippendale chairs, so I think rococo furniture may be what I find overrated, if in fact it is highly rated by anyone. To my eye the level of ornamentation is just an unpleasant combination of overwrought and superficial.
What’s your favorite material to work with and why?
I go through phases, right now it's aluminum. Aluminum is strange and difficult material, light and strong but also sometimes gummy and brittle. And it's new to us. In the mid 1800s it was a precious metal, then a new process of production was unlocked and boom it's everywhere, which to me suggests it's almost alien.
If you designed a chair describing your relationship with your father, what would it look like?
I think I've made it a few times already. It might be the chairs that bring two disparate materials together into something harmonious and symbiotic.
Tell us about something that inspires you.
Hardware, especially at airports.
What would you do differently if you started your practice today?
I would study contemporary art more and sooner.
Any advice for young designers?
I don't feel like I have advice, maybe someone can give me some advice. I would accept that.
Any regrets?
I regret not studying design from the artist's perspective sooner. For me, there's something much more meaningful approaching things conceptually versus stylistically or commercially.
