Mothership Studio
Max has focused his studio around celebrating the human element in design. The studio is focused on the beauty of natural material, the human touch, and a way of living with objects that feel personable. The studio goal has flowed out of a lifetime of seeing the rise of the utilitarianized standardization of everything and the reaction to the dullness that brings. Coming from The Upper Midwest you see it stark- you see a growing behemoth of industrialized agriculture / suburban sprawl that standardizes every aspect of life and those exciting moments of folk art, arts and crafts, things made impromptu on peoples’ land. Something that wasn’t bought at a box store. People who have moved out to the middle of the country to live whatever life they want, you know, oddballs. A beautiful impulse the studio gets to share in.
Q&A with Mothership Studio
Where did you grow up? How did it influence you?
A suburb of nowhere in Iowa. it gave me a place to explore from. Id go to the Driftless region, go to the grottos around northern Iowa. id see all this stuff people made on their land out in the middle of nowhere. i got to be an American suburbanite and a hick all at once.
What’s the most prized object you own? Why?
my cosanti bell. I fell in love with Soleri's work on a road trip out west. i felt so at home in his work.
In a world overflowing with objects, why continue making new things?
i want objects to have a soul or something speaking to my own. theres also a compulsion to make that I love to feed.
What design movement, current or historic, do you think is the most overrated and why?
general minimalism vibes- i get it, your better than me. thats cool bro.
What’s your favorite material to work with and why?
WOOD! its the rarest material in the universe! its a reflection of life on earth! and i can get it anywhere for pretty cheap.
If you designed a chair describing your relationship with your father, what would it look like?
its two nearly identical chairs, just the one is made out of a completely different substance that makes the interraction with it "off"
Tell us about something that inspires you.
The Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend, Iowa. go there. this priest builds this HUGE series of statues in this little town. all out of material he either found or others donated to his cause.
What would you do differently if you started your practice today?
Id buy a ton of cheap lumber and make 40 different versions of my ideas as fast as possible and learn as I go.
Any advice for young designers?
do whatever crazy ideas you have in your head for as cheap as possible. Nothing bad can happen, it can only good happen!
Any regrets?
A new one every day, but who doesnt!
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