A Fresh Generation of Miami Makers Are Redefining Local Aesthetics
Though the “Tropicália overload” look reigns in the more touristy spaces, hometown designers are drawing inspiration from hallmarks of the city known by its residents.
This story is part of our annual look at the state of American design. This year, we’re highlighting work that shines through an acrimonious moment—and makes the case for optimism.
"Miami is fairly young," says floral designer Elizabeth Jaime, who left New York City and returned to her hometown in 2019 to plant the seeds for Calma, and her studio has become the city’s go-to for adventurous arrangements. "There isn’t a long history of design to build off or even act in opposition to," she says. "So I think Miami is still trying to determine what its style is."
Of course, there’s the city’s unparalleled (at least in the United States) Art Deco legacy, though it is no longer as influential as it once was, Jaime says. As for 21st-century perspectives, she points to arriviste designers mining ersatz looks, like those she calls "Tropicália overload" and "’80s Miami cocaine den," particularly in hospitality spaces. "Tourism is a major part of the Miami economy," she notes, "and these spaces are a necessary evil." They’re also a reminder that Miami is young in terms of the hedonist crowds you’ll find downing SpicyJaja Margaritas at the Goodtime Hotel.
Jaime prefers a new generation of designers who, she says, find inspiration in the city as experienced by its full-time residents. "There are makers borrowing from the landscape and using local materials as well as found objects." She’s particularly fond of Emmett Moore’s breeze-block chairs. "Breeze blocks are a hallmark of Miami design," she says. "They protect interiors from the harsh Florida elements like sun and storms while still allowing for air to blow through." She points out that it’s fitting that a city so vulnerable to climate change should demonstrate how local conditions make local culture.
Elizabeth Jaime’s picks
Flower Block Chair by Emmett Moore
Emmett Moore is a Miami-based artist and designer known for primarily creating sculpture and furniture with repurposed and reclaimed material. Concrete block, steel, outdoor fabric, and upholstery. Dimensions: 24" H, 24" D, 24" W
ShopHelicoide Rug by Studio Boheme
Studio Boheme is a multidisciplinary creative collective based in Miami focused on collaborating to create experiences and long-term memories through furniture, home goods, living spaces, and art.
ShopGlassy Privacy Screen 001 by Jillian Mayer
Jillian Mayer is an artist and filmmaker. Through, videos, sculptures, online experiences, photography, performances, and installations, Mayer investigates the points of tension between our online and physical worlds and makes work that attempts to inhabit the increasingly porous boundary between the two. Steel, glass, three hinged panels, each 78 x 24 inches.
ShopPool Party Mirror by We Are Nice’n Easy
Pool Party is part of a series of installations consisting of groupings of mirror works from the Pool Personas series. Pool Personas are a numbered edition of mirrors in the shapes of 16 swimming pools with smiley faces cut out of the middle. Each edition is produced using a different color of acrylic mirror and exists in four sizes: large, medium, small, and mini.
ShopToadstool by Gabriela Noelle Studio
The Toadstool Project is a series of collectible soft sculptures inspired by Color Field painters like Kenneth Noland and Frank Stella, who lured viewers with magnetic targets and bold geometry as well as the playful and functional practices of the Memphis Design Group. Each stool is unique, featuring a distinct gradient created digitally, exploring color relationships and their optical effects of advancing and receding forms.
ShopBay Chair by Quinaz Studio
James Quinaz built a collection of furniture using only objects found in Biscayne Bay and the Miami River as materials.
ShopEchoes Stool by Vivian Carbonell
Carbonell Design Studio was founded by and features the work of artist and designer Vivian Carbonell. Each handcrafted collection is comprised of original and limited-edition lighting, furniture, and objects inspired by an emphasis on form as well as the core elements of each material chosen.
Shop“La Agua Me Dio Luz, Y Me Puede Destruir Facilmente” by Joel Gaitan
While celebrating life, death, and the afterlife, Joel Gaitan’s work studies the matters of self-identity, sexuality, and ancestral lineage. Gaitan immerses into traditional hand-building clay techniques, keeping a sacred tradition from Nicaragua and Central America alive in a colonized world.
ShopHaiii-Liiife Chandelier by Haiiileen
Pinewood, mirror, handmade gooseneck lights, motion sensors, glass.
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