The Dwell 24: The Up-and-Coming Designers Who Need to Be on Your Radar Right Now

The emerging designers in The Dwell 24, our annual roundup of rising talent, are moving ahead with new ideas in furniture, lighting, and other objects for your home.

Text by
Published by

2020 has been anything but a normal year for designers navigating the early part of their careers. But that isn’t stopping this year’s Dwell 24 from charting the future of design. Below, we feature our annual list of emerging designers around the world—from a lighting designer inspired by clusters of soap bubbles to ceramic mugs recalling Mexican cuisine.

We partnered with New York design fair WantedDesign to create this year's list. Many of the studios we selected were slated to appear at its spring events before they were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and we’re excited to give them a well-deserved platform here.

Click through each designer to learn more and to read our interviews with them. And don’t miss The Design Life, where we ask The Dwell 24 about how they work and what their lives look like.

Platalea Studio

Location: Mexico City, Mexico | Instagram: @plataleastudio

Led by designers Lilia Corona and Rodrigo Lobato, Platalea Studio creates bold dinnerware and furnishings inspired by Mexican culture and current social issues.

Photo courtesy of Platalea Studio

Get the Pro Newsletter

What’s new in the design world? Stay up to date with our essential dispatches for design professionals.

Subscribe

See the Q&A with Platalea Studio.

Mool

Location: Mexico City, Mexico | Instagram: @mool.mx

Part of the new Pixán collection from Mool, this powder-coated aluminum mirror is one of many furniture pieces and home accessories from designers Edgar Tapia and Emmanuel Aguilar.

Photo courtesy of Mool

See the Q&A with Mool.

Gary Fernández

Location: Brooklyn, New York | Instagram: @garyfernandez

Designer Gary Fernández creates sculptural candleholders, vases, and other vessels out of concrete.

Photo courtesy of Gary Fernández

Read more about Gary Fernández.

Nina Cho

Location: Detroit, Michigan | Instagram: @studio_ninacho

Nina Cho's work is inspired by the traditional Korean aesthetic of emptiness. Her interest in negative space led to the Cantilever Coffee Table, shown here.

Photo courtesy of Nina Cho

See the Q&A with Nina Cho.

Brave Matter

Location: Oakland, California | Instagram: @bravematter

Christina Zamora and Cathy Lo, the married founders of Brave Matter, create striking ceramic tabletop objects and lamps, including the Sender One Lamp, shown here.

Photo courtesy of Brave Matter

See the Q&A with Brave Matter.

Utility Objects

Location: Atlanta, Georgia | Instagram: @utilityobjects

Inspired by contemporary Japanese styles, ceramicist Aleisha Ellis of Utility Objects creates tumblers, mugs, and other kitchenware—adding personal touches such as dimples in the side of these "Tumblers Against Injustice."

Photo courtesy of Utility Objects

See the Q&A with Utility Objects.

JG Switzer + Studio AHEAD

Location: Sebastopol, California | Instagram: @jgswitzer 
Location: San Francisco, California | Instagram: @studioahead

With beginnings as a wool blanket company, Jessica Switzer Green is expanding JG Switzer to offer a wider array of natural-fiber textiles, bedding, and home goods, including this new appliqué fabric designed in collaboration with Studio AHEAD for their Sheep Lounge Chair.

See the Q&A with JG Switzer + Studio AHEAD.

Sunshine Thacker

Location: San Antonio, Texas | Instagram: @sunshinethackerdesign

With a decidedly Memphis feel, ceramicist Sunshine Thacker is creating a new collection of colorful seating planters, lamps, and other furnishings—such as this Gearhead Side Table.

Photo courtesy of Sunshine Thacker

See the Q&A with Sunshine Thacker.

Grain

Location: Bainbridge Island, Washington | Instagram: @grain_design

As the designer-couple behind Grain, James and Chelsea Minola are expanding their accessible collection of products with new entrants like this Saddle Stool.

Photo courtesy of Grain

See the Q&A with Grain.

Artish

Location: Raleigh, North Carolina | Instagram: @artishstudio

At Artish, designers Courtney Evans and Abby Ross, offer a modular collection of magnetic wall art kits, steel side tables, lighting selections, and more.

Photo courtesy of Artish

See the Q&A with Artish.

Casey Lurie

Location: Chicago, Illinois | @caseyluriestudio 

Furniture designer Casey Lurie dives deeply into various typologies in a quest to uncover new ideas, such as this new bookshelf design.

Photo courtesy of Casey Lurie

See the Q&A with Casey Lurie.

Zihe Gong

Location: Lake Forest, California | Instagram: @zihegong

With designs like this a coat rack that evokes the shape of pig intestines, the recently graduated designer Zihe Gong is quickly making a name for herself.

Photo courtesy of Zihe Gong

See the Q&A with Zihe Gong.

Ko Júbilo

Location: Vancouver, B.C., Canada | Instagram: @kojubilo 

Coming off collaborations with retailers like Adidas and John Elliott, designer Ko Júbilo is exploring unnecessary ornamentation and gaining attention with his new folded aluminum pendant, shown here.

Photo courtesy of Ko Júbilo

See the Q&A with Ko Júbilo.

Oil / Lumber

Location: Nashville, Tennessee | Instagram: @oilandlumber

Ethan Summers, the founder of Oil / Lumber, creates furniture, household objects, and clothing—including this Ko-h- table, which takes its name from the Japanese word for coffee and has cantilevered edges that tip a hat to George Nakashima.

Photo courtesy of Oil / Lumber

See the Q&A with Oil / Lumber.

Laura T. Jaramillo

Location: Los Angeles, California | Instagram: @laurafurniture

With designs such as her Serra Watering Can, Laura T. Jaramillo is on a quest to recreate everyday objects and tools that speak to the human experience.

Photo courtesy of Laura T. Jaramillo

See the Q&A with Laura T. Jaramillo.

Cody Campanie

Location: Portland, Oregon | Instagram: @cccampagna

Third-generation woodworker Cody Campanie is challenging furniture design with creations such as his Sit, Set chair, shown here, which merges a plank with a half-barrel to create a seat with an integrated table.

Photo courtesy of Cody Campanie

See the Q&A with Cody Campanie.

Kazuki Guzmán

Location: Chicago, Illinois | Instagram: @kazukiguzman

In his recent Hammer Study, Kazuki Guzmán reimagines traditional tools with a nod toward exploring how technology might augment and sustain ancient art forms.

Photo courtesy of Kazuki Guzmán

See the Q&A with Kazuki Guzmán.

Not Work Related

Location: Brooklyn, New York | Instagram: @notworkrelated_

Sarah Hussaini, the ceramicist behind Not Work Related, keeps up with an adoring fan base and a routinely sold-out e-store with these stripe tumblers and other colorful kitchenware.

Photo courtesy of Not Work Related

See the Q&A with Not Work Related.

Lios Design

Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts | Instagram: @liosdesign

Michael Stern and Daniel Lizardo—the lighting designers behind Lios Design—created the world's first molten-glass 3D printer to pump out creations such as their Tetra Pendant, shown here.

Photo courtesy of Lios Design

See the Q&A with Lios Design.

Rosie Li

Location: Brooklyn, New York | Instagram: @rosielistudio

Rosie Li's experimental light fixtures range from delicate palm frond–inspired sconces to this Bubbly collection of floor lamps and chandeliers that resemble molecules.

Photo courtesy of Rosie Li

See the Q&A with Rosie Li.

Lolly Lolly

Location: Columbus, Ohio | Instagram: @lollylollyceramics

As the face behind Lolly Lolly, ceramicist Lalese Stamps took social media by storm with her 100-day challenge to create wildly shaped mugs.

Photo courtesy of Lolly Lolly

See the Q&A with Lolly Lolly.

Harold

Location: Brooklyn, New York | Instagram: @harold_design 

Designers Reed Hansuld and Joel Seigle of Harold imagined this Bend Side Table, now a finalist for this year’s NYCxDesign Best in Show award.

Photo courtesy of Harold

See the Q&A with Harold.

Amalia Attias

Location: Providence, Rhode Island | Instagram: @amaliaattias

Designer Amalia Attias processes language on her own terms with "mark making" on canvases and other experimental objects.

Photo courtesy of Amalia Attias

See the Q&A with Amalia Attias.

Crosland + Emmons

Location: Atlanta, Georgia | Instagram: @croslandandemmons

Running a marketing agency by day and Crosland + Emmons by night, designers Dana Castle and Michele DeHaven create sculptural porcelain light fixtures and earthenware—including this Grapes Multilight pendant.

Photo courtesy of Crosland + Emmons

See the Q&A with Crosland + Emmons.

Related Reading: The Dwell 24: The Best Emerging Designers of 2019

Published

Last Updated

LikeComment

Design News