Tell us about your practice and how you came to making?

It all started with a major Sanrio obsession in elementary school… My studio practice today really feels like a place where I can synthesize and give form to my inner world. Being in the studio gives me a sense of purpose and joy that I hope my pieces can share with others.

Do you have a ritual when it comes to making/designing work?

I think my best ideas come about when I have enough time to walk. Being in motion feels like it answers so many questions when I’m generating ideas. I also love dancing and listening to (loud) music in my studio.

You describe your work as creating objects that "come alive." Can you walk us through what that means in practice — both in how you design and how you hope people experience the pieces?

I’d say, if you immediately have an impulse to give the piece a nickname, it's working. I am always imagining the piece as a living thing, and mostly as animals. I cannot escape my impulse to give a piece a face, or exaggerate anthropomorphic elements.

Your practice is rooted in the idea that people naturally form bonds with the objects around them. Is there an object (or objects) that you bonded to that started this belief for you?

I feel this way very distinctly with cars. As a kid I was really into automotive design and spent hours drawing my own designs with a particular emphasis on a car’s “face.” I think in the US especially, our cars have become surrogate for steeds, so the relationship can be quite tender and revealing of our impulse to animate inanimate objects.

Where do you see that bond play out most vividly with your work now— in your studio process, in the finished work, or in how people respond to it?

I see it mostly in the response to my work. I really enjoy when someone has a “cute aggression” reaction.

There's a tension in your work between playfulness and refined restraint. How do you navigate that balance, and does one ever outweigh the other?

I think that contrast reflects a duality in my personality - I’m a Libra sun and a Capricorn moon which is to say, I am always mediating between soft and hard. Working in multiples when prototyping really helps temper my perfectionist tendencies by depressurizing any one idea or object. My process is very iterative and heavy on models and tests.

Wood is a medium often associated with natural, earthy tones. How did you arrive at introducing bright, bold color into your work, and how does color function alongside form in your pieces?

I love the way that pigment and wood can interact. Color is a respite from a kind of certainty/precision I strive for with the formal elements of my work. I love color that feels like it's an integral part of the material rather than a surface.

Is there anything you’ve dreamed of making, but haven’t yet?

I would love to make a radio or some kind of electronic device. I was really obsessed with cellphone design growing up in the early-mid 00s.

What’s next for you?

Hoping to introduce a new collection later this year :-)