1.

How Klemick discovered a love of creating furniture almost by accident.

Expect the unexpected 

Monocle: How did you end up in  Los Angeles?

Sam Klemick: I’m from Miami and came  here for fashion school. Once I graduated,  I started working as an assistant designer  on the East Coast. Four years ago I moved back to Los Angeles and into an empty warehouse; my friends and I started building a loft for me to sleep in. That’s when I  realised that I wanted to make all of my furniture. I took woodworking classes and after a while I started to get commissions from interior designers.

M: What are the similarities and  differences between fashion  and furniture design?

SK: There’s so much mass consumption in fashion. I was craving using my hands again and wanted to play a small part in fighting mass production. I began by finding old furniture on the side of the road and rebuilding it. I was exclusively using recycled materials. I wanted to see if I could make  a business out of it. These days, I source  my wood mostly from a salvage lumberyard from demolition sites around Los Angeles.

2.

We meet a designer and woodworker whose practice demonstrates why  innovation often begins with an ability to put your trust in instinct and chance.

Flipping  the script

Forever innovating, Samsung created Galaxy mobile products to allow people to break down barriers and forget their limitations with the help of cutting-edge technology. Its foldable line-up – the Galaxy Z Series, with its pioneering flip and fold mechanisms – is designed to open users up to new ways of working, connecting and capturing the world.

We launch a new series that profiles some of the world’s most exciting creative minds by dropping in on another relentless innovator: Sam Klemick, a Los Angeles-based fashion designer who discovered a passion for turning wood. Crafting furniture with her design practice Otherside Objects, her approach to design is rooted in strong communication.

3.

Inspiration can come from anywhere, as Klemick knows well. And the right technology can help you make the most of it.

When the  mood strikes

M: Where do you find inspiration and  how do you record it?

SK: Lately I’ve been watching old movies  and grabbing inspiration from them.  Some ideas I just keep in my head but  I record a lot of images as well. I am  always writing things down in a million different places, whether that’s on a receipt,  on some scrap paper or on my phone. If  it’s something more visual, then I’ll create  a folder of images [on my computer]  and print them out so I can have a mood board in front of me.

M: What role does mobile technology  play in your working life?

SK: I am super-communicative and, depending on the client and my relationship with them, I’ll usually text them updates. Recently I was making a dining table for  a creative consulting and interior design studio called Wall for Apricots, and I would send them photos of different colours that I was playing with. Even if I’m communicating with clients via email, I have all of that on  my phone too so I can talk to them while  I’m multi-tasking at the shop.