This Brooklyn designer crafts modern furnishings making use of overlooked tactics

A element of the Abuelo bureau by De La Vega StylesCourtesy of De La Vega Styles

Mark de la Vega likes to press the boundaries of design. Nevertheless his remarkably collectible household furniture pieces reference everything from artwork deco to early modernist motifs, the founder and principal of De La Vega Patterns is on a mission to build his have aesthetic vernacular. “I like to blend disciplines, and you can see that in most of my work,” he tells Small business of Residence.

Born in Mexico and raised in Boulder, Colorado, de la Vega grew up surrounded by art and structure. “My father was an abstract painter and experienced a big impact on me,” he claims. “I was one particular of those little ones that was constantly rearranging the furnishings, and I would sit and draw constantly through my everyday living.”

In school, he studied industrial design at the Artwork Institute of Colorado just before going to New York to embark on a job in furnishings design. By 2008, he’d landed a career at Studio Sofield, the place he used his times crafting custom made parts for the brand’s superior-conclusion clientele. “I honed my competencies working with some of the most effective designers and fabricators in the market,” he suggests. “I experienced great mentors.”

In 2010, he opened De La Vega Designs—inside a 7,000-square-foot loft in a historic dock developing in Brooklyn—creating bespoke furnishings for luxury retail purchasers this sort of as Harry Winston, Bergdorf Goodman and Tiffany & Co. “I was also lucky adequate to obtain a fee from David Collins for Madonna,” he claims. “It was 1 of my first household projects.”

L’Elephante chairs by De La Vega DesignsCourtesy of De La Vega Types

The brand released its initial formal household furniture assortment, DLV, at ICFF in 2012, and de la Vega says the relaxation is historical past. “We now have a dedicated wooden shop, a metal store, an upholstery section, a components division and a photography studio inside the loft,” he suggests. “It’s a enjoyable place to function.”

De la Vega and his crew of artisans hand-craft all of the styles in-house from sumptuous—and sustainable—materials this kind of as stable bronze and sawn wenge wood. “I like noble resources that have tremendous gravity and body weight,” he states. “As a outcome, a ton of my get the job done is weighty to lift.”

The Giac side chair, Carlo mirror and Drum desk by De La Vega StylesCourtesy of De La Vega Models

Alongside with an array of loaded elements, de la Vega depends on a medley of intricate artisanal strategies to forge his eye-catching parts. The Abuelo bureau, for instance, features a dozen drawers bedecked in a delicate cracked eggshell (“coquille d’œuf”) end, and the brand’s bestselling Giac chair showcases a sinuous, hand-sculpted solid aluminum frame. “It can take up to 11 artisans to execute just about every item,” he suggests. “Everyone on our team is a specialist in their craft, from learn welders to woodworkers and eggshell mosaic artists.”

Previous thirty day period, De La Vega Designs debuted L’Elephante, an oversized wingback chair clad in curly boucle with playful button “eyes” and carved wooden legs that mimic elephant feet. “I’m form of a sluggish mover when it will come to launches or new parts,” states de la Vega. “I variety of just make a thing and then set it out on the ground and gauge the response—all though tweaking the process in the track record.”

Searching forward, the model has programs to launch a re-imagined variation of its sound solid acrylic Drum desk and introduce a scenario goods addition to its ever-preferred Giac collection. “We have developed into a content, healthy furnishings studio,” he says. “The quantities may possibly be various, [but] the excellent is nevertheless paramount.”

If you want to master much more about Mark de la Vega and De La Vega Models, visit his web site or abide by him on Instagram.

Homepage photograph: Mark de la Vega with Giac chairs by De La Vega Styles | Courtesy of De La Vega Types