Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Link, Lydia Meyer.
Sam, Lydia, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
We didn’t have any intention of starting a furniture and lighting design company when we first met. Our paths crossed in late summer of 2012 in a vertebrate zoology class while undergraduate students at Bard College. We both drove Honda Elements which helped get the ball rolling.
By winter we had begun collaborating on installation art and sculpture. Our first project is perhaps still the most ambitious design we’ve attempted from a technical standpoint. It consisted of two geodesic domes joined together into an hourglass shape. The structure was built entirely from wood, surfaced in window screen, and used to hatch luna moths in the final cycle of their lives. We never properly documented or stored the piece which, and after its completion, it was ceremoniously installed in the iconic and much loved backyard of 98 Broadway in Tivoli, NY.
Over the next two years we graduated from Bard and began to dig into working. Lydia for installation artist Judy Pfaff and Sam for Jason Roskey of Fern Handcrafted Furniture. The exposure to the art and design world stimulated our shared interests and revealed a direction that allowed us to make creative, collaborative work.
Once we got into serious woodworking the floodgates opened and we became totally obsessed. The beauty of the material and time apparent in its growth lends a feeling of importance to every raw piece that is only magnified after time, skill, and intent have been invested. The first piece of solid wood furniture we built together was the Walking Table. Each leg was cut and shaped by hand after lengthy conversations about minute adjustments to proportion and geometry. The end result was a personified table whose silhouette suggests a muscled and sinewy form forever captured in a static pose.
We moved to Chicago in the summer of 2015. Lydia grew up here and Sam had always wanted to live in a city larger than Hudson, NY. Lydia’s connections landed us a set design/build gig with dance company, Khecari. This project was set in the dilapidated ballroom at the Shoreland Hotel in Hyde Park. Johnathan Meyer and Julia Rae Antonick’s vision for the piece was an immersive journey for a 12-person audience winding through a shifting labyrinth culminating in a close quarters capsule with the audience seated above the performers (www.khecari.org/the-cronus-land/).
Adding metalwork to our skillset allowed us to explore the qualities of the material and the freedom it allows. Fluency in fabricating both wood and metal components allowed a more fluid design process without the limitations of either material. Material fluency has become an important part of our process as a result of working intensively with both wood and metal.
Over the next two years we set our sights on cultivating Laylo while supporting the project with our day jobs – Lydia at Studio Gang and Sam at Iron & Wire. We found a studio space near Humboldt Park and started working on new designs in addition to fulfilling orders and fabrication jobs. This year the work became too frequent requiring more hours per week and as a result Sam is now full time in our studio.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We’ve been very fortunate. It’s hard to complain when you have the opportunity to do what you love. Thus far the trials and tribulations have been outweighed by the rewards of pursuing a dream.
That’s not to say every day is easy or we have it figured out. We’ve worked very hard to cultivate our design, communication, and technical skills which are paramount to our business.
Finding balance between home and work has been difficult especially when we were both working full time day jobs. Up until very recently the majority of our free time was spent learning the ropes of owning and operating a small business while fulfilling orders and designing and building new work.
Laylo Studio – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Laylo is a custom furniture and lighting studio with a multidisciplinary approach to design. As a result of our combined experience, our work is intersectional yet remains decidedly functional. We look forward to every step of the process and take pride in our approach and dedication to this medium.
Our focus is made to order furniture built to the client’s specifications. Our designs are offered in a variety of specialty finishes and we collaborate with all of our clients to customize the pieces based on their preferences and unique spaces.
We are very proud of the quality of work that we produce. Our unique finishes have been developed and adapted from years of experience working with artisans, artists and architects. More than anything, we are excited to continue to innovate and learn from ourselves and other contemporary designers and artists who continue to push materials to their limits.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
There are revelations in every piece we make. The build process is intrinsic to our design and we are continually learning its language.
Pricing:
Contact Info:
- Website: www.laylostudio.com
- Phone: 540-894-3936
- Email: info@laylostudio.com
- Instagram: @laylostudio
Image Credit:
LAYLO STUDIO
