Dash Schaeffer is a designer, maker and artist. His work strives to blend function and elegance as he pushes the limits of a material or technique.
Début
I grew up in Paris and have been making things since I was eleven. My first workshop was a corner of my bedroom. From there came a drill-powered electric scooter, a dining chair made from skateboards, and traditional Parisian windows turned into coffee tables.
Paris left a lasting mark on my design vision. It taught me to appreciate the objects that endure, the ones that become timeless and bring wonder to our lives.
How I work
I'm largely self-taught, and I never pass up the chance to try a new material or technique. My aim is to change the simple labels we attach to objects, using innovative design to bring beauty to pieces that inspire and defy their limits.
The Helix Lamp is where all of that first came together. I wanted a lamp that felt alive, one that changes the simple idea of what a lamp can be, and I wanted to build it at minimal cost. So instead of a vacuum bag, I clamped and fused bent laminated veneers with inexpensive duct tape.
From Paris to NYC
Through that project, I became enamored with the beauty of bent lamination. When I arrived in New York for my first year of Industrial Design at Pratt Institute, I took the technique further and built a chair, the Curvesse Rocker, from a single sheet of plywood. It won the SIT Award in three categories (rocking chair, living room furniture, and bedroom furniture) and was featured by Yanko Design, Core77 and Pratt.
Now
I'm expanding my scope through industrial design while growing my studio and staying close to the craft, because fabrication is as satisfying to me as the finished design. New York has been an eye-opener, with new possibilities and a constant stream of new projects!