TWO’S COMPANY

Design duo Gabriel Hendifar and Jeremy Anderson of New York’s Apparatus studio bridge the aesthetic gap between modernity and accessibility

New romantic relationships invariably bring significant change. For Gabriel Hendifar and Jeremy Anderson, founders of Apparatus design studio in New York, a blossoming relationship also forged a new career path in a new city. “We met in 2010 in Los Angeles, where we lived and worked, and very quickly decided to move in together,” says Hendifar, at the loft-like Apparatus studio in Chelsea on Manhattan’s West Side. The duo’s first pieces emerged soon after moving in to their Los Angeles abode. “It was really about addressing a need,” he explains. When Hendifar, a fashion and interiors designer, and Anderson, a former PR executive, couldn’t find the right lighting for their home, they started playing around with vintage industrial pieces. “It was about finding things that had something interesting and sculptural and modern to say and were made of material that felt hand-worn and had a soul,” says Hendifar. “So we started experimenting and making things.” A friend admired the lighting fixtures and offered to sell some at the gallery where he worked. “He said, ‘I could probably sell some of these on consignment’,” recalls Anderson. “Soon after, he took a couple of our fixtures that we made for him, and a couple of blogs noticed them and it started organically that way.” In 2011, a job change for Anderson saw the couple leave Los Angeles for New York — but finding work in the Big Apple’s fashion industry proved difficult for Hendifar. At the same time, orders for their lighting fixtures were trickling in. “Jeremy would go off to work and I would sit in our living room, making chandeliers and thinking to myself, What’s going on? What am I doing with my life?” Hendifar remembers, with a wry smile. Things started to change when noted design blog Remodelista picked up the duo’s work, then another friend encouraged them to show their wares at NYCxDesign, New York’s annual celebration of design. “I remember calling Jeremy and saying, ‘ There’s this really big show and I think we should do it,’” says Hendifar. “Then I told him it was only two months away and was really expensive.” Undaunted, they registered for the show — and the gamble paid off. Five months after Apparatus’s 2012 launch, Anderson quit his job and committed to the business full time. They now oversee a staff of 30, with production taking place in the same building as the studio. Business is booming, with designs such as the ‘Cloud’ chandelier and ‘ Twig’ and ‘Compass’ ceiling lights becoming sought after. Hendifar and Anderson hope their designs bridge the old and the new. “There’s something about the space between the perfect idea and our manifestation of it that lends our work a certain accessibility — a ‘human-ness’, a softness — but it still feels modern and forward,” says Hendifar. “It leaves you guessing: who made this, where did this come from and when was it made?” As it was with their first pieces, their designs still come from a response to a need. A case in point: when they required a table for a party at their New York studio, they made one. Now, they’re “tiptoeing” into furniture design, with select pieces to be released soon. “Fixtures are often created to fill the need in the space that people are in,” says Anderson. “This whole business has really been about jumping at an opportunity and figuring it out as we go.” ››

“It was about finding things that had something interesting and sculptural and modern to say” — Gabriel Hendifar

‹‹ Home for the couple is a beautifully appointed ‘parlour-floor’ corner brownstone with stunning 3.5-metre ceilings, in the Brooklyn neighbourhood of Park Slope. “Our home is a mixture of found, vintage and modern things,” says Anderson. “We hope our lighting bridges that a bit, as if you can’t really tell when and where it was made. It feels modern and familiar.” Both agree that American design is in the midst of a golden age, pointing to the likes of David Weeks, Jason Miller and Lindsey Adelman as starting a renaissance of beautiful handmade, high- end lighting. “I think younger designers see this as an opportunity,” notes Hendifar. “Something is happening that we’re lucky to be a part of. Somehow we got our timing right again without knowing.” When they reflect on those early days in New York, a touch of nostalgia creeps in. Not that the ride has been easy. “It’s been tumultuous at times,” says Anderson, smiling. As for Hendifar, “It’s amazing that we get to do this together. Sometimes you lose sight of that, and then you come back around again and you go, ‘Whoa. I get to go to work with you every day and we make stuff ’. It’s pretty good.” Apparatus is available from Criteria in Melbourne. Visit criteriacollection.com.au; apparatusstudio.com.

By TIFFANY BAKKER Photographed by MARTYN THOMPSON

The studio boasts a vintage Paul Evans bronze table base with modern marble top and a vintage black Eames ‘Time-Life’ chair. On the wall is an Apparatus ‘Bowl’ sconce; the ceiling fixture is the ‘Trapeze 10’ with porcelain shades.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: In the kitchen, a photograph by Anderson of a fisherman in Varanasi, India, hangs alongside found pieces. In the dining room, a pair of Mid-century Modern liquor cabinets from a former hunting lodge in Maine, Massachussetts, flank a Jamie Bush painting. In the living room, a vintage chair is offset by an Egg Collective ‘Hawley’ side table, ParkerWorks ‘Buddy’ floor lamp and Moroccan rug. OPPOSITE PAGE: The bedroom features vintage artworks and tortoise shells, with Apparatus-designed bed and bedside tables, and vintage French stools upholstered with fur.