10 favourite things
Richard Christiansen, the Australian founder of US-based Chandelier Creative, reveals what floats his boat.
1. KEN DONE is my great love. His colour and optimism are quintessentially Australian, and I’ve always said he’s my professional idol. I got this painting, Christmas Reef, recently in Sydney. 2. VILLA E BY STUDIO KO Olivier Marty and Karl Fournier, founders of Studio KO, have become my close friends and collaborators. Last year they took me to Villa E, a monolithic desert compound in the mountains of Morocco. It’s a true feat of design magic, constructed from locally sourced Ourika stones. 3. THE POWER OF MAKE-BELIEVE I love creating worlds from my imagination. This is one of the reasons I love building sets for our commercials and films. 4. MY DOGS, FREEWAY AND DAYLESFORD They’re my BFFs ( best furry friends). They come to work with me every day, and we’re constant companions. 5. MICHEL DUCAROY ‘ TOGO’ SOFA This is one of the first pieces of furniture I purchased. It’s followed me around from home to home. There are lots of stories behind that leather, how it’s aged and worn. 6. KIMONO Last year, when I took my whole team to Japan as a Christmas present, I purchased this 180-year-old kimono in Tokyo. It’s called a jinbaori, a samurai jacket worn before going into battle. It’s hung in the office as a reminder to keep our fighting spirit. 7. BILLS IN HONOLULU Nothing beats ricotta hotcakes with banana and honeycomb butter in paradise. 8. RICK OWENS ‘CURIAL’ CHAIR My home in Los Angeles is mostly furnished with Owens’ pieces. I love his ‘ less is more’, intensely sculptural design. 9. MY TRAVEL BAG is based on the luggage in Wes Anderson’s film The Darjeeling Limited. 10. EVELYN AND JEROME ACKERMAN TAPESTRY I’ve been collecting their tapestries for the past few years. This one [from 1959], called The Ladies, hangs in my ranch outside New York. Visit chandeliercreative.com.