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Showing posts with label John Kapel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Kapel. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

John Kapel

John Kapel
John Kapel (1922- ) is a designer living in Woodside, California. He graduated from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield, Michigan. He trained briefly in Yugoslavia before returning to the United States to work as a general designer at George Nelson & Associates.

After working for George Nelson for two years, Kapel moved to California. He had no tools of his own, so his friend and fellow craftsman Sam Maloof took him to an auction, where he bought a lot of five work benches from a school. Within a month, he had sold four of them and had enough money to start a business making furniture.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Kapel both created one-of-a-kind studio pieces in his workshop and also designed for furniture companies. From his years with George Nelson & Associates, he had seen Nelson earn royalties off his popular designs. That sounded attractive to Kapel, who explained his decision by saying, "My fellow craftsmen...thought I was a sell-out. I didn't care. I wanted a nice house and designing for a manufacturer allowed me to do that."

So Kapel made some prototypes, loaded them in his station wagon and began working for Glenn of California and Brown Saltman, while continuing to create one-offs in his studio.

While Kapel insists he's not famous, his work is nevertheless exhibited at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and fetches impressive prices in upscale vintage stores today.

From C California Style magazine, October 2010



Walnut chest
1stdibs.com

Night stands
1stdibs.com

Gentleman's chest
1stdibs.com

Bench
reformgallery.1stdibs.com

Credenza
1stdibs.com

Lounge chairs
1stdibs.com

Walnut and leather chair
lacma.org

Low chair
lacma.org

Desk chair
lacma.org

Workspace in Kapel's home with double pedestal desk and three-legged chair
latimes.com

Kapel's workshop
lesliewilliamson.com

John Kapel: California Design
youtube.com
Uploaded by lacmavideo on Dec. 20, 2011


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Monday, June 17, 2013

How designers live

While researching an upcoming post, I happened upon some extraordinary images of interiors of homes of well-known designers. The photographer, Leslie Williamson, has a spellbinding website that I urge you to visit. Her portfolio includes portraits of craftsmen and artists, as well as interior shots of beautiful spaces. What you see in this post are only a few of my favorites. I'm sure you will have favorites of your own.

All images from lesliewilliamson.com


Russel Wright's dining area - Garrison, NY

Vladimir Kagan's living room - New York City, NY

George Nakashima's Reception House - New Hope, PA

Irving Harper's bedroom - Rye, NY

Eva Zeisel's studio shelves - Rockland Co., NY
,
Charles and Ray Eames's studio - Pacific Palisades, CA

Walter Gropius's living room - Lincoln, MA

John Kapel's living room - Woodside, CA

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