The J Schatz studio, listed on the national register of historic places, was originally the dye house for the Weybosset Mills in Olneyville, Rhode Island—a neighborhood of Providence mentioned over and over again in conjunction with things that are new, interesting, and just plain cool happening in PVD. Jim Schatz and Peter Souza of the J Schatz design and ceramics studio are major contributing representatives.

The two met in Florida three years ago, and later moved Schatz’s studio from Upstate NY to Los Angeles. But, as Souza remarks, “We felt really isolated in the city, so we took a trek last October and we scoured New England and the Berkshires looking for a community to be a part of. We fell in love with Providence; we found this gorgeous building that we were able to work and live in.” It is an ideal spot for them, with the roots they’ve put down, and are expanding upon, exhibiting their commitment to the area. The 160-foot long tunnel of a brick building houses two live-in suites on one end, their production studio in the middle, and their own apartment in the back. A continuous line of dormer windows along the top stream in natural light.

“We found a really great community here of artists and designers and folks that really welcomed us,” affirms Schatz. “We found a nice place to be.”

J Schatz studio | Photo by J Schatz

All work happens on site. Schatz started his ceramics career with the Star Egg Nightlights that project astral spots of light into a room, and then kept moving that ovoid shape forward through his work. It shows up in the company’s outdoor products of polished, modern, and colorful bird houses and feeders. The lighting line features table lamps, pendants, and uplights, all made of high-quality materials: glossy, brightly colored ceramics and rough, metallic, urban stoneware. The Porcelana Uplights are a standout, translucent porcelain cylinders with a glossy interior that throws the warmest tones of pink or orange.

Form following function is evident in all of the J Schatz products. Everything is beautiful to look at and touch, but these are real usable products, down to the brutalist coffee maker. “That happened because there was a Chemex coffee maker in our studio that kept breaking,” says Schatz of the origin of that design. “This is before I met Peter. His first visit to the studio he’s like, ‘What’s that?’, and I said, ‘It’s this coffee maker that I made because I was so frustrated with the Chemex breaking.’ And he said, ‘This is something we should be making.’ It looks crudely made, but it’s actually very ergonomic and nice to use. It’s now a production piece.” The dark, craggy look of the set is precisely what everyone’s morning cup of coffee should look like.

Brutal Coffeemaker | Photo by J Schatz

The two have recently purchased yet more property in the neighborhood for their Airbnb stock: a cottage with a terrific view and outside space. It will get the full J Schatz makeover, everything from tableware to room dividers, to vases and bird baths. “We’re putting the finishing touches on two more rooms and we’ve outfitted it completely in J Schatz custom work and new pieces,” explains Schatz. “And we’re going to have a yard and a garden, too.” Expect more outdoor work and housewares from them in the coming season. “Peter and I have a vision that complements each other,” Schatz says. Souza agrees. “We’ve integrated our products into environments that other people can share.” It’s a real treat to be able to live among a design team’s work, and the environments that J Schatz creates are a treat indeed.

Porcelana Uplights | Photo by J Schatz

J Schatz – James Schatz and Peter Souza, principals
Providence, Rhode Island
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Top photo J Schatz exterior | Photo by J Schatz

The post Community of Design appeared first on Take Magazine.

Ben Blanc arrived in Providence a little over a decade ago to get his Master of Fine Arts at the Rhode Island School of Design. Like many RISD graduates, the Illinois-born designer stuck around after graduation.

“In Providence, you can explore creative boundaries without feeling that you’re under a microscope,” he says. “Everyone’s pretty respectful here. It’s what separates Providence from places like New York.”

Blanc’s work inhabits the margins between design and art. For The Exchange, a 2012 gallery show, he constructed 200 baseball-sized objects out of dyed Douglas fir. Smooth with irregular angled edges, the black pieces resemble lumps of coal. One, and only one, contained a gold nugget worth roughly $1,300. Gallery visitors, unable to tell which piece had the gold inside, were allowed to buy the objects for $30 each. When each buyer removed his or her purchase from the gallery, Blanc replaced it with a large, black wooden X.

Providence is a great city for anyone working in metal, according to Blanc. “Gorham was such a huge player here,” he says, referring to the silver company founded in Providence in 1831. “And there are many small shops still in operation here doing powder coating, anodizing, lost-wax casting, [and] metal spinning.”

Blanc works in an old single-story brick building that also houses a screen-printing studio, a florist, and a manufacturer of luxury leather goods. He designed oak and leather booths for New Rivers, one of Providence’s most celebrated restaurants, as well as walnut benches for the recently expanded Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut.

Ben (left) and Aja Blanc in their Providence, Rhode Island, design studio with their brass planters | photo by Ian Travis Barnard

Late last year, he began a formal collaboration with his wife, Aja, and the two are now partners in a furniture firm that specializes in minimalist, limited-edition furniture, lighting, and objects. The pair’s recent offerings include a two-piece, moon-shaped coffee table made of white oak and Vermont white marble, and a bronze apatosaurus. “It’s really fun to sculpt dinosaurs,” Ben says, by way of explanation.

In May, Ben and Aja debuted a new series at Site Unseen OFFSITE in conjunction with NYCxDesign, New York City’s annual weeklong celebration of design. Aja’s influence is immediately evident in the collection, which focuses on lunar objects and “cultish wuwu,” as she laughingly phrases it. The collection includes spun brass planters, a coil rug, and a half-moon mirror whose bottom half is composed of silk mohair and wool.

Ben sources many materials locally and works with several of the region’s small manufacturing shops for finishing work. “I’m working with wood, stone, and metal,” he says. “Honest materials that the people have some connection to.”

Follow Ben and Aja online and on Instagram.

This article originally appeared in our September 2015 Print issue.

Top photograph of Ben and Aja Blanc by Ian Travis Barnard

The post Blanc Looks appeared first on Take Magazine.