Richard Haines

Early on, Richard’s folks taught him that if you don't like what you're given, learn to make it better. So, he learned to garden, because the taste of a warm home-grown tomato fresh off the vine cannot be found at a grocery store. He learned to cook, because gathering for a home cooked meal creates community and fosters lasting relationships. In this era of disposable design, he became committed to finding the intersection of sustainability and fine craft, learning to create objects with the intention of permanence, and always with a reverence for the materials he uses. Raised in Atlanta, GA, and educated at the Rhode Island School of Design, he resides and works in Brooklyn NY.

He finds inspiration in the abundance of wood being discarded throughout NYC, from wood shop offcuts to old growth lumber scrapped from the pre-war buildings of NYC's architectural landscape. This “waste” becomes his building block, calling into question what qualifies as valuable.

Each object Richard creates is built, sculpted, and finished entirely by hand...there is no lathe work involved for any of his pieces. The desired profile is defined during the building process, something akin to coil pottery, or an analog version of 3-D printing. Piece by piece, layer upon layer, he places each individual wood block, controlling both the wall thickness as well as the overall profile. Once constructed, Richard shapes the surfaces using a variety of hand held tools, resulting in a finely honed quality with subtle undulations very similar to that of hand built ceramics.

His STACKED process is a slow methodical ritual, applying a meditative focus to this previously discarded material, stacking individual pieces of wood to create an object that’s much more than the sum of its parts. As Richard learned early on in life, and applies to his work today, strive to make it better.

The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw sweeping social change and major scientific advances — both of which contributed to a new aesthetic: modernism. Rejecting the rigidity of Victorian artistic conventions, modernists sought a new means of expression. References to the natural world and ornate classical embellishments gave way to the sleek simplicity of the Machine Age. Architect Philip Johnson characterized the hallmarks of modernism as “machine-like simplicity, smoothness or surface [and] avoidance of ornament.”

Early practitioners of modernist design include the De Stijl (“The Style”) group, founded in the Netherlands in 1917, and the Bauhaus School, founded two years later in Germany.

Followers of both groups produced sleek, spare designs — many of which became icons of daily life in the 20th century. The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics. While Bauhaus principals Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created furniture from mass-produced, chrome-plated steel, American visionaries like Charles and Ray Eames worked in materials as novel as molded plywood and fiberglass. Today, Breuer’s Wassily chair, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair — crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich — and the Eames lounge chair are emblems of progressive design and vintage originals are prized cornerstones of collections.

It’s difficult to overstate the influence that modernism continues to wield over designers and architects — and equally difficult to overstate how revolutionary it was when it first appeared a century ago. But because modernist furniture designs are so simple, they can blend in seamlessly with just about any type of décor. Don’t overlook them.

Every time you move into a house or an apartment — or endeavor to refresh the home you’ve lived in for years — life for that space begins anew. The right home accent, be it the simple placement of a decorative bowl on a shelf or a ceramic vase for fresh flowers, can transform an area from drab to spectacular. But with so many materials and items to choose from, it’s easy to get lost in the process. The key to styling with antique and vintage decorative objects is to work toward making a happy home that best reflects your personal style. 

Ceramics are a versatile addition to any home. If you’ve amassed an assortment of functional pottery over the years, think of your mugs and salad bowls as decorative objects, ideal for displaying in a glass cabinet. Vintage ceramic serveware can pop along white open shelving in your dining area, while large stoneware pitchers paired with woven baskets or quilts in an open cupboard can introduce a rustic farmhouse-style element to your den.

Translucent decorative boxes or bowls made of an acrylic plastic called Lucite — a game changer in furniture that’s easy to clean and lasts long — are modern accents that are neutral enough to dress up a coffee table or desktop without cluttering it. If you’re showcasing pieces from the past, a vintage jewelry box for displaying your treasures can spark conversation: Where is the jewelry box from? Is there a story behind it?

Abstract sculptures or an antique vessel for your home library can draw attention to your book collection and add narrative charm to the most appropriate of corners. There’s more than one way to style your bookcases, and decorative objects add a provocative dynamic. “I love magnifying glasses,” says Alex Assouline, global vice president of luxury publisher Assouline, of adding one’s cherished objects to a home library. “They are both useful and decorative. Objects really elevate libraries and can also make them more personal.”

To help with personalizing your space and truly making it your own, find an extraordinary collection of decorative objects on 1stDibs.