Welcome to the world of designer Dan Yeffet

Welcome to the world of designer Dan Yeffet - 2
Welcome to the world of designer Dan Yeffet - 3
Welcome to the world of designer Dan Yeffet - 4
Welcome to the world of designer Dan Yeffet - 5

Dan's projects from left to right in a clockwise motion: "Hollow" for WONDERGLASS, "Memento" for VERONESE, "LINTELOO" and finally "D-Light" for Collection Particulière (2015)

Welcome to the world of designer Dan Yeffet of Dan Yeffet Studio. Artsper delves into his designer's unique vision of design as an appreciative process of the freedom to create without limitation.

1. Hello Dan! Can you fill us in on your design journey which has brought you to where you are today with Dan Yeffet Design Studio?

Well, I started my journey to becoming a designer relatively late in life if we compare my trajectory to today's standard. I began my studies at the age of 28 in Israel. At first, I wanted to become an architect but I quite quickly came to the realization that my strengths lie in being more attuned to the field of design. The first school of design that I attended was the BEZALEL Academy which gave me the opportunity to head to the Netherlands where I took up my masters in Rietveld Academy of Amsterdam.

During the period of my stay there, the Dutch design scene saw its prime time. I became completely absorbed by Drog design and conceptual design more generally. It was then that I decided to establish my own studio in Amsterdam. Two years later, life took me to France where I am still based. I would say that it is within the Parisian design scene that many opportunities have presented themselves to me and that it is because of this period that I started being recognized as a designer.

Welcome to the world of designer Dan Yeffet - 6
Welcome to the world of designer Dan Yeffet - 7

On the left: project "Comet" (2017). On the right: A portrait of designer Dan Yeffet

2. Looking back at past projects, which are some of your favorites?

It is always hard to state one project over another in terms of importance or value. When you begin a project, you are always excited by its prospects and therefore all of them share the same exciting beginnings. Nevertheless, upon reflection, I do have some past projects that have stayed with me more than others. For example, the balloon collection with Brokis or the Hollow light with WONDERGLASS, my segment collection, the Torch for Collection Particulière, the last collection with CTO and that glass stool for Veronese — each mean something significant to me, but all for different reasons.

3. You have been quoted as saying, “Definitions are our limits; I would like to consider myself as an explorer and adventurer." Have you always seen your connection to design so holistically?

I would not use the term of a “holistic" approach but rather view my design as a process of appreciating the freedom to create. I believe in the freedom of design and the idea of testing out where you can apply your skills without falling into the same patterns or molds set out by convention. It is not an easy task to reinvent yourself. It is not something that comes to us naturally as human beings who appreciate stability, however it is essential if you wish to have diversity in life.

Also, I might add that I enjoy testing, discovering and being surprised by the outcome. I like to explore materials, methods of production and most of all, explore people and fellow collaborators. Everything else is just a pretext for human interaction.

4. How do you decide on the nature of your next design project, whether it be a piece of furniture, glass sculpture, conceptual space, light feature or other “object of desire" as you put it?

There you have the million-dollar question!

I see myself as a very intuitive person who lets their brain follow their guts. I truly believe in creative intuition. Perhaps we are born with it and then life gets in the way and dampens this sixth sense. These days, everything must follow a structure, be defined, fit in a box, be set in rules or borders before you even get to interpret what you have created.

Also, I do not work alone - I am lucky enough to work collaboratively in my studio. We are able to bounce ideas off each other, discuss, defend our thoughts and ultimately challenge each other into producing some great design.

To really express how I feel about design, I would say that in everything I create my primary task is to first affect the observer's heart before their brain. That is to say, I want the observer of my design to first feel an emotional connection with one of my pieces before their brain is able to comprehend it logically.

It is my belief that we “adopt" pieces of design, incorporating them into our environment by either simply liking or disliking them. When you need to buy a chair, any old chair will do as it will fulfill its purpose. However, if you do not like the way a chair looks, then even if it is the most comfortable chair, you will not choose it, simply because you do not connect with it on an emotional level. Aesthetics are subjective and are connected to the emotional side of our brain, at least that is how I see things.

Welcome to the world of designer Dan Yeffet - 8
Welcome to the world of designer Dan Yeffet - 9

On the left: project "Columba" (2017). On the right: Aston{e}ishing Black Collection low tables for Akurayama Studio (2015)

5. How does art inspire you?

Many things inspire me. Not just art, but good art (again, this is subjective) can emotionally move me like crazy! I sometimes feel like good art shakes me right to the core, like directly hitting exposed nerves.

6. How are your designs influenced by the surroundings in which they exist? This can be more than just location.

I think coexisting is a more correct way of expressing how my designs are influenced by their surroundings. I always try to incite a broad symbiotic relationship between my objects and the surroundings in which I imagine they will fit. Furthermore, I work a lot with glass which allows its environment to interact with it due to the reflections and light marks it casts about a room.

However after I design an object, I am always surprised by how its place and situation can transform it - I am always open to this final interpretation at the end of the design process.

7. Can you name a few of your favorite contemporary artists, sculptors or photographers that have inspired your work?

Certainly the Colombian artist Fernando Botero, for his proportions. I have been inspired by Isamu Noguchi's stone work and his sensitivity for the material in general. Mark Rothko provides influence in terms of his handling of colors and scale... I mean there are so many good works out there also, from young artists. But I have to say it is not only art that inspires me, but people in general and daily life. It can be very powerful when you stop and look at the most basic aspects of life. Even something so banal and prosaic can become a seed of inspiration needed to create the extraordinary.

8. Finally, do you think it is the role of the designer to be flexible in the role they take on? Should an interior designer be able to design furniture, for example, as well as spaces?

That is a very sensitive subject these days. Many disciplines have started to merge together. I can see design, artistry and craftsmanship overlapping. As for the rest of the creative fields, perhaps the world is not ready to view these disciplines as anything but finite and separate. Can you imagine a furniture maker or a painter creating a skyscraper, for example?

Certainly, we are not there yet but I can imagine more collaboration between disciplines in the future.

Welcome to the world of designer Dan Yeffet - 10

Collection for Collection Particulière


Their favorite artworks

Painting, Operenccia, Victor Vasarely

Operenccia

Victor Vasarely

Painting - 101.6 x 167.6 x 2.5 cm

$450,000

Painting, Timo Kraus, Dan Levenson

Timo Kraus

Dan Levenson

Painting - 42 x 28 cm

Sold

Photography, Looking for the Masters in Ricardo's Golden Shoes #74 (Tribute to Robert Mapplethorpe, Ken Moody and Robert Sherman, 1984), Catherine Balet

Looking for the Masters in Ricardo's Golden Shoes #74 (Tribute to Robert Mapplethorpe, Ken Moody and Robert Sherman, 1984)

Catherine Balet

Photography - 50 x 52 cm

$2,372

Sculpture, Bronze N°4 (TM65), Thierry Martenon

Bronze N°4 (TM65)

Thierry Martenon

Sculpture - 180 x 60 x 28 cm

Sold

Sculpture, Desert Signe VII (SG176), Sylvie Guyomard

Desert Signe VII (SG176)

Sylvie Guyomard

Sculpture - 72 x 52 x 3 cm

$621

Sculpture, Nzuri, Aude Herlédan

Nzuri

Aude Herlédan

Sculpture - 47 x 26.5 x 9 cm

Sold

Sculpture, Figure (brown), Aude Herlédan

Figure (brown)

Aude Herlédan

Sculpture - 38 x 22 x 13.5 cm

$11,293

Print, Marlborough Galleria D'arte Roma, Mark Rothko

Marlborough Galleria D'arte Roma

Mark Rothko

Print - 97.8 x 64.8 cm

Sold

Painting, Breakage 10 bis, L'Atlas

Breakage 10 bis

L'Atlas

Painting - 80 x 60 x 2 cm

Sold

Print, Untitled, Alexander Calder

Untitled

Alexander Calder

Print - 65 x 49.7 cm

$6,776

Sculpture, Cumplicidade #3, Tulio Pinto

Cumplicidade #3

Tulio Pinto

Sculpture - 77 x 70 x 180 cm

Sold

Design, Inflexa 1, Luca Nicolao

Inflexa 1

Luca Nicolao

Design - 24 x 20 x 8 cm

Sold