Homogenize.
verb
a: to blend (diverse elements) into a mixture that is the same throughout
b: to make uniform in structure or composition throughout : to make homogeneous

Growing up in central Massachusetts, my family would go on a weekly shopping trip to a store called Spag’s. A cash-only, discount department store that carried everything from lightbulbs to citrus. My memories of Spag’s range from the fried dough cart in the parking lot to bumping into my 5th grade math teacher (he was wearing jeans! I was so embarrassed!)

Spag’s had a great run, but when a Walmart opened its doors five minutes down Route 9, it didn’t stand a chance. Slowly my beloved warehouse retailer started making changes to its policies, inventory and pricing, in an effort to compete with the superstore down the street. A fight they inevitably lost.

We tell ourselves this is the nature of commerce. We tell ourselves this is the nature of competition. We lament that what happened to Spag’s is sad, but unavoidable in the American marketplace.

But what happens when the industry and market thrive and depend on nuance, texture and diversity? The very nature of good design is antithetical to homogenization, and it’s terrifying to see the Walmarts of our industry growing ever swiftly and effectively.

We absolutely can’t beat them – these giants are here to stay. But we can acknowledge the importance of the Other. The importance of diversity of thought, textural context of process, and nuance of many design minds; pushing themselves to find a better solution, a better material, a better path than the fastest/cheapest/easiest.

When content, products, or ideas are bandied about by the same small handful of large companies, it endangers the essence of design. These companies are engaged in a self congratulatory monologue that prohibits diversity of voice. But as Colony and so many of our beloved counterparts are discovering, the very act of being and working preserves an alternative perspective; helping to keep the conversation of great, nuanced design alive.

-Jean Lin

A SPACE is a New York-based design & art studio, co-founded by Anna Aristova and Roza Gazarian in 2016. After meeting Anna and Roza during NY Design Week 2019, we were drawn to their collaborative approach towards their limited edition collections of stone and metal-based furniture. 

The Found Collection, now available at Colony, is a series of limited edition works that let the stone dictate the final form. Each piece of marble was hand-picked at a small family-owned quarry in the South of Turkey with an intention to work around its imperfections. This collection exposes the rough texture of natural stone, celebrating its beauty and reminding of the mountains that the stone came from.

View the full collection

Each object is a one-of-a-kind creation that beckons to look beyond mere form and material, and to connect to the primordial nature of the elements.

Relevé Stool by Vonnegut/Kraft
GH x MVNGMTNS Lamp by Moving Mountains
INSPIRATION: Film still from The Endless Summer, 1966
Offset Table by Grain
Shaped Propped Mirror by Phaedo
Current and Nigh You Cliff by Hiroko Takeda

COVE/ARC CREDENZA BY KWH
POOL RUG BY GRAIN
PASTILLE COFFEE TABLE BY VONNEGUT/KRAFT
HALO TABLE BY ERICKSON AESTHETICS
GHXMVNGMTNS LAMP BY MOVING MOUNTAINS
NOSTALGIA SERIES BY HIROKO TAKEDA
LAYERED BACK SOFA BY STUDIO PAOLO FERRARI

Monolith Ladder-back Chair by Phaedo
Dish Coffee Table by Grain
XX Ottoman by Erickson Aesthetics
Hemispheres by Fort Standard
Fruit Salad by A Cup of Jo
Rolled Back Lounge Chair by Studio Paolo Ferrari
Repeat/Arc Side Table by KWH
Surf Screen by Studio Paolo Ferrari
Fruit Salad by Valya’s Taste of Home
Mesa Console by Vonnegut/Kraft
Offset Coffee Table by Grain