Process

Growing up, I was always fascinated by the origin of things.  I always wanted to pull things apart, to try to understand the deeper meaning of them, how they were made, and why. My parents love to tell a story that I think is indicative of what I’ve been trying to grasp in life from a very young age. At 4, I found a screw driver lying around and decided to crack open a door knob to see how it works. I then took off every door knob in the house to compare them to see what the differences were between them. Throughout my early formative years I literally took apart everything from stereo equipment to automobiles. My parents let me do this, which I think is crazy, but they also benefited from my curiosity, For example, my grandmother asked me to replace the clutch in her 1980 Subaru GL before I was even old enough to drive. Washing machines, air conditions, and lawn mowers repairs soon followed.  I believe that my take on design stems from the skeletal elements of objects underlying the surface appearance I often find that the bare structures that are at the foundation of every building is more beautiful that the finished product. When I design, I like to strip things down to bare necessities. I find beauty in pure simple forms. I think there is a spiritual charged quality in them.

I have always been fascinated of our story of the origins of all things. Where did we come from? Why? A part of what it means to be human is to be curious, searching for the meaning of why we exist. It is this curiosity that is at the heart of all things that I look to capture in my practice of design.  

About

Caleb Zipperer is a Industrial Designer who has lived and worked in Brooklyn for many years. Recently he has setup his new Studio in Savannah, GA.  After apprenticing for a number of different designers including Dakota Jackson and Alexandra Champalimaud — and working as a bike messenger to support himself in the intervening years — Zipperer started his own studio in 2010. Since then, his pieces have been exhibited at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, Wanted Designs, and the BKLYN Designs show in Dumbo. They have also been featured in various publications including Architectural Digest, The New York Times, Dwell,  Surface, New York Magazine, to name a few.