Beyond Form and Function: “OBJECTS ARE BY” wants to leave a message that matters
Phil America and Jenny D. Pham on challenging bonds, redefining experiential spaces, and the courage to abandon predefined paths.
“We believe in the transformative power of creative freedom and playing outside of our comfort zones.”
This expression encapsulates the essence of Phil America and Jenny D. Pham's work: breaking patterns, challenging established conventions, and transforming the unknown into fertile ground for creativity.
For Phil, objects are “vessels of time” - containers that hold memory. For Jenny, they are embodied questions that ask us: “What is it for and why are we making it?” But their vision isn't limited to the complementarity of two distinct perspectives. It's an ongoing dialogue, where one's inspiration fuels the other's, converging into a shared idea of the object.
“There are enough teapots in the world – says Jenny - so if we set out to make a new one it should be something that builds upon the history and adds something to the conversation.”
Objects mark our time, becoming relics of our existence. Each of us has our own objects, and within them is carved the story of a life.
Creativity demands the courage to abandon predefined paths. The founders of “OBJECTS ARE BY” chose to question everything to give life to something new, tracing uncharted trajectories. Design has this power: it allows us to shape our paths. And so do their objects.
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What was the last time you completely refuted all your pre-established theses, giving birth to a totally revolutionary idea? How does this manifest itself in your creative work? And how does it also affect your personal life?
PA: Starting “OBJECTS ARE BY” was a decisive rupture for both of us. It felt like a rejection of linear career paths, we had both been on, by starting a design brand and studio that’s defined by the ‘unknown’. The shift shows up in our work through a new way of creating design objects and rethinking what experiential spaces look and feel like.
I’ve always been interested in the concept of language, but design forced me to think in new forms of creativity that blur the boundary between function and reflection. Personally, it’s recalibrated our pace of living.
JDP: I have spent most of my career working with big brands - with big reach and big budgets. Working on a much smaller scale, I’ve had to get creative. With big brands the assumption is that those who are the loudest, win. You are trained to think that disruption is the only way. To me, that feels like elbowing your way into a space that you may not be welcomed. With smaller budgets it is not the volume of the sound but rather the message that matters. That has forced me to focus on the messaging and approach things with more care.
You started as friends, then as a couple, and finally as business partners. How has your personal relationship influenced the professional growth of “OBJECTS ARE BY”? When did you realize that Milan would be your home and creative base? How has this city and its tireless movement inspired your projects?
JDP: Our relationship influences the brand every day. We have the same goals and we trust each other implicitly. After I left Versace, we started to renovate and build our home, together with architect Massimiliano Locatelli, and it was inspiring to see the relationship design had with our city, so it was important to us to stay here and continue to engage with the design industry and those tangential to it, which, in turn has been incredibly inspiring.
PA: The city has been an endless source of inspiration. Not just the city itself but also the people- they are keys to everything the future holds for this city. The relationship between us as a creative and philosophical partnership is what makes us unique and has been the key to everything we put out into the world.
Talking about your projects means talking about your ideas. The creative process behind the “Milan Metro” collection, inspired by the subway system, makes me curious. How did you decide to use such an everyday urban theme for object design? How do you think Milan’s subway reflects the identity of the city, both aesthetically and symbolically?
PA: There is probably an over-romanticized response I could give you, but the truth is I’m just obsessed with trains. I published several books on the subculture of people who paint graffiti on subways and other passenger trains, so it’s mostly rooted in that. That said, I think most city’s metro is the heart and veins of a city. If you truly want to get to know somewhere, travel around by metro.
How do you choose collaborators and how do you integrate with them in your projects?
JDP: The truth is we just want to work with our friends and the people we’re inspired by.
What is an object to you? And how can it escape its practical function from your artistic point of view?
PA: To me, an object is a vessel of time. It escapes its practical function the moment it begins to evoke rather than serve, when it shifts from being used to being experienced. In that transformation, it becomes a site of reflection, an affront or a provocation, or even a form of resistance.
JDP: The thing I truly love about objects is its ‘purpose’. Every object, every space and even every experience should have a purpose. So, to me, that is the first question we ask ourselves when we approach creating a new object- ‘what is it for and why are we making it?’
How can an object, in your opinion, encapsulate an inspiration or an idea?
PA: I don’t know that it must. As I said, I feel like an object can show up in many forms and generally; it shouldn’t have to carry the weight of the past idea that an object in design should always have a function - even if that function is to inspire. We make objects for different reason, sometimes to solve a problem, other times to prompt a question and other times for no ‘reason’ at all.
JDP: I think it can feel very literal or very abstract. For example, for our “Milan Metro” collection we have one wavy tray that can house sunglasses for keys, which took a very literal approach to being inspired by the shape of the Milan’s red line metro bench.
For our bubble tray – which we have received a few design awards for - the inspiration was more abstract. The circular bubble shapes on the tray came from this idea that in the grand scheme of things dots don’t seem significant.
However, when it comes to a map just like the maps you’d find in a metro system, the dots become crucial for you to find your way. We loved playing with the dots and celebrating their importance.
How do you balance experimentation with practical and functional design in your collections?
PA: To over-simplify it, we try to bring a creative person to the table and ask them to create something they’ve never made before. Then we work together with craftsmen or specialized factories to create the design, so we don’t compromise the quality of what we are making. So sometimes the experimentation happens simply by asking, say, an artist to create a cup, while other times it comes from trying to develop new processes or create new materials.
JDP: For us experimentation is not a driving force. We experiment when necessary. For example, we love Fine Bone China. Once we started researching the craftsmen and factories who work with Bone China, we realized it is made from animal bones. So, we spent nearly 2 years developing and fine tuning an animal-free version which we call Bone Free China. Same with our vegan wool. We never set out to experiment and generally we’d rather partner with craftsmen who are experts in their field but when what we want to make literally does not exist, then we must experiment.
When you create - or think about - an object, do you always think about its utility? Do you focus first on its form and visual impact?
JDP: Form and function always come before aesthetics for us, in the process, but they must work equally together. If a teapot does not work, then it does not matter if it is beautiful or not. But it needs to be beautiful and have a great story behind it and add something to the long history of the object's existence for us to release it. There are enough teapots in the world so if we set out to make a new one it should be something that builds upon the history and adds something to the conversation.
In your opinion, is it more complex to place an object in a space or to give it the role of the main protagonist?
PA: To place an object in a space is a matter of composition; to make it the protagonist is a matter of thought. The true complexity doesn’t lie in its position, but in its elevation - when the object, stripped of utility, is re-contextualized and then it is re-defined. If you think about Duchamp’s urinal, the act of designation itself becomes the artwork.
How do you think the object interacts with the surrounding space?
PA: Having been an artist most of my adult life I have always tried to challenge the idea of the ‘white cube’ and the ‘blank canvas’. This concept doesn’t exist to me. We cannot leave everything behind when we step into a white-walled gallery. So, in my opinion, the surrounding space always interacts with the object. That doesn’t always mean that the object, in turn, interacts with the space but I guess that depends on the specific situation.
A creation can often become a reflection of us or a personal experience; this also happens to me with writing, for example. There are writings from the past that I read with pain or extreme joy, because they evoke past thoughts. Is there any object you feel particularly connected to a part of your life? Is there an object that tells a personal story you would like to share? How do you manage to blend the past with the present in your creative and design concepts?
PA: If you ask Jenny I’m probably too attached to objects. Every object I have has some sentiment to it and has a story.
JDP: Haha. True. For me objects that inspire me ones that feel earned. Fashion objects have inspired us to mimic the process that they are made. The fact we’d want to make something ‘Bone free’ is inspired by beauty and fashion items I have that are labelled ‘cruelty free’, ’animal free’ or ‘vegan’. There are some Bone China items I really love but do not want to buy because of their materiality so instead I have been inspired to make them. But, to answer the last question, we generally find ways to take things made in the past with antiquated materials or methods and create designs for the future.
There’s a section on your website dedicated to the materials you use and sustainability: what significance does this crucial theme have for you? What drove you to want to communicate this through your objects?
JDP: I think talking about what your cup or your blanket is made from is very important. Nearly every person we talk to about Bone China is shocked to learn that the ‘bone’ in ‘Bone China’ comes from actual bones rather than being named as such due to the color. It’s through communicating that that we have both shifted the conversation in the industry as well as driven new business for our brand.
Sustainability is a term we try to avoid because making anything new is not very ‘sustainable’. We prefer ‘lower impact’ and try to do the best we can when making things. For example, we use a lot of upcycled materials and even upcycle a lot of water. We all saw that within marketing, sustainability and the idea of green washing was a trendy performative talking point. Which to me, even as a marketer, I feel it is even more important to celebrate and highlight lower-impact processes even when it is not trendy to make sure, we keep the flame alive.
We want to push the industry with our actions and decisions and show that it can be the default rather than just following a trend. If we want this planet to exist in the future so we can even have a table to set, then we must protect our future.
PA: As Marshall McLuhan said, “the medium is the message.” So, whatever we produce things from must speak to who we are and what we stand for.
I find it very interesting that you use “bone-free” materials or vegan wool.
What message do you want to convey through these conscious choices? Do you think it is received well? Tell us about sustainability from the perspective of your objects and explain why you believe it is such a fundamental theme for our future.
PA: Using animal products in any form is antiquated, unethical, and completely unnecessary today. Most of the design world stopped trying to innovate and is relying on the past. If you look at any design magazine or any of the big design fairs, they are full of objects from the past, made with processes and materials from the past. I always feel like the past should inform the future, not define it, and I truly believe a lot of brands in the design industry have very little to add to the conversation. So, for me, it's a given that we look for new and future - focused ways of creating objects, especially in a time when we do not need to keep adding new things to the planet.
JDP: So far, the messaging has been one of the things that both the consumers and industry have really gravitated towards. To give 2 examples - we have gained a lot of interest from people in hospitality in regions that require things to be Kosher and Halal. The bones in the Bone China are never labelled as either and could be anything from cow to pig to chicken to dog and have zero regulations around their ingredients. Then, in terms of the industry, most of the press we’ve gotten highlights these materials and processes. It is one thing that many journalists have really been interested in.
Do you think that the object of the future must necessarily be sustainable and minimalist, or do you think there could be a return to more detailed and story-rich objects in the future?
JDP: There is no choice if we want there to be a future at all.
Is there an object you would dream of creating in the future, something you haven’t yet had the opportunity to explore, but that fascinates you?
PA: Chairs! I am completely obsessed with chairs. Or a train.
JDP: I don’t know what item I’d like to make exactly but I know it needs to be cute. There needsto be more cute things in the world.
How do you think the concept of "object" will evolve in your work in the coming years?
JDP: Time will tell. We are always obsessed with the ‘unknown’ so we are always open to every direction the universe could pull us in. We love collaboration and the interdisciplinary dialogues that come from it so let’s see…the unknown is truly our muse.
How do you hope people will interact with the objects you create? Do you want them to be perceived as functional items or as artistic elements to be observed?
JDP: Something that is made only to be looked at has as much function as something that pours water, in my opinion. And something that is made specifically for function can be beautiful both in its design as well as how it works. So, I hope people see our items and use them how they want. I mean, we have items that are very open to interpretation as well. Obviously, a cup is meant to be drank from, but our ashtrays get used for keys and jewelry as much as they do a cigarette or joint. Same with our trays. Some people use them to serve sandwiches on, and others use them for sunglasses.
How do you try to encourage a physical or emotional connection between the object and those who own or use it?
JDP: Objects mean something different to everyone and can even loss or gain be meaning overtime. Most meaning is sentimental and comes from a story, so we really try to do good storytelling around each object we make. I am less emotionally attached to most items than Phil is, so I try to be purposeful both in what I buy and consume as well as what I make and sell. I want everything we make to be something people buy and love for a long time. It sets a high bar for us but forces us to not just pump out a bunch of junk.
Is there an everyday object you’ve decided to "transform" or reinterpret? How do you choose which ordinary objects to transform into design pieces?
PA: It usually starts with a conversation between us and the creative we’re working with. The dialogue usually dictates the object. Like, to give you an example, we worked with artist Lukas Bentel on a project and, after some back and forth, we landed on creating a series of tapestries. We had no time to ship them and had to hand carry them from Milan to NYC to show them at NY Design Week and, given the original function of a tapestry being its portability, it’s what we landed on.
Is there something you’ve created just for the two of you, for your home, or as a symbol of your union? What does it represent for you?
PA: Yes, but if I told you, it wouldn’t be just for the two of us.
What advice would you give to creatives who want to shape their thoughts, their deepest inspirations? How can you give life to a “thing"?
PA: I find advice is best given through actions. I absorb more by watching and listening than anything else. We have 2 eyes and 2 ears and only one mouth so I always feel like I should be taking more in than I put out. From Ruslan Baginskiy, I learned that no matter the obstacles, you must keep going. Ini Archibong taught me to study someone’s world deeply before collaborating. Elena Flores showed me how curiosity and humour can be powerful fuel. From Patrisse Cullors, I learned that what you create and what you stand for can be one-in-the-same. Jenny showed me that staying true to your vision can take you anywhere. I’ve also learned from those no longer here - Edward Abbey, Abbie Hoffman, Chris Burden, Malcolm X, Gio Ponti, and many others. Through them, I’ve found how to give life to anything.
JDP: Don’t be precious. Just start.
Teresa Borriello
writer and independent journalist, covering people’s interests and issues - or anything worth caring about
@teresaborriello