creatives
Meet the unsung heroes of interior design – the artisans and producers who work with glass, metal, marble, wood and fibreglass to make designers’ wildest ideas a reality
6:am Glassworks
Named for the time of day when Murano’s glassmakers fire up their furnaces, Milan-based 6:am Glassworks was founded by Edoardo Pandolfo and Francesco Palù to connect those artisans with the creatives who were struggling to find them. ‘It was a black hole,’ explains Pandolfo, who hails from Venice. ‘In Murano, there is an artisan who only does drinking glasses, another who makes chandelier arms… We know who makes what.’
In 2018, the pair had just finished collaborating on a lamp with Luca Guadagnino when, at a loose end, they found interior designer Hannes Peer’s phone number online. ‘We called him: “Hey Hannes, we are some random guys who do glass!” He was angry because his number was for clients not suppliers, but then he invited us to his home,’ says Pandolfo. Their timing was perfect: Peer wanted a bespoke Murano-glass chandelier for his studio. The first sample came out perfectly, and 6:am Glassworks transformed it into a product named ‘Paysage’. Now, Dior buys the chandelier for its boutiques, and the collection includes a floor lamp.
Pandolfo relishes the intellectual exchange that comes from working with a designer such as Peer, whom he describes as ‘straightforward, brave and decisive’. ‘The important thing is to read the person: what is it that they want, what gets them excited? You combine this with the best techniques, the best artisans and our own personal taste.’ ‘We’ve played sports all our lives,’ he adds. ‘We believe in teamwork.’ 6am.studiovedet.com
Max McLintock
The furniture maker Max McLintock loves that wood isn’t lifeless, but is constantly expanding and contracting, even if, ‘it behaves in ways you don’t always want it to’. Whether he’s advising designers and architects on the best timbers to use or has full creative control of a project, ‘it’s always collaborative,’ he says.
During the first lockdown, McLintock had been made redundant and decided to pursue a lifelong dream, enrolling in the fine furniture design and making course at the Building Crafts College in Stratford. After posting a leather-top writing desk he made on Instagram, a client got in touch and, ‘it all went from there’. His first commission was a large ash dining table. ‘I was given free rein and wanted to make the chunkiest table leg I could! It gave me a huge amount of confidence,’ he recalls.
‘Pe
