Scott Schipper Bowden
Scott Schipper Bowden
Designer/Founder
Los Angeles/Salt Lake City
www.modellinedesign.com
instagram: @modellinedesign
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“I design and fabricate furniture out of steel and wood. ”
WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?
I started making things in a shed in my backyard in 2012. I hated school and didn’t want to work in a wood shop, so I had to use the resources immediately available which were: a grinder, a welder, a vibrating sander, a circular saw and standard hand tools. Most of those tools were borrowed and well used. Looking back, having those kinds of limitations made me more creative and efficient.
HOW DO YOU STAND OUT IN YOUR FIELD?
I’m a very process-oriented person. My aesthetic has been shaped by spending thousands of hours experimenting with basically two materials: steel and wood. I frequently return to forms derived from a single bent line. All of my ideas come from a deep knowledge of just a few techniques, but I feel that I can use those techniques in an unlimited number of ways.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
The products I find myself most interested in right now are mirrors and shelves. Nobody is really doing much with them, which makes it more enticing to me.
WHAT'S YOUR STYLE/PERSPECTIVE/TASTE? DO YOU HAVE A PROJECT THAT REPRESENTS THIS?
My work will always be very minimal. I don’t like ornamentation. I’m playing with color and form more, which is new and exciting.
WE ALL HAVE MULTIPLE SKILLS OR WORK IN VARIOUS INDUSTRIES, WHICH ONE DO YOU WISH YOU COULD FOCUS ON MORE?
I would definitely put more resources into marketing. Creative photoshoots and campaigns are really exciting to me. I’d also like to establish myself in Los Angeles and New York, and having more presence there would be a dream come true.
WHAT IS FRUSTRATING YOU RIGHT NOW?
I know I need to be advertising, but I don’t have time to figure it out. I tried social media, and it didn’t bring in hardly anything. I want to try something new, but I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to the advertising industry, and I’m too busy with orders to drop everything and figure it out.
IF YOU COULD HIRE SOMEONE FOR $20/HR, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE THEM DO TO MAKE YOUR DAY EASIER?
There are a lot of things that would be helpful. Help with the website, shipping orders, and maybe social media are some of the things I can think of off the top of my head.
LET'S BRING OUT THE TIME MACHINE. WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE TOLD YOURSELF, WHEN, AND WHY?
I wish I could tell myself to charge more for custom pieces, about 5 years ago. At the time, almost everything I made was custom, and I wasn’t taking into account how much time and effort I spent constantly switching gears between projects. If I had been working in a production style, it would have been smart, but I was just pursuing every opportunity possible.
IF YOU COULD TALK TO AN EXPERT TO GAIN MORE INSIGHT ON SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE ABOUT?
I’d like to focus more on ideas and concepts and spend less time in fabrication. I know there are lots of great fabricators, and hiring temp work can be more financially efficient, but I don’t know what those costs would look like, and how much I’d have to charge to make that work.
WHAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES/PROJECTS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
I’m looking for restaurants, hotels and retailers who want to build the space of their dreams, ideally in Los Angeles or New York. I’ve had some very successful projects working with businesses, and I’d like to do it more often.
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL JOB/CLIENT/COLLABORATION.
I’d like to work with an amazing, design-oriented business that wants their spaces to reflect their values. We would collaborate on a vision for the space, and then I’d go about turning their vision into a reality.
I would also like to make a lavish commissioned piece for somebody’s gorgeous contemporary home. I made a steel sliding door for Adam Glassman, and that was a dream job.
WHAT IS YOUR HOURLY RATE, RETAINER, OR SALARY RANGE?
Prices on all my top selling pieces can be found on www.modellinedesign.com
Custom orders are fun and exciting, but cost significantly more because of production. With custom orders, it’s typically most cost-efficient to order multiple items, but if you want something one of a kind and you’ve got a few thousand dollars to spare then I’m happy to assist.
WHO IS A CREATIVE THAT HAS HELPED YOU ELEVATE YOUR WORK?
Tim Hans: info@timhans.com
Michael Munton: Mimunton@gmail.com
HOW SHOULD SOMEONE APPROACH YOU ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER?
Email me at: hello@modellinedesign.com, and take a look at my website beforehand. Just tell me what you're interested in, and I'll get back to you shortly!
HOW DO YOU STAY CREATIVE?
Don’t wait for inspiration to strike.
This member profile was originally published in August 2019.