Unique Makers that our Interior Designers Love
lifestyle
From a Brooklyn stone carver to a Minneapolis clay studio, the makers recommended by the designers behind the Designeers Destination Guides.
Some artisans are known through galleries. Others are known the way this list came together, passed from one designer to another, city by city, long before the wider world catches on.
As part of the Designeers Destination Guides, we ask leading designers around the world to name the maker they'd point a client to first. The result is a collection of artisans who capture the character of their cities while quietly setting the standard for craft in their field.
From a Prague sculptor working at the edge of technology to a centuries-old Venetian house, these are the artisans every interior designer should know.
Ben Mazey | Sydney
Laboratorio Paravicini | Milan
1. Ben Mazey | Sydney
Recommended by Carla Barton
A ceramic artist whose work has become one of Sydney's quiet design-world open secrets, passed between interior designers long before it reached a gallery wall. Mazey's pieces favour restraint over spectacle, with a tactile, hand-formed quality that rewards a second look.
sydney Destination Guide | View BlackBook Profile
2. Laboratorio Paravicini | Milan
Recommended by Virginia Arlotto
A Milanese institution of hand-painted ceramics, instantly recognisable for its whimsical, densely patterned tableware. For designers layering colour and history into a room, it remains an essential address.
John Junior Kim | New York
Ridgely Studio Works | Toronto
3. John Junior Kim | New York
Recommended by Crina Arghirescu
Working sustainably from his own Brooklyn studio, Kim brings a poetic material sensibility to lighting design that recalls Andrea Branzi. His pieces feel contemporary yet strangely timeless, built for interiors meant to last.
New York Destination Guide | View BlackBook Profile
4. Ridgely Studio Works | Toronto
Recommended by Mila Yudina
Founded by artist and designer Zac Ridgely, this studio approaches lighting as sculpture — crushed glass, onyx and spun steel combined into collectible pieces that sit somewhere between fixture and art object.
Bouchra Boudoua | Marrakech
Henry Kim Hyunko | Los Angeles
5. Bouchra Boudoua | MARRAKECH
Recommended by Maison Toukkani
Bouchra Boudoua reinterprets her Amazigh heritage through sculptural ceramics that balance tradition with a contemporary sensibility. Working between Marrakech and Casablanca, she creates organic, hand-painted pieces that transform ancestral forms into expressive works, blending craftsmanship with a playful, modern spirit.
MARRAKECH Destination Guide | View BlackBook Profile
6. Henry Kim Hyunko | Los Angeles
Recommended by Peti Lau
Hyunko's ceramic works feel both ancient and quietly contemporary, with earthy glazes and softened silhouettes that bring a meditative quality to any collector's interior. It's craft that rewards slow living rather than a quick impression.
Kiner Ceramics | Basel
Fortuny Venezia | Venice
7. Kiner Ceramics | Basel
Recommended by Valeria Viollaz
Founded by Esther Kiner, this Basel studio produces hand-thrown ceramics with a restraint that feels distinctly Swiss, precise, tactile and built to last generations rather than seasons. It's a favourite source for designers looking to bring quiet texture into a considered interior.
Basel Destination Guide | View BlackBook Profile
8. Fortuny Venezia | Venice
Recommended by Marina Cighir
Synonymous with Venetian artistry since the early twentieth century, Fortuny's textiles and lighting blend Moorish influence with alchemical colour processes developed and guarded for over a hundred years. It remains a living archive of the city's decorative-arts heritage.
Daisuke Kiyomiya | New York
Studio Alluvium | Minneapolis
9. Daisuke Kiyomiya | New York
Recommended by Tommy Zung
A Japanese-born, Brooklyn-based sculptor working across clay, stone and wood, Kiyomiya trained at the Art Students League and as a cathedral stone carver on landmarks, including St Patrick's Cathedral. That grounding shows: his work sits at the intersection of craft, intuition and centuries-old tradition.
New York Destination Guide | View BlackBook Profile
10. Studio Alluvium | Minneapolis
Recommended by Liz Gardner
The Saint Paul workspace of ceramic artists Zoë Powell and Mitch Iburg is dedicated to researching and working with Minnesota's own clay and mineral deposits. It's craft that's genuinely rooted in geology and place, rather than borrowed from anywhere else.
Continue Your Journey
Every recommendation in this collection comes from one of the designers behind the Designeers Destination Guides, our growing editorial series exploring the cities shaping contemporary design through the eyes of the people who know them best.
Whether you're planning a visit to Milan, Cape Town, Toronto or Venice, our guides reveal the galleries, hotels, makers, restaurants and cultural spaces that define each destination, while introducing the designers helping shape its creative identity.
COVER IMAGE: John Junior Kim, New York
Explore all Destination Guides here.
