RADAR / 5 MINUTES WITH
SOUTHERN SENSIBILITIES
ATHENS, GEORGIA-BASED CREATOR SUSAN HABLE LENDS HER DESIGN TALENT AND ARTISTIC VISION TO A CHIC NEW HOME COLLECTION. WRITTEN AND PRODUCED BY LACY MORRIS PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS BRANTLEY/WHITE ORANGE PRODUCTIONS
You are involved in a little bit of everything—painting, textiles, furniture, interiors. What led you to where you are today? I’ve always been an artist, and after working for several small businesses, mostly in jewelry, I realized that it was time to start my own design company. My sister, Katharine Hable Sweeney, and I launched Hable Construction in New York City in 1999, but in 2009, I decided to make the move to Athens. This was an eye-opening experience in that I realized how productive having my own studio was for my art. Describe your design aesthetic. I don’t play by the rules and I don’t discriminate where I turn to for inspiration—one day it’s Egyptian metalwork and the next it’s a Japanese kimono. I look to different cultures for inspiration in my color palettes and patterns. Tell us about your relationship with Hickory Chair. We started working together about six years ago on an exclusive fabric collection, and we’ve grown from there. Our common goals were to create quality products and make as many pieces domestically as possible. Why do you think it’s so important to keep production stateside? It is crucial for me to see the furniture being prototyped with my eyes on the product, and I work with the designers and engineers to make sure that all of the details that make the pieces special are being executed as they should. It’s such a luxury to see the hands that go into making each piece of our collection. We love the blue mirrored console for Hickory Chair’s sister company, La Barge (shown). It’s part of 25 new pieces we are adding to the original collection for the brand, and it is made with gilded wood and blue glass. I had seen that blue shade in a few midcentury pieces, but nothing current; we searched all over until we finally tracked it down abroad. I’m crazy about simple design that is also chic, and I think this geometric piece fits the bill and would be fantastic in a foyer. What’s next? An additional collection for Hickory Chair will come later this year. The pieces are incredible, with a lot of new silhouettes, and our focus continues to be on the sculptural aspect of each design. Visually, the new collection will tell a more transitional, modern story. Incorporating an artistic approach to design, I work hard to let the tiniest of details speak for the entire product.
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1/21/16 12:28 PM