This series, COLLECTIBLE In-Depth, unveils the backstage of contemporary creation. Tackling various topics from personal designer processes to the position of collectible design on the global design market, COLLECTIBLE In-Depth offers different views to suit all tastes. Today we speak with Michael Hilal.

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COLLECTIBLE: What do you aim to bring to the contemporary design scene with your work?

Michael Hilal: With both my projects and the furnishings that I develop for my own collection, the focus is really to create a new dialogue, based around my particular brand of California Modernism. California is steeped in such history while always maintaining a feeling of youthful energy.  It’s a place that has a great deal of cultural heritage for me. Having such deep roots (my mother is ~10th generation; we can trace our ancestors back before it was California) while my father is a Palestinian immigrant who came here for college. There is a consistent theme across stories, across industries, across disciplines that regularly occur in California in such a unique way - nothing ever feels old while things feel old. It has a way of always feeling contemporary. 

With my design practice we really explore this tension not only as a design ideology, but how we narrate the spaces and furnishings we create. 

Often when you see references to California Design it means indoor-outdoor living and use of natural materials from the environment, which is true, but we take it a step further and really think about how clients interact with the environments we create. We aim to create furniture and interiors that a client will use and interact with vs just live around. It’s something that feels fresh, relaxed and yet familiar. With everything I do the goal is that everything feels effortless and I really think that’s part of this long-standing idea that people have of California Cool. If ultimately the spaces or furnishings we create don’t get used, then I feel like we’ve failed. 

Bringing a point of view that feels like it’s steeped in heritage, while still feeling fresh and effortless is something that contemporary design is in need of.

C: How do you see modern design evolving, and what role do you want to play in that evolution?

MH: Two ideas come to mind.

We are at an interesting time in design where everything feels a bit new, we see so much of it in our media and everyone has access to good design in 2024. But in the same vein this has made design feel either homogeneous or like anything goes (I prefer the latter). It feels very different from previous design movements like Arts and Crafts, Bauhaus, Mid-Century Modern, etc. They were happening in a very singular way and WERE the moment. We don’t really have that right now (unless we talk about how BRAT Summer has dominated all of our lives at this moment in time as a singular force). 

I believe good design lies in using reference points from the past to imagine something new. My goal is to put forth interiors, furnishings and objects that really help drive that narrative of tension and juxtaposition, but in an edited way. Take your blobby sofa and pair it with an antique lamp that you inherited. Or take a Bauhaus chair and mix it with an art deco sofa. Break from replicating and homogeneity, make the space feel uniquely like you. That is what will give the space meaning and make it seem effortless.

The other thing I’m seeing is the idea of reconnecting with nature and being more present in surroundings that you create.

We are so immersed in tech in our day to day lives. The idea of creating environments that have more of a connection with nature and less tech focused comes up in every conversation I have with clients. More and more clients want to focus on the beauty in the collectible pieces we buy for their space or what’s out their window and not what’s on their screens. We are hiding tvs and home automation in a way that almost appears as a little luddite (or not even putting those items in spaces) because people just want to cut down on the noise.

If clients are investing in a beautiful art or furniture piece from St Vincents (gallery) or something commissioned by Christopher Norman (woodworker) clients don’t want it to get lost in the background because of a TV. 

With an ideology that is immersed in this mindset of nature and calmness, the goal for me is to help drive the discussion around this appreciation and connection with our environment paired with a greater appreciation for the artisans and the beautiful pieces they make that we bring to clients to make their spaces come to life.

C: Can you share a project where balancing aesthetic and functionality was challenging?

MH: This is really an everyday problem to solve for. I don’t know if it’s because i’m rather new or it will just be like this forever? I’ve learned that a large part of being a designer is about being a master problem solver. This is a bit more general, but most of the furnishings we design have a fitted seat vs a cushion top and many people like the look of it, but find the comfort level not great so we’ve really worked on perfecting our formula for cushioning. Every seat we develop has to be perfect for each. we will go through iterations of sit tests with clients before finalizing a sofa build. We want to make sure every sofa or chair is the perfect density, every arm or backrest sits at the right height for that client specifically. More recently with our own sofa we originally created these fun shaped pillows (which we will still produce) but we learned that if we added a lumbar pillow to our sofa it opens up a much larger use case for it. 

Our clients want to live in their spaces, even our wealthiest clients that live with a level of formality, live very casually day to day so everything, while beautiful, needs to be rather functional. At the end of the day those of us who are fortunate, regardless of any income disparity, all sleep in a bed, cook in a kitchen, and use a restroom so spaces need to function all the same. 

Going through these exercises constantly with clients has helped us immensely as we develop our own furniture collection. As I mentioned before, if something looks good but doesn’t function as expected it’s largely failed. 

C: How do you select or commission pieces to bring authenticity to a space?

MH: Very carefully lol. I really have a pretty stringent filter about what we present to clients and bring into our spaces; whether they be vintage, collectible, or we design them. 

Our projects are typically about 50 to 60 percent of pieces we design and make ourselves and the other 40 to 50 percent is vintage or commissioned work. If something already exists there is no need for us to make that, it makes no sense. We want to design and make pieces that feel fresh and new. 

For collectible and commissioned pieces that lens becomes even more intense because there are so many makers, artists and designers presenting their work right now, which is very exciting, but it provides a lot of noise that we have to filter through. There is this narrative that because something is handmade means it’s better or collectible, but that’s just not true, our goal is to find something made with quality and integrity. Anyone can take a vessel and pop a light bulb into, I want to see the piece that’s made with intent and purpose. 

Admittedly, filtering through potential artists for a commission can become a daunting task, because there are also so many good ones out there, collecting and commissioning really becomes about finding pieces that connect with your clients and  has the correct dialogue for the space.

C: How has collaboration with other creatives pushed the boundaries of your work?

MH: My mother’s family owned a large upholstery business and there were many creators in her family, so I grew up around a lot of artists and makers.  I understood the idea of creating something special, whether it be for yourself or clients. I was really on the perimeter of it. Now fast forward to me actually being a designer as a career I get to see the connection and community I am creating through this one object. It could be how the client or artist gazes upon the piece we’ve commissioned with pride or this new design dialogue that we’ve introduced to the client….it could be something they’ve not seen before or ever imagined, but we are making that connection for them. 

This realization has pushed me to be better both personally and professionally, it’s pushed me to explore and make that connection with more artists and artisans friends and ones I don't know. It’s also helped me push the creatives I collaborate with to potentially make something new and drive their work in a different direction. The designer and collectible community becomes so much richer and more elevated if we are constantly challenging one another.