Studio Sam Klemick works in the spaces between – fluid and rigid, movement and stillness. Furniture and object designer Sam Klemick (b. 1986) carries a deep love for textiles into woodworking, an instinct shaped by a lineage of quilters, sewers, and carpenters. Following 15 years in fashion, she came to furniture, teaching herself to turn, carve, and sculpt. What began as an exploration of wood became a dialogue between disciplines and mediums. Textiles shaped her understanding of structure; woodworking shifted her sense of pliability. In her hands, rigid materials bend, smooth curves emerge, and boundaries dissolve.
Klemick’s work has been exhibited internationally, with a solo presentation at The Garden at Alcova Milan (2022).
Group exhibitions include:
•All Design Is Contemporary if it’s Alive at Design Miami (2024)
•INTRO / LA at Small Office (2024, 2023)
•Haworth DesignLab at NeoCon (2024), under the mentorship of Patricia Urquiola
•Beginner's Mind at Friends Gallery (2024)
•Light Forms at Rhett Baruch Gallery (2023)
•Presentations at Alcova Miami, London Design Fair, and Objective Gallery.
Beyond her own collections, she has collaborated on interiors, including the Lunya Sleepwear store in Boston, and several furniture series with Claude Home.
Klemick has been named to Wallpaper* USA 400 (2024) and the Sight Unseen American Design Hot List (2023). Her work has appeared in Architectural Digest, Business of Home, Dezeen, Elle Decoration, Hypebeast, Luxe, The Financial Times, The New York Times, and Surface.
Klemick's practice unfolds in two dimensions: Series, made-to-order pieces, defined by pleasing, grounding forms like the lathe-turned Bell Chair, and Singular, one-off collectible design objects such as trompe-l'oeil works where wood folds like fabric, blurring softness and solidity. Every piece is handmade, each form an evolution of process that transforms the old into new. A desire for a slower, more intentional way of working guides her made-to-order approach to production and minimal waste. Sourcing is selective and informed by environmental care: salvaged wood from Los Angeles construction sites, deadstock and vintage textiles, and responsibly grown red oak, a naturally regenerating hardwood.
Beyond function and form, Klemick’s work invites a reconsideration of materiality. It asks what is possible when warmth is favoured over gloss, process over fixed rules, character over perfection. Expressions of ease, delight, and other ways of seeing emerge.
Guided by a desire for a slower, more intentional way of working, the studio embraces a made-to-order approach that minimises waste. All sourcing is local, carefully selected with environmental responsibility in mind: salvaged wood from Los Angeles construction sites, responsibly grown red oak, a naturally regenerating hardwood. We work with family-owned lumber yards in East LA – one specializing in reclaimed wood, the other in fine hardwoods. Our fabrics focus on natural fibers, deadstock and vintage textiles. Our Heirloom Textile Guide shares more on our approach to fabric and upholstery sourcing.
Every piece is handmade in Los Angeles. Our Series Collection leans heavily on wood turning and handcrafted joinery. Sam creates all prototypes in her downtown LA woodshop. For production, we collaborate with a family-owned woodshop in South LA specialising in wood turning, which helps us produce Bell Chair frames in batches. This partnership allows the studio to continue prototyping new pieces while dedicating time to one-of-a-kind, hand-carved Singular pieces. For these, we blend new technology like 3D scanning and CNC with traditional hand carving. Our friend Tristan Marsh manages CNC work, while Sam completes every piece by hand in her woodshop.
Our finishing process includes both wood and upholstery. We love to customize stains and colors to suit each client’s space. We typically offer bourbon, ebony, and bone finishes, though unique finish requests are welcome. The bourbon finish has become a studio favourite and is our signature. For upholstery, we partner with Portico Collection in Los Angeles, a family-owned business specialising in plush upholstery, to provide our clients with the most comfortable chairs and stools.
Work in progress: a bleached Bell Chair crafted at the STUDIO SAM KLEMICK Los Angeles workroom, 2024.