Maker of the Month

“Brian Presnell designs furniture and custom interiors. He began his career in the mid 1990’s as a museum art handler. He currently works out of his studio at CCIC in downtown Indianapolis.  We had a chat with the artist to reminisce on his greatest achievements as well as his insightful advice.

What piqued your initial interest in designing your product(s)? I studied Furniture Design at Herron in the early 90’s. It was actually before the Internet so we had to look at slides and books to find what we were looking for. I also think seeing Phil and Sue Tenant’s home for the first time left a huge impression. I was like yeah man I want to live like this. I want art and handmade things to surround my life and home. That was all it took, really. I was all in.

What principles do you use when designing? It probably depends on the piece itself. Or the space it’s going in to depict how it could or should look. I have a visual vocabulary I rely on I suppose, but each space and the things in it are different. You must approach each one differently, so the principles vary.”

-PATTERN Magazine 5/30/2016