Crosby Studios explains how to give your home a dose of the unexpected
Since launching in 2014, Crosby Studios, named after a street in New York City, has made waves throughout the world of design. The multidisciplinary practice, founded by Russian-born visionary Harry Nuriev, now has offices in Paris and New York and is renowned for its avant-garde, boundary-pushing approach, which combines conceptual art and functionality with more than just a touch of surrealism.
Spanning a broad spectrum of work from private residences and commercial spaces to fashion and art collaborations, immersive installations and even limited-edition homeware, the studio’s client list includes Rem Koolhaas’s OMA, Opening Ceremony, Paris’s Dover Street Market, Balenciaga, Nike, Gucci and COS, to name but a few.
‘We’re very much considered fashion interior designers,’ says Nuriev, who spent six years gaining architecture qualifications and a further four studying art before specialising in interiors. ‘We’re inspired by fashion, but our style is also perfect for residential, which I love.’
His furniture is predominantly crafted from upcycled materials – in a 2019 collaboration with Balenciaga, he created a transparent vinyl sofa filled with deadstock clothing from the brand – and he has transformed all manner of discarded items, including TVs and monitors reimagined as mirrors, an American fridge-freezer that became a cabinet and lamps made of old cell phones. ‘There is already so much stuff out there, and every new idea requires production and energy,’ he says. ‘Some styles don’t fit my world, so I decided to explore things through transformation.’ It’s Nuriev’s philosophy, and a whole new way of thinking. ‘In the future, I believe we will no longer be designers and artists; everyone will be a transformist.’
What are Crosby Studios’ recent projects?
A semi-circular, salmon-pink carpeted lounge wrapped in matte silver shelving in London’s Harrods. Conceived for luxury-shoe designer Amina Muaddi, the space, which epitomises Nuriev’s signature love for colour blocking and metallics, was recently closed off when Beyoncé and Jay-Z requested private access.
Also just completed is a Berlin-based store for jewellery brand Avgvst. Located in a 19th-century building with a conventional shop front, the space features an acid-yellow and stainless-steel faux kitchen, which was put together using repurposed furniture and fittings including office blinds, camping chairs and industrial kitchen equipment.
His first book, How to Land in the Metaverse: From Interior Design to the Future of Design was published by Rizzoli in April. ‘It was a big honour as I’d been dreaming about working with such a publisher,’ he says. ‘It’s the perfect moment to reflect on what we’ve done, and to look to our next chapter.’
What is Crosby Studios currently working on?
Current projects include a family-owned olive-oil farm in Tuscany, which will also function as a residence for guests. ‘My goal was to think about the traditional Tuscan way of living, but to add Crosby elements,’ says Nuriev. ‘Not many people know that my first job was as a graphic designer, so we’ll also do the branding for the business.’
For those who missed Nuriev’s installation at Carpenters Workshop Gallery – a solo exhibition of furniture and objects including a mirror, dining table, huge ‘sofa pool’ and even gym equipment upholstered in denim – he shares that it will be relocating from Paris to LA, while more projects (currently strictly under embargo) are soon to be revealed.
He says ‘When you’re committed to being innovative in this industry, you have to keep going, you can’t just develop one successful storyline then repeat it for the rest of your life.’ crosbystudios.com
Expert advice
Crosby Studios’ Harry Nuriev on how to bring elements of the unexpected into interiors
I like to play with scale by bringing supersized pieces into my projects, or by scaling pieces way down to respond to the space, or even to go against it. An example of this can be seen in a recent project in Paris, where a bespoke patchwork-upholstered modular conversation pit fills the whole living room, wall to wall.
I prefer big, architectural materials over the standard ones normally used in interiors. This can mean glossy tiles (not simply used in the bathroom or kitchen, but lounges and bedrooms), stone or metallic surfaces – something we have used in retail spaces, like the new Amina Muaddi in Harrods, and designs for cafés, as well as private residences.
Bringing the outdoors indoors is attractive to me, and vice versa. For my installation at the Carpenters Workshop Gallery in Paris this year, our denim-upholstered furniture pieces were displayed against walls depicting a fantastical meadow of wildflowers.
My number one tip is not to overthink. Feel the space and the context of it first, then the ideas will come. A piece of advice is to never underestimate your authenticity and stop looking around at others. Embrace who you really are, and what you truly like.
