A New Design Shop That Aims to Elevate the Smoke-Filled Room
By ANDREW MARTIN
Tetra, a new online shop and lifestyle brand “dedicated to elevating the aesthetics of the smoking experience,” was first dreamed up by three friends at El Matador beach in Los Angeles. The project, launching today, was co-created by Monica Khemsurov, a design curator and writer and cofounder of the Sight Unseen design blog; Su Wu, an arts writer and founder of the inspiration blog I’m Revolting; and Eviana Hartman, a style and design writer and founder of the fashion line Bodkin. (All three happen to be regular T contributors, too.) It was born of the realization, Khemsurov explains, that even as a particular form of recreational smoking has rapidly gained mainstream acceptance (cough), there hasn’t been “a store dedicated to selling beautifully designed objects for smokers.”
The team has lined up an impressive group of designers, who have created devices and accouterments in a wide range of strikingly original materials and styles. “The only unifying aesthetic,” Khemsurov says, “stems from the interest we all share in timeless natural materials like marble, brass and ceramics, plus our determination to make this collection as sophisticated and relevant, from a design perspective, as possible.” To that end, the initial batch of products include two ashtrays and a pipe made by Katie Stout and Sean Gerstley, which utilize the same hand-formed ceramic and gold luster technique as their eye-catching lamps sold through the Johnson Trading Gallery; a polished-copper sphere by Fort Standard that opens into a small snuff box; and, in Wu’s words, “a vibrant dichroic-glass ashtray hand-cast by Andrew Hughes that changes color according to one’s vantage point and the kind of light it’s viewed in.”
The project, says Wu, is about “the feeling of being fully present in your own life, which means taking real pleasure in small moments.” Thus, a number of products for sale on the site are dedicated to helping smokers further their, um, meditative experience. These include High Gloss’s holder for burning incense cones by the Brooklyn ceramicist Natalie Herrera floral sprays from Courtney Somer’s line Lake & Skye to freshen the air in a smoky room and a handmade patchwork pouch by the fashion duo Correll Correll. Other intriguing items include a brass snuff box designed by Lee West, custom brass matchbox covers and Bic lighter covers by the Brooklyn design studio Cofield, and a leather necklace that stores a small amount of dry herb from the jewelry label Crescioni.
The up-and-coming Lisbon graphics firm Studio AH-HA designed Tetra’s brand identity and website, which, says Khemsurov, is “based around a library of smoking-related textures like ashes, clouds and woodgrain.” Though the three co-creators have worked as equals to develop the collection, Hartman is masterminding the blog, which will include pieces on the personal rituals of selected creative individuals, smoking playlists and studio visits.
Perhaps most pressingly, there will be pipes aplenty, including a hand-marbled ceramic design by Leah Ball, as well as others from Ben Medansky and Dana Bechert, and an assortment of vintage and artisan objects from around the world. And if, despite the unique craftsmanship on display, you still feel an insatiable craving for the familiar, fear not: the ever-popular Pax vaporizers will be available from Tetra, too.
By ANDREW MARTIN
Tetra, a new online shop and lifestyle brand “dedicated to elevating the aesthetics of the smoking experience,” was first dreamed up by three friends at El Matador beach in Los Angeles. The project, launching today, was co-created by Monica Khemsurov, a design curator and writer and cofounder of the Sight Unseen design blog; Su Wu, an arts writer and founder of the inspiration blog I’m Revolting; and Eviana Hartman, a style and design writer and founder of the fashion line Bodkin. (All three happen to be regular T contributors, too.) It was born of the realization, Khemsurov explains, that even as a particular form of recreational smoking has rapidly gained mainstream acceptance (cough), there hasn’t been “a store dedicated to selling beautifully designed objects for smokers.”
The team has lined up an impressive group of designers, who have created devices and accouterments in a wide range of strikingly original materials and styles. “The only unifying aesthetic,” Khemsurov says, “stems from the interest we all share in timeless natural materials like marble, brass and ceramics, plus our determination to make this collection as sophisticated and relevant, from a design perspective, as possible.” To that end, the initial batch of products include two ashtrays and a pipe made by Katie Stout and Sean Gerstley, which utilize the same hand-formed ceramic and gold luster technique as their eye-catching lamps sold through the Johnson Trading Gallery; a polished-copper sphere by Fort Standard that opens into a small snuff box; and, in Wu’s words, “a vibrant dichroic-glass ashtray hand-cast by Andrew Hughes that changes color according to one’s vantage point and the kind of light it’s viewed in.”
The project, says Wu, is about “the feeling of being fully present in your own life, which means taking real pleasure in small moments.” Thus, a number of products for sale on the site are dedicated to helping smokers further their, um, meditative experience. These include High Gloss’s holder for burning incense cones by the Brooklyn ceramicist Natalie Herrera floral sprays from Courtney Somer’s line Lake & Skye to freshen the air in a smoky room and a handmade patchwork pouch by the fashion duo Correll Correll. Other intriguing items include a brass snuff box designed by Lee West, custom brass matchbox covers and Bic lighter covers by the Brooklyn design studio Cofield, and a leather necklace that stores a small amount of dry herb from the jewelry label Crescioni.
The up-and-coming Lisbon graphics firm Studio AH-HA designed Tetra’s brand identity and website, which, says Khemsurov, is “based around a library of smoking-related textures like ashes, clouds and woodgrain.” Though the three co-creators have worked as equals to develop the collection, Hartman is masterminding the blog, which will include pieces on the personal rituals of selected creative individuals, smoking playlists and studio visits.
Perhaps most pressingly, there will be pipes aplenty, including a hand-marbled ceramic design by Leah Ball, as well as others from Ben Medansky and Dana Bechert, and an assortment of vintage and artisan objects from around the world. And if, despite the unique craftsmanship on display, you still feel an insatiable craving for the familiar, fear not: the ever-popular Pax vaporizers will be available from Tetra, too.
