Charles Taylor: I owned a furniture, art, and interior design store in San Diego, and Breck came in to show me his artwork for possible consignment. He eventually came on board as a consultant on projects. We hit it off and became friends as well.
DH: What made you decide to start designing furniture?
CT: Breck and I always seemed to need something that we couldn’t find, so we would build it. It grew from there. We presented some designs to Mecox Gardens, and we now have more than 50 pieces on their website.
DH: What inspires you?
CT: We’re influenced by contemporary designs and finishes and 20th-century furniture. It’s really hard to come up with something totally new—impossible, really—so we take inspiration from the great designers and try to make pieces that are respectful without knocking them off.
DH: What’s your process?
CT: We talk through what isn’t out there that we’d like to see. That evolves into me drawing up concepts for pieces, and then the two of us work through the details until we see something we both like. Breck is exceptional at taking my concepts and turning them into something much better, sometimes just by adding a simple tweak.
DH: What’s the best/worst part of designing as a duo?
CT: The more people you have on a project, the more interesting the idea can become. On the flip side, it’s hard to share an idea that you’re really excited about only to see that look on the other person’s face letting you know it isn’t their cup of tea. But the best ideas usually come out or it’s back to the drawing board.
DH: What’s next?
CT: We’re designing a line of rugs for Interior Resources, and we just signed a licensing deal with Plexi-Craft. We’re going to pitch some new ways to use Lucite. We’re also working toward spinning off the furniture part of our business into a new company, separate from the interior design firm. In five years, our dream would be to do our own development projects—architecture, boutique hotels, et cetera.
