“Um, that one!” I exclaim. Ben points in the other direction and says, “How about that one?”
If we were to imagine that Ben and I were picking out a sofa, it’s likely we would each choose something different. I would gravitate toward something modern in a neutral color. Ben would choose one more basic or rustic in an earthy color. He would study the craftsmanship while I would carefully consider the style.
But differences make us special, right? Yes! The differences between Ben’s and my aesthetic make our design process very special. It is what helps make a Gatski a Gatski.
I recently read a fascinating article about a woodworker’s challenge to claim ownership of a design he believed was solely his own (there was some dispute about that). Let me know what you think if you read the article (you can find it here). It got me thinking about our “sharing culture” and the struggles the design world has with the ownership of ideas. This area is certainly complicated, and not something I have answers for. But it got me thinking about the authenticity of our design process.
Many of the challenges I describe here turn out to be assets in our creation process (funny how that works!). While our oft-described backwoods location makes shipping difficult, it’s the source of real natural inspiration. And while our lack of modern tooling makes us slow, it definitely lends a certain “individuality” to our process.
The absence of any real art education (which means we take longer to figure things out) also gives us a very fresh perspective. While I am not naive enough to claim our designs are purely unaffected by the outside world, I can confidently claim that they are the result of exactly what we are – two creative people working together on a beautiful hilltop with a few hammers, a welder, and no formal training.
Of course, that’s the simplified version. There is more to it than that. And we’re hoping to get more specific about our design process in a video we’re planning to create this spring. We’re very excited to share it with you!
In the meantime, we would love to ask for your help.
How would you define a Gatski?
How would you describe our design style? Are we modern, industrial, rustic, folk, farmhouse, contemporary, or something else? Please do let me know how you see our work (you can comment below). It would be very helpful to know, as we are often asked to define it. Many thanks!
