Asher Dunn is the founder of Keeseh Studio LLC, a collaborative design shop that offers both services and classes from its headquarters at Pawtucket’s Hope Artiste Village. Dunn received his bachelor of fine arts degree from the Rhode Island School of Design last year. He talked with Providence Business News about Keeseh (pronounced “KEY-seh,” it means “chair” in Hebrew) and the design community in Rhode Island.
PBN: What do you do at Keeseh?
DUNN: Keeseh Studio is a woodshop with prototyping and fabrication capabilities that functions similarly to a fitness center, where an individual can gain a membership to utilize the equipment and facilities.
I conceived of the studio in the summer of 2007 while working at a furniture company that didn’t have any in-house prototyping capabilities. I’m a very hands-on person and didn’t much enjoy working exclusively on the computer. That’s when I began researching the costs involved in starting my own studio and was mortified by how costly it would be.
I began asking around to find out how many others were in my position and learned that the overhead was often deterring artists and designers from pursuing their own work. My original goal of starting my own studio transformed and developed into a mission of starting a studio that would provide affordable resources for artists and designers. And so it began and has grown from there.
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PBN: So is Keeseh Studio a company? A co-op? A classroom? Or all of the above?
DUNN: Keeseh is all of the above. As a co-op our members have 24-hour access to the facilities, allowing them to pursue their projects at all hours of day or night – because creativity does not confine itself to regular business hours. Our members include woodworkers, designers, artists, hobbyists, tinkerers, makers and so on. Keeseh has served as an incubator space for several members (including myself). The studio community provides a constant exchange of information and several collaborative efforts have resulted from this atmosphere.
One of the most common questions we are asked is, “Do you need to have a woodworking background to take part?” The answer is no. When an individual applies for a membership we do an evaluation of the individual’s skills and how they interact with the machinery. We approve the person to use the machines on which they display good technique and confidence, and we suggest additional training or direct potential members to one of our classes in order to bring their skill level up to the necessary level if this is lacking.
Classes have been a great way to build the studio community. We generally offer three to five classes each season. A repeat favorite has been “Introduction to Woodshop Machinery” – it is always the first to fill up. People love leaving an eight-week course with a finished piece of furniture that they have built themselves. Plus, the class prepares students with the skills to confidently use the a woodshop and/or gain a membership at Keeseh following the course.
Keeseh also functions as a design and prototyping firm, providing services for both individuals as well as the industry. Our clientele includes the architectural industry, the furniture and home-furnishing industry, and the music industry – specifically, string instruments. We participate in custom works, batch production and mass production design work. When I’m not busy doing work for individuals and companies, I enjoy developing my own line of work, which I hope to launch next year.
PBN: How have things gone since you opened your doors?
DUNN: We are pleased that we are doing as well as we are. Keeseh opened its doors just a few months before the economy really took a beating. Despite that, we are where we expected to be in our original business plan, so we consider ourselves successful. To make it in this economy we have had to remain flexible and creative. But as designers we’re used to thinking “outside of the box,” and we point to that trait as the source of our success.
PBN: You graduated from RISD’s undergraduate industrial design program, but you’re originally from Michigan. What made you decide to stay here in Rhode Island?
DUNN: Everybody at RISD jokes that the campus is a bubble – nothing gets in and nothing gets out. Well, I leaped out a few times and explored the landscape and found that Rhode Island is filled with exciting resources.
There is a vibrant design community here that is dedicated to seeing Rhode Island grow. Providence in particular is increasingly making a place for itself on the map. Being located between Boston and New York City makes this an ideal location for designers. We can have clients in both large cities, while living and working in a less expensive city. Not to mention that everything is so close in Rhode Island – our material suppliers and the manufacturers are never more than 30 minutes away.
In my opinion, Providence is doing a great job of preparing itself for the future. It is positioning itself as the “Creative Capital” by making efforts to retain the talent and entrepreneurialism that is coming out of the local colleges, by supporting the arts and design community, and by showing commitment to such organizations as AS220, the Steel Yard, Betaspring, and others. Keeseh enjoys being part of this community and adding to the growing resources which make Rhode Island so unique. I have felt really welcomed by the community and feel like I belong here.
PBN: What do you consider the best designed products out there today?
DUNN: We live in a fast-paced world, where so much of today’s designs are out of style and in a landfill tomorrow. It’s hard for me to get attached. The ones that impact me the most are those with a lively back-story, well thought-through design, and relevant research.
I’m also a sucker for the work of Charles and Ray Eames. Their pieces are contemporary, utilitarian, comfortable, and were innovative for their time. Their work is full of stories and good research. I’d like to challenge more designers to think outside of today’s fast-paced world and ask themselves if the pieces they are designing will still be interesting and exciting to people years from now. •
PMN should be congratulated on highlighting one of the areas up-and-coming furniture designers and small scale manufacturers. In a little more than a year Asher Dunn has garnered some well deserved attention for himself as a designer/manufacturer and for Keeseh Studio, the multifaceted design and educational cooperative that he also launched. Mr. Dunn’s excitement for the field of furniture design is easily appreciated when one talks with him about his work and the field of industrial design. It is exciting to see a young, talented and energetic individual like Asher Dunn lead the way here in Providence with innovative furniture designs, a passion for the art scene and an interest in being involved with and a part of the local community. Asher Dunn is definitely someone to watch as his career and talents mature. We need to encourage and assist individuals like Asher Dunn for it is in their hands that a large measure of Providence’s future lies.