JESSICA McCORMACK & THE HAAS BROTHERS
The Makers
We ask the creative minds behind the collection to talk us through how they first met, and how this collaboration came to be.
NIKI AND SIMON - HOW DID YOU FIRST MEET JESSICA?
HAAS BROTHERS: We first met Jessica through Michael Rosenfeld at the very beginning of our career… Michael was almost like a mythical character to us… he was so enthusiastic about art, so warm and open. He told us all about Jessica and how much he admired her abilities, so by the time we met Jessica in London to discuss a possible commission for her store we were very excited to know her. Needless to say everything we heard from Michael was true. Jessica was elegant, funny, talented and fucking cool! I think there was a mutual admiration from the very start.
JESSICA, CAN YOU REMEMBER MEETING NIKI AND SIMON FOR THE FIRST TIME?
JESSICA: It feels like forever, but about eight years ago I commissioned Niki and Simon to make a lamp for our Mayfair flagship store. It started as something small that would sit at the bottom of the stairs and evolved into this insane piece that now stands twice the size of human height. I have been so obsessed with it - it’s like a strange, giant bronze tree with jellyfish blooms, and that’s where our friendship grew from. I have loved their work ever since and I think we knew from quite early on that we would like to do something together one day.
NIKI AND SIMON - HOW DID YOU FIRST MEET JESSICA?
HAAS BROTHERS: We first met Jessica through Michael Rosenfeld at the very beginning of our career… Michael was almost like a mythical character to us… he was so enthusiastic about art, so warm and open. He told us all about Jessica and how much he admired her abilities, so by the time we met Jessica in London to discuss a possible commission for her store we were very excited to know her. Needless to say everything we heard from Michael was true. Jessica was elegant, funny, talented and fucking cool! I think there was a mutual admiration from the very start.
JESSICA, CAN YOU REMEMBER MEETING NIKI AND SIMON FOR THE FIRST TIME?
JESSICA: It feels like forever, but about eight years ago I commissioned Niki and Simon to make a lamp for our Mayfair flagship store. It started as something small that would sit at the bottom of the stairs and evolved into this insane piece that now stands twice the size of human height. I have been so obsessed with it - it’s like a strange, giant bronze tree with jellyfish blooms, and that’s where our friendship grew from. I have loved their work ever since and I think we knew from quite early on that we would like to do something together one day.
HOW DID THE IDEA OF A JEWELLERY COLLABORATION COME ABOUT?
NIKI: Huh…. I’m not totally sure… I feel like it’s something we’d talked about for a while. In some way doing a commission piece with someone that’s creative like Jessica is already a collaboration.. The light sculpture that we made for the front entry for Carlos Place felt like the start of our creative minds meeting. I don’t want to take credit if it’s not due but I think I emailed Jessica with a “hey do you wanna collaborate” letter… we’d been admiring her work for so long and talking about making jewellery ourselves for a long time.. it was a craft we didn’t really have a grasp on.. so we thought “hey let’s call the biggest pro out there”
JESSICA: We just really wanted to do something together and it happened quite organically – like a long chat between friends about an idea that finally became concrete. I love their work, they seem to like mine, we started back-and-forthing with ideas and it really just got to a point where we had to actually do it.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE EACH OTHER’S AESTHETICS?
HAAS BROTHERS: Playful, smart, chic, diligent but at the same time it feels effortless….. haha.. our aesthetic? I’m not totally sure… crazy? Psychedelic? Cartoonish?
JESSICA: I am obsessed with how they see the world. And how they push past an idea into something else entirely. They’ve really nailed their own aesthetic. It’s the mix of childhood nostalgia, trippiness and imaginary creatures, combined with a laid-back LA cool that works so well – it’s so uniquely theirs but reminds everyone of something personal to them. Everyone sees something different in their work and I love that. It’s a meeting point of interpretation, imagination, and the artists’ intention – that’s their sweet spot for me.
NIKI: Huh…. I’m not totally sure… I feel like it’s something we’d talked about for a while. In some way doing a commission piece with someone that’s creative like Jessica is already a collaboration.. The light sculpture that we made for the front entry for Carlos Place felt like the start of our creative minds meeting. I don’t want to take credit if it’s not due but I think I emailed Jessica with a “hey do you wanna collaborate” letter… we’d been admiring her work for so long and talking about making jewellery ourselves for a long time.. it was a craft we didn’t really have a grasp on.. so we thought “hey let’s call the biggest pro out there”
JESSICA: We just really wanted to do something together and it happened quite organically – like a long chat between friends about an idea that finally became concrete. I love their work, they seem to like mine, we started back-and-forthing with ideas and it really just got to a point where we had to actually do it.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE EACH OTHER’S AESTHETICS?
HAAS BROTHERS: Playful, smart, chic, diligent but at the same time it feels effortless….. haha.. our aesthetic? I’m not totally sure… crazy? Psychedelic? Cartoonish?
JESSICA: I am obsessed with how they see the world. And how they push past an idea into something else entirely. They’ve really nailed their own aesthetic. It’s the mix of childhood nostalgia, trippiness and imaginary creatures, combined with a laid-back LA cool that works so well – it’s so uniquely theirs but reminds everyone of something personal to them. Everyone sees something different in their work and I love that. It’s a meeting point of interpretation, imagination, and the artists’ intention – that’s their sweet spot for me.
