April Hannah is an artist and designer working from her self-named design studio in Brooklyn, New York. April is currently creating innovative products for the home, which she debuted at BKLYN DESIGNS. She has been awarded a residency at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City, and her work has been on display at the McNeill Art Group. April also attended the School of Visual Arts in 2001, receiving her MFA. So we are proud to bring you the Designer Insights of April Hannah.
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1) In your own words describe your unique style and creative aesthetic?
I transform luxurious materials into bold, graphic form. The end product straddles the line between function and sculpture and exhibits a modern, simple yet sophisticated, playful aesthetic.
2) When starting a new project, what is your creative process?
I begin with visual overstimulation with everything I can find relating to what I want to create. Then thumbnail sketches formulate, followed by paper or cardboard models, prototyping in plywood and finally the finished product.
3) Out of the creative people you have worked with, who is it that you respect and admire the most?
I am fortunate to have two enormously talented friends who are also creators – Michelle James and Renato Mangano. I have collaborated with each of them on separate projects and am in awe of their focus, determination, wit and entrepreneurial spirit. They each have an amazing capacity to know what they want to do and to do it well regardless of whatever obstacles may be in their way.
4) When looking for inspiration is there a particular thing you do to get inspired?
Inspiration comes from observing the networks, patterns and processes I see in nature and the urban environment that surrounds me. Science, geometry, modernism and eastern philosophies also find their way into my work.
5) What has brought you to this point in your career? And what is your advice for people looking to follow in your footsteps?
Hard work, remaining committed to doing what I love and persistence. Steve Martin once said, “Be so great you cannot be ignored.” This is my goal. While I may not be able to control others, I can control what I do, and I will do my best - and hopefully it will be enough.
