Friday Five with Craig Bassam and Scott Fellows of BassamFellows

Scott Fellows (left) and Craig Bassam (right) \\\ Photo by by Peter Hapak

Architect Craig Bassam and creative director Scott Fellows merged their respective talents in 2003 to launch BassamFellows, a unique lifestyle brand that encompasses architectural and interior projects, furniture, lifestyle products, and personal accessories. They’ve spent more than a decade steadily amassing one of the most visually astonishing portfolios in each genre they’ve entered (remember this jaw-dropping mid-century renovation?), all filed under the Craftsman Modern aesthetic. In 2010, the pair became creative directors for Herman Miller’s Specialty and Consumer Businesses, which included Geiger, Geiger Textiles, and the Herman Miller Collection, until 2013. They’ve continued to design for Herman Miller and most recently they launched two textile collections, Brighton and Solene, for Geiger Textiles. It’s no surprise the two chose stunning, design-focused places and things for their Friday Five. Take a look.

Photo by Tom Ferguson

1. Rancho Mirage: Our favorite getaway is Rancho Mirage, CA. We have owned a house there for several years and it is the perfect escape. The house was designed in 1970 by Crombie Taylor – two twin steel and glass pavilions separated by a courtyard. We go there as often as possible, especially when we need space and time to think and create. The mountains, the desert, the light, the sky, the warm breezes – it never fails to inspire.

2. Vintage Mercedes: Craig always wanted to be a car designer and that’s probably why we have a stable of vintage Mercedes. They are the definition of quality as we define it – understated, refined, practical, uncomplicated, timeless. We never grow tired of driving them and have owned some of them for 20 years.

Photo by Robert LaPrelle

3. Kimbell Art Museum: Our favorite building of all time is the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, TX designed by Louis Kahn. It is the ultimate total work without compromise – the landscape, the architecture, the light, the materials – every detail, every juncture, is fully and completely resolved. Sometimes we will delay a connecting flight through Dallas just to go and have lunch in the museum cafe.

Grace Farms \\\ Photo by Iwan Baan

4. New Canaan: We moved to New Canaan in 1998 on whim, never expecting to be there nearly 20 years later. New Canaan is an architectural mecca – Philip Johnson’s Glass House along with several houses by Marcel Breuer, Elliot Noyes and other Modernists. The newest piece of architecture is the Grace Farms community center designed by SANAA architects. It is an incredible piece of architecture that beautifully marries function with a stunning natural setting. Where else can you get that much world class architecture in a sylvan country setting one hour from the world’s greatest city?

5. Le Corbusier’s Polychromie Architecturale Book: We often refer to Le Corbusier’s Polychromie Architecturale book on color theory over and over again. As the colors were all derived from nature, they work beautifully with natural materials – especially woods. We recently designed a collection of textiles for Geiger, a brand owned by Herman Miller, and our color direction was inspired by Le Corbusier’s colors.

from Design MilkDesign Milk http://design-milk.com/friday-five-with-craig-bassam-and-scott-fellows-of-bassamfellows/