FEATURE
Pat Kim
Location
Brooklyn, NY
Type
Interview
Contact
Pat Kim is both a design veteran and a child at heart. He occupies a unique space in New York’s design landscape, simultaneously a toy maker, furniture designer, and artist whose playful approach has become his signature. After studying industrial design at Pratt and a formative internship at Fisher-Price, Pat developed a distinctive practice that blends childlike curiosity with technical mastery in his Red Hook studio. His work has evolved from early explorations in toy design to small handcrafted objects, and now encompasses larger furniture pieces and gestural roller prints that have gone viral online; each creation showcasing his exceptional woodworking skills and boundless imagination.
His woodworking expertise particularly shines through his masterful turning techniques, where each curve and contour speaks to years of practiced precision. Pat’s distinctive aesthetic emerges in his rounded, organic forms that love touch: ball-like furniture, sculptural nutcrackers, and oloid kinetic sculptures that roll with hypnotic grace. These pieces feature his innovative finishing techniques, including an experimental “tie-dye” approach to wood staining that creates mesmerizing patterns across flawless surfaces. Material choices reveal similar thoughtfulness, with Pat selecting woods not just for their visual qualities but also their environmental attributes, noting how wooden objects sequester carbon for generations when crafted to last. This philosophy extends to his recent printmaking exploration with Hanji Edition, where woodblock experiments revealed unexpected moiré patterns that have become another signature element in his expanding practice.
We’ve always been drawn to Pat’s work for the pure joy it radiates; each piece feels like a discovery, revealing the constant stroke of genius occurring in his studio. Visiting his workspace is like entering a treasure trove, with experiments hanging from the ceiling, prototypes lining the walls, and works-in-progress scattered across every surface. It’s this environment of perpetual creation that feeds his practice; Pat makes something new every day, often before his regular work begins—a spinning top, a small bowl, or an experimental jig that might evolve into something larger. This dedication to craft and play has established him as one of New York’s most distinctive design voices, creating pieces that feel both timeless and fresh, familiar yet full of surprises.
Your design work has evolved from toys to small objects and now to larger furniture pieces. Can you walk us through this journey and the different stages of your work? How would you describe the stage you are in now?
I started making small things, out of necessity at first. I only had access to rudimentary tools, a tiny studio I shared with my friend, and very little money to invest in materials. Every piece of wood was precious, pulling scraps of wood from the garbage at my first job out of college working for a furniture maker. This is a habit I have to this day, any nice scrap with potential I squirrel away. So from humble beginnings, I made my first things small, a ring, a spoon, a toy rocket. A lot of my early objects were made on my friend Brian’s ShopSmith, a space saving hobbyist machine that was a combination drill press, table saw, sander, and a lathe. It’s on this little machine where I learned to love turning things.
Eventually my space became bigger, tools more sophisticated, wood collection larger and more varied. I enjoy making large pieces of furniture like case pieces and beds, but I love the scale and immediacy of objects and small furniture the best. I think the excitement of a new idea, and the ability to realize it quickly is part of the formula that works for me, allowing me to feel fulfilled creatively. Even if I’m working on something larger, more complex, I feel the need to work on something I can bring to completion quickly to scratch the itch. Most days, I try to make something new in under an hour. It can be a small little thing that will be gift, often it’s something like a tool or jig I will need for a bigger project. Even these utilitarian things I make with great care, tools made with intention, quality make for a more joyful experience. Starting the day off creating something, useful or not, is a meditation.
At this stage, I find myself jumping between projects, big and small, a little sporadically. Currently, I’m revisiting a class of objects I haven’t made since I just started off. It’s nice to revisit something You made early on, and see how your approach has changed over time.
Speaking of toys, you started out by briefly working for a toy company, and continued making toys in your own practice. What led you to create your own toys, and what do you enjoy about it?
There’s a thread of playfulness that runs through my work from the beginning, and I think that has it’s roots in the toy design class and my internship at the toy company. Everything is rooted in play and curiosity, and thinking with your hands.
Designers have a range of different tools and methods involved in their design process, from sketching pieces to utilizing digital tools to create 3D models. When first ideating or designing a piece, what does your creative process look like?
It really depends, most of the time I will start with hand sketching. Sometimes I will start with the piece of wood I want to use, and draw directly on it, working around knots or cracks or accentuating interesting figures in the grain. Sometimes I skip the sketching process and make a small scale model in wood. I enjoy this the most, it lets me iterate quickly and see the design in the actual material. Sometimes I skip it all, and just go for it at full scale. The added pressure of just going for it sometimes creates something magical, sometimes big full sized failures, but there’s always something to learn.
Your work primarily features wood, along with a number of other materials you incorporate into your pieces such as brass and mother of pearl. What draws you to working with wood? And what is your approach to expanding your work and experimenting with other materials?
I’ve always had a love for wood, so much to like. I love that it’s a renewable resource. Trees die, trees come down due to disease, etc. There’s a beauty in giving a formerly living material new life, as a piece of furniture or sculpture. In this age of climate change, I like the idea that whatever I make in wood is sequestering carbon in your home. That’s part of the reason why I want to make pieces as well crafted as I can, as timeless a design as I can. My wish is that the pieces I make will be cherished for many generations, being passed down from owner to owner.
Can you tell us about the print work you do and your work with Hanji Edition? How does this differ from your furniture design process, and what new perspectives has it brought to your practice?
The print work came about almost by accident, while experimenting with woodblock printing for holiday cards. I was using some interesting offcuts I saved, and had a wood handle I carved a texture on for grip. I inked it up and rolled it out on some paper. I did it a few times to practice and noticed a moire pattern where the ink overlapped. I’ve really enjoyed working in 2 dimensions, it’s such a different process and approach. I’m pretty scattered when working in 3d, maybe even haphazard. But when working with prints, I have to make sure my workspace is clean, I have to make every move with intention, planning multiple steps ahead. At the same time, it’s very freeing. Iteration is so quick, I can experiment with different compositions as fast as I can lay down more ink and paper. The material costs are generally lower, though some papers are very expensive especially at larger sizes. Part of what made working with Hanji Edition so special was working with precious handmade papers. It was so nice to be able to put a face and name to the person who made the paper, it definitely made me treat the material with some reverence.
You mentioned to us you have a goal of making something new every day. What does that look like in practice, and how does it influence your creative output?
I try to make something from start to finish everyday. It can be as small as a spinning top, a small bowl, on rare occasions it can be an entire stool. Sometimes I just make something for the studio like a jig or simple tool I will need later in the day for a project. A lot of the time most of what I make serves as form studies, refining shapes and motifs I use commonly in my work. Sometimes I experiment with how pieces interface with each other, finding new or interesting ways of joining pieces. These daily exercises help me get out ideas quickly, seeing what works and what doesn’t at low stakes. A lot of these ideas show up in later work, having been marinated and tested.
Finally, are there any upcoming projects you’re working on that we should keep an eye out for?
I like to take time in January to create new work and set the one for the new year. I’m working on clearing out my space of materials I’ve hoarded over the years. My goal is to create a lot and quickly, with the hope of making more expressive and perhaps non functional pieces.
