7.23.2021 | DIGS.NET 57
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P R O F I L E | I A N F E LT O N
RIGINALLY FROM WASHINGTON D.C., Ian Felton grew
up in a family where creativity and curiosity for other
cultures prevailed. He attended Montessori schools and
spent time in Latin America with his family. "I watched
artists, painters and photographers traverse my parents'
design studio, so these were all languages I felt quite comfortable
with," Felton remembers.
When studying industrial design in the Savannah College of Art
and Design, Felton learned to imbue objects with narrative and
storytelling to create a sense of truth and integrity, and he started
to nurture a sculptural way of making objects. After reading a
book on archeology and the first tools used by human beings, the
designer found a new interest in history, leading him to investigate
ancient cultures — especially of the pre-Columbian era, and their
emphasis on animism and symbolism immediately fascinated him.
Now based in New York, Felton launched Kosa in 2019, his first
collection that paid tribute to this passion. With their curved and
simple forms, the different pieces — fabricated in collaboration
O
with Mexican craftspeople and from materials from Latin America,
along with his own hands — connect history and design while also
focusing on materiality and evoking emotion.
"Most of my work to date has been predominantly inspired by
objects of antiquity, nascent cultures and things that have long
since left our realms of understanding," Felton says. "But as I
start to get more in touch with various mediums and processes of
creation, I feel my language is evolving in a much more organic
way — but still fueled by the same values."
