Once again we get the opportunity to brag about the design community here in Salt Lake City, but this time it’s by way of a group of gentlemen that we’d call artists in addition to designers. The team at Project Sunday creates custom woodwork ranging from shelving to bed frames, dining tables and consoles; basically, anything that you can imagine, they would be up for the challenge. We could rave about their unique pieces, and the outstanding character of each of them, but we think the photographs speak for themselves. The best part? They are a great group of people who are passionate about their work. In our experience, passion breeds beautiful design and we think that you will agree that when it comes to Project Sunday, the passion is not lacking.
Why ‘Project Sunday’?
The name Project Sunday actually came about before we ever started the company. At the time we had just finished up converting an old warehouse space into a loft/living space for our personal use. At the time we didn’t have enough money to buy any furniture so we would rummage through desolate Salt Lake City on Sundays, looking through abandoned buildings for materials we could recycle into furniture to fill our loft with. Eventually the term “Project Sunday” just developed naturally between our crew and it seemed suiting to name our company after those early days of scavenging.
How did you start designing/creating?
We started designing and creating furniture out of necessity to fill that large loft space mentioned above. We didn’t know what we were doing at the time, we would just see what materials we could find and create objects that we found to be aesthetically pleasing using those found objects. After awhile some of our friends starting taking a liking to the pieces we were building and the references started flowing in from them and eventual clients. The company developed very naturally from there.
What inspires you as a designer?
Design inspiration comes from everywhere. We really enjoy keeping our ear to the ground and seeing what our peers create and how creative they get with their building process. When we first started our style was super industrial, now that our aesthetics and skills are developing we are starting to branch out into many different facets and styles of furniture. It’s hard to state exactly what our style is because we are always trying to push ourselves to build in new ways and drawn to new things. We mostly focus on building pieces we like and that we would want to personally own.
Is there something that you’ve wanted to create that you haven’t had a chance to yet? A specific piece of furniture? A particular space you’ve wanted to design for?
There are always many different projects we would love to work on. This varies from day to day, some pieces make it to fruition, while others fall through the cracks. That being said we are really drawn to the idea of making an art show at the moment. We have started working on pieces already, but it is still in its very early stages. We want to show the people a different side of us that no one has seen yet. The show will not contain any furniture, rather it will be filled with pieces of art we have made which we feel will compliment the style of our furniture.
There has been a lot of talk about Salt Lake City, and it sort of being this epicenter for creatives. We are still flying under the radar, but would you say that the culture here is unique for your business/design work in particular?
Salt Lake City is amazing for creatives. There are so many peers in this city that are doing some amazing things at the moment. We have had the pleasure of working with some very talented individuals on various projects throughout the years. The great thing about Salt Lake City is how interconnected everyone is. If one firm or individual is working on some cool projects the whole community seems to find out fairly quickly. Its a great feeling being surrounded by so many talented and driven people in this area. We feel that everyone drives one another in a very positive way.
What is the process when you are creating a custom piece?
The process for custom pieces varies between every job and client. Usually our customers will contact us with a loose idea of what sort of piece they are looking for and we start the design process from there. We will usually see what the most feasible design option is based upon material options and the clients budget. Often times the clients will have some inspiration photos that work well as a baseline for what they are looking for in the final piece. After that we generally put together a rendering based upon their preferences and then start the fabrication process.
We subscribe to the philosophy “Do what you love. Love what you do.” What is it about Project Sunday and your work that you love the most?
The most satisfying part of what we do is having the customer be completely in love with the pieces we deliver to them. Seeing a project actually become something real from the early design stages is also a satisfying part of our job. Having the ability to create something out of nothing is a very good feeling and it happens on every project we put our hands on. Building a customer base over the years that firmly believe in you and your work is a feeling unmatched and something we take a lot of pride in.
(All Photos Provided by Project Sunday and Posted with Permission)
