Discovery and collaboration guide the craft-forward Hundō collection by Emily Thurman

"As you're in the midst of it, you are almost surrendering to the craft. I can't assume what the outcome will be until I'm fully present in the process of making," says designer Emily Thurman, about her sculptural practice and the creative processes that underpin it. The ethos of her eponymous studio, discovery and cooperation, fortified by Thurman's connection to nature, culminates in her debut collection of furniture, lighting and sculptural objects: Hundō. The ensemble features lost-wax bronze upholstered pieces, sculptural table designs and luminaires including sconces, lamp designs and suspensions. Unveiled during NYCxDESIGN 2025, the collection is realised in collaboration with StudioDanielK, Alexis Mazin and Camille Tan/Atelier Falaise.

Founded in 2022, Thurman's namesake studio came about as her exploration of craft and culture. Through her work, the Salt Lake City-based interior and product designer commits to creating spaces that interweave the artistry of craft with the technical nature of design. Her interior design projects are curated through a deep, collaborative approach, working closely with craftsmen and artists to breathe life into environments that echo their clients' needs. As she forays into the sphere of furniture and product design, Thurman foregrounds her 'craft-forward' and collaborative approach in Hundō.

For Hundō (proto-Italic for 'pour out'), Thurman rejects the traditional fabrication model to work with an international roster of designers and artisans. The process of making travelled from Italian and American to Belgian foundries and studios with her chosen teams; the raw materials—glass, porcelain, wood, bronze and stone—took shape through coincidences, experimentation and intuition in sessions that mirror a 'meditation-like flow state' for the furniture designer. The process behind Hundō, where synergies evolve the practice in unpredictable ways, becomes alchemical for Thurman. "There was a story that needed to be told outside of my own practice," the interior designer notes.

Each piece in Hundō is pursued as a study in material alchemy and sculptural form. The Hundō Lost Wax Bronze Daybed, inspired by a French iron daybed once owned by Thurman's grandmother, anchors the collection, requiring over 200 hours of sculpting, welding and polishing. Additionally, the Hundō Lost Wax Chair and the Hundō Lost Wax Ottomans, the collection's bronze pieces, preserve hand-sculpted gestures and are upholstered in materials like Prima Alpaca and woven horsehair. "It's a marriage of technical know-how combined with intuition," Thurman conveys. Each piece speaks to the ancient power of bronze, transformed through a deeply personal process of making.

The remaining works expand the sculptural vocabulary of Hundō through elemental materiality. The cast-glass Smoking Table and Toteme Lamps (made in collaboration with Alexis Mazin) emit soft, flickering light, while the Translucent Porcelain Sconces glow with shell-like translucence. Thurman's collaboration with StudioDanielK on the Convivium Center Table fuses global stone varieties into a singular form of communal meaning. Pieces such as the Judo Sculptural Table and Torrey Desk, carved and fabricated in Utah, United States, ground the collection in Thurman's desert home. Suspension 53, 54 and 55 with Camille Tan/Atelier Falaise explores sonic resonance and suspended forms, channelling the spiritual rhythms of nature.

Thurman's vision for the Hundō collection is of collectible design that privileges collaboration over authorship, and intuition over predictability. Her partnerships with artisans and embracing material unpredictability offer a counterpoint to an industry often defined by insularity and control. This commitment to a hands-on, de-siloed approach is not just foundational to Hundō; it marks the path forward for her studio. "It's the unpredictability of the collaborations and the unpredictability of the materials that make it beautiful and a bit magical, because it is nothing that you can digitally render or anticipate beforehand," shares Thurman.