Joseph C. Furniture

Joseph Chun’s life journey has taken him from Seoul to Wisconsin and everywhere in between. The Korean-born artist moved to the United States as a freshman in high school and quickly assimilated into American society. He played soccer, and two years later, he began to apply to colleges. However while attending college, he was not sure what he wanted to do. Thus, he moved back to Korea and enlisted in the army for his mandatory service. Having a lot of time to think, he realized that he enjoys making and designing furniture. He realized that he feels most like himself when he “creates” things.

As soon as he finished his army service, Chun enrolled at LaGuardia Community College to study industrial design. He quickly realized that he wanted to focus on furniture and hardwood. Upon graduation, he began working at Pickett Furniture while he worked out the details behind starting his own brand. This was a mere two years ago… it is amazing how far he’s gotten so quickly!

Chun credits his mom for being his artistic influence. Himself an accomplished pianist, Chun grew up with a lot of classical music at home. During his younger years, Chun often visited museums and galleries with his mother. Chun’s mom made sure that her boys were frequently exposed to the arts… she was doing everything she could to enjoy her “hobby” while her children benefited as well.

Chun believes that furniture needs to be both durable and functional. He creates according to his philosophy which “guarantees timelessness using traditional woodworking techniques.” Each piece is exclusively hand-crafted to ensure a seamless quality and the ethos that everything made should be privy of love and attentiveness. He stands behind the principle that it is “communal care and love that great art inhibits.”

These deep beliefs are a function of Chun’s interesting life. With childhood aspirations of being an international soccer star, it was a career-ending injury that made him take pause and re-evaluate. This “coming-of-age” time led him to search for a new career path and another goal to achieve. Deep exploration led him into the world of industrial design and thus, Joseph C. Furniture was born.

From an interview with Contemporary Creative Practice Magazine with Alexander Joseph Kinczel, Chun explains why he believes that for himself, furniture is the best creative outlet, “I was always interested in object design, I often thought about possible ways to improve design and functionality as a kid. I choose furniture because it is something we all have to interact and feel with our own bodies daily, yet furniture has infinite improvement possibility. I draw inspiration from my rich experiences growing up in different cultures, I wanted to share my thoughts and experiences through my work. I like wood because of how the grain patterns can be like our fingerprints. Also, it is close to our body temperature, it doesn’t get cold as metal or plastic, not as dense as marble or stone. I think wood is a human body friendly material, a perfect material for furniture.”

Chun’s favorite piece is the Motivational Pack. The details of this unique piece are symbolic to Chun because they reference back to the artist’s soldier life. The height of the item, the pointy shape, goes up similar to how he felt when  he served at the apex of a mountain in order to watch over North Korea’s activities. The soilders had to look around all four sides…looking toward South Korea, you saw activity. However looking into North Korea, you saw nothing…it is depressing and dark and empty. No trees line the streets and there is very little grass.

Referencing back to Chun’s time in the South Korea army, the pack was specifically inspired by his military memorabilia. The unique cabinet holds the daily essentials for an ordinary soldier. Quite special and clearly designed from the heart!