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Jeff Covey has come a long way since he whitewashed his minibike as a kid and refurbished it with plumbing pipe and black polka dots. Without any formal design training, he has managed to land his Model Six (or Covey) Stool at MOMA, SFMOMA, and on the shelves of Conran's. How did the former restaurant cook, shop worker, and motorcycle enthusiast become a successful designer? When he finished high school, he toured Europe for two years visiting Spain, France, Italy, Greece, and London. Upon returning to California, he eventually found his way to South Park in San Francisco where he made coffee at the South Park Café in the morning and worked in the machine shop at South Park Fabrications in the afternoon. In 1994, with only hand tools and no workspace, he took on his first independent commission making prototype retail displays.
Carl Magnussen, the senior designer for Knoll, gave him his first real break. Covey's persistence and Magnussen's connections paid off: the Museum of Modern Art in New York was introduced to the Model Six Stool and began selling it. Because of its compound curves, Davidson Ply-form, the Michigan firm that produces wood furniture for Herman Miller, was the only company that could fabricate the wood seat. After Covey demonstrated the stool's simple assembly during a furniture show in New York, Herman Miller took over production. Up until that time, Covey had handled design, production, and distribution himself.
While Covey might balk at being labeled philosophical, he does take his time to think through every step of the journey and remain open to new possibilities. What lies ahead? He emphatically does not want to rehash old stuff. His next project is bound to be forward thinking; perhaps he will tackle a new frontier like biodegradable, environmentally friendly design. Whatever form it takes, we eagerly await his next creation. |
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