HOLLY HUNT has launched HH40 in honor of the luxury brand’s 40th anniversary. The collection was designed by the HOLLY HUNT Studio team, led by Jo Annah Kornak, executive creative director, in collaboration with founder Holly Hunt. The line comprises an assortment of 18 designs, including a sofa, tables, chairs, and lighting.
While the HH40 collection celebrates the past four decades, it also focuses on what’s ahead, while maintaining the legacy of style and quality the brand is known for. “Designing this collection was a natural progression. We thought about what the next 40 years would look like, reflecting on our past and looking to the future at the same time. And that’s how it evolved,” said Kornak.
Including more than a dozen pieces ensured a versatile range of furnishings, from architectural to organic styles, encouraging users to configure interesting arrangements. “This is one of the largest collections that we have ever launched,” Kornak noted. “It was important that we introduced a suite of products that would touch every area, whether it is the living room or bedroom. Our clients can mix and match the furniture to personalize their spaces.”
Each item is meticulously made in the States, and Kornak noted that the company has its own casegoods, upholstery, and prototyping facilities. They also partner with other U.S. fabricators, working with a variety of materials from metal to ceramics. “The pieces are handcrafted; it is in our DNA and part of our history, but we also collaborate with other makers,” she said. “I am proud to work with these American craftspeople, because there are not that many of them left today. And it is important that we protect the artisan tradition, elevate it, and move it forward.”
Working with expert artisans allows the design team to continually experiment with new materials and techniques, as they did with the Torus fixtures, available as a pendant or sconce. Drawing inspiration from the sea, the lights are reminiscent of seashells shaped by the ebb and flow of water. Kornak explained that they had never featured porcelain in any of their lighting, and they decided to use it to make the round diffuser.
The challenge was achieving harmony between every element so that the illumination and the luminaire were seamless. “We had to figure out how to get the light we wanted and how to camouflage the LED in an elegant way. The metal and the porcelain components had to fit together perfectly,” Kornak noted.
Furniture or an accessory that appeals to discerning customers, yet has a timeless essence, emphasizes materiality that elevates the whole, making it feel like a one-of-a-kind object. “People want their things to look special. The materials have to be precious and interesting, not common.” Kornak said. “I like to give our clients a little bit of unfamiliarity to make them think about how they are going to use a particular product. So the concepts have to be really forward-thinking.”
The Ripple Side Table is a case in point, inspired by the symmetrical lines left in the sand as the tide recedes. The hand-finished base is made from Slovenian marble sourced from a quarry that dates back to 1721. Kornak noted that with the smaller pieces of stone available, they could create sculptural tables that double as art. “They look like pebbles, and we wanted to combine the marble with another material to make it modern and usable,” she said. “And we colored the anodized aluminum tops. They don’t detract from any else, they’re like little jewels.”
It was a constant process of reviewing to not only make sure that all of the existing pieces complemented each other, but that they could also be paired with furnishings from previous seasons. “We have a testing space within our studio, and we brought in some of the classics to look at how they related to each other, and if there was a good balance,” Kornak explained. “The scale and the proportion had to really work together.”
For every collection different body types and postures are taken into consideration for seating options like the Dune Sofa, which blends structure and comfort, with tailored upholstery over the form. “We live in a very visual, fast-paced world, so the furniture does have to be beautiful, but we also want it to function. It’s really hard to make a curved sofa; you’ll often just sink into the corner. We were able to craft the Dune without the need for additional support. I purposely show it without any pillows, and encourage clients to sit on it that way,” Kornak noted.
Kornak added that creating a collection is not just about aesthetics, but must also acknowledge end-users and their lifestyles. “You really have to look at how people are living now to understand the future,” she said. “We look at architecture and how homes are being built. We look at the media and what people are watching. And we are thinking about the next generation and their interests. All of it comes into play when we are designing.”
