For years, diners have wanted to take away more from a Jordan Mozer-designed restaurant than their doggie bags. They wanted a furnishing or two that reflected his unorthodox, whimsical view of life.
Since he designed his first project, the studio for Hubbard Street Dance, 18 years ago, and his first club, Cairo, in 1987, Mozer has fashioned numerous other fantasy environments in Chicago and elsewhere. He is working on a children’s museum/cafe and shop outside Berlin for Volkswagen.
Around the world, his creations share a similar exuberance, yet each has a distinct feeling, from the somewhat highbrow Vivere in the Italian Village to the busy Cheesecake Factory in the John Hancock Center.
Now homeowners will have their wishes fulfilled as Mozer and his firm debut his first collection under the umbrella of the Mozer Studios. Many of the items have been adjusted in scale and material for the residential market. Bar stools were lowered six inches after they were tested in the kitchen of the Chicago apartment he shares with his wife, Karen, and three young daughters.
The quirky sculptural and tactile quality that so defines a Mozer piece has not been sacrificed. But it has been tamed because Mozer realizes that homeowners want something less radical, and because of a stronger influence of Modernism.
Chandeliers and sconces still have an elegant, bulbous look. One light with swirls is called “Isabel” because it mimics the curly mop of one Mozer daughter. Plump seating, whether a chair, sofa or stool, still has an undulating or curved back and prancing legs and is upholstered in sensuous velvet or leather. Tables look ready to dance. Lamps and vases appear to have stepped out of children’s books about graceful swans and perky ducks.
The storyline connection is deliberate. Mozer’s goal has always been to bring to life the visual equivalent of a story. “When the economy crashed in 1989 and there wasn’t much work, I got some jobs doing restaurants and asked if I could design everything, from furniture to doorknobs. I was told yes, if I brought designs in at the right price,” he says. He found artists to help, and in the early ’90s the Cypress Club in San Francisco opened with its re-creation of 1940s American pop culture.
For those who wonder how such creativity fits with non-Mozer furnishings, in the couple’s own home the designs successfully meld with American antiques, Oriental carpets, vintage photographs and Mozer’s watercolors.
For now, the collection, manufactured under the direction of Mozer’s mother, Beverlee, can be seen and purchased through company’s Web site, www.mozer.com. There are plans for a catalog and at least one showroom.
