For this week’s The “Lucky” Ones interview, I have my first international interviewee, and she’s a pretty unique lady who works in design. So let’s get right to it. Meet the Dublin-bred Aislinn Lynch!
Aislinn Lynch is an Irish designer working in wood veneer. After earning her BA in Interior and Furniture Design from the Dublin Institute of Technology in 2011, Aislinn (pronounced Ash-lin) was awarded studio space and mentoring at the Malthouse Design Centre, where she is currently based as a Resident Designer. She became interested in woodworking in her last year as an undergraduate and has since exhibited her work in galleries such as the Light Fantastic, where her collection “Lady” was showcased along with more than a dozen Irish lighting designers.
Growing up between Dublin, Chicago, and Windsor, England, Aislinn’s profession is a bit of a departure from her upbringing—her parents worked in finance. But her passion for creating beautiful works of art with her hands has proved fulfilling, and at times, surreal. Her positive, open-minded demeanor, combined with her intuit for aesthetics, have paved the way for a long-lasting career in the world of design. But money isn’t anywhere near her biggest motivating factor. It’s simply the joy of creating and collaborating that inspires her work.
Friends… meet Aislinn!
Explain how you came into wood-working and furniture design. What originally peaked your interest and held it?
I think I was always interested in design in some way. As a teen I loved flicking through my mom’s Image: Home magazine (and still do!) and watching all of the interior design shows on TV. When it came to my final year in school, I put ‘Design: Interior and Furniture’ in DIT down as my first choice and got accepted. I knew that the course eventually divided into Furniture or Interior Design, and I came into the course looking forward to the Interior Design but actually immensely enjoyed the furniture aspect of the course. You were working with tools, learning about machines and were able to actually make your design. My interest peaked in my final year when I came across veneer (thin slices of wood) that really fascinated me. It allowed me to make elegant pieces by emphasizing its natural curves which looked very beautiful to me.
What do you love about working with your hands? Have you always enjoyed it, even as a kid?
I think it’s more the great satisfaction of creating something from scratch from your own hands. Something that was previously not there is now because you created it. As a kid, I was quite interested in making things, but it wasn’t something I envisioned for my future.
Is your profession predominantly male, or is it a mix? Where do you fit into that mix?
In college, the course was roughly seven boys and 40 girls. I’m not sure why, but maybe when people see “interior design” in a course title they actually see cushions! pink! wallpaper! girly things! when it is far from that. People still ask me about my curtain making skills having done interior design in college…
Most people would think it would be predominantly male since there is a lot of manual work, but even in the studio I’m in now it is 50/50.
Describe your first exhibit. Was it at all surreal?
As part of my design thesis senior year, we exhibited in a large gallery in the centre of Dublin which was my first taste of it, but I think my first “real world” exhibition was the one I had this May. I had been in the Malthouse for only four months when the business manager, Rosemary, said she wanted to have a proper launch for myself and Kathryn (fellow classmate also in the Malthouse and one of my best friends). As we were both working on lighting products, she organized an exhibition to showcase the best of Irish Lighting Design. We would be exhibiting our pieces beside those of very well known designers—very intimidating!
The night was such a success with over 100 people showing as well as press from the Irish Times who interviewed us all. It was surreal to get such great feedback and such interest in my pieces. My friend Kathryn and I went out for a celebratory dinner the following week so we could properly take in what had just happened!
What were some of your favorite classes in school? Were there any teachers in particular who inspired you?
My favourite classes in school were art, German, and French. Languages and linguistics are something I’ve always been drawn to, and to be honest, my German teacher was the one who inspired me a lot. She had such a passion for what she was doing and you could clearly see this. She made each class exciting and different.
I chose to go the Design/Art direction for college as I had always envisioned going to art college and knew that I had enough drive to continue my languages in between my studies, which I did.
How meaningful is it to have your own mentor and workspace? Explain how that came about, as well as the difference it has made in your work.
It came about because of my graduating exhibition at the end of my final year in college. An architect, who I had previously met, told me how much he liked my pieces. He sent me an email later that week and asked me to come in for a chat. I brought in my sketchbooks to show him and his partner. They said that If I was interested in continuing to work on my pieces they would give me some workspace in their growing design hub, The Malthouse.
Being in the Malthouse has pushed me so much further than I could have ever done on my own. In my area I have two other girls who graduated with me, [my friend] Kathryn and Grainne, both furniture designers. I have Jennifer Slattery, a well-known textile designer and Jamie Lewis who works in felt—our newest edition to the Malthouse. Having this interesting mix of people around me allows me to ask questions and get feedback on designs. At the beginning I had no idea about pricing, wholesale or retail and how to go about getting pieces in stores, so this has helped me so much.
Are you able to sustain yourself financially through your artistic work? And is that the goal, or do you have other interests?
The ultimate question! Unfortunately, I’m not able to sustain myself financially just yet. Although this would be great, it wasn’t my main aim at all. At the beginning of coming into the Malthouse, I was even new to the idea that you could actually make money from designs you made! It just seemed like a great bonus.
I’ve had a part time job whilst working in the studio to keep myself going and to have money to put into the designs. This has also worked because it means I only have a certain amount of time in the studio so it forces me to make the most of it.
My main objective coming into this studio was to build a beautiful portfolio of pieces I am proud of and give me the opportunity to try out new ideas.
Is there such a thing as “furniture maker’s block”? Or, do you ever experience lulls in inspiration?
Yes! Anyone in an artistic field feels this block once in a while. Generally I feel the lulls are beacuse of other things in my life. What seems like a lull can in fact be the build up of “personal mind clutter” that need to be looked at before coming back to design. If I come back and still feel uninspired, brainstorms always help me to see things clearly and get back on track. Asking myself basic questions like why are you designing this? or why is this important? can get me to realize why I started doing this in the first place and get me excited again!
What makes your pieces unique?
I know everyone says that are no new ideas and everything has been done before, but I don’t believe this! If you truly love something and put all of yourself into it, I feel it is unique. I took a material that I loved and created something I felt did the material justice—taking its best qualities and accentuating them whilst putting a lot of myself into them, this is its unique quality.
What has played a bigger role in your success thus far: luck or persistence?
Persistence! I’m not sure I believe in luck. I believe you get somewhere because of the work you put in to it.
Thanks so much for your insight into the world of design, Aislinn! If you enjoyed Aislinn’s words (and if you think her designs are gorgeous), let her know in the comments!
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