Palmer Purcell

Sarah Inocencio-Miller: Can you tell me a little bit about yourself? 

Palmer Purcell: I’m Palmer Purcell. I do a lot of home goods, furniture design, and lighting. I didn’t start doing industrial design until I came to Philadelphia and started school at UArts. I loved it there and was sad to see it go. 

SIM: Are you from Philly originally? 

PP: I’m from Indianapolis, Indiana, so the old Midwest. I didn’t know what I wanted to do originally and went down to Kentucky for school for a couple of years, but it wasn’t really for me. I knew I wanted to do something creative, but I didn’t really know what that was yet, so I moved to New York, which is where I found out about creative direction and graphic design. I didn’t know much about it so it was cool to work and learn more about how design functions. I finished my undergrad at The New School, where I got a good feel for different disciplines. I was really focused on graphic design, but found industrial design during my last year. One of my teachers guided me to the industrial design program at UArts. It was interesting because when COVID hit, we were all in our apartments and one of our professors, Jesse Bernard, would bring veneer over to my apartment all masked up. I would be sanding inside my apartment with a mask on and all the windows open. It was a unique time and that’s how I got started doing all this. 

SIM: Do you think that going to UArts and learning more about fabrication during the COVID lockdown contributed to thinking outside-the-box in your process? 

PP: Totally. I started learning about fabrication outside of a studio, which was interesting. One of the first assignments that we had was to make a vector graphic and have it laser cut. That was the first thing that I’d ever made where I put something into a computer and experienced this thing that was not real become physically real in front of me. It was wild. The last year of the program we returned to in-person and really started being able to make stuff. I was also doing a supplementary industrial design education program called Offsite done by a group called Advanced Design. Working on that in tandem with my thesis created such a cool trifecta of learning. 

SIM: What was your thesis on? 

PP: I did my thesis on redesigning alarm systems in the ICU. I worked with a doctor at Vanderbilt, Joseph Slesinger, who worked on producing different notes for alarms and their placement in hospitals. My thesis was on possible solutions for making hospitals less stressful environments, with sounds more conducive for healing. 

SIM:  You were saying that you began the prototype for what became The Valley Table while at UArts. How did the design change from when you were in school versus what you ended up producing? 

PP: Originally the prototype was very rough, especially because I made it my apartment and the tools that I had at my disposal were limited. I was working at Penn in the fabrication lab at the time I was producing the table I made for the hotel and I was able to learn a ton from the people that worked there. I definitely asked for a lot of help and had more ways to refine my process. 

SIM: What made you decide to adjust the table prototype from a square to a rectangular coffee table? 

PP: I collaborated with Shannon on the end shape and the navy blue color we went with. I think the finished product came out so well and is so cohesive with everything in the room. I really like the way the table evolved, and the softer curves we ended up going with. The overall form is a lot more subtle and elegant. 

SIM: You also participated in YOWIE’s Piggy Bank Show – did you sell your piggy bank? 

PP: Yes! I don’t know who bought it, but I’m very excited for whoever got it because it’s the only orange one I made. I’m still selling a white version on my website. I wanted to make something that I could replicate and scale and not have something that I’d have to price crazy high. 

SIM: You’ve made a lot of different types of products, like a beanie, The Fly Trap piggy bank, rings, a face piece – how do you decide what you want to make next and then is there anything that’s piquing your interest right now? 

PP: I think it’s changed over time. When I was making The Valley Table I was in a very  exploratory state and wanted to work with different materials and learn how to fabricate them. I was really interested in the constraints of the materials because I feel like that dictates the end form it’ll take. I started making the lights because I wanted to work with acrylic and experiment with how light disperses throughout both the outer and inner shade. I also did a table with a brand in LA called Normal Objects – it was really difficult trying to get the curves right with the clamping pressure and all that. I think a lot of times when I’m deciding what to make, I start with the material because I know I want to make something out of it. For example, the face piece was done on a full-color resin printer. I knew I wanted to make something with that but I didn’t know what it was going to be yet. Approaching a new process is always intimidating because you can truly do or make anything and that can be too overwhelming. That’s why I start with a material first – you can dial back slowly and focus on things like the specific bend of a material at a specific distance. I like to know the constraints I’m working with and then design something from there. 

SIM: Even through the varied forms that your work has taken, I can see a through line in how you’ve found organic shapes, curves, and softness in traditionally hard materials. 

PP: Thank you! I like my work to be a little fun, like with The Valley Table, and how its legs sit on top of the table instead of below.

SIM: When did you start experimenting with 3D printing? 

PP: I started 3D printing about two years ago. Originally, it was for freelance industrial design, because I could make prototypes and make physical models to show people. I realized it was a viable manufacturing technique that I could use. Now that I’m working a 9-5, it’s nice to be able to come up with a design, run a print during the day, and then come back to a final product I can make adjustments to. I’m really interested in looking into recycling the waste, because there is a good amount of waste that happens in the 3D printing process. There’s some really cool open source resources out there to make different things with your 3D print scraps. 

SIM: What programs do you use for 3D printing? 

PP: I typically work in Fusion 360. Any sort of rendering or visualization work I’ll make in Blender. It’s nice to be able to create photorealistic renderings to kind of gauge interest in something. 

SIM: Can you tell me a little bit about the promotional videos that you make to advertise your new products? 

PP: Saeed Ferguson (All Caps Studio) told me over coffee that ‘The Story’ is one of the most vital things to building the world around a product. I always come back to that and think about what I’m trying to say. Industrial design can be so serious and I want to put an element of myself into the things I’m making. The promo videos are a really fun way of doing that. I’ve always loved making videos and I watch a lot of TV and movies. I was starting to feel a little burnt out and discouraged churning out those classic TikTok process videos. I still do them and think they’re important, but putting more of myself into the process and bucking the algorithm feels much more fulfilling. 

SIM: It starts to feel more like a chore than an earnest expression of something that you want to share with people. 

PP: And it’s a bummer when it doesn’t do well, you know? I find that when I enjoy making the video I’m not upset if it doesn’t perform well online. It’s easier not to feel disappointed if I had a good time making it and I’m always happy to show people that side of me.

SIM: Is there any film or television that you’re particularly inspired by?

PP: My favorite movie might have to be ‘The Fifth Element’ with Bruce Willis. John Paul Gaultier did the costume design for it, so all the clothes are amazing. I’ve been really inspired by sci-fi stuff recently. I recently read this book called ‘The Employees’. There’s something about the eerie feeling of space that’s been inspiring me lately. 

SIM: I just heard about this perfume that tried to capture the smell of space and people who have sniffed it say it’s the saddest smell ever, almost sickening. 

PP: I have zero desire to go to or smell space. I’d rather just imagine it. It’s similar to thinking about the depths of the ocean and the emptiness of it. Totally freaky.

SIM: Are there any places around Philly that you go to to get fabrication ideas or general inspiration? 

PP: I love the history of Philly because it’s a foundational place in design fabrication. The PMA, of course, is a spot I am checking out all the time. I also really like the Rarify showroom on Bainbridge. It’s really cool just to see all the different techniques people employ to make these beautiful things, and everyone there is so knowledgeable about manufacturing processes. Dudd Haus is another really cool design collective, and they showcase amazing work from designers all around Philly and the United States. If there’s a day where I’m able to hit all three of those spots, then that’s a really solid day in my book. I also really like Sidewalk – they host a bunch of smaller brands and you can tell everything there was made with a lot of intention and care. 

SIM: I saw that Rarify provided a lot of the furniture for the Severance set. Do you find that when you’re watching TV shows and movies you’re looking at the sets for inspiration? 

PP: Oh, totally. Media consumption is a big part of my personal creative process and I think it’s important to me to consume the widest variety of media. There was a while where I was only watching TV and movies that I’d already seen, and then I’d get on Instagram and TikTok and the algorithm would be feeding me similar stuff over and over again. The past two years I’ve made an effort to get outside my comfort zone. I’d always heard 2001: A Space Odyssey was an amazing movie but my attention span was cooked and I kept putting off watching it. I decided one day to just sit down and watch it because it’s so important, and I absolutely loved it. The furniture in that is just unbelievable. I also recently went to the ballet for the first time.

SIM: Next up is Barry Lyndon and the opera.

PP: Yes! I can’t wait. 

SIM: Can you tell me a little bit about your recent project for Omar Apollo?  

PP: That was so cool. Shannon passed my information to the team behind that project and they wanted the vest to be 3D printed. The material we used is highly reflective and onstage, with the lights, the vest took on this liquid metal look. I always love to see a project exist in a new space – to see it being worn onstage was really surreal. 

SIM: Do you have any projects on the horizon that you’re working on right now? 

PP: I’m making lights for Cuzzy’s new ice cream spot, which I’m so excited to have come back. I’m working on a bent metal table as well as some shirts and hopefully I’ll be doing some sort of event with Sidewalk in the future. I’m just always making new stuff.

Omar Apollo 3D Printed Vest – Photo by Shaun Baluyot (@shaun.baluyot)

Lights for new Cuzzy’s Ice Cream location

You can find more of Palmer Purcell and his work here:

Website

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