There was always somebody to take your spot.” A ‘Boss-Turned-Bestie’ and a Tiny, Ahem, Snag # And it was sink or swim, because that job was so coveted. Aleksandra got a call from the Bay Area store, met with Katie Gong for her interview, and three weeks later, she was packing up her life in Southern California and moving to a new city, “really, with not even a place to live.”įortunately, the experience was exactly what she hoped it would be. With the understanding that each store had its own aesthetic, she applied to a few locations. She had no idea that this was even a career path, but it sounded like the ideal opportunity for an aspiring artist. Shortly after graduating, Aleksandra learned about the visual display teams at Anthropologie: a group of artists who create custom displays surrounding all of the products in store. “It dawned on me that I wanted to explore life as a solo artist first,” she said. After graduating from college in 2008 with a double major in liberal studies and studio art, Aleksandra originally had dreams of working as an art teacher, particularly “fighting to keep the arts in school.” This is still a passion of hers and something she keeps open as a possibility in the future, but after a studio class her senior year, she began creating abstract, mixed media installations. “I first fell in love with woodworking while I was a window display artist for Anthropologie,” she told us. 2008: Cutting Her Teeth at Anthropologie # As we chatted, Aleksandra told us all about how she began, where in nature she finds her inspiration, and what she hopes for her future as a female artist working in a male-dominated medium. This also guarantees a beautiful variety of visual experiences when traveling from one Anthropologie store to another.We recently had the pleasure of connecting with woodworking artist Aleksandra Zee from her sun-filled living room in Northern California, where her big smile and clear passion for her work shined through instantly. The incredible display teams in our stores handle the craft of our displays within their own location - this allows each visual execution to be custom-composed and designed for that space. We’ve always been invested in the “craft of making” with our displays, from inspiration to execution. Can you share more about how that’s accomplished? So many of the installations seem to have an incredible amount of hand craftsmanship. We have incredibly talented artists, designers, stylists, and craftspeople in all of our stores focused on visuals and the effort is hugely collaborative. We set out to explore a variety of formats, compositions, and materials that we can utilize to best represent the concept. Once we have nailed down a window concept, we work with the amazing display teams that we have in our stores throughout the country. Once you have a concept pinned down, what’s the next step in translating that into a physical window? Inspiration for a new window can come from anywhere! We are always gathering inspo from nature photography, beautiful crafting techniques and materials, incredible art installations, and even jewelry-making and sculpture. What’s your jumping-off point when conceptualizing a new window display? Plus there’s always a touch of wabi-sabi, the traditional Japanese aesthetic view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. How would you describe the overall visual aesthetic of Anthropologie?Īnthropologie represents an eclectic mix of the high and low visual design, the innovative and resourceful, the ordinary and extraordinary. Read on to step inside these beautiful windows, then check out what’s currently on view at Anthropologie in a Simon near you. Below, he shares the collaborative spirit that goes into each of the displays, why he embraces imperfections, and a bit of advice for anyone creatively minded. To get a better sense of how these incredible installations come to be season after season and coast to coast, we chatted with Tyler Ingle, the brand’s Display Manager. And while themes carry from one Anthropologie location to another in any given season, each store also has its own unique vibe that makes it stand out. Each one exudes the loving touch of something handcrafted while still rising to the level of art in its execution, all of which makes you want to step inside the store to explore more. There’s something captivating about the window displays at Anthropologie.
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