Aaron Johnson: Career reflections

'Exactly what I want to do'

October 24, 2000
Web posted at: 2:29 p.m. EDT (1829 GMT)

By Greg Botelho
CNN.com Writer

(CNN) -- Delaney Johnson, 8, cozied into her chair, ready to eat some food and make some noise.

Most parents might have been amused, confused or perhaps not very enthused by the sight (and sounds) of their daughter handling maracas, rather than silverware, at the dinner table. But most girls don't have a dad with the perspective -- or profession -- of Aaron Johnson.

In fact, Delaney's dinnertime entertainment encouraged her father Aaron, 34, to shake a little himself at the table. A few months later, his maracas-inspired salt- and peppershakers were featured in Neiman Marcus' stores and catalogs, as part of the Nambe line.

"Everyday things can become art -- I live by that," Johnson says. "I think it's a matter of understanding that beauty is all around. And I'm blessed with the gift of being able to do something with it."

What Johnson does is create, everything from kitchen knickknacks to grand buildings. A product designer, his works come in all shapes and sizes, and the scope of his influence extends to international markets.

NAMBE NOTABLES Click your way through spirals of inspiration, a gallery of Aaron Johnson's design work.     QUICK VOTE Do you have a creative talent you'd like to try parlaying into a career? Yes, I'm thinking of trying to make it happen. Possibly, but I don't have the nerve to give it a shot. No, I'm just not the artistic type. View Results

Johnson has designed tableware for Nambe and chandeliers for Cristal, and has worked as part of the design team on a hotel for Disney. But while saying he makes a good living -- with an income in six figures -- Johnson notes that he does "exactly what I want to do, when I want to do it.

"I don't have to work a lot," he says. "I draw something up in a few minutes, and (others handle) a lot of the nitty-gritty details."

While Johnson contracts out to various companies and for various endeavors, most of his current work involves designing housewares and lighting fixtures. He's a featured designer at Nambe, which is famed for its chrome-shiny metal alloy and offers "museum-quality objects for the home and office."

Johnson's main employers also include Cristal, a company that sells lighting products handcrafted in Europe, and corporate partner Quorum International, which retails its decorative lighting and ceiling fans in 1,600 North American showrooms.

With a studio and home in Fort Worth, Texas, Johnson says he's always on the lookout for ideas. Everyday life, he says, is his primary source of inspiration.

Johnson recalls exercising his mechanical and artistic skill at an early age, habitually taking things apart just to put them back together as a boy. Treehouses were something of a specialty -- which might have been a hint of the housewares to come.

"To be honest, I always figured I would always be in a situation that I made things," he says.

Prolific in practical art

Johnson learned more about the art and mechanics of creative production at the University of New Mexico, where he earned a bachelor's degree in architecture. It was there, he says, that he developed his proclivity for "functional art."

In his junior year, Johnson opened his own gallery. He'd go to classes in the morning, finish his homework in a few hours and then make something new every day to put out on the floor.

Johnson's idea for this fan, he says, comes from a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Its design incorporates industrial chrome.

"When I made more functional art, I noticed that those things sold very well," he says, referring to his two years of gallery ownership as the most important in his professional and artistic career. "Once there was a functional aspect, the customer seemed more interested.

"Art seems unattainable," adds Johnson. "That's how I got into the whole product design thing."

Johnson, who later earned a masters degree in industrial design at Arizona State University, has traveled widely to work with acclaimed artisans, craftsmen and architects including Bart Prince, Arthur Erickson and famed ceramist and Nambe designer Eva Ziesel.

While Johnson has little difficulty finding work, he says he finds ample time to spend with his wife and three young children.

"I grapple with the same issues that everyone does," Johnson says. "But I pretty much work whenever I want. It's a wonderful life."

Finding beauty in "everyday life" is central to Johnson's personal philosophy and his work. Toiling in the garden, for example, led to a sundial-like chandelier he recently made for Quorum. And a series of Nambe platters reflects a trip to the bookstore, in particular a glimpse at a geological study of glaciers.

"I am very lucky," Johnson says, alluding to his travels, lifestyle and numerous creative outlets. "I would say that it has to do with the fact I get to make beautiful things, whether it's a building, a chandelier or a platter."

Designing 'Workspheres' for MoMA
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Designing a career as an interior designer
September 26, 2000
Apple Studio Displays: More than a pretty picture
September 11, 2000

AaronJohnsonDesign.com
Industrial Designers Society of America
Nambé
Quorum International

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