Blurring The Boundaries Of Tame And Wild

There’s nothing we love more than getting to know the designer behind the product: their voice, their interests, their passions. And who better to tell these stories than the designers themselves? First up in the spotlight is Alex Crane, who speaks about his love of muted hues and making things with his hands. 

I like making things. Always have.

I started with whatever I could find around the house. Duct tape, scrap wood, paint cans. I made functional things – little sail boats, canvas bags, leather slippers, you know.  

And, my vibes came from my surroundings.

I grew up in San Francisco, before tech was tech. Back then, it was mostly a sleepy fisherman’s town. It was all charcoal-gray fog, ochre grasses, deep green pines, and blue-green ocean. The city rolled into the hills and there was almost no boundary between the tame and the wild.

In high school, I started taking photos (the kind you actually have to develop) and I learned to focus on colors and shapes. In college, I learned the ropes of my industry – the pattern-making, the fabric qualities, the politics.

Later, I moved to Brooklyn and got a job designing bags at Jack Spade. It was a blast. I got unreasonably good at Adobe Illustrator. And I got a taste for the general industry approach to production (it’s not as fun when the factory is on the other side of the world).

[ctt tweet=” I grew up in San Francisco. Back then, it was mostly a sleepy fisherman’s town. It was all charcoal-gray fog, ochre grasses, deep green pines, and blue-green ocean. ” coverup=”CTT CODE”]

And now is now. I’m not much different than I was at the beginning. I still like to play with materials. The same colors still put me at ease. I just have more tools now.

I make products with the same spirit.

Shop Alex Crane’s eponymous line here.