About Blocksma
Thousands of miles separate the desolate mountains of Pakistan from the glamour of the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York City, and therein lies the journey made by the designer Carter Blocksma.
After speaking Urdu for the first few years of his life, Blocksma was transported by his missionary doctor father back to Grand Rapids, Michigan where he grew up surrounded by the designs of Eero Saarinen and Herman Miller. He completed his first attempt at furniture design at the age of twelve utilizing his father's shirt cardboards. His youth was a whirlwind of trans-global travel and sailor voyaging through several oceans which involved living in and absorbing a multitude of cultural influences. His formal education culminated in the arts (Bachelor of Arts).
He finally put down roots when he stumbled across an 1837 grist mill in the middle of a Michigan countryside and decided to turn it into an artist studio and commercial shop. While initially a small custom furniture design studio, Blocksma Designs soon evolved into an interior designer/ craftsman/ production shop. His list of clients included Giorgio Armani in Chicago and Hoffmann Jewelers on Madison Avenue in New York City. Blocksma then passed his National Interior Design Qualification Exam (NIDQE) which then qualified him to join the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). He then exhibited his designs at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF). In addition, he was an adjunct faculty member at Eastern Michigan School of Interior Design where he taught a comprehensive course in the History of Interior and Furniture Design.
Currently Blocksma designs for both residential and commercial applications, and is most passionate about continuing to produce interesting and challenging sculptural furniture using the latest in vacuum bag technology and composite constructions using graphite, tricel, wood veneers and epoxy cores to archive great strength and lightness. Yet always, the functionality of his pieces are equally as important as their graceful form.
Some of his creative sources of inspiration include Santiago Calatrava, I.M. Pei, Eero Saarinen and Peter Danko. Calatrava's ethereal designs have inspired Blocksma to echo his airy approach in a smaller scale, always avoiding the straight line whenever possible. "I do not want my furniture to stand still", states Blocksma, "I want people to expect that something will move when they turn their back."
