Righting a bathroom lighting wrong

It truly is all in the details for In Common With's cofounder.

While running around for New York Design Week last month, I ducked out of the rain to visit Quarters, the lighting studio In Common With’s showroom and bar. I was there to get a closer look at the new Strata collection: a series of sconces, flush mounts, and surface mounts that showcase experimental glass techniques like hand-cutting, silkscreening, powder-fusing, and slumping. Cofounders Nick Ozemba and Felicia Hung wove together inspiration from such disparate sources as Gee’s Bend quilts, the Bauhaus movement, and Paul Klee artworks, and the result feels at once timeless and contemporary, neutral and electric. In short, the pieces are mesmerizing.

Later that week, Nick and I ran into each other on the way to a dinner to celebrate a new exhibition at Amelie du Chalard’s SoHo gallery, and his presence is just as warm and vibrant as his work. Today, he lets us in on his current shopping list, the best gift he recently gave, and a solve for bad bathroom lighting. —Samantha Weiss-Hills, managing editor

Current Mood

What I’m loving: Carved wood, mixed upholstery, patterned glass—pieces with presence and texture, but nothing too loud. I’m always drawn to work that is made by hand. Right now, I’m especially interested in design that feels both structured and soulful, where the materials do the talking, and the details are quiet but intentional.

1. Monastery Made’s universal balm is always in my bag or set out in a guest bathroom. It’s subtle, genderless, and actually works.

2. A new piece from Simone Bodmer Turner that feels instantly iconic.

3. Sabre cutlery is equal parts playful and refined. It makes even the simplest meal feel a little more considered. They’re perfect everyday utensils.

4. Sophie Lou Jacobsen’s Le Verre glasses. For water, wine, or just to have something beautiful on the table.

5. Our Dune table lamp is nice indoors, but even better on a summer table, especially if you’re dining al fresco at night.

6. Kelsey Fairhurst just launched a new line of cutlery called Forks Plus. I love how unexpected and specific they feel. The right kind of irreverent.