Maker Monday: An aspire Exclusive Interview With Joshua Sevits

Joshua Sevits is a furniture designer and maker living and working in New York City. He founded Quartered in 2024, a furniture studio dedicated to creating pieces that embrace simple, architectural forms punctuated by unexpected moments. His work seeks to transform everyday furniture into visual focal points while remaining functional and enduring. Sevits holds an MFA from Lesley University College of Art and Design. Before establishing Quartered, Sevits lived and worked in Vermont, where he learned woodworking in a small shop specializing in modern Shaker-style furniture. There, he developed a deep appreciation for disciplined craftsmanship, careful proportion, and the lasting value of well-made objects. His current work explores the relationship between precision and expression. Clean, structured forms are contrasted with hand-painted graphics and other unexpected decisions that preserve the presence of the maker. Rather than concealing the evidence of human labor, each piece embraces it, allowing brushstrokes and subtle imperfections to become an essential part of the finished object. Learn more about the early days of Quartered in today’s Maker Monday.

Quartered’s rectilinear coffee table pairs precision joinery with hand-painted striping, creating a graphic surface that still retains the subtle variation of the painter’s hand.

Andrew Joseph: What is your favorite design-related quote?
Joshua Sevits: “Start slow, then ease off.” When I would get stressed with clients, an old-timer I used to work with would say this. He also had another one that really set the tone in the shop, “Nothin’ new after two.”

AJ: Can you tell us about a design trend you are excited about?
JS: I’ve read some pieces and heard some murmurings lately about embracing imperfection, which is what Quartered is all about. For centuries, cultures all over the world have understood the importance of accepting and celebrating the imperfect touch of the maker. So while it’s not a new concept, I suspect, right now, this is somehow a reaction to the ease of perfection designers and makers have at their fingertips today.

AJ: What is your favorite aspect of your job?
JS: I could talk all day about anything. I love getting to know clients and coworkers, and a big part of that is talking about kids, hobbies, news, daydreams, and complaining — you know, life stuff. It’s in this space where I can truly connect with clients and their projects.

Shown here in Dark Tyrian Blue and Etruscan Red, the table is offered in six hand-painted colorways ranging from tonal pairings to more contrasting combinations.

AJ: What was the last book you read and how did it inspire you?
JS: Metropolitans: New York Baseball, Class Struggle, and the People’s Team by A.M. Gittlitz. Gittlitz gives us a lesson on love through struggle, happiness, and change.

AJ: What’s your favorite cocktail?
JS: The go-to cocktail in our house is a take on Sam Ross’ Penicillin. Instead of scotch, we use Barr Hill Tom Cat barrel-aged gin. This gin has sweet honey notes and works amazingly with lemon, demerara syrup, and bitters.

AJ: How do you balance functionality and aesthetics in your designs?
JS: The new coffee table’s design asks, “Does there need to be a balance between form and function?” I don’t know about you, but often, I feel like life is too optimized for functionality. How does it feel when we decide NOT to fill available space with something useful? I’ve been leaning into art and presence over usefulness.

A discreet push-to-open drawer is integrated seamlessly into the striped facade, with a walnut interior adding a refined material contrast to the saturated painted finish.

AJ: What’s your design pet peeve?
JS: Unnecessary thickness. Thin is cool, or incredibly thick is also cool. But let’s put 1 1/2” shelves and countertop nosing in the dust bin.

AJ: What would your dream project or dream client be right now?
JS: I’m super excited about the listening rooms popping up around NYC. I’d love to design a listening room for a family or lounge. Teaming up with an acoustical engineer and electronics expert would be a dream. I also think there’s room in this design for contemporary tapestries.

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