Studio Visit
DLV
In a light-filled atelier, surrounded by objects that inspire, Mark de la Vega runs DLV. His studio is built on experience and fueled by art, history and the true value of luxury.
Looking at your shop and showroom space in Red Hook can be quite envy inducing, but as everyone who lives in New York knows behind every great space there’s often an even better story. So to begin with how did you end up in Red Hook and how did you find this amazing space?
Well, it’s really a story of need, serendipity, and a lot of hard work. I started off in a Co-Op workshop that we are still in today. But as our practice grew we needed clean space to host clients and to do our clean work. Like the Eggshell Mosaic for example… When the 7000 sq foot clean space became available upstairs we had just landed a big project with Anouska Hempel. We did about 50 custom pieces for a town house in the West Village. It was a huge undertaking that took a year to complete. I almost had no choice but to go all in so I took the space. Now in our third year in this space we have it operating like a true Atelier. It’s a very fun and inspiring place to come to everyday. I believe it helps us close a lot of deals too.
The diversity of materials and techniques that you use at DLV are really impressive. Hearing about the process of sourcing eggs for your beautiful Coquille D’oeuf technique for instance is so specific. Using this technique as an example, was it something you were looking for to get a particular look or was it more of a situation in which the process found you?
We source the organic chicken eggs for their integrity. The shells hold up to our rigorous process of cooking, cutting, and cleaning the shell before we use them. When we used the cheapest eggs (non organic) the shells crumbled and we lost most of the inventory. Also it is a lot harder to make something beautiful from a pile of dust. We want quality hemispheres so that we have a starting place for the piece that can be reminiscent of the life of the material. I want there to be traces of the oblong shapes hidden within the surfaces we create. That’s what makes it special, that is why our collectors invest.
To do the kind of work that DLV does takes a lifetime of commitment to the details. So would it be fair to say that even though you’ve been designing for quite some time now that in a way you’re just getting started?
That’s exactly it. You nailed it. I am not concerned about overnight success. I am concerned about how our body of work shows in 5 years, 10 years, and beyond. I create these pieces to far outlive me.
