With mediums spanning furniture, glassware, interior design and architecture, German-born, Bridgehampton-based designer Maximilian Eicke (maxidnystore.com) discusses his creative process and shares how his company, Max ID NY, came to be.
Designer Maximilian Eicke
HOW DID YOU GET YOUR START AS A DESIGNER?
Having grown up with parents who were surrounded by the same world, my father being an art dealer and my mother a fashion designer and editor, it was natural that this would become my world as well, without being forced to follow one specific path. I chose to study interior design in college and do internships in factories and architectural firms, in a pursuit to hone my skills with the end goal of pursuing furniture and product design as a career.
HOW HAS YOUR COMPANY GROWN SINCE IT FIRST WAS FOUNDED?
I founded Max ID NY in 2009 while backpacking around the world. I began falling in love with design more and more while being inspired by the different cultures, so I began looking for manufacturers on my travels. When everything finally came together in 2010 and I found factories in Bali that helped make my dream a reality, I launched my first collection of 10 designs in 2010 in Sag Harbor. Having grown and expanded the company, I have since designed several hundred pieces and my designs are now sold across the world. MAX ID NY has garnered a very loyal fan base of private clients including celebrities and museums, and my designs have taken on a life of their own.
Eicke’s Bridgehampton studio, featuring the Sloth beach chair and handcrafted interior design elements
WHAT DOES A TYPICAL DAY LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?
Each day varies throughout the year as we produce our designs overseas. We follow an unusual schedule that is dependent on the products we launch. At certain times of year, I spend the nights awake, working and troubleshooting with factories. Once the production process is finished and it comes to selling in the summer and holiday seasons, my schedule turns on its head again. In the Hamptons summer months, each day is balanced between juggling studio visits, social events, arranging incoming containers and handling outgoing shipments.
WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE PROJECTS SO FAR?
There are way too many, each for different reasons. Some of my favorite projects have been the first time I worked with carbon fiber and when I produced an entire outdoor range of furniture. One project that is hard to beat is the architectural compound I built in Bali that took five years to complete—including five different buildings on nearly 3 acres of land—where I designed every single object for the house to make them each commercially viable.
WHAT WORDS BEST DESCRIBE YOUR UNIQUE DESIGN STYLE?
Minimalistic angularism. This, of course, varies, depending completely on the project, but 90% of my designs are based around the integration of squares, circles and triangles. My designs do not shy away from making that obvious.
Handblown amber glassware by Eicke
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT ANY NEW PROJECTS YOU ARE WORKING ON?
We are excited to keep expanding our glassware range, which has become the bread and butter of our company. Glassware has taken a much larger presence on the market for us, as our designs have become more accessible through this avenue. At the moment, we are making the final preparations to launch a martini glass for the 2023 holidays. Larger upcoming projects will include a combined factory and workshop in Bali with an artist-in-residence program built into it.
Photography by: PHOTO BY BJORN WALLANDER/COURTESY OF MAX ID NY
