Words Paul Tierney  Photographs Carlton Davis

Originally published in No 10

He’s upbeat today, but Jeremy Anderson seems vaguely restless in the city. Granted, he has the enormous privilege of choosing where and when he works — either bouncing off New York’s urban throb, or squirreled away in nature — but this morning it sounds like the hum of Manhattan is low on his wish list. “I’m here Tuesday and Wednesday,” says the celebrated designer. “The rest of the time I’m working alone in my studio, upstate.

It’s a no-brainer. This is a man straddling two opposing camps and making the best of both. He sounds relaxed (or as relaxed as New York lets a person be), yet, location-wise, I can almost guess where his preferences lie. But more of that later.

Apparatus, the lighting and design company he co-founded with husband Gabriel Hendifar, is a wonderful thing. You may not own Apparatus, but you will want to be in tune with their singular aesthetic. Modern but retro, linear and complex, the lamps are Bauhaus by way of Busby Berkley — functional glamour, yet never prosaic. In turn, these objects of desire have led to a raft of other rarefied designs. If you crave super-refined homeware, or furniture as art, look no further.

The Apparatus pair are not a design duo in the conventional sense. Anderson is quick to defer to his partner’s importance in this much-admired brand, but it’s obvious the pair bounce off each other’s talent. While Gabriel is an ideas person, Jeremy is good with his hands. In reduced terms, and by no means definitively, one conceives while the other executes. “I’m still involved in the strategic side of the business, he says, “but I’ve stepped back from day to day responsibilities in the past few years. I want focus on my own creative practice.”

Which would explain the dual life upstate. “As much as I love being in that city, I need to feel like I have a place where I can escape it and kind of commune with nature. It’s an opportunity to be in a place of quietness.”

The couple’s second home, in Rhinebeck, lies deep in the Hudson Valley, an approximately two-and-a-half-hour drive from New York. 107 miles separate the two locations, but they couldn't be further apart in terms of tone and atmosphere. “For me, the Hudson Valley is a beautiful place. I love the big sky, the wide river, the Catskill Mountains. I come from Minnesota, known as the land of lakes, so there’s something very familiar about the landscape upstate. I associate myself to be more of woods person, rather than a beach guy. When we decided to buy somewhere, it was always going to be upstate. There was never any question.”

Anderson is keen to establish that the house is modest in size and was purchased with the idea of renovation in mind, very much in keeping with the company’s aesthetic and branding. “It’s small,” he laughs, “just a little farmhouse built in 1829, and definitely not one of the Vanderbilt hunting lodges you see upriver. The place had a garage, which is now my studio. That was the clincher.”

The appeal is obvious, and easy to explain, “Out there, I don't have the distractions of Apparatus,” he says wistfully, “and I don't have the obligation of seeing people in the city. Working upstate allows me the time to go into my own head. I'll be honest, though, there are times when it can feel a little bit isolated.”

In recent months Anderson has returned to his roots. He studied ceramics in a former life, and ‘throwing clay’ is very much part of how he expresses himself. The Rhinebeck house offered a space to work in silence. He established a ceramic studio free from distraction. The results are notable by their difference.

New work sees new form, both tactile and desirable. “It’s very much my work,” he says squarely, “and not part of an Apparatus collection.” Most curious are a series of striking clay vessels — think mid-century primordial — which are something of a shift from work of old. “I call them Piccolos,” he smiles. “It’s a term of endearment that someone very close used to call me.” He goes on to tell the sad tale of an ex-Italian boyfriend, killed in a car accident back in 2001. “He was a wonderful influence in my life. It’s a way for me to honor his memory.”

The vessels are almost indefinable, but to this eye look like tribal cartoon characters rendered in ceramic. It’s a comparison the artist revels in. “Working in the upstate studio gives me the opportunity to have a different relationship with the objects I’m making,” he says. ”I’m creating this little environment. With the vessels, I have this really wonderful, playful relationship with them. There’s a lot of human characteristics to these things. They take on a personality.”

It’s important to point out the Anderson remains an artisan in his own right. Although invested in Apparatus, the urge to create outside its parameters is a strong one. “I’ve been working in clay for 25 years, and it’s the thing that I’ll go to when I need to have a creative outlet from my day-to-day life. I didn't want to keep on making bowls and plates. I love working at the wheel, but it got to the point when I just wanted to give myself an opportunity to play. I enjoy exploring and working with shapes. I love cutting into them, putting them together in different ways. I’m using the other side of my brain.”

As we speak, and with heart-warming coincidence, the evocative cello of Julia Kent stirs in the background. The track in question, Salt Point, is inspired by the landscape of the Hudson Valley, its plaintive strings speaking volumes about the particular glancing light that paints the changing seasons there. It doesn't take much to realize this is a very special corner of the world, and one which seems to aid creative endeavors.

“I love it most when the weather is milder, and I can open the doors at the back of the studio and see the creek running past. I'll be sitting there, and suddenly a flock of turkeys will come walking past. You’ll see deer grazing in the woods. It’s perfect.”

Learn more: jeremy-anderson.com

Paul Tierney is an arts, culture and travel journalist, writing for The Guardian, The Independent, The I and Neue Luxury.

Carlton Davis is a regular contributor to UD. He shoots for Ralph Lauren and vera Vang among others and is represented by CLM-Agency.com