Sam Molloy (Caos Motē) is a Designhead — FROM THE ARCHIVE
Where are they now? We asked Sam Molloy of Caos Motē to revisit his 2022 Designheads profile
Designheads is a cute profile series featuring members of our community and their relationship to the world of design.
Where are they now? We asked Sam Molloy of Caos Motē to revisit his 2022 Designheads profile and answer questions we’ve added to our list since his feature was published. (New additions are italicized!)
A quintessential designhead, Sam has been involved in a myriad of exhibitions with our parent platform Pink Essay and is constantly iterating on his own unique brand of design, with everything from cinderblock candles to acrylic cigarette cases.
Read on for Sam’s (updated) take on our Designheads queries. (We love you Sam!)
Name: Sam Molloy (Caos Motē)
Sign: Capricorn
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Instagram: @CaosMote
Website: CaosMote.com
Are you a designhead? What does that mean to you?
I am a designhead! To me this means a spectrum of things. One who admires design from product, art, furniture, and the things that surround us everyday. The other is someone who makes/produces designs. This can be in a physical, sonic, or digital sense. I fall into both categories so I hope I am considered one!
One word to describe your take on design: Ubiquity.
The last thing you made: I recently made this double cinder block table v1 for a jewelry company called HerChildren that turned out well for a display table.
The next thing you want to make: Something involving plants or sound, maybe a mixture of both. I'm still workshopping it.
A designed object you adore: Those old winding mills used for textiles.
A designed object you can’t stand the sight of: Modern condominiums.
A moment of pure creative joy: Reading a book that makes you inspired and introspective about your creativity. I'm currently finding this while reading The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron.
When we say “designing the future,” what comes to mind? Making something utilitarian with sustainable and different materials. I love the idea of recontextualization, so the idea of an old cabinet becoming a chair or vice versa is so appealing.
Your aesthetic embodied as a...
sound: Minor 9th Chord on a Juno-106
color: Bright Linen
texture: Museum grade concrete.
natural material: I use a lot of dried foliage (flowers, leaves, etc.) so these are my natural motifs that also mean a lot to me while making.
synthetic material: I use a lot of concrete. I’m not entirely sure if we’d consider this synthetic because it is a natural resource. If this does not count, acrylic. I use a lot of acrylic with my tables to allow the concrete to still be visible through the transparent nature of acrylic.
What's one design object that has your same energy? The object/piece that really got me started into this world of furniture and home design is Paul Cocksedge’s “Slump Rock Coffee Table.” You can see a lot of parallels of this and my Cinder Block Table v1. The mix of earth/rock with a glass table top blew my mind and made me want to try something like this.
If you could show your work to anyone in the world, who would it be?
Someone who is still alive: Nigo
Someone who has passed: Anthony Bourdain
What’s next for you?
More refinement on my vision and more storytelling. I'm excited!