1/2 empty 1/2 full

Its the time of year when we get into a glass-half-empty mindset, lament on the should-have-been-this and should-have-done-thats for the year. And in truth, there were somethings that we imagined should happen in 2023 that didn’t, some unpleasant twists of fate and some moments where we simply fell short.

There were also beautiful, fortunate and fruitful things, among which we will count starting a newsletter (the highlights of which live here in our library), as a secret place for sample sales and first discounts for friends and family, as a peek into those who live with soft-geometry pieces and those that inspire us, and partly as therapeutic journaling to assist in the running of soft-geometry. So consider this our final 2023 journal entry, where we look back at photos from the year and remember it was also glass half full.

Palaash made the Forbes India 30 under 30 list and reflected on what it means and if it means anything at all.

We had a loving opening night with our San Francisco community at Glass Rice Gallery where we showed a selection of works from the last 3 years as part of the exhibition "Lifeforce"  (above: photograph by Shaun Roberts)

We debuted one painstakingly made new piece titled 'Molecule' at Milan Design Week, as part of Movimento Gallery's "Merging and Emerging" exhibition. (There were supposed to be two pieces but in a heartbreaking moment one died in shipping SF>Milan)

We nervously started a green card application in the EB1 category for "Extraordinary Aliens". It made us reflect on our identities as “Aliens”, about the confusing impermanence of being between India and the US, and the pressure of living up to 'extraordinary'. Somewhere in between filing all the paperwork we created our most personal work yet - Mirrors for Aliens. 

We had a beautiful, packed and absolutely overwhelming opening reception at New York Design Week showcasing Mirrors for Aliens at the exhibition 'Upon Further Reflection'. (above top left: Photograph by Madeleine Parsons)

In a humbling, surprising announcement, we were named in Wallpaper Magazine’s first 300 list, a guide to creatives shaping America, amongst icons, contemporaries and friends.

We opened up our doors to studio visits for the first time ever and met some truly amazing people, who have since become inspiring friends and collaborators.

We added new colors to the Elio series and had a giant studio sale that opened exclusively to our newsletter audience - which you helped wipe clean!

and we completed 5 years of soft-geometry.

A studio we started as design school friends pondering what objects soft people make. Five years makes it feel quite real, in a way we haven't previously allowed ourselves to think about it. (above: Photograph by Peter Favinger)

Thank you for sharing our 2023 with us and making it more than half full, see you next year with more soft things.

Ut & Pals