Found Objects

With Travels to Southeast Asia roughly every two months, designer Andrianna Shamaris knows her way not only around that part of the world, but also around the exotic wares it produces. Known for handpicking pieces and deftly repurposing them, Shamaris creates distinct furniture collections: a line featuring polished black and white shell, for instance, and one consisting of organic white-bleached pieces — both of which satisfy her preference for natural objects. “I’m also inspired by things that are original,” she says, “things you can’t buy anywhere else.”

Born in London, the self-taught designer lived in Indonesia, New Mexico (where her first store, Andrianna Home, is located) and California before opening her eponymous New York shop in 2005. She stocks weighty, statement-making pieces like custom teak spa sofas, resin tables inlaid with sliced bamboo, coconut shell tables, teak dining tables and a petrified wood collection And though she admits that New York City hasn’t been a major inspiration (except for city’s light and Central Park, which she calls stunning), she’s won legions of fans within its confines via a well-honed work ethic and zeal for her craft. “I’m here seven days a week,” Shamaris says. “I’m working in the store, I’m working with designers — it’s very personal thing. I’m not globe-trotting. It’s definitely not a vanity business.”