Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Bio: Robert Natale, CEO and Creative Director, Sixpenny
Hometown: Teaneck, NJ
Studio Location: Brooklyn
Describe what you make: At Sixpenny, we make luxurious slipcovered seating using all-natural and recycled fabrics, and distinctive tables and storage pieces made with a range of characteristic woods, stones, and metals.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: A creative workflow that allows our team to work across multiple continents between design and content creation. I’m typically a very scattered person, so living and working predominantly between New York City and Guangzhou, China requires a certain level of organization and buy-in among the team to ensure we’re all on the same page. As a result, we’re able to treat every collection and design more as a studio experiment— something that’s an expression of our identity more than a KPI on a design calendar or a trend chase.
Describe the problem your work solves: I wouldn’t flatter myself into believing our work solves any of the world’s real problems, but hopefully we can contribute to the conversation of a more beautiful home, and a better-lived life.
Share the project you are working on now: We have a very busy Q4 2025 ahead. A new sofa collection is upcoming and it’s one of my absolute personal favorites. It has a really impressive new seat design which is somehow incredibly supportive and still fluffy, and its look is a fun little departure for us—quite poufy! We’re also launching our very first print fabric collection, along with three additional product categories: bedding, rugs, blankets.
What you absolutely have to have in your studio: One good pencil which I carry with me everywhere.
What you do when you’re not working: Oof, I’m pretty lazy. I rearrange the house more than my wife would probably prefer. I like to write music, curl up with our dogs, or read something with TV on in the background.
Sources of creative envy (dead or alive): We just saw an incredible exhibition of David Hockney’s work in Paris and it was so impressive seeing how consistent he’s been through the decades. The Beatles make my heart sing. Creatives who have a body of work that creates an unmistakable world of its own.
The distraction you want to eliminate: Isn’t the answer for everyone their phone? Less phone.
Concrete or marble? Marble. Nature’s stone paintings. An absolute miracle.
High-Rise Or Townhouse? Depends on the city…
Remember Or Forget? Depends on the memory…
Aliens Or Ghosts? Both.
Dark Or Light? One couldn’t exist without the other! Both.
