Rafael Kalichstein and Joshua Rose of FORM Interior Design were among the all-stars selected at the designer portfolio review hosted by The Editor at Large at Studio Baccarat’s Limited Engagement showroom during WESTWEEK.
We decided to learn a bit more about Joshua and Rafael's work and how they each got started.
GDG: Rafi, how did you get started in the interior design world?
RK: My interests are diverse and my educational background, similarly, is varied. I have an Associates degree in Eastern philosophy and a B.F.A. in acting from NYU's TISCH School of the Arts. Having studied Chinese medical basics as a child, I went back to school on a grant to the American University of Complimentary Medicine and somewhere in between, I modeled in Milan, worked off-Broadway, and had other small successes in an acting career!
Shortly after meeting Josh, he and I bought a house together in a beautiful location, but it was in dire need of repair. With six different flooring surfaces in its modest 1100 square feet, it was the model of disgrace! It was in the rehab that we gave the cottage that we formed FORM!
GDG: Josh, did you also find yourself in the interior design world in a roundabout way?
JR: Absolutely! When I was 16 years old, my father and I started a visual FX company and eventually dropped out of film school to run the company. When I took over the company we had eight employees and by the time I left, we had grown to over 125 employees, won two Emmys (I won one myself for my work on Star Trek Voyager!), had our work Oscar recognized on Independence Day and worked on numerous other films. After leaving, I went onto pursue writing, directing and conceptualizing.
I met Rafi while writing and directing and we had a whirlwind romance that led to a home purchase and a major budget renovation. Growing up my father was a builder and a developer and I started helping him renovate kitchens, build a deck and vault our ceilings at a young age, so the work felt very natural to me, as did working creatively with Rafi—something unexpected as I was used to being the primary creative voice! The renovation literally opened the door to us starting our own design company and FORM was born!
GDG: What has made each of you love interior design?
RK: It goes back to my childhood love of invention and building. That I can sit down with paper and pencil (or at the computer) to design a table, cabinetry, or lighting and then, through collaboration and hard work actually realize that idea... that is magic! To watch the incarnation of my thoughts and the fabrication of imagination is something truly spectacular.
JR: I love that I learn something new everyday. You touch people on such an emotional and visceral level with this work. An elderly neighbor used to shout from her window when she saw us leaving for work, ‘Go make the world a more beautiful place!’ It has always stuck with me as a great challenge, but I think we do!
Stay tuned to GoDesignGo to hear more about Rafael and Joshua of FORM Interior Design. They'll share more about who helped them along the way and which rooms they love to design most.
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