Jens Risom / Jim Zivic / Robert Bristow and Pilar Proffitt
Denyse Schmidt
Lisa Spindler
Stevi Michner

Jens Risom (1916-2016) was one of the first designers to bring the traditional Scandinavian values of function and craftsmanship to the US. He was part of small vanguard that helped establish post-war America’s leadership role in the world of modern furniture design and manufacturing. Born in Copenhagen, Risom was highly influenced by his architect father who encouraged him to pursue studies in business and contemporary design. In 1942 he worked with Hans Knoll to launch that business, and following a stint in the army, launched his Jens Risom Design in 1946. He joined RALPH PUCCI in 2005.

Born and raised in a small Ohio steel town, Jim Zivic had his industrial vision defined from an early age. Surrounded by Amish woodworkers, strip mining, dairy farms and his family’s steel trucking business, Zivic was inspired to create things both useful and artistic. He moved to New York upon graduation from Ohio Wesleyan with a BFA in Painting and embarked on a career of making art and furniture. Leather, coal and steel are the signature materials in Zivic’s work, which has been collected by Lou Reed, Tom Ford, Yves Saint Laurent and Yohji Yamamoto, among others. He joined RALPH PUCCI in 2005.

Robert Bristow and Pilar Proffitt are the founding partners of Bristow Profitt Studio, a multi-disciplinary design studio focusing on architecture, interiors and furniture. From a converted dairy barn in Lakeville, CT, the pair aims to produce work that has its own palpable presence. They seek the common threads of simplicity, elegance and permanence, expressed clearly and quietly in all that they make. Trained in the architecture offices of Paul Rudolph and Peter Forbes, with moonlighting stints as Studio Aldo Rossi and Machado-Silvetti, the pair received the commission to design the Hotel RALPH PUCCI. They joined RALPH PUCCI in 2004.