An Uncommon Pursuit of High Design
CAENLUCIER with Chroma
Leann Conquer & Alexis Tompkins
CAENLUCIER: What is your current state of mind towards your practice?
Leann Conquer & Alexis Tompkins: Our practice is fundamentally experimental, with a moody, eccentric spirit and a rebellious, alternative kind of ethos. We are fearless in our approach. “Imagine differently” is a constant mantra. Ultimately our work is sophisticated and refined, yet every project has subversive edges, displacing the tropes and trends that we see in design today. While we are rigorously intellectual in our forms and references, our spaces are emotional, corporeal experiences. Our work is sultry, it’s intoxicating, it’s got swagger. It’s also a little dreamy and whimsical, with an ageless beauty and unpretentious authenticity. Our projects are intricately layered with gorgeous idiosyncrasies and contradictions—they each have a confident sense of self. Our spaces have a charming, endearing sort of irreverence but they’re disarmingly chill. And they’re sublimely cozy.
CL: How has your prior experience working for two highly regarded San Francisco design firms shaped your approach to developing the Chroma brand?
L & A: When we first met 10 years ago through our husbands, Leann was working with Nicole Hollis; Alexis, with Steven Volpe. It was an insanely formative, prolific time for us, under the tutelage of two of the top SF-based designers. We were really soaking in as much as we could, not only aesthetic, formal design knowledge but also how to run a successful practice. As our conversations eventually sparked at the idea of starting our own venture, we felt confident in our abilities not only as designers but truly as brand—and culture—creators. We took from our experiences lessons in how to lead certainly, but there was also an element of asking ourselves, “what would we do differently?” We each had a nagging entrepreneurial calling that just would not be ignored, and we officially formed Chroma in 2014.
In the years since, we have very purposefully carved our own niche, specializing in a people-focused process that is uniquely tailored to each of our clients. Our environments are preternatural. They are highly individualized in their look and feel to resonate with each client’s innermost passions and desires. We all aspire to something—to live a certain way, to look a certain way, to be admired for our style or our intellect or a creative pursuit. At Chroma, we focus on designing spaces that people actually live in, spaces both radically of-the-moment and exquisitely timeless, where our clients can not only be really, truly themselves, but the best version of themselves that they’ve always wanted to be.
Our process is research-driven and highly conceptual, perhaps even a little unusual. We lead with warmth and intention—and that certainly stems from our backgrounds—but we’re also playing with a grittier aesthetic than a lot of California designers, who are maybe inspired by the landscape or those sort of laidback, surfy Californian archetypes. For us, it’s all about the complexities of being human and embodying that beautiful pathos.
CL: Is the knowledge of design history important?
L & A: Designers don’t necessarily need to be scholars, but, for us, a curiosity for design history is essential. At Chroma, our whole team is ravenous for culture, past and present. We’re insatiable for art, fashion, music, film, architecture—all the creative realms!—and we’re obsessed with historical research. Really early on, we found that we excel at excavating design history, and our projects thrive through our ability to elevate obscure cultural references, these sort of raw little gems, into transcendent and uniquely contemporary design moves—through textiles, furniture, lighting, artwork—that give habitable form to the likes, loves, and fetishes of our clients. Innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It's a trajectory, it’s a spectrum. You always build on a strong foundation.
CL: How do you integrate the dealer/auction network when selecting furnishings and decorative arts for a project?
L & A: Beyond any specific project, we’re in frequent communication with galleries and auction houses around the world, not only sourcing hot contemporary and “holy grail” modern works and furnishings for existing clients, but also tracking emerging artists and designers on the cusp of breaking big.
In our design methodology, there’s a robust discovery phase. We start by asking our clients questions that give us a feel for their cultural palettes—who’s their favorite artist, what kinds of films do they like, what types of music do they listen to, where do they like to travel—and then we dig in a bit more psychologically: what do they enjoy about the way they live their life, what are their greatest aspirations? Meanwhile, we’re behind the scenes researching—what era is the architecture from, what artistic movements occurred in this era, what was the fashion like, what was happening in the world of design at this time? We’re also simultaneously conducting programming studies and testing possible floor plans. Our gallery and auction house collaborators are also necessarily embedded in this phase, and I think because we invite them into a creative process that is so charged with ideas and energy and passion, they are excited to share those really special finds with us first.
CL: There have been many illustrious “business-talent” partnerships in the creative fields. St. Laurent/Berge and Valentino/Giammetti come to mind. Where does the strength in your partnership lie?
We share a strong psychic connection. Alexis’s more empirical strengths—like an exceptional visual memory and a sensitive eye for color and nuance—are amplified by Leann’s methodical aptitude for intelligent forecasting and impeccable execution. We find synergy in our adeptness at crafting serene complexity out of chaos.
Alexis is fascinated by the architectural intimacy and humanity of the home. She is inherently curious and a great listener, which makes her empathically attuned to each of our client’s tastes and personalities. As a scholar of art history and a design connoisseur, she has studied thousands of artists, movements, and masterworks, so her formal vocabulary is legion.
Leann is also a brilliant, trained designer and has an innate talent for choreographing the intricacy of our work. She excels at achieving our clients’ timeline and budget goals, and is so potently efficient but also personable, answering all our clients’ questions before they’ve even thought of them, so they can relax and trust the process. Leann’s pragmatic genius facilitates Alexis’s polymath ideation, ensuring Chroma’s work achieves the extraordinary.
CL: Talk about the importance of fine art in a home.
A & L: In Chroma homes, artworks amplify the tone. They're not an afterthought once we've designed a space. They are vital to our entire ideation. And while art is subjective, it’s often a very communal, social experience. We love sharing our deep appreciation and admiration of contemporary art and art history with our clients, and we excel at sourcing artworks that resonate with them emotionally and intellectually, even psychically or spiritually, creating spaces that are both unique and uniquely them. We want our homes to be places where our clients feel as cool and smart and interesting as they are—and great artwork has that transformative power.
CL: When you dream of your business ten years from now, what does it look like?
A & L: Like our clients, we have great aspirations, and our new space in Dogpatch is among them. When we decided we needed a new studio, we knew we wanted it to be, first and foremost, for our team, an awesome place to work, to learn, and to be inspired. For our clients, we wanted an inviting, stimulating space where they can not only feel comfortable sharing the intimacies of their lives, but also intuit from their surroundings the process and outcome of their Chroma experience. For our community, we wanted a showcase for local artists and artisans, a venue for exhibitions and music—a place to experience the best of art and design in San Francisco. That’s the vision. And we are honored to be members of the emerging Dogpatch art and design community alongside the Pier 70 development and the Institute of Contemporary Art.
We’re also really excited about plans for future Chroma collections—from small home goods to furniture—to expand on the custom work we do for clients. And a Chroma x De Gournay collaboration is already in the works. (We can’t wait to share more!) Future iterations of Chroma also include a retail space for custom Chroma pieces, vintage and contemporary furniture, fashion, and artwork, with a focus on local makers. We just really want to be a champion for all things art and design in San Francisco.
CL: Are there certain finish materials you are currently in love with?
L & A: Exciting materiality is an explicit formal interest in all of our projects, and our material palettes are really generative platforms for experimentation. We love lush, sophisticated, and romantic materials and finishes equally as much as rawer, more provocative, even peculiar possibilities. We are currently vibing with patinated brass, thrice-bleached walnut, and powder-coated accents with limewash—and mohair, forever.
CL: What designers from the past inspire you?
Gio Ponti. Almost a muse. Ponti’s work is endlessly inspiring. Jean Royere. We’re obsessed with the playfulness of his colors, forms, and materials. Osvaldo Borsani. Often understated, but so pioneering. Carlo Scarpa. We love the instinctive quality of his work and his spirit of innovation. Maria Pergay. Her work has an indomitable strength that we aspire to. Charlotte Perriand. True visionary in the art of living.
CL: Favorite weekend getaways?
AT: I feel very connected to the Pacific Northwest. My favorite getaway is probably what I consider my ancestral home, an 1890s manor that my great-grandmother moved, stone by stone, from the Midwest to Oregon.
LC: I’m very outdoorsy and I love exploring nature. Give me a coast, a beach, or a park any day! Especially in northern California or Mexico.
CL: Favorite restaurants?
AT: Ritaro, Foreign Cinema (an oldie but a goodie)—and definitely Californios. I feel a kindred spirit type of connection with the owners and their vision. When I lived around the corner, Cinderella Bakery & Cafe was a go-to. And Mamahuhu, the best fried chicken sandwich on the planet—only available at lunch time.
LC: I adore Neighbor Bakehouse for delicious morning pastries on the way to work. Piccino is so fabulous. Like Neighbor Bakehouse, it’s also located near our new studio in Dogpatch, so it’s a perfect after-work destination. Dogpatch Saloon is my go-to for late-day business meetings or after-work cocktails. And Rintaro is another favorite. It’s ultra-hip!
CL: What are you reading?
AT: Ok, so I recently had a baby. And full transparency: I’m not reading a thing right now, other than bedtime stories. I am listening to a lot of new music though, especially Welsh art-pop icon Cate Le Bon’s latest record Pompeii, a groovy, introspective dreamscape, and New Zealand singer-songwriter Aldous Harding’s new psychedelic-folk record Warm Chris, which is both scorching and searching. For more mercurial vibes, Deerhoof is always on repeat. I also love the slinky soul of Kyle Dion; Ibibio Sound Machine brings the funk; and Savages is a top pick for incomparable English rock.
LC: I love the sense of escape I get from historical fiction and anything with a sci-fi twist. I’m currently reading the fantasy novel Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. It’s wild but there’s almost something meditative about it.
