Bauhaus, bringing style and great design to iIsland living Part I

BY WAZARI JOHNSON

Dana Baugh is definitely someone to look out for on the Jamaican art and design scene. I would go further to say the same applies to the scene in the rest of the Caribbean.

Her work captures the essence of the islands, but in a modern way that I really like. I also like the way the name of her business is a play on her surname, and also has a deeper meaning that relates to her work, she had this to say about why she chose that name,

“In design school while learning about the history of design, I discovered the Bauhaus movement that originated as a German school of the arts in the early 20th century. Unfortunately, it closed but the influence and aesthetic of the school persisted, culminating in the Bauhaus movement. It was easy to make the connection that since I was studying interior design and would end up making products and practicing Interior Design, that it would make sense for me to blend my last name with Bauhaus and that’s how I decided on the name for my business, BAUGHaus Design Studio.”

As a graduate of Parsons the New School for Design in New York, she has embarked on growing her design business and making a name for herself in the Jamaican creative landscape. I started seeing her work on Facebook years ago, and immediately became interested before formally meeting her sometime later. I liked everything about Baughaus, including her first studio space. It was economical in terms of how it was built and it was also aesthetically appealing. I have actually come to admire all the stages of development for her studio as she utilized her skills as a designer to craft her space as her studio grew.

I wanted to know if she was one of those children who knew they would be exploring art or design as a career path and she said,

“No actually. I was always doing creative stuff as a child, but it was never encouraged as a career. I grew up in rural Jamaica, in Savanna-la-mar, so my parents and relatives would always give me little craft projects to do to occupy my time like: basket weaving, a little hobby pottery, calligraphy, glass etching, sewing, t-shirt painting, and I am sure other things I can’t remember. I even taught myself Photoshop in high school and graphic design, which helps in my business to this day. It was through this exploration of graphic design that I started to discover a career in design. Eventually, I ended up studying Interior Design.”

Dana produces a wide selection of products from: lighting fixtures, to furniture, to ceramics, and her work in all these areas is quite impressive. I wanted to know what her journey was like breaking into the Jamaican market as a designer, and she had this to say,

“I would say, it was more rigid; very structured and based on the theories of design. I learnt how to design with specific thought processes to get to an end point. Most, if not all of my designs were designed as 3D models before I started them, but as I matured as a designer, it has become more fluid and organic. As I trusted my instinct more, there was less need for 3D modeling. I trust my experience, and I am guided by the input and feedback of my customers.”

She really interacts well with her customers. Dana is really big on customer interaction. I remember a conversation we had in 2017, where she was giving me this Instagram “sales pitch. “Dana was apparently appalled when she discovered that I was only maintaining a social media presence on Facebook at the time. One would think that she was being paid for recruiting new clients for Instagram, she was quite emphatic about the importance of me engaging my audience more, her pitch went something like, “Wizard. You have to interact with your audience far more than you have been interacting with them. It is vital that you build your audience. You cannot be functioning right now without an Instagram account as an artist.”

I took her advice and it actually has done wonders for my business. Outside of being great at design I appreciate being able to bounce ideas off her and have discussions about the future of the creative industries in Jamaica. She really does have some worthwhile insights.

When I asked her what is her favorite design project to date she had this to say, “My first love is lighting, so I would say creating a huge driftwood and sea glass chandelier for a hotel in St. Lucia. It was so beautiful!” I saw pictures of the aforementioned project and it is really a site to behold. I hope you will join me as I continue to explore the designer that is Dana Baugh.