A Day in the Life of Djivan
Djivan Schapira is a furniture designer born in Paris and currently living and working in New Jersey. He is represented by acclaimed gallery, Todd Merrill Studio, through which he is showcasing his latest series of candy-like furniture pieces at Bergdorf Goodman.
We spoke with Djivan about his background, his projects, his life in New Jersey and we even got the chance to virtually tour his studio.
Amor Díaz: Your father played an important role in your development as a furniture designer. Can you tell us about his background and influence on your work?
Djivan Schapira: My dad is a craftsman, so my creative journey began as his apprentice through my 20s. He has a very specific style, which I learned a lot from. And then kind of took it and modified it a bit. I gave it a new angle of this interesting intersection between very high-end design, but also functional pieces of furniture. I think that one of the main things to take away from his work is not necessarily the style, but more the working methods and attention to detail, the quality control and all those things he's taught me and that I've taken forward into the work that I'm doing now.
AD: Tell us about your recent display at Bergdorf!
DS: I signed with a very reputable blue chip gallery called Todd Merrill Studio. I think I’m by far, one of their youngest, newest artists. And so last week, Todd Merrill Studios opened a pop-up exhibition in Bergdorf Goodman. And some of my newest work, five pieces are there, including one of the largest pieces that I've done, are going to be displayed through the month of August.
The exhibition is on the seventh floor, so that's exciting and who knows what can come from that.
AD: What does a typical day look like?
DS: It’s pretty consistent, you know? So like, I don't operate on a traditional like nine to five, five days a week kind of schedule. I'm in the studio pretty much 85% of the time. What's nice about that is that I live very, very close so it’s convenient. I'm pretty much always in here, whether I'm working or drawing or coming up with ideas, there's just constant work to be done. Some people sometimes have a little difficulty being able to differentiate between work and life, but in my case, they’re kind of the same. When you're trying to push yourself as an artist, then you kind of have to give it 150% all the time. That's kinda the way that I see it. So you know, sometimes the days get lost, you don't know what day of the week it is, even on the weekends you end up working, but it never feels like a chore. Especially given the fact that projects come and go, there's always movement happening in the studio, so whatever project is currently being worked on, that kind of feels like the present. Then hopefully, that takes a couple of weeks to accomplish and then something new comes in so it's almost like a reset button, so I never feel stuck.
AD: Do you collaborate with more people in the studio? Or is it just you in that space?
DS: In terms of production, it's me most of the time when I'm very busy, which is the case. I sometimes bring my father from France to help me with some stuff. So that's been great because we've been able to get back to working together like we used to when I was younger. And then I also have a business partner, Andrew, who does more of the kind of business development stuff he brings in new business and handles all the administrative things.
AD: So your family lives in France?
DS: Yeah, my whole family lives in France. They all moved back many years ago. Even though I don't sound like I'm very French anymore, I still speak fluent French. When I first started the business, it was to allow me to sponsor myself with a work visa, and now I’m in the process of applying for a green card which is pretty difficult and which means that I'm gonna be, stuck in the United States for quite some time, so my family will come to visit whenever they can and once I'm allowed to travel again, I'll be going back to France.
AD: Why New Jersey?
DS: I've always been pretty much in this area. When I first immigrated, when I was six, we moved to Hoboken, and so I lived in Hoboken through high school, then I moved to Harlem and then lived in Brooklyn for many years while I was in college. I studied architecture at Parsons School of Design. And then when I started my business, that's about, uh, six years ago now is when I moved back over here and found a spot on the same block as the studio so that I could be here as much as possible. One of the main things is being able to be as efficient as possible because once there's a lot of commute it’s easy to get lazy.
AD: What are your favorite spots in the area?
DS: I don't frequent that many places around here, to be honest. In terms of food and stuff, I buy groceries and I cook for myself, so I don't go out in Jersey that often. I mean, when I go out I spend most of my time in Manhattan or Brooklyn. That's where all my friends live so in the West Village or Williamsburg or Bushwick.
AD: One of my favorite pieces that I saw online was this lamp that you did with an exposed bulb. Can you tell me more about that piece in particular?
DS: Right, right. This one.
AD: That one, that one! I am obsessed. I feel like you always think of a lamp and you kind of feel drawn to protect the bulb. Right? But in this case, you are doing the opposite.
DS: Right, exactly. Yeah. So if you look at the lamp, there are those things that look like flowers and so it's from a collection called “LES FLEURS" which means “THE FLOWERS” in French. It was a collection that was born through the pandemic. It was the first time I made other things besides smaller tables. And during the pandemic, obviously, everything came to a halt, so I had some time to think. I changed my approach and created this very large dining table and some other pieces including this lamp. It was kind of a research to see what else I could create with the techniques that I already knew.
Last year in late February, early March, I had my debut solo show at High Line Nine. That's actually how I ended up meeting Todd; through that opening, I was also able to apply and won two awards last year. So through “Les Fleurs” collection a lot of things were born, which is funny because it’s kind of metaphoric there.
