ISSUE Nº20: INTERVIEW STEPHEN BURKS JUNE 29, 2025
Stephen Burks Man Made: Design at the Crossroads of Craft, Culture, and Community
By Eddie Brannan
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“A good analogy that I like to use is if art is a box left open then design is a box left closed, meaning that as designers we have an iterative design process that leads to the specification of design down to the micron. You don’t want to enter an industry or industrial process trying to produce something without knowing exactly what you’re going to get at the other end.”
- Stephen Burks
In the dynamic world of contemporary design, Stephen Burks Man Made stands out as a beacon of innovation and cultural synthesis. Founded by Stephen Burks, the studio seamlessly blends traditional craftsmanship with modern aesthetics, creating pieces that are both functional and rich with narrative. Burks' journey into design is as eclectic as it is inspiring. With a background bridging industrial design and hands-on craftsmanship, he has long been fascinated by the intersection of global artisan techniques and contemporary design principles. This curiosity led to collaborations with makers from Senegal, Peru, South Africa, Colombia, and beyond-genuine partnerships that elevate indigenous crafts while redefining the possibilities of design.
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A pivotal moment came with the 2005 M'Afrique project for Moroso, where Burks introduced furniture pieces shaped by African weaving techniques. More than a formal exercise, it was a statement of intent-one that emphasized authenticity, mutual respect, and the untapped potential of cross-cultural collaboration.
It set the tone for a body of work that consistently merges storytelling, material intelligence, and community engagement. Since then, Burks has partnered with global brands like Roche Bobois, Dedon, BD Barcelona, and Missoni, and his designs have been collected by institutions such as the Cooper Hewitt and the High Museum of Art.
The 2022 exhibition "Stephen Burks:Shelter in Place" at the High explored themes of domesticity, identity, and hybridity, affirming Burks' place not only as a leading designer, but as a cultural thinker. Integral to the ethos and evolution of Stephen Burks Man Made is Malika Leiper, Burks' creative and life partner.
With a background in urbanism, cultural theory, and Southeast Asian studies, Leiper brings a research-driven, socially attuned perspective that informs the studio's most impactful work. She plays a central role in guiding SBMM's approach to collaborative authorship-ensuring that the voices of artisans, local makers, and underrepresented communities are not only acknowledged, but centered.
Leiper's influence is particularly evident in the studio's site-specific engagements, residencies, and educational programming, where design functions as a tool for cultural exchange and critical inquiry. In many ways, she serves as both bridge and mirror-connecting Burks' visionary aesthetics to real-world social dynamics, and anchoring the studio's ideals in rigorous, community-oriented frameworks. Together, Burks and Leiper exemplify a holistic approach to design-one that values the stories behind objects as much as the objects themselves.
In an era when design can feel detached from its origins, Stephen Burks Man Made offers a refreshingly grounded perspective. Their work is as much about asking questions as it is about providing answers: What can global craft teach contemporary design? How can collaboration be equitable rather than extractive? And how do we build futures that are both beautiful and just?
In a field that often celebrates singular genius and slick uniformity, Stephen Burks Man Made stands apart-not just for its visual language, but for its values. The studio invites us to look again at the things around us and to ask: Who made this? Why was it made this way? Whose hands, stories, and histories are embedded in its form? In Burks' world, the answers are always plural.
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PHOTOGRAPHER tyler NEVITT
STYLIST |EIC donald LAWRENCE
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