Designer Young Huh captures the “Essence” of geometry in a new tile collection in collaboration with AKDO.
By Loren Kessell
On Feb. 28, Young Huh, a New York-based interior designer and member of the NKBA Board of Directors, celebrated the release of her new tile collection with a cocktail reception at the AKDO showroom in Manhattan’s Flatiron District.
Industry peers and friends bustled around, admiring the serene tile collection, which is called Essence — so named because it captures a beautiful simplicity, according to Huh.
“I wanted something that was based on mathematical patterns,” the designer said. “Everyone is drawn to mathematical patterns—their minds gravitate toward them.”
She said the inspiration for the different designs comes from the mathematical patterns found primarily in Islamic art. The tiles mostly have a white background with designs in blue, green or gray, and are sized from 8-by-8 inches to 10 ¼-by-10 ¼ inches.
Retail pricing varies with each product, but ranges from $77 to $112.27 per square foot. It’s all made to order, with a lead time of approximately five to six weeks.
Huh started working on this collection at the end of spring 2017 in collaboration with the tile producer. Huh had ideas about the design concepts, and AKDO stepped in to help make it happen. AKDO has an extensive distribution network, in the U.S. and around the world. It owns and holds exclusive rights to several quarries, and with sister company Silkar, owns three factories in Turkey and China, where stone is processed and crafted into 2.5 million square feet annually of exquisite mosaics, tiles and slabs.
“The idea,” Huh said, “is [finding] the essence of the concept and the patterns. Each pattern has a conceptual thought.”
Essence by Young Huh comprises four patterns: Harmony, Whimsy, Legacy and Clarity. With help from in-house talent, Huh established names for tiles whose look and feel represented the style of the groupings.
What’s next for the designer?
“Just creating more product,” Huh said. “I really love designing product, patterns, and surfaces.”
Want to see more? Check out the collection here.
