“iel” leverages experimental furniture with adaptable space design to explore gender, queer relations and trans agency. The project works across mediums and familiar structures, remaking the recognizable into fluid new forms to create spaces for rest, joy and connection. The name, “iel,” is a French word crafted from combining il (he) and elle (she) to create a gender neutral pronoun. When I first came to terms with being non-binary, I struggled with feeling written out of my second tongue. My approach to design mirrors this connection to language, building from what exists to create something new to serve the needs and vibrancy of the trans community in my life. “iel” came from researching furniture design and adaptable interiors and then delving into the intricacies of intimacy, friendship and support. I worked to translate this into materials by learning joinery, motion mechanics and searching for spaces that could be shared and shaped by those within. The collection uses furniture as a placeholder for the body, and creates works that can move apart and come together in new ways highlighting the resilience, beauty and possibilities, outside of the binary.

Garments courtesy of Shelby Toni Tse, Steel square tubing and solid stock, upcycled Chippendale Chair legs, plywood bases, secondhand upholstery fabrics, upholstery foam, secondhand lamp parts, found glass pieces and color film. Photos by Em Flaire with special thanks to Shelby Toni Tse!