We were lucky to catch up with Caleb Siemon Carmen Salazar recently and have shared our conversation below.
Caleb Siemon, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
Our glassblowing studio has always been open to interesting projects but our bread and butter was made by selling our vase, bowl, and lighting designs as products through high end galleries, shops, and showrooms. We opened in 1999 in Southern California and would make whatever it took to keep the flame on until we made a name for ourselves and were able to make a living selling our designs. We have been fortunate to work with many wonderful people on some great projects over the years but one series really stands out.
It was early 2009 and the economy was in turmoil. We had clients cancelling orders and closing their businesses. Our mom and pop studio was in jeopardy and we were nervous about the future. We received a letter from someone purporting to be from the US State Department wanting to place a big order. They wanted to buy quite a few of our most expensive one of a kind pieces, all vases and bowls that each had taken exorbitant amounts of time to create, and they wanted them right away. It sounded too good to be true and we dismissed it as a scam. Then they called, and they emailed and lo and behold they were legit. The new administration was interested in American made craft to gift to foreign dignitaries and had seen our work in the Smithsonian’s Renwick Museum’s shop across the street from The White House. We fit the bill and apparently our backgrounds were clean enough. They bought what we had in stock and we began designing gifts with the Office of Protocol for specific world leaders around the globe.
So began a long relationship that has continued through three administrations. Quite a bit of thought goes into every gift given and it has been interesting to learn about different facets of various countries in order to try and create meaningful gifts for them. We made honey pots with The White House Honey for a G20 Summit, go bowls for China and glass cherry blossoms for Japan. We worked closely with the staff at the Office of Protocol over the years and apparently they liked us enough to invite us to their holiday parties in DC. Seeing into the inner workings of that world was fascinating. It was, and is, an honor that our work was being given as a symbol of our country’s good will to so many foreign leaders. For the first eight years especially, the studio created hundreds of unique pieces that we hope still grace the homes or offices of people all over the globe. We also ended up making special extra large flower vases to go in the permanent collection at The White House and personal pieces for the private quarters of the Obama family. We were especially honored to be invited to The White House to meet the First Lady for a photo shoot along with other creative individuals she admired. It was an amazing experience and makes us happy to think about it to this day. So, we suppose the moral of the story is don’t forget to check your spam folder and follow every lead because you never know, you could end up getting hugged by the First Lady.
Caleb Siemon, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Siemon & Salazar is a design studio created by Caleb Siemon and Carmen Salazar. The duo have been working together to design and make hand blown glass vessels and lighting fixtures in Southern California since 1999. Caleb and Carmen met while undergraduates at the Rhode Island School of Design where Caleb focused on glass and Carmen on sculpture. After RISD, Caleb trained with a renowned master glassblower, Pino Signoretto, in Venice, Italy, while Carmen moved to San Francisco, where she worked for an environmental land artist, metal and glass sculptors, and horticulturalists.
After the two-year Murano apprenticeship, Caleb returned to California and built his own Italian-style studio. Fueled by a passion for the medium and a desire to carry on the centuries old art, he enlisted the help of a group of friends, which included Carmen. “I thought I was just going there for a month or so,” she says, “but here we are, almost two decades later.” An ever-changing collection of visiting artists helped shape the studio’s design and approach. During these early years, Caleb honed his skills in glass while Carmen earned a Masters in Architecture from SCI-Arc in Los Angeles.
Today the workshop is more streamlined, but the collaborative mindset persists. “Glassblowing is a team sport,” says Caleb. “It requires a united effort from multiple people to create one design.” Every glass piece is hand formed by the talented team at the studio in Santa Ana and all custom metal components are fabricated and finished locally. “This allows us to maintain the highest standards of quality and craftsmanship in our work. The studio is made up of a small team of master craftspeople that have a passion for what we do and the designs we make.”
The studio’s aesthetic reflects the evolved craftsmanship of the Muranese tradition coupled with the balance and restraint of the Scandinavians. Caleb and Carmen draw as much inspiration from the medium as they do from the place where they live and work. “We always start with an idea but remain flexible to allow for the natural qualities of the materials,” says Caleb. “The element of the unknown has always attracted me to glass, and to California, for that matter,” says Carmen. “There’s a tangible sense of adventure, as well as beauty, layered within the landscape. We try to embrace that.” The couple live in Laguna Beach with their two children, Rome and Margot.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
In 2009 around the same time the Obama administration reached out to us to make work for them, we took the time to develop our lighting lines. These are now the majority of the work we make and sell. The lack of orders allowed us the time to experiment with new products and designs so in a strange way, the economic downturn of 2008 ended up being good for the studio in the long run. Necessity really does breed invention.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
We wish we had known how the internet and social media worked earlier and what a large role they play in the world of commerce. It is mind blowing how much that has changed since we began our studio.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.siemonandsalazar.com
- Instagram: siemonandsalazar
- Facebook: siemonandsalazar
Image Credits
Bathroom Happy Light Photo by Joe Shmeizer for Elle Decor. Bathroom Design By Oliver M. Furth