Lawless Side Chair by Evan Fay

Contemporary designer Evan Fay blends imagination with utility, most evident in his Lawless seating collection. For each Lawless creation, tubular cushions woven into a gridlike metal frame form a distinctively knotted seat — its function as furniture not fully apparent until closer inspection. Here, Fay rides the line between craft and art, bringing the two disciplines together with masterful skill.

Fay was born in Traverse City, Michigan, in 1989. He earned a BFA in 2014 from Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids, where he studied furniture design, and went on to earn his MFA in three-dimensional design from Cranbrook Academy of Art, which was a go-to art school for the masters of mid-century modernism. 

After finishing grad school in 2016, Fay and Ayako Aratani cofounded the design studio Aratani Fay in Detroit, where the two operate independently but often collaborate and assist each other in their work. 

Aratani worked for seven years as an industrial engineer in Tokyo before also attending Cranbrook. Fay and Aratani met in their first year of their master’s program and quickly hit it off. They went to the Netherlands together to intern for Kiki van Eijk, and there, they both honed their own distinct philosophies on design.

Fay continues to create fascinating furniture at his Detroit studio, along with Aratani.

On 1stDibs find Evan Fay lounge chairs, sofas and benches.