Incollect Magazine - Issue 12

54 www.incollect.com Ottra Brings Brooklyn Style to the World by Benjamin Genocchio Crafting the Future Adam and Sofia Zimmerman are sitting in their brightly lit, two-story custom-designed offices and workshop in Brooklyn, home to a coterie of talented designer-makers. “We fell in love with the process of making furniture with that conference table,” says Sofia, pointing to a handsome swoop-legged wooden structure in an adjacent room. “Adam and I were going to the furniture shows like the ICFF to source for our projects but couldn't find what we wanted. So we thought: why don't we give furniture making a try for ourselves?” Here they are 8 years later and Ottra has evolved into one of the hottest new maker brands in bespoke wood furniture.“We are at this really wonderful point now where we are seeing our original architectural capabilities and practice at Zimmerman Workshop cross over with our furniture designs for Ottra,” says Sofia, a former design journalist and public relations manager who oversees the design and marketing elements of the businesses. Adam, an architect who worked for Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano oversees Zimmerman Workshop, a busy architectural practice specializing in residential projects. This stunning sculptural chaise was created for interior design firm Fox-Nahem for the ELLE DECOR penthouse at 53 West 53rd Street, and is available to custom order. Photo by Evan Joseph