to peek inside the mind of Sunshine Thacker – a place where references collide, history, architecture, theory and the fantastical, all share the dialogue. Sunshine doesn’t just dream things – she brings them to life. To be in her world is to ask questions, to stay curious. It is inspiration from the simplest of objects, opportunity from the constraints. She’s constantly asking, “How? Why? And why not?” She designs with contradiction and moments of tension that create balance. Filled with booth childhood wonder and the practicality of an engineer solving a puzzle Sunshine’s designs straddle a chasm of possibility with the resolve of a tightrope walker.
The Dear Dr. Spock chaise lounge is available for this weekend’s downlink into a Groovitational K-hole. If that doesn’t do it for you perhaps the integrated ceramic side table will?
PRICE: $19,500
Hand built ceramic table lamp featuring coiled body and cantilevered shade with built in dimmer.
PRICE: $8,500
“Repetitive and elongated forms balance the complexities of space age expression and elegant primitivism.”
– Sunshine Thacker, Designer
“Gravitational” by Sunshine Thacker kindles dreamy visions of a life in the future. Inspired by the 1968 Hollywood flick, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Thacker launches a collection comprising a series of upholstered seating furniture, and ceramic lamps and sculptures.
If you’ve ever seen designer Sunshine Thacker’s work, you’ll notice a common theme. Oblong shapes come together in unpredictable forms to create both hard and soft furniture pieces. Thacker’s newest collection, Gravitational, continues the trend.
“The eclectic design showroom Love House has given up its swish Greenwich Village interiors over to Sunshine Thacker, a ceramic artist and designer, who debuts her first collection of upholstered work, alongside her signature ceramic pieces. For ‘Groovitational’, Thacker has enlarged and upholstered earlier ceramic forms in a nod to space age exploration, to give sofas, club chairs and a chaise a primitive, yet elevated appeal.”
“At Love House, the San Antonio-based artist Sunshine Thacker debuted her first upholstered furniture, in conversation with pieces from her established ceramics practice, also drawn partly from nostalgia for the Space Age.”
“We named Sunshine Thacker to our American Design Hot List last year, and turns out we were absolutely right to peg the San Antonio-based designer—who’s on the threshold of a move to NYC—as one to watch. Groovitational is a monumental show, in which she scaled up the tubular forms she’s known for in a kind of upholstered repetition, and married the softness of fabric with the tactility of ceramic, textured with coils and snakes.”
Expect the unexpected when you step inside the studio of ceramicist Sunshine Thacker. A maker of extraordinary clay objects, the San Antonio creative strives to never box herself into a single category or style of art. “Having a background in architecture has allowed me to evaluate the material differently and push technical boundaries I may have not done otherwise,” says the California native.
“After studying architecture and then spending a decade running a commercial real estate development firm, Sunshine Thacker opted out of her soul-sucking corporate life and pivoted to her true love: ceramics. Looking at her lamps, planters, and side tables, you can kind of tell — they’re chunky, colorful, and unabashedly happy.”
“There is so much to love about Sunshine Thacker—she’s a true artist, super talented, curious, and resourceful, with a keen eye for color and proportion and an abiding interest in how to push the boundaries of what is possible with clay. I have found, though, what sets her apart is her passion for collaboration, her utter devotion to every commission, and her determination to astonish you with the result.”
"In a historic corner of San Antonio, things are heating up—and it's not just the Texas sun. There, ceramicist and designer Sunshine Thacker's home studio is ablaze with the fire of not one but two kilns, the necessary arsenal for the gravity-defying furniture that she crafts by hand in clay."
Behun curated a range of custom, collectible and readily available items that she sourced from a unique range of designers and artists. Products are from Wendell Castle, Callidus Guild, Humble Matter, Gracie Studio, DLV Designs, Casey McCafferty, Herman Miller, Gucci Décor, Dobrinka Salzman, Sunshine Thacker, Paul S. Briggs and Hostler Burrows.
"I'm an avid collector of ceramics of all kinds and I have an admiration for the artists who create them. Sunshine Thacker is one of my latest obsessions. Her modern, playful take on lighting and furniture belies her warrior-like focus and determination to push the boundaries of what clay can do. A collaborator in the truest sense of the word, Sunshine has an adventurous design spirit and her work is fully customizable so each creation feels bespoke to its lucky owner."
"The Great Room in Kelly Behun's Living Gallery features pieces from her own collection mixed with art from Marianne Boesky Gallery, a custom Sunshine Thack-er lamp, Gasparo Asaro cocktail table, and sculptural table by Casey McCafferty."
"Sunshine Thacker doesn't stray from a challenge. After co-owning a commercial real estate development firm in San Anto-nio for eight years, she decided to plunge into the one thing that has always brought her joy: clay. That delight is evident in her first large-scale collection of seating, side tables, planters, and lamps."
INFO
A conversation piece or a conversation pit, this swoon worthy piece is built for lounging and laughing in.
Dimensions – 102″L x 52″W x 31.5″H (Seat Height 17″H)
Material – Contract grade wool and velvet by Kirkby Design on solid poplar frame.
PRICE
$28,000
INFO
The Dear Dr. Spock chaise lounge is available for this weekend’s downlink into a Groovitational K-hole. If that doesn’t do it for you perhaps the integrated ceramic side table will?
Dimensions – 80″L x 47.5″W x 31.5″H (Seat Height 17″H)
Material – Contract grade wool and velvet by Kirkby Design on solid poplar frame.
PRICE
$19,500
INFO
Part of the Groovitational Collection, this swiveling lounge chair will whirl you into the next Galaxy.
Dimensions – 33.5″L x 31.5″W x 31.5″H (Seat Height 17″H)
Material – Contract grade wool and velvet by Kirkby Design on solid poplar frame.
PRICE
$10,500 each
INFO
Elegantly hover out of this world in the Robo-boogie sofa on a soft velvety cushion that’s guaranteed to make your neighbors envious of your elevated status.
Dimensions – 89″L x 37.25″W x 42″H (Seat Height 17″H)
Material – Contract grade wool and velvet by Kirkby Design on solid poplar frame.
PRICE
$24,000
INFO
The singular and exuberant energy of Ace Royale Thacker reimagined and interpreted in collaboration with his proud momma.
Dimensions – 10′-0″ x 7′-2″. Pile height: 5 mm.
Material – Hand knotted in Nepal of New Zealand wool. 100 knots per square inch.
PRICE
$16,500
INFO
Hand built ceramic table lamp featuring coiled body and cantilevered shade with built in dimmer.
Dimensions – 26” length, 13.5” width, 38” height
Material – Glazed ceramic, linen shade, UL listed electrical componentes.
PRICE
$8,500
INFO
An extension of the Gorgon Rising floor lamp, Athena’s Revenge table features Medusa like snakes that wriggle between coiled bodies of clay. Hand built with a sense of pensive patience.
Dimensions – 16″ diameter, 22” height
Material – Hand-built, glazed ceramic
PRICE
$10,800
INFO
A mash-up where Paleolithic doodles of doom meet the childhood naivety of digitally inspired rock art.
Dimensions – 9.5” base diameter, 66” height, 24” shade diameter
Material – Glazed ceramic, linen shade, UL listed electrical components.
PRICE
$7,500
