Sam Klemick

Hollywood Chair, 2025

Chair Douglas Fir H 32 x W 23 x D 29 in (H 81 x W 58 x D 74 cm) Open edition Sam Klemick is a Los Angeles artist who carves salvaged wood into sensuous furniture that reads like sculpture. Hollywood Chair captures an Emanuel Ungaro gown in solid Douglas fir. Born from a 3D scan of a pleated dress from Kelly Wearstler's archive, its ruffles cascade down the chair as if just abandoned after an evening out. Klemick's soft bone finish creates an illusion: it could be carved stone, draped silk, something in between. A former knitwear designer, she brings fashion's eye to woodworking, freezing glamour and gesture.

Sam Klemick was born in the United States and is based in Los Angeles. She is known for her sensuous, hand-carved furniture that blurs the line between sculpture and function. Working with salvaged woods, she carves teardrop- and bell-shaped forms that transform timber into something soft, unexpected, and surreal. A former knitwear designer, she turned to woodworking to engage in a more physical, process-driven way of working. “In fashion, I prototyped by draping fabric on mannequins,” she explains. “Now I drape over wooden structures I’ve built myself.” For Side Hustle, the process began with a shared love of couture. Klemick asked to 3D-scan some of Wearstler’s favorite garments. One—a pleated Emanuel Ungaro gown—became the catalyst. Draped over a chair, its folds dictated the form. “I imagined Kelly at a party. As the night unfolds, the ruffles fall away onto a lamp, a chair, a stool.” That image became her breakthrough. “This project continues my exploration of textiles through the lens of woodworking,” she says. “The soft bone finish was Kelly’s idea, and it enhances the illusion—at first glance, the pieces almost read as carved stone.” In the resulting Hollywood series—a ruffled lamp, stool, mirror, and chair—form holds the traces of narrative, the remnants of celebration suspended in time.