Many a successful business venture has begun with a dream, some down-and-dirty hard work, and a garage where the magic first sparks. For skilled artisan and furniture-maker Colby Murphy, that spark—his eye for form and craft—helped him transform a one-man garage setup into SouthLoft Crafted Concepts, a bona fide design and production studio in Dallas, founded in 2014. With tenacity, grit, and a client-centric approach, Colby and his team create American-made, solid-wood, custom furniture for both commercial and residential spaces. And these pieces are built to stand the test of time. He’s been building with his hands since childhood, and today he’s proud to collaborate with clients on one-of-a-kind furniture that doubles as art, from large-scale installations to intimate objects.

The Comm Sheet tapped Colby to learn more about his process, his inspiration, and the story behind an artistic bench so striking that people don't know if they should admire it or sit on it.

What's your design ethos for Southloft?

At SouthLoft, we lean more toward modern industrial design. However, it typically changes with every client. And I personally love midcentury.

When you begin a commercial piece, what’s your starting point: the site, the client, or the concept?

The start is usually with the client and what the need is. From there, we look at the concept and the space. We have to solve the problem of how to apply the concept to the space and make it a finished product.

You design for a lot of commercial environments—how is that different from your work in residential spaces?

Commercial projects can be challenging because everything needs to be built for durability and able to withstand the heavy use that a commercial space demands. In these environments, furniture sees much more daily wear and tear, so longevity is essential. This is far different than a residential piece, which may only get used occasionally. It’s our goal to strike the right balance so that the piece is visually interesting and also built to last.

How do you create a piece that’s functional without sacrificing visual appeal?

We think everything we make should have some sort of function to it. When we’re customizing a piece, there is a lot of conversation with the client about the use, the space, and the materials. With the Parametric Bench, for example, it was very important to make it questionable whether or not you could sit on it—we wanted it to almost function like an art piece. That way, when someone did sit on it, they would be shocked at how comfortable it really is.

What design trends are you excited about right now?

There are so many cool things happening that it’s hard to say. I love seeing a freedom of creativity and what different techniques or aesthetics people are implementing into all kinds of projects. Seeing the unique mix of materials and composites is exciting to me at the moment.