Creative Currents

Posted by Shane,  Senior Home Editor

I met Henry Lau about six years ago in a cafe on the Lower East Side. He was swathed in a vintage kimono and asymmetrical pants, with an incredible sculpture of a hair bun. We instantly felt a mutual telepathic respect, and I admired his purely unique style. We've continued to catch up here and there, running into each other at friends' parties and downtown New York happenings. Henry is a modern Renaissance Man. He's never had a 9-to-5 job. He creates all of his clothing, which often involve insanely intricate patterns inspired by organic structures like sea urchins, shells, animals, and plant life.

He's also a talented DJ, offering his services whenever bars, clubs, and parties need a jolt of fresh Henry Juice. When he's not DJing, or sewing samples and creating textile patterns for some of the most avant-garde designers in New York, Henry is making his beautiful handbags, which resemble jellyfish ... a swirling pouch suspended from multiple tentacles that wrap around the neck. 

Naturally, he's also a fierce decorator, with bulletproof style. His ground-floor almost-one-bedroom on the Lower East Side is a sanctuary for his ideas. With low-tech materials and a big imagination, he has filled the humble quarters with very inspiring ideas. Take, for instance, the lighting, made using slim-line fluorescent fixtures that can be connected in multiple configurations on the wall, as he has done in his bedroom/living room and in one grand archway, a la Dan Flavin. He uses low-fluorescence bulbs that emit a heavenly, futuristic glow.

Once Henry installed the light fixtures, there were wires dangling all over and running down the walls to the outlet. Rather than maniacally trying to hide them, he embraced them and turned them into elegant, swirling murals. Held up by u-hooks, the wire drawings meander like drifting smoke down walls, around corners, and through doorways. The telephone and computer wires get the same treatment around his desk.

I've never seen a round bed (this one is from Ikea) styled so elegantly: placed in the center of the room and made into a fluffy white still-life. How do you make a round bed? Henry doesn't. Instead, he folds his rectangular duvet into a starfish-like pod, weighted by enormous crystal beads placed in the center, like an offering to the the sleeping gods.

Next to the bed stands a white mannequin, which displays works-in-progress. At the moment, Henry is obsessed with encrusting garments will giant faux pearls. He has even attached sea urchins and other sea creatures to big winter coats.

Even outside the apartment, Henry lives and breathes his art. A trip to the corner store for some milk is never done in jeans and a sweatshirt. It's full-on snow-leopard rock star, 24/7. I've witnessed him operating a hack saw while wearing a kimono, white denim pants, and white boots, but he worked with the same vigor as the toughest construction dude. While that might not make sense for everyone, we need people like Henry, who remind us that creativity, restraint, and beauty matter every inch of the way.

Comments

[kayte]

i totally agree.
the cords are fantastic.
i can't imagine why the general public doesn't want to be encrusted with fake pearls.

[d]

Those wires are wow. This is such an inspirational post. Thank you.

[k]

Very inspirational. I really love the texture mixes, working with problems to find elegant solutions, and using imagination instead of throwing money around to create ambiance.

[FAIRFAX]

Love the way he worked the round bed.

[Patia]

I love this, thanks! (Really love the cord art.) I only wish there was a picture of Henry. He sounds magnificent.