There’s always an origin story. In the case of Cahuttes, it’s right there in the name—“cahutte” being modern French for a shack or a cabin (from a not at all modern Scottish term for essentially a co-hut) and, in plural, a fitting homonym for a partnership that’s anything but boring. With Cahuttes, that’s Jessi Highet and Taylor Hall.
Cahuttes is a collaborative culmination out of Study Hall. A decade ago, Taylor’s semi-eponymous design-build company hired Jessi for a “textile emergency,” as he puts it. Fresh out of the New School, she would help man 2 gigantic looms running 24/7 (she took overnight shifts) to weave 2 massive carpets on a tight 2-week deadline. Crisis corralled, Jessi stuck around to work with Taylor on Study Hall build-outs—often floor to ceiling retail scapes. After 5 years, she would set out to build a textile-focused studio.
Fast forward another 5 years, with Jessi having built a client-driven business and recently gotten hitched, and with Taylor splitting time between L.A. and Brooklyn, with significant stints in New Mexico and Colorado, down South, and in Nepal, the two designers have reconvened to design a room of their own. Cahuttes.
How do design ideas come to you?
Jessi: So often in a dream—that’s usually where I find answers to questions about how to execute a design. When I've been struggling all day to find the right answer, my dreams are where I figure it out.
Taylor: That’s true. Sometimes I’ll go to bed with a problem and wake up with a solution.
What are some upsides to working in collaboration?
Jessi: Working together pushes ideas to places they would never go alone. Of course, sharing responsibilities also allows for more to happen.
Taylor: With creative work, I view partnership not simply as collaboration. We can offer feedback, ideas and perspective ahead of the finished product.
color; bright and soft
process focused, form follows
break the rules often
- Jessi
studyhall.us
jessihighetstudio.com