Like painters stepping into three dimensions, Sunfish is translating their artistic vision into tangible furniture, coloring the design world with a fresh palette.
Founders of Sunfish nyc
Photo By Lucia Bell-Epstein
Discovered by our co-founder Melody during Milan Design Week, Sunfish is a rising force in collectible design. The New York-based studio, founded by Julia Eshaghpour and Kevin Hollidge in 2021, merges conceptual depth with material finesse. Founded with the intention of building a design practice, Sunfish has roots in fine art. Their work has since evolved, exploring the intersection of design and furniture with a thoughtful, historically attuned lens.
Sunfish’s design language draws heavily from Latin American and European Modernist movements, favoring a pared-back yet expressive approach. Each piece is the result of carefully considered material choices, slow craftsmanship, and an unmistakably humanistic spirit. Their output spans limited-edition furniture, custom commissions, spatial installations, and consulting work—each underpinned by an ethos of design as living dialogue.
At Milan Design Week, Sunfish unveiled their first European collection as Guest Designers with Convey. Their presentation extended their signature atelier-style ethos into new territory, introducing leatherwork, ceramics, and hand-painted details. Anchoring the showcase was a sculptural coffee table crafted from sapele wood and two-toned leather, a tribute to the Art Deco movement and the vertical grandeur of 1920s New York. A companion side table, assembled from leather offcuts, offered a more organic counterpoint, highlighting the natural curves and unique grain of the hide.
Sunfish NYC
Photo by Lucia Bell-Epstein
Convey, Milan design week 2025
The installation continued with a wall-mounted mirror series, featuring two bold, hand-painted redwood works that echoed the visual vernacular of early 20th-century printed matter. In collaboration with Simple Flair Goods, Sunfish also unveiled seven one-off mirrors in ceramic and wood, each a compact study in texture, tone, and form. Displayed in an intimate setting behind the Sunfish studio in Milan, though the main studio is based in New York, the works were framed by turmeric-dyed linen curtains, washing the space in a glowing, sun-soaked hue.
What makes Sunfish stand apart is their intuitive, anti-institutional approach. Neither founder holds formal design training, a fact they embrace as a creative advantage. Their process stems from curiosity rather than doctrine, challenging conventions and rewriting the rules as they go. This outsider mindset fuels their distinct voice and gives their work a sense of immediacy, invention, and freedom rarely seen in the collectible design world.
At the core of their practice is a live/work loft in New York—originally an artist’s studio—now home, lab, and showroom all at once. Curved walls, hand-painted murals, and prototypes in constant evolution create an environment of immersion. Here, design isn't theoretical; it's lived with, tested, and refined in real time.
Leather Skyscraper table 3
Photo by Lucia Bell-Epstein
For Sunfish, objects are only one part of the story. Their true focus lies in shaping atmospheres that encourage emotion and connection between material and memory, people and place. Their turmeric-dyed curtain installation encapsulates this beautifully: more than décor, it’s an invitation to feel. A Sunfish space is not just seen, it’s experienced, lingering long after with a sensory imprint that’s hard to forget.
