Justin Donnelly is the co-founder and furniture designer behind Jumbo, an NYC-based design practice creating joyful, whimsical pieces you've likely stumbled upon online. With soft edges and thick forms, the furniture appeals to your inner child – you want to touch it, climb it, maybe even gnaw on it. We're big fans of Jumbo's approach to design, so we had to ask Donnelly what's been on his mind.

What’s the best compliment you received recently?

I’m a clothes horse, and I like it when people notice. In fact, I’m so particular about my clothes that I order most of them from Japan, via a third party shipping company called WorldShipping. There is no exchanging the clothes if they don’t fit, so it’s a commitment. In return for this leap of faith, I have some very unique cuts and materials, and the piecework/sewing is unmatched.

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What’s the last thing you read?

For my birthday this year, our studiomate Kickie gave me a book Die with Zero by billionaire energy trader, Bill Perkins.  The book outlines a framework for maximizing net fulfillment over net worth. 

In childhood, I framed my life around curation of vintage clothes and objects rather than buying new stuff. As a result, I learned to save what I earned. Over time, it became more and more difficult for me to spend money.

Die with Zero is essentially a philosophy to spend down what you have saved, and for me, it has been very beneficial.  In addition to loosening up about my material purchases, I’ve begun to reframe my life around prioritizing experiences over achievements. This philosophy has helped me to turn down projects that aren’t emotionally rewarding, and take on projects that aren’t lucrative. I feel richer for the read.

What do you want to read next?

Every week, it’s the next issue of the New Yorker. I’m a bit of an obsessive, so I tend to dive deep into a specific topic or genre (I’m engrossed with what is happening with groundwater and water rights and so should you). The NYer helps to curb these obsessions by exposing me to a broad range of subject matter that I might not seek out on my own.

I subscribed to the magazine before I moved to New York, and the publication takes on another dimension when you live here – Goings On? Tables for Two? The NYer has so many great recommendations for what to see, do and eat in New York City. I try to read every issue cover-to-cover, which is ambitious, but I come close. And then I recycle them, so they don’t take up valuable space in my apartment.

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A quote that’s meaningful to you?

I recently came across a quote in a New Yorker article about Demna’s work at Balenciaga:

“There is no excellent beauty, that hath not some strangeness in the proportion.”

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The quote was attributed to Francis Bacon.  I assumed, incorrectly, that it was penned by the 20th century, Irish-British figurative painter known for his raw, unsettling imagery. Turns out that it goes back further — to the 16th Century philosopher and statesman, known as the father of empiricism. 

It’s as true today as it was 400 years ago. Our fundamental appreciation of the natural world has not changed much in spite of all of our material and technological advances.  Now that we have access to many centuries of art and design from different cultures and places, it has become more difficult to achieve an object that feels fresh or different. In our design practice, we use exaggerated proportions in an attempt to elicit surprise or delight.

Best gift you’ve ever given?

A trip to somewhere new. There is no better gift than planning a trip for someone you care about. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a long or expensive, it’s the thought that counts.

Where do you want to travel next?

The Maze in Canyonlands National Park is one of the most beautiful places in America and it is one of the most remote.  I used to not talk about it, for fear that it would be overrun by adventure-seekers. But now that the Colorado River is experiencing historic lows due to drought and overuse, I'm not particularly concerned about the secret getting out. 

Today, you have to really want it to visit.  The best way to get there is by chartered fan-boat up the river, followed by a ¼ mile vertical ascent up the face of a cliff, and a ¼ mile vertical descent into the basin of a many-fingered slot-canyon.  Once you have arrived at the canyon’s floor, an evening breeze makes a whooshing sound that is otherworldly.  It is untouched by modern man.  And it’s the only place I’ve been in America where I did not see another human being for the entire duration of my weeklong trip. No selfie sticks. No garbage. It is a place that was sacred to native peoples, for reasons that I won’t get into, and I still get chills thinking about my last trip there.

What would you buy, if money weren’t an issue?

I think that private property is a crime. But yeah. I’d buy a nice piece of land and build a house with a pool and collaborate with a landscape architect to make it look like the house has existed for a century or more.

What hobby would you take up, if you had the time?

Tennis. I would learn to play tennis. I just love everything about it. My design partner Monling calls all ball sports “sports-ball.”  But even she can’t deny the aesthetic allure of tennis.  We have even themed some furniture design projects around the sport.  And for me as a New Yorker, attending the US Open each fall is a must. Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is like a microcosm of the City, which often acts like an exclusive nightclub; there is a grim approach to the complex where you are hemmed-in by thousands of other attendees queueing on a rickety pedestrian bridge over what looks like a graveyard for MTA subway cars. Or you can approach from Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, away from the sweating crowd, with the shadow of Gilmore Clarke’s Unisphere at your back, knowing that you are a New Yorker in the know.

What’s an image or piece of art you can’t get out of your head?

A few years ago, I corresponded briefly with the English painter Issy Wood. I discovered her via Real Review magazine, and thought she had the funniest and most charming essay. Her early works feature tightly cropped coats and jackets made from nylon and leather. And I love the way she lays down paint. For me, it is a perfect combination of subject matter and technique. We discussed exchanging a Neotenic Chair for a small painting, but the conversation ended prematurely, and now I’m not sure we could afford her work today (hiiii Issy!).

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A product of any kind you’ve been appreciating lately?

This is almost an impossible question for a furniture designer.  There are so very many products that I appreciate.  Curveball—I’ll start with a trash can. I love the lidded bin by Perigot for Rossignol, the ski manufacturer—it’s precise engineering and fun colors, and it has a luxe mechanical operation. It’s unfortunately no longer made, so good luck hunting them down.  Every day, I eat from what I consider rather-neutral tableware by the Bouroullecs for Alessi. Silverware is one of the few things in the house I don’t want to be overdesigned. This particular design, Ovale, has slightly nicer proportions than Jasper Morrison’s KnifeForkSpoon. But if I was in the market for a new set, I would go with Naoto Fukasawa Itsumo Flatware, because it is a little bit softer and rounder. It’s a bit cuter. And I love anything designed by Aldo Bakker.

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The funniest thing you’ve seen or heard lately?

I followed @shittynewyorkercartooncaptions on IG for over a year before I discovered that one-half of the submissions are penned by an old friend. It’s male. It’s juvenile. It’s ridiculous. I think they might have discontinued the feed earlier this summer? If you are reading Matt, I’m hoping you just took a holiday for the summer.


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If you could build an extension of your own mind, what would it look like? How would it work?

My mind? An internet browser with too many damn tabs open. ⚘