I compose this letter as epic wildfires are burning, largely still uncontained, in Los Angeles. The comfort and safety of home, and the fundamental human right to shelter, loom large in my turbulent thoughts as tens of thousands of people—including many friends—have been instantaneously rendered homeless or displaced or both. The scale of loss and suffering is incomprehensible; there truly are no words. What can possibly be said at such a tragic, sensitive moment?
This issue, themed “Creatives at Home,” was produced months ago, when there were indeed many horrors in the world, but not this particular one. I find great poignancy in the eloquence with which the various artistic people featured express their profound gratitude for their personal spaces. Their sentiments are full of heart and have little to do with finishes or furniture or design statements. Zabie Mustafa and Neda Kakhsaz, husband-and-wife partners in the emerging design firm Studio MUKA, observe that their LA residence is “a portrait of our collected histories and sensibilities…the walls are permeated with love.” The actor Walton Goggins and his wife, writer-director Nadia Conners, moved their family from LA to New York’s rural Hudson Valley, seeking “to change, to evolve,” and to explore “a new way of life for our family,” says Goggins. Conners adds, “Design and art are two of the great love languages. Walt and I find each other in the things that inspire us.”
