Allison Samuels

Our Curriculum Vitae Q&A with the founder of Two Tree Studios. An independently-owned small business creating minimalist, handmade wooden wares for the home and office.

Astrological sign?
Taurus

Lucky number?
Don’t have one!

Favorite color?
Burnt orange

Morning, Noon, or Night?
Forever a night owl, with a craving for sunlight..Can you tell I don’t sleep a lot?

Uptown, Midtown, or Downtown?
Downtown

Oscars, Tonys, or Grammys?
Can’t remember the last time I watched any…

Met, MOMA, or Movies?
MoMA

Football, Baseball, or Basketball?
😬

Green Tea, Black Tea, or Herbal Tea?
Ginger please.

Sugar, Splenda, or Stevia?
Sugar

Red, White, or Rosé?
Spicy light reds are my autumn to winter jam.

Spicy, Salty, or Sweet?
Can umami be an option?

Sandwich, Soup, or Salad?
SALAD

Black, white or color?
Studio uniform is white shirt and black jeans.

Is your closet messy or neat?
Pretty neat… I try to keep it to the essentials.

What’s your favorite room in your home?
I love a kitchen with large counter space that bleeds into the living room, which means cooking/hanging/eating/connecting/drink refilling all happens in one seamless space.

What do you collect?
Rocks from my travels.

Dream dinner guest?
A room of all my favorite people, so many of whom have moved far away and I miss eating with. Otherwise, Jenna Wortham 🙂

Sunday ritual?
Bike to the farmers market for yogurt, kimchi, fruit & veg, maybe squeeze in some exercise, then to the studio for a bunch of hours, and usually close the evening with a friend at a neighborhood bar.

Favorite flower?
Ranunculus

Favorite scent?
Either a bonfire (including how my clothes smell for days) or morning after a rainy night.

Cheat meal?
Burritos from Amelia’s in East Williamsburg.

Favorite place to escape to when you need a moment of respite?
Long bike ride down to Red Hook or Riis or a lazy drive upstate.

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Talent you’d like to have?
Conjuring more hours in the day.

Quality you want to be remembered by?
Empathy and impact.

Best thing about New York?
The food and the people. NYC can be a really tough place to survive in… it’s expensive, far-ish from nature, constantly cycling through iterations of itself. I’ve also found that New Yorkers are fiercely loyal, have weed-like wills to survive, thrive and create, and are willing to give this place their best shot – which I think engenders this palpable buzzing that I have fallen in love with. Also, holy cow, our culinary pop-up culture is on point.

It’s hard not to be reminiscent of the past, and distracted by the future. How do you strive to live in the moment?
With gently reminders to myself that nothing is permanent, and of how damn grateful I am for my able body, deep friendships, extraordinary privileges, desire to “get it right, not to be right.”

What does Considered Luxury mean to you?
Intention around, and long-term care for, the full impact and lifespan of goods/services in your world.

What was the inspiration behind starting your brand?
Seeing so much scrap wood end up in the dumpster at my first cabinetry job, and feeling like there must be a way to repurpose, without adding to our already overcapacity waste stream. I began collecting and reprocessing this material to make cutting boards and spoons with, and it’s been a constant evolution from there.

Give three words that describe your brand.
Minimalist, lush, sustainably-driven.

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