David Alan Peters

I have for as long as I can remember been designing homes, furniture and related products for the home. I still have floor plans and elevations I drew when I was 11.

Davidalan Studios is a new company I have started to design and manufacture lighting fixtures, doorbells and furniture. My light fixtures are a spin-off of my doorbell designs which came first. I realized the doorbells would make great light fixtures for yachts and high-end motor coaches. I also have a line of table lamps for residential and the hospitality industry made of wood aluminum and glass that has a refined machine age appearance.

Design for me is an expression and realization of ideas and things I admire.

I have designed a line of table top light fixtures named Asylum Lighting. They all have a bit of an industrial machine feel to them. One in particular uses three 500 watt halogen bulbs encased in glass and aluminum cylinders with non/functional spiral wires coming off of them connected to heat sinks. It incorporates a step down transformer and dimmer so the 500 watt bulbs don't blind you and use up exorbitant amounts of energy. I used the 500 watt bulbs for the effect of the heavy filament when dimmed down to a glow. Definitely a niche market, but allot of fun to design and build.

I have never designed products for other companies. The first piece of furniture I designed and built for a client was a built in wall unit for a condo on Marlborough St. in Boston.

I would have to say wood because it is so versatile and beautiful and more recently machining Aluminum.

Creativity and inspiration comes to me at all hours of the day and night.

I like symmetry and proportions, that aspect is very important to me. Sometimes just a 32nd of an inch can make a difference in the appearance to me depending on what I am working on.

I would say sometimes I feel very excited and happy other times content, atease and very concentrated.

If I was a designer in the field of design that affects people in their everyday life such as urban planning I would concentrate on making things esthetically appealing and as friendly and approachable as possible. I think many urban areas are lacking in this. With the environment we can all do things in our work to help the environment such as building things to last for generations rather than a few years at best. Also using recyclable and local materials as much as possible within reason.

I think the future of design is as it always has been and always will be, limitless. It's always about whatever the mind can conceive.

Ideas come to me at all different times. Sometimes ideas come to me because of where I am and what I am looking at. Like when I walk into a well designed store I am always looking at the fixtures more so than the products they are selling and sometimes that will spark an idea. I also love looking threw design books and magazines for new ideas. Also day dreaming at my drafting table will giveme some ideas and sometimes Ideas come to me in dreams.

I live in Florida but was raised in Massachusetts. I'm really not sure how much my countries cultural heritage affects my designing. I do know my family cultural heritage affects it. My ancestors were ship builders my grandfather was a carpenter and a timber scout on horseback and my dad was a land developer. I think my love of wood and designing homes and furniture comes from my cultural heritage.

I like to do some sketches first, let them sit for a day or two and then come back to them and do some revising before I do more technical drawings.

I have a great old drafting table with trestle like oak legs that was my fathers. I have some great Rose wood wall cabinets by Poul Cadovius from the 70's that used to be in my father’s office. A small round Mahogany Empire style table with brass Egyptian motifs. A carved face in a piece of root from Thailand and a contemporary family Walnut dining table from the late 50's.

Develop a habit for setting aside some time to quiet the mind. Daily if you can.

For me the positives are a sense of freedom and excitement to take from your mind images and thoughts and make them a physical reality. The hard part can be at times, making a living at it.

Uniqeness and the ability to make your designs and others, a reality.

My mind of course, my dad's old drafting table, 4H pencils, triangles, rules, French curves and other miscellaneous templates, Architectural and Design books, lots of trade magazines and the internet.

I have designed things that took a few hours to a couple of years.

I enjoy the most when I am working on designs of my own creation because it gives me the most freedom.

My plans are to grow my product line and business by attracting stores and distributors to my products.

I always have design ideas for new light fixtures, furniture and doorbells. I am currently working on some large table lamps for the Hospitality industry with a refined machine age industrial look made of Glass Aluminum and Wood.

People can contact me threw my website davidalanstudios.com or email me at david@davidalanstudios.com

Yes, I am looking for distributors and retailers that would be interested in my work.