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A Day in Bali with Maximilian Eicke
The design wunderkind behind Max ID NY finds inspiration in Indonesia
TEXT BY
HADLEY KELLERPosted August 1, 2017
Designer Maximilian Eicke.Photo: Matt Furman Photography
For Maximilian Eicke, Bali is a special place, though not, as one might expect, for vacationing. The German-born, Bridgehampton-based designer spends significant time on the Indonesian island designing and manufacturing his furniture and lighting, which he sells through his company, Max ID NY.
Eicke founded his shop when he was just 20, taking over a liquor store in Sag Harbor to offer his clean-lined, unexpectedly sculptural furniture to the stylish set who spend time there (he's since opened a second outpost in Bridgehampton). He's continued to release a new line annually and, since much of the inspiration and process for Eicke's creative output happens in Bali, AD shadowed the intrepid designer for a day there, where he weaves work and play seamlessly to stylish effect.
7:00 A.M. Start the day. In Bali, once the sun comes up it’s impossible to sleep in.
7:15 A.M. After a quick shower, I head to my friend's restaurant, Nude, in Canggu for a quick breakfast. Everything on the menu is amazing, but today I order the raw cashew pancakes and a beetroot smoothie.
Eicke's Tanah project in progress.
Photo: Courtesy of Maximilian Eicke
8:00 A.M. Time to head to the construction site of the property I’m building in Tanah Lot. On the way I pick up half a dozen of the most irresistible chocolate croissants from Monsieur Spoon for my friend and construction manager Wayan and his son Rio.
8:25 A.M. Arriving on site, I am immediately greeted by Rio, who dives straight into the croissants and remains distracted long enough for his father and I to catch up on the status of the project. Wayan is like my family here in Bali, but today he quickly gets down to business, as we have quite a long list of things to discuss, ranging from finalizing the water piping to signing off on the finish for the exposed steel structures on site.
9:30 A.M. Say goodbye to Wayan and Rio and rush to a meeting with my lighting consultants and manufacturers.
9:55 A.M. I arrive to meet my lighting team. We review the electrical plan for the property while it’s all still fresh in my mind from my meeting with Wayan.
Chairs of Eicke's design.
Photo: Courtesy of Maximilian Eicke
10:30 A.M. We move on to discuss custom lighting I designed for the property, specifically chandeliers and wall sconces made from brass and cast acrylic. Next we conceive a plan on how I can incorporate their portable lamp and charging system into outdoor lamps to be sold alongside my outdoor furniture collection.
12:00 P.M. I leave and head into Seminyak to have lunch at the Oberoi Hotel with my mentor Chris, who is also one of my manufacturers and responsible for always helping me push my designs further. A tranquil feeling always sets in when I pull up at this hotel. It’s just steps away from the hustle and bustle but feels so far removed. I walk past rows of perfectly arranged frangipani trees and ornamental temple walls to the beachside restaurant, toward the same table Chris and I always sit at, under a canopy of perfectly faded ornamental umbrellas. I wanted to replicate this vibe at my home in Sag Harbor, so I shipped a dozen of these umbrellas on my last container.
2:50 P.M. We drive together from Oberoi to Chris’s factory. We have done this drive at least once a fortnight for the last seven years. It’s so fascinating to have witnessed the evolution of the area. Streets in local shopping districts are starting to reflect the aesthetic and vibe of Abbot Kinney in Venice and SoHo in NYC. Then before you know it, it’s back to views of unspoiled rice fields, the sight of a volcano peering out from behind the clouds. The juxtaposition of these landscapes reminds me why I love this place.
Eicke's designs in hisBridgehampton studio.
Photo: Courtesy of Maximilian Eicke
3:20 P.M. We arrive at the factory and I sit down with the engineer to review the status of my upcoming collection. I’m currently working on adding some additional marble designs, as well as an outdoor lounge chair produced out of large blocks of teak.
4:30 P.M. I follow Chris into the workshop where his team are dismantling and cleaning a 100-year-old Javanese joglo that I purchased from him to use as the central structure for the pool house on my property. The structure is 14 feet tall and constructed from eight-by-eight-inch solid teak, with stunning geometric carvings. We decide to leave the wood raw and untreated so you can really appreciate its age and the quality of the craftsmanship.
5:00 P.M. All the factory workers are heading home for the night. That’s my cue to leave. I hop in the car and call the cofounder of Mantra, an environmental consulting company, and we discuss materials, types of production, resources, and waste. It helps me get a better picture of what I am working on for my projects.
A rice field in Bali.
Photo: Courtesy of Maximilian Eicke
7:00 P.M. After a shower and some time to decompress from the day, I head to the Slow, this incredible boutique hotel, to meet some friends for drinks. We start to casually discuss some ideas for their first flagship store for their brand Indosole, a footwear company that repurposes tires to produce its products.
8:00 P.M. By now a few more friends have joined and the evening has turned into a creative roundtable. We order more food than anyone can eat, and as the drinks flow, so do the ideas.
10:30 P.M. I hop in a taxi and head home. On the ride home, I quickly glance over new emails coming in from clients in the States. Fortunately, there is nothing major or urgent I need to attend to, so it’s off to bed I go.
7:00 A.M. Start the day. In Bali, once the sun comes up it’s impossible to sleep in.
7:15 A.M. After a quick shower, I head to my friend's restaurant, Nude, in Canggu for a quick breakfast. Everything on the menu is amazing, but today I order the raw cashew pancakes and a beetroot smoothie.
Eicke's Tanah project in progress.
Photo: Courtesy of Maximilian Eicke
8:00 A.M. Time to head to the construction site of the property I’m building in Tanah Lot. On the way I pick up half a dozen of the most irresistible chocolate croissants from Monsieur Spoon for my friend and construction manager Wayan and his son Rio.
8:25 A.M. Arriving on site, I am immediately greeted by Rio, who dives straight into the croissants and remains distracted long enough for his father and I to catch up on the status of the project. Wayan is like my family here in Bali, but today he quickly gets down to business, as we have quite a long list of things to discuss, ranging from finalizing the water piping to signing off on the finish for the exposed steel structures on site.
9:30 A.M. Say goodbye to Wayan and Rio and rush to a meeting with my lighting consultants and manufacturers.
9:55 A.M. I arrive to meet my lighting team. We review the electrical plan for the property while it’s all still fresh in my mind from my meeting with Wayan.
Chairs of Eicke's design.
Photo: Courtesy of Maximilian Eicke
10:30 A.M. We move on to discuss custom lighting I designed for the property, specifically chandeliers and wall sconces made from brass and cast acrylic. Next we conceive a plan on how I can incorporate their portable lamp and charging system into outdoor lamps to be sold alongside my outdoor furniture collection.
12:00 P.M. I leave and head into Seminyak to have lunch at the Oberoi Hotel with my mentor Chris, who is also one of my manufacturers and responsible for always helping me push my designs further. A tranquil feeling always sets in when I pull up at this hotel. It’s just steps away from the hustle and bustle but feels so far removed. I walk past rows of perfectly arranged frangipani trees and ornamental temple walls to the beachside restaurant, toward the same table Chris and I always sit at, under a canopy of perfectly faded ornamental umbrellas. I wanted to replicate this vibe at my home in Sag Harbor, so I shipped a dozen of these umbrellas on my last container.
2:50 P.M. We drive together from Oberoi to Chris’s factory. We have done this drive at least once a fortnight for the last seven years. It’s so fascinating to have witnessed the evolution of the area. Streets in local shopping districts are starting to reflect the aesthetic and vibe of Abbot Kinney in Venice and SoHo in NYC. Then before you know it, it’s back to views of unspoiled rice fields, the sight of a volcano peering out from behind the clouds. The juxtaposition of these landscapes reminds me why I love this place.
Eicke's designs in hisBridgehampton studio.
Photo: Courtesy of Maximilian Eicke
3:20 P.M. We arrive at the factory and I sit down with the engineer to review the status of my upcoming collection. I’m currently working on adding some additional marble designs, as well as an outdoor lounge chair produced out of large blocks of teak.
4:30 P.M. I follow Chris into the workshop where his team are dismantling and cleaning a 100-year-old Javanese joglo that I purchased from him to use as the central structure for the pool house on my property. The structure is 14 feet tall and constructed from eight-by-eight-inch solid teak, with stunning geometric carvings. We decide to leave the wood raw and untreated so you can really appreciate its age and the quality of the craftsmanship.
5:00 P.M. All the factory workers are heading home for the night. That’s my cue to leave. I hop in the car and call the cofounder of Mantra, an environmental consulting company, and we discuss materials, types of production, resources, and waste. It helps me get a better picture of what I am working on for my projects.
A rice field in Bali.
Photo: Courtesy of Maximilian Eicke
7:00 P.M. After a shower and some time to decompress from the day, I head to the Slow, this incredible boutique hotel, to meet some friends for drinks. We start to casually discuss some ideas for their first flagship store for their brand Indosole, a footwear company that repurposes tires to produce its products.
8:00 P.M. By now a few more friends have joined and the evening has turned into a creative roundtable. We order more food than anyone can eat, and as the drinks flow, so do the ideas.
10:30 P.M. I hop in a taxi and head home. On the ride home, I quickly glance over new emails coming in from clients in the States. Fortunately, there is nothing major or urgent I need to attend to, so it’s off to bed I go.
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