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August 2005
Reading about you I discovered four distinct Adam Simha’s: the MIT physics student; award winning bread baker; drummer and, of course, designer. Is there a connection between these pursuits that led you to starting MKS Design?
They are all very much about making dreams come alive from more or less inert constituent parts.
Is your 7-12 lounge chair, made of steel, really so comfortable as to be called a “lounge”?
It is very comfortable. Think about every solid heavy wooden school chair with that silly butt scoop. They’re meant to keep you in one position, an uncomfortable one. To me a chair should be easy to move around in, and for that, it needs to have some movement to it. The 7-12 has that flex, by which I mean movement up and down, and sway, side-to-side movement. They’re almost imperceptible, but key to the comfort of the chair. It’s just enough that you can adjust to different positions as you sit. Too much movement can be disconcerting.
Why do you choose to do most of your work in steel?
I love working with other materials, wood, aluminum, plastics. It’s just that steel seems to be me putting my best foot forward; I’m most comfortable with it. And really, once I started using steel, I just got terribly addicted.
How would you describe your style?
Non-dogmatic, modern sensibility with strong emphasis on relationship, honesty and context.
You reently launched MKS/knife. What differentiates these chef’s knives from those made by other companies?
I created these knives based on what I like and dislike in the best knives available.
I like the way handles on French knives, and to some extent German knives, arch downward ever so slightly.
What do you dislike?
There is a lot of lip service given to the notion of balance, though not many knives carry the right proportions. If a knife’s blade is too heavy, you get tired. If the handle is too heavy your hand just flops around and it’s difficult to be precise.
And knives don’t generally look very exciting. For me, beyond the design, a motivating factor was fun, I wanted these knives to be just the tiniest bit wicked.
What advice would you give on how to design a home?
I would encourage people to be patient and pick things of quality with which they have a strong emotional connection. Obviously, some items are more expensive. It’s worth it if it makes your heart skip a beat. I’m very lucky to be to be surrounded by things that excite me in that way.
 
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MKS Design
Cambridge,
MA
He founded MKS design in 1998 as a part-time endeavor, but by 2001 it became clear that the response to Simha's work demanded full-time attention. Since then, he's continued to focus on creating unique modern pieces with his signature blend of fact, function, wit and whimsy.
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