COLLABORATIVE: UJ DESIGN STUDIOS

UJ Design Studios was cofounded by Umut Demirgüç Thurman and James Thurman. Working both individually and collaboratively, the married partners create a wide variety of pieces, from wearables to home furnishings. The designs draw upon a range of inspirations, including natural forms, traditional Ottoman motifs, and process-based investigations. Their combined aesthetic is a colorful and creative synergy of their playful engagement with their chosen processes and materials, which regularly include casting, copper, dieforming, electroforming, felt, fired enamel, glass, laser cutting, latheturning, powdercoating, resin, silver, steel, and Thurmanite®. Production pieces are designed to be sold at reasonable price points while one-of-a-kind works are speculative explorations of new approaches and designs.

In 2025, Umut Demirgüç Thurman and I created and performed a collaborative piece as part of the Glass Biennial in Denizli, Türkiye. Shahmaran is an ancient Turkic mythological figure that embodies protection and good luck. Inspired by her story, we’ve created other pieces in the past and were excited to bring her to life as a human-sized piece. Since it had to include wearable glass components but also fit in suitcases, we decided to create a two-person block-printed fabric costume that would include enameled components along with Umut’s knitted wire sculptural pieces. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

© James Thurman

Contact: jathurman@hotmail.com