Frank Ayzenberg Is Recreating Childhood Memories With Furniture

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Frank Ayzenberg’s name for his furniture design company “Playground Studio” feels just right for his designs. The 22-year-old New York-based furniture designer creates pieces imbued with youthful energy: an enameled steel table that sits on orange cone legs, a sofa that is crafted from stacked glass blocks, commonly used in bathrooms, topped with upholstered velvet corduroy cushions. “I want to convey a sense of childhood and imagination,” says Ayzenberg. “I’m recreating my childhood by designing very playful furniture for adults.”

Ayzenberg, who is originally from Pasadena, California, began designing furniture two years ago, right around the time he moved into his first New York City apartment—a cramped 375-sq foot studio. “ It was an amazing challenge to find the right furniture to function in a space that would be used for absolutely everything: living, cooking, eating, sleeping, and bathing,” says Ayzenberg. “I realized I was curating a space for living.” Shortly after, he switched his major from Art History to Museum and Curatorial Studies at Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts at The New School.