JR Artisan Spotlight

Peter Dunham

Principal

How did you get your start in the industry:

I’ve been obsessed with design since I was a boy, but real estate was a path my family suggested as a more practical, design-adjacent career. I got my real estate license in New York as a young man out of school. But even back then, I started to fix up the old properties. When I moved to LA, I took the opportunity to go for it as a designer.

Describe your work in 5 words or less:

Colorful, soulful, relaxed, sophisticated, eclectic.

What Inspires you?:

People – creative, inventive, talented artists and craftspeople.

Describe your studio/work space:

We have zones to be creative and zones that need to always stay organized. Our sample closet is always organized, and our conference room is completely lined in cork – every surface is available for pinning, and every project has its own area. It’s very orderly. But otherwise we do tend to spread out—you might find piles of swatches and finish samples on our work islands, mixed with reference books, tear sheets, sketches, etc.

What’s makes your brand stand out from the rest:

That’s tough – there is so much beautiful, special fabric and wallpaper out there. I like to think that PDT&W designs have rhythm, soul, and an organic take on geometrics. I think my childhood in Europe and my adult life mostly in Los Angeles has influenced me to create a line that is both beautiful and relaxed.

Any new techniques, mediums, colors, aesthetics you are experimenting with?

I’ve been really interested in creating more multi-colorful textiles and wallpaper. The line has always been colorful, but more and more we’re experimenting with 3, 4, 5 color designs – like Oona, Cosima, and Collage.