Eny Lee Parker

Spatial Designer New York, NY

PHOTOGRAPHY
Andy Martinez

Eny Lee Parker is a designer whose work is grounded in slowness, materiality, and a deep reverence for craft. Using clay as her primary medium, she creates objects that feel both elemental and contemporary, inviting heightened awareness of texture, form, and the quiet presence of the everyday. We sat down with Eny to talk about intuition, discernment, and the evolution of a creative practice shaped as much by instinct as intention.

Rooted in a graphic understanding of proportion, balance, and negative space, her approach moves fluidly between design, interiors, and curation, she is always guided by a desire to make things feel effortless and alive. OSSOU is something she reaches for in much the same way, easy enough for a day in the studio, refined enough for an evening out, and expressive of a sensibility that values restraint, utility, and individuality in equal measure.

Eny wears the Haze Shirt in Milk Shop Now →

OSSOU: Where do you come from as a designer and maker?

Eny Lee Parker: From making things by hand and figuring it out as I go. It’s always been intuitive before it was technical.

O: How has your upbringing shaped your relationship to materials, space, and form?

ELP: I learned to work with what’s available around me. My background in Interior design helped me see furniture within context as well.

O: What is design to you?

ELP: A way of translating curiosity into form.

O: How would you describe your process from a bird’s-eye view?

ELP: Start with a thought, sketch or mock up on cad, prototype it, and oftentimes, as the years go by the piece also evolves.

O: How do you approach design and curation differently?

ELP: Design for me is a wider reach. Curation feels closer to home, among my peers. I love involving people I know and seeing them grow as artists.

Eny wears the Rider Jeans in Loam Wash Shop Now →

O: What role does intuition play in your work versus intention?

ELP: Intention starts the process, and intuition trims as I go.

O: What is taste?

ELP: Discernment over time.

O: How did you develop your own eye?

ELP: I see things in a very graphical way. Proportions, negative spaces, balance, line weight, textures and so on. I also have to try everything, and then edit.

O: How do you know when you’ve discovered something that feels right?

ELP: It just makes sense in my head. I get giddy when I see a piece come to life from a rendering or sketch. The presence is always so much stronger, and it’s a beautiful thing to be able to do it.

O: What makes an object feel complete?

ELP: When nothing feels excessive.

O: How do you think about function versus emotion in your work?

ELP: Emotion comes first for me, and then I make it into a functional object (lighting probably). I appreciate both equally though.

O: What do you return to, outside of work, that resets you?

ELP: Making dinner with friends, shopping, playing games and I love a group activity. I’m huge on hobbies.

O: What’s something small in your daily routine that you’re very particular about?

ELP: Being tidy in my studio and my home. If it’s messy, I feel off.

O: Was there a moment that fundamentally shifted how you think about your work?

ELP: I’ve always approached my work like a job. And I approach my job as an immigrant. I’m thankful, I take it seriously but at the same time I know that if something happened, I’d find another job. Ultimately, I make the most of what I do because I know it’s a huge privilege!

O: What feels unresolved or still evolving in your practice?

ELP: Everything but the people! I have a great team, a fantastic accountant. In that, my cup is full. But the practice, me as a designer, the website, the administrative tasks.. constantly evolving.

O: How do you balance utility and expression in what you wear?

ELP: Monday-Friday, I dress casual since I’m in the studio. Often baggie pants and big men's shirts, or my jumpsuit. Weekends and evenings, I get to have fun and will wear something of the opposite, flirty, girly, doll up.

O: What makes this pair feel like your pair?

ELP: It fits into my life without effort, it’s the perfect laid back cut, and I can do a day in the studio but also put on a pair of kitten heels and go out.