Call it utilitarian chic. Nick Dine insists he is just creative problem solving-"without any conscious energy put towards the aesthetic." he understands that 'effortless'' is the crux of clean-cut American style. Dine's understated intent is to locate "gaps in function" and offer smart solutions. As a native New Yorker, Dine's viewpoint is concrete and urbane: He's not out to reinvent the wheel, but modify accordingly.

Dine got his education at the Rhode Island School of Design and London's Royal College of Art. At Dinersan, his vision is realized in objects as wll as residential projects. (He began with the daunting task of designing his parent's homes). Dine recently renovated rambling brownstones on the Upper East Side and designed SoHo's avant garde boutique Kirna Zabete (with fellow G7 Michael Solis). At the 1997 ICFF, Dine launched his own line of custom furniture - the ingenious Gomer collection of clever storage units for modern multi-tasking..
text by *surface magazine