Growing up on a mango farm in San José, Costa Rica, Juli Bolaños-Durman always knew she would be an artist. ‘My cousins and I spent our days outside in the garden making up worlds. It was a very hands-on, mischievous childhood,’ she says. ‘Art was my affinity. I had a hard time learning how to read, but I could pick up a paintbrush.’
Of her chosen medium, she says: ‘Glass captured my imagination in a way that was very instinctual.’ Her work has been widely exhibited in some of the world’s foremost craft institutions, including the Make by Hauser & Wirth in Somerset and the Corning Museum of Glass in America. ‘When working with it, I imagine our ancestors around the fire or finding a piece of stone that glowed in the dark – it’s quite mythical.’
However, it wasn’t the hot, fast method of glass blowing that inspired Juli. Rather, she was drawn to the post-production process in the cold shop. ‘There, you can indulge in the details and do the hand-cutting and mark-making of the pieces.’ To create her playful assemblages, she repurposes offcuts and broken pieces of glass to form characterful sculptures, which frequently explore social and environmental issues.
What's everyone reading?
‘I’ve always been drawn to using waste from the bin,’ she says of her early days in the Edinburgh College of Art MA Fine Art programme, where she would make use of her classmates’ scraps. ‘Just thinking about landfill stresses me out.’
When Juli went to purchase and renovate a flat in Edinburgh’s artistic Leith district, which she’s called home for the past 15 years, she did so with the same methodology. Seeking a collaborator who shared her world view, she joined forces with Alexander Mackison of the Edinburgh-based studio Architecture Office, whose sustainable approach she had long admired. The pair first met at a Christmas party hosted by Custom Lane, the centre for emerging design talent in Scotland that houses both their studio spaces and which has been a foothold in Juli’s creative and social life for the past 10 years (her home is just a short walk away).
After getting the keys, she had six months to complete the work before moving in. Time constraints are something Juli is not fond of – ‘My methodology is really slow. I like to contemplate and I hate to be rushed,’ she says – so working with Mackison was an answered prayer. ‘I told him, “You can do whatever you want.” If the kitchen needs to be green, I don’t care. As long as the work has a strong ethos and values, I trust you.’
The kitchen was one of the first projects they embarked on. The property was sold as a two-bedroom flat with a combined kitchen and living room – one of Juli’s first acts was to return it to its original floor plan, sacrificing a bedroom. ‘As a Costa Rican and a Latin, gathering around a kitchen table is essential. At my grandparents’ house, there would always be a lunch on Tuesdays for whoever could join, even if it was just for 10 minutes.’ Making sure her kitchen could be that communal space for her chosen family in the UK was essential.
‘There’s a saying in Spanish that translates to the idea that if you add water to the soup, more people can join – meaning that it doesn’t have to be expensive to be inclusive.’
With the kitchen returned to its rightful size, Mackison worked with Studio Silvan to install bespoke cabinetry that knits together leftover cuts from five types of hardwood into a subtle gradient. While the room didn’t turn out green in the end, it’s worth noting that the insides of the cupboards are bright orange, repurposing leftover Valchromat and bringing Juli’s signature playful touch to an unexpected place.
Throughout the flat, Mackison played with grit and glamour, balancing rough natural edges with glossy newness. The existing timber floor was left intentionally raw, complemented by muted tones from Little Greene’s ‘Re:mix’ paint collection. In the bathroom, the countertop is a collage of British-sourced offcuts supplied by Britannicus Stone, peppered with visible fossils. Oversized, gloss-painted skirting boards act as a deliberate counterpoint to the rugged floors, and a covered-over firebox in the living room became a Stonehenge-like focal point with sandstone slabs from the Leith-based mason AB Mearns.
‘You need to wear shoes because you might get some splinters – it’s a living space. It’s human and I love that,’ says Juli of her home’s rugged finish, while crediting Mackison for his ability to get the colour palette just right. ‘Since my work is so colourful, it needed to be somewhat neutral yet warm for it to not be overwhelming.’ She initially wanted light blue for the corridor, but Mackison encouraged her to consider a rich marigold. ‘The ochre was a connection to the trees that are in my hometown, and that made it feel vibrant and alive. Since it’s a very narrow space, we could be a bit more experimental and sassy.’
For a final decorating note, Juli hung a Mexican cape made of palm leaves in the kitchen. ‘It reminds me of the textures of my parents’ house. Once it was on the wall, this place felt like home.’
Now her flat, so influenced by her work, is also inspiring it. The designer is currently working on a series of toilet-roll holders (based on a model she made for her own bathroom) for the Edinburgh-based craft and design gallery Bard, whose show ‘Bardware’ opens in November. Plus, she has plans in motion for her first solo show next year – much of the groundwork for which is sure to be laid here. julibd.com; architectureoffice.co.uk
