Layers of Design: A Perspective of Amanda Jordan

“There is a great debate on art vs. craft. I believe that line is often blurred.”

Amanda Jordan has been the marketing manager for WRJ, an interior design firm out of Jackson Hole, for eight years. Just like her career path, life, and passions, Amanda’s experience and expertise are not a single defined line, but a vast blur that encompasses just about everything.

“Since I can remember I’ve loved getting my hands into a project,” Amanda said.

Throughout her early education, Amanda took a variety of art and dance classes. She wasn’t interested in pursuing anything within the norm and sought an education different from the college experience all of her friends were following.

Through a continuing education course in photography at Maine College of Art, Amanda’s influential photography teacher suggested that she apply for a BFA in the program and major in photography. And as Amanda would humbly say, “it kind of fell into my lap.”

But having the courage and drive to scratch beyond the surface of what is presented to you is really what Amanda was pursuing.

“I had a lot of assignments that were geared toward pushing boundaries, exploring the same subject matter in multiple ways, and experimenting with different techniques and materials,” Amanda said.

She attended a six-month intensive course at a leather school in Florence. Here she focused on craftsmanship and more tactical design. However, she believes both educations, her time at Maine College of Art and the leather school, reinforced the foundations she carries through her life: the importance of quality, editing, and value.

Starting December 2013, Amanda began her work with WRJ. WRJ’s creations have been featured in acclaimed regional, national, and global magazines. Their design work lives at the intersection of nature and culture, a blurring of two worlds that are an immaculate complement of each other.

“WRJ's main philosophy is the harmony of space; when all the elements (texture, materials, finishes, color, etc.) come together and the scale is right, it just feels right,” Amanda said.

This philosophy of harmony is attributed to Rush Jenkins, the current CEO and Co-Founder of WRJ, and the teachings he learned from the Japanese vision of half-hidden, half-seen.

“A home should unfold like a novel, with discoveries around every corner,” Rush said.

What is apparent to the human eye is not always the most important part of a space. The layers of details that reflect who you are through color, texture, size, shape, location, design, and memory are all pieces that contribute to a greater story.

buonaforma aspires to be a part of this bigger story that WRJ has envisioned. The blurring of the elements of nature, shape, elegance, color, and story are principles that we strive to highlight in our décor. Each of our vases embodies a piece of nature while capturing elegance as well as timelessness. Through supporting a social cause with each piece of the Founder’s Series, these physical designs provide a layer of purpose and gratitude for the opportunities the world and its people have to offer.

Amanda agrees with WRJ’s theme of thoughtfulness and elegance within the design landscape.

“To me, spaces and objects hold energy. Everything should be thoughtfully chosen and considered.”

Design encompasses so much more than making a paint stroke, snapping a photo, pouring slip into a mold, or placing a lamp on a bookcase. Through the blurring of the lines, as Amanda and WRJ have presented, we can capture something that will feed our souls.