In the Studio: Lisa Viscardi

Commune is fortunate to have an incredible family of creatives, each with their own varied professional history and their own working relationship with Commune — but virtually each one develops through an often specific and special initial introduction to Commune. When did you first cross paths with the studio?

I was aware of Roman and Lisa Eisner from their cool books and Fanfair column in Vanity Fair Magazine. I cut out their “Kauaian Punch” article in 2004. We had moved from NY to LA a few years prior and the article’s vibes motivated us to take our girls to Kauai. We did everything they suggested and kept going back for years. I took notice of Commune in their early days doing interesting work in multiple areas of design and started buying their coasters, the best Valerie x Commune chocolates and a Nancy Pearce desk tray.

Cut to 2020. I had been making ceramic vessels and sculptures and had begun selling them at Garde in West Hollywood. I decided to put together a small book of my work to get the word out and I sent it to a few of my favorite designers.

That's right! I remember Roman coming out of his office at the end of the workday, handing me this book, and saying “I’m not sure what it is yet, but look through this and think about what we can work on together.”

Yes. You emailed me and being such a fangirl, I literally did a happy dance! We collaborated on birdhouses and then I pitched some lighting ideas and we made lamps. What’s so great about collaborating is that not only is it fun to work with talented, like-minded people, but also things usually go to the next level. I remember you said Roman thought one of my sculptures looked like a birdhouse and that’s why we ended up doing birdhouses. And then for the lamps, Roman realized that the depth of the cubist bases was conducive to saving space on a night table. That informed the narrow shade design and then Commune worked with Marina Contro to weave beautiful fabrics for the shades.

Now you’re working on furniture in formed aluminum and bent plywood that we will jointly release this year, before that it was heavily ceramics, but your practice is vast not only in terms of mediums but your history as a creative person.

After years doing many commercial projects, I craved a deeper, more personal creative practice. I began painting and quickly realized that my work wanted to become more dimensional. I started cutting and bending the paper and then did a deep dive into ceramics for years. My practice has been both personally and creatively fruitful. Of late, I’ve been curious to explore other materials. That led me back to working with paper and cardboard to visualize my concepts first. I found some amazing fabricators who helped build my ideas. And yes, there are formed aluminum, bent plywood and bronze projects ahead. I’m still working with clay but just not exclusively. It kind of feels full circle, and all of my design, creative and entrepreneurial history is at play.

And correct me if I’m wrong, but it all began in New York — you studied at Parsons, you worked at Interview with Andy Warhol. What were those years like in New York?

I was born in NYC and grew up in NY and NJ. After a couple of years at Tulane in New Orleans which was culturally expansive for me, I came back to NY to go to Parsons and studied Communication Design. New York was so alive and anything was possible. I’m sure I crossed paths with Roman and Steven back then! I was obsessed with Andy Warhol and an avid reader of Interview Magazine. So when I got back to NY I just went to Interview, knocked on the door and asked if I could work there, which I did for two and half years while I was at art school. It was an incredible exposure to artists, designers, clubs, restaurants, interesting people, businesses etc. After I graduated, I worked on the original Donna Karan campaigns for Peter Arnell and then in the design group at Conran’s. I was also trying acting on the side and fun fact, I’m in “Working Girl” singing and carrying the birthday cake in to Melanie Griffith, and was an extra on SNL several times! Then I had an idea for a creativity show for kids called “Room to Play.” Keith Haring agreed to do the animated open! I brought it to Nickelodeon. The show never got made, but I ended up working there for six years and meeting my husband Chris, a fellow writer/producer. Nickelodeon was an extremely vibrant and collaborative community. There was so much soul, and creatively, the sky was the limit. What I learned about celebrating a kid’s point of view at Nickelodeon still resonates with me today. I was then asked to be a creative director at Disney for a new multimedia educational brand and then worked on other kid-related projects with Scholastic and a production company called Curious Pictures.

By then we had two kids and decided to move to LA where it was sunny and where Chris was already spending time working in the entertainment industry. In LA I started a professional organizing company called Clarity because someone noticed how organized I was and asked me to help her. The work gave me the flexibility to be with my kids but it wasn’t creative enough for me. During those years, I also published “Spinwheels,” an interactive series of childrens’ books, designed and launched “Lunchopolis,” a garbage-free lunchbox company and created “Booshba,” an indoor/outdoor slipper brand. It was a busy time, but I really love bringing ideas to life.

So what is the origin for all of this, what is that thing inside you that is taking you on this journey? What does it mean to be a creative, a designer, a maker for you?

I resonate with the idea that what you are you drawn to as a kid is probably a clue to how you want to spend your time as an adult. I was always making stuff; baking, drawing, painting, cutting, building, gluing, forming, casting, acting etc. I have also always walked through fear to move towards what I want. It’s scary, but being stuck is not an option and making creative things happen in the world from a vision in my head is so exhilarating!

You’ve done so much, yet I know you’re so active and hungry— to make, to collaborate. What’s going on in the studio, or outside the studio, that you’re excited for in 2025 and beyond?

I often have too many ideas to attend to them all. I’m inspired by so many artists and designers and by so many materials and processes. I’ve learned to be discerning about which ideas want to happen most, and to put my energy behind those. I also try not to be too attached to the outcomes and to follow the flow. The fires have been traumatic and sobering. A powerful reminder that things are always changing and impermanent.

I work at home so for me the lines inside and outside of the studio are blurred. I hope to keep following my inspiration, connect and work with good people, and continue to live a creative and meaningful life.

Photographs by Preston Alba

See more of Lisa Viscard's work in the Commune Shop