Scott Kester

When striving to describe Scott Kester, one particular word comes to mind above all else—artisanal. Scott is a craftsman through and through. To call his varied interests “hobbies” would be quite a disservice. He is a master of many things, none of which are approached casually. It is not enough to merely ride motorcycles. Scott rebuilds them by hand, piece by intricate piece. He loves to cook, construct his own cooking apparatus, grow his own herbs, pickle his own vegetables, make his own bitters, and distill his own essential oils. Scott takes beautiful pictures from beautiful cameras—painstakingly restored and tenderly cared-for vintage equipment. He knits too, for fun, instead of watching television. Concentrating deeply, it is easy to imagine him working methodically through complex issues with each stitch of the project at hand. “Made with love”, and it shows in whatever he sets his mind to. But he is not solely content with revitalizing the past. Whether he is championing a better way for people to communicate and share ideas, charting a road-map for his company to forge ahead, or deconstructing a user’s experience to create a better one through design. With a profound reverence for history, Scott’s eye is always squarely on the future. Scott is a multifaceted individual, not easily figured out or summarized. From receiving his Master in Architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design, to teaching architecture at The University of Illinois, to working for some of the top-name designers in the industry, to running his own highly acclaimed design studio—his humility and utter lack of pretension belies his numerous achievements. His body of work speaks for itself. He has over fifty projects under his belt including hotels, retail boutiques in Japan, and many restaurants in New York, California, and elsewhere. Scott has been responsible for the venues Uchu, Lotus and Sushi Samba in New York as well as the highly regarded Coi in San Francisco and Hen of the Wood in Burlington, Vermont.