In 2007, mere months before the nation’s economic collapse, husband-and-wife design team Johann Pauwen and Michaele Simmering launched Kalon Studios in Los Angeles—a manifestly risky move, given the climate of the times, but one of solid resolve indicating a gut-level trust in collaboration and vision. In the years since, the company has merged its makers’ passion for contemporary design, simplicity and uncompromising sustainability into honest, functional furnishings.