Julia: Refined, chic, timeless.
Johanna: Striking, sensual, and iconic.
MAGAZINE · INTERVIEW
Ransom & Dunn
Ransom & Dunn is a lifestyle and interiors brand founded by American-born, London-based designers Julia Ransom and Johanna Dunn. Established with a commitment to balance, the studio explores the intersection of aesthetic and function, classic and contemporary, strength and sensuality.
Drawing from backgrounds in fashion, retail, and finance, Ransom and Dunn bring a considered, curatorial approach to furniture and objects designed as enduring cornerstones of the home. Their debut collection reflects a dialogue between neoclassical references and 20th-century design, realised through tactile materials such as marble, stone, wood, and rich textiles. United by a shared vision of timeless living, the duo creates refined pieces shaped by both visual restraint and purposeful design.
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Interview
Where were you born and where are you from?
Julia: The New Jersey Shore in Monmouth County, and proud of it.
Johanna: I was born in Chicago and grew up outside of Detroit.
What is your first memory connected to the art world?
Julia: As a child, we would take weekend trips into the city with my parents and grandparents, and I was blown away by the MET at an early age. I always knew I would live in NYC, and art would be a huge influence in my life.
Johanna: Probably in the home of my grandmother or at the Detroit Institute of Arts, which not many people know houses an incredible collection of art in the U.S., including a fresco by Diego Rivera.
Have you always worked in the art/design field?
Julia: Not necessarily, but I have always collected both art and design for as long as I have been able to… I read a lot and visit exhibitions, so I have always considered it part of my lifestyle.
Johanna: I have always worked in fashion, luxury and retail, and studied Art History, so I feel that design and art have always been a driving influence.
What led you to design creation?
Julia: Creating inviting, layered, and comfortable spaces has always been something I have aimed to do. When Johanna and I met and discussed our partnership, we realised we shared the same vision and everything just fell into place super naturally.
Johanna: I have always been most inspired by design that you could live with, and playing a part in creating beautiful spaces, first through furniture and now through design projects. Everything fell into place in an organic way with my partner whom I share this vision.
How would you describe your creative process and its influences?
Julia: As cliché as it sounds, I constantly draw inspiration from travelling and seeing new places… I particularly love visiting and staying at places that aren’t new or refurbished, have stood the test of time, and ooze authentic charm. I observe these quirks and timeless details and think about how they could be reinterpreted for the modern consumer.
Johanna: We are always looking to history and our travels, whether it be through architecture, interiors, or art. We love finding elements of design that we cherish from the past and want to live with now. From there, we consider how these concepts can be interpreted in a contemporary and functional way without losing their essence, so there is always a mix of tradition and modernity that makes our pieces familiar but also refreshing. We ourselves are the creators as well as the client, so in our design process, we always ask ourselves first if this is something we would love to live with.
Could you describe a typical day of your work?
Julia: A typical day involves replying to the many messages from the wonderful, skilled ateliers we work with about proportions, finishes, and various design details. When Johanna wakes up in the USA, we speak for about an hour, catch up on everything, and decide what we need to prioritize. Currently, we have a few projects we are working on, as well as launching new products and an ongoing lighting collection. There’s a lot going on and too little time!
Johanna: Every day is different, as we are just over two years old and are immersed in all parts of the business, from design to production to managing client relationships. It almost always begins with a phone call with my partner and team, as we are spread throughout the world, followed by ongoing discussions with our incredible workshops to get updates on development and production.
Why did you choose the specific materials you work with?
Julia: Material selection is an important part of our process. Primarily, we are drawn to natural materials, but mainly it’s the contrast we love. We often visualise our products in different material variations before deciding to produce them.
Johanna: We love materials that are either found in nature, such as stone, wood, parchment, and leather, or materials that continue to fascinate us, like blown glass and eco-resin, which we are constantly discovering new variations of that add a new or unexpected dimension to our collection.
Photo by Michael Sinclair
What advice could you give to beginning artists who would like to create sculptural design works?
Julia: Think about how the design will look with other furniture, how people will live with it, and how it will look in five years, then decide if you still want to make it.
Johanna: Patience! The best designs and creations develop through layered processes that evolve over time.
If your works had to belong to a design movement, how would you define it?
Julia: Probably Art Deco, as the movement was heavily influenced by Neoclassicism, a modern interpretation of classical style that drew on ancient Greek and Roman aesthetics.
Johanna: Good question! Maybe Neoclassicalism Refined or a Sculptural Deco Revival.
Photo by Michael Sinclair
If you had to summarize your creations in one word or sentence, what would it be?
Is there anything you would like to add?
Julia: This is pretty thorough.
Johanna: I think I covered it all 😊
What are the technical particularities of your creations?
Julia: The products we create must be executed well and to our standards, which involves a certain level of technical skill and craft. Joinery and upholstery must be seamless; hinges and hardware must be beautiful and function well; marble carved in perfectly symmetrical forms; lacquer applied thoroughly without imperfections. So far, our new lighting has been the most technical in terms of product production, as there are many different elements and materials we are merging into one design.
Johanna: Our pieces balance traditional joinery with contemporary fabrication, where proportion and tension guide every line. Materials are finished to reveal their natural character, resulting in forms that feel both precise and quietly expressive.
What designers and artists have influenced you?
Julia: John Saladino, Stephen Sills, Paul Dupre Lafon, Elsa Peretti, Jean Michel Frank.
Johanna: Eileen Gray, Pierre Chareau, Oscar Niemeyer, Elsa Peretti.
What contemporary designers do you appreciate?
Julia: Pierre Yovanovitch makes amazing contemporary wood furniture. I love Rose Tarlow and Jenni Kayne’s businesses and how Rose Uniacke showcases her contemporary pieces effortlessly with antiques. What Vincenzo de Cotiis has built is also very impressive.
Johanna: Charles Zana, Machado-Muñoz, Vincent Van Duysen.
What contemporary artists, in any kind of art, have you been inspired by?
Julia: Danielle McKinney, Wolfgang Tillmans, Vojtech Kovarik, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Christopher Wool, Harminder Judge…
Johanna: Olga de Amaral, Oscar Murillo, Rashid Johnson, Anna Weyant.
“Patience! The best designs and creations develop through layered processes that evolve over time.”
The Questionnaire
The Questions
(The Proust Questionnaire is a set of questions answered by the French writer Marcel Proust.
Other historical figures who have answered confession albums are Oscar Wilde,
Karl Marx, Arthur Conan Doyle, Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Cézanne…)
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Julia: A sunny day in the mountains, skiing with my family.
Johanna: The Mediterranean Sea in September.
What is your greatest fear?
Julia: Losing my kids.
Johanna: Being alone.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Julia: I can be indecisive and procrastinate. Sue me.
Johanna: Insomnia and self-criticism.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Julia: Envy.
Johanna: Jealousy.
Which living person do you most admire?
Julia: I really dislike this question, because I don’t fascinate or try to emulate people — I focus on myself.
Johanna: My grandmother and Jane Fonda.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Julia: Caviar on potatoes on a Monday movie night with my husband. It feels quite decadent, and I love being decadent.
Johanna: There are a few too many, but maybe my love of driving a Grenadier in the age of electric cars.
What is your current state of mind?
Julia: Positivity, always.
Johanna: Curiosity, resilience, and humor whenever possible.
Photo by Michael Sinclair
Photo by Michael Sinclair
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Julia: Loyalty.
Johanna: The ability to laugh at yourself.
What is the quality you most like in a man?
Julia: Entrepreneurism.
Johanna: Self-awareness and open-mindedness.
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Julia: Have to agree with Johanna — confidence.
Johanna: Confidence and support of other women.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Julia: Annoyingly, “like.”
Johanna: “To be honest…”
Which talent would you most like to have?
Julia: I wish I could play the piano like Ludwig van Beethoven.
Johanna: Speed reading and fluency in many more languages.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Julia: I wish I would dedicate more time to looking after myself and working out. I love feeling physically strong and am currently not prioritising it.
Johanna: I would have eight hours of uninterrupted sleep every night. Then I think I’d be superwoman.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Julia: Starting my business with a friend and partner whom I admire very much, and raising my children to be boys I am proud of.
Johanna: Launching my business with my partner and living all over the world.
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
Julia: I’d have to be a rock star in the ’70s. That was my era.
Johanna: A cowboy or rancher.
Where would you most like to live?
Julia: I’m very happy in London, but I love the idea of a California stint — Montecito or Rancho Santa Fe.
Johanna: It changes all the time, but perhaps half the year in the U.S., out west on a ranch, and the other half in a European capital.
What is your most treasured possession?
Julia: I’m not attached to things.
Johanna: My five-year-old miniature dachshund, Gigi.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Julia: —
Johanna: Not seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.
What is your favorite occupation?
Julia: An artist.
Johanna: A creator.
What is your most marked characteristic?
Julia: Probably my sense of humor.
Johanna: Curiosity and drive.
What do you most value in your friends?
Julia: Humor and trust.
Johanna: Loyalty and laughter.
Who are your favorite writers?
Julia: Joan Didion and Bret Easton Ellis.
Johanna: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gabriel García Márquez, and Toni Morrison.
Photo by Michael Sinclair
Photo by Michael Sinclair
Who is your hero of fiction?
Julia: Wonder Woman.
Johanna: La Femme Nikita.
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Julia: Cleopatra, lol.
Johanna: Hedy Lamarr.
Who are your heroes in real life?
Julia: Dr. Jane Goodall was extraordinary.
Johanna: María Corina Machado Parisca, Miuccia Prada, and Yvon Chouinard.
What are your favorite names?
Julia: I love old-fashioned names, and my son’s name, Harold, is by far my favourite. If I had a girl, I would name her Honor after Honor Blackman.
Johanna: Gustavo, Rafael, Saskia.
What is it that you most dislike?
Julia: Dishonesty.
Johanna: Ignorance, complacency, anxiety.
What is your greatest regret?
Julia: Zero.
Johanna: No regrets.
How would you like to die?
Julia: Driving off a cliff, Thelma & Louise style.
Johanna: At peace, having lived a full and long life.
What is your motto?
Julia: Just do it.
Johanna: “If it comes, take it, and if it goes, let it.”
“We love finding elements of design that we cherish from the past and want to live with now. From there, we consider how these concepts can be interpreted in a contemporary and functional way without losing their essence.”
Photo by Michael Sinclair Photo by Michael Sinclair Photo by Michael Sinclair Photo by Michael Sinclair
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