Combining his expertise in branding and experience design with his passion and training in furniture design, François started UM in 2004 as an hybrid company crossing over artisanship and consultancy — in other words developing strong creative concepts and getting his hands dirty. François started his career with glass designer Guillaume Saalburg in Paris. He worked for various brand consultancies including Zürich-based Zintzmeyer&Lux and Interbrand in New York and was Managing Director at Elias Arts in New York. François gained an MBA at the joint program of Marseille Graduate Business School in Marseilles, France and Universität Regensburg, Germany. He studied furniture design at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and apprenticed for furniture maker Hank Gilpin. François taught at RISD and spoke at UArts in Philadelphia, “Les Ateliers” in Paris, Ivrea Interactive Design Institute in Italy, Innotown in Norway and the Design Management Institute.

Colgate is an artisan for the digital age. He can spend days laminating hundreds of wood strips to build the perfect canoe, yet he can cut impeccable joinery in seconds or develop and execute a new furniture design in no time. Colgate’s work is guided by functional aesthetics where beauty emanates from a clear purpose, honest construction, economy of means and everyday use. Colgate’s designs rely on a unique combination of techniques such as laser-cut parts with Japanese joinery, or automotive coatings with hand-rubbed finishes. Colgate won the best in show award at IWF in 2002. He was at the top of his class at RISD, where he graduated from the furniture design department in 2002. Colgate joined UM in 2006 and was previously part of the Box Elder design studio in Providence, RI.

Maureen is a lover of design and art in all aspects whether it be furniture, environmental design, fashion or music. Today her special interests lay in creating custom environments and designing the individual elements within them. Since graduating from the furniture design department at RISD in 2002, she has split her time between New York City and Los Angeles and has contributed to most UM projects. Maureen’s experience is diverse and impressive. She interned at the Eames office in Los Angeles and for Jeffrey Bernett in New York City. She designed a small furniture collection for Orange in Los Angeles, contributed to the design of Universal Amphitheatres VIP rooms and has broad retail experience including designing a boutique for a small NYC label (Honey in the Rough) up to merchandising for Barneys and DKNY.

Niloufer Moochhala, NYMDesign
Nilou has been working with UM since day one and with François for seven years. Together they have worked on many brand identity programs. For UM, Nilou has developed and implemented all aspects of the UM identity including its logo. Nilou has also designed the identity for a few UM clients, including Fleur de Sel and FirstFruits Eatery. Nilou has a unique graphic vocabulary that is both rich and rigorous, textured and practical. We are huge fans of it and feel Nilou’s 2D designs are a great embellishment of our 3D designs.
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Francis Dzikowski, Photography
Francis is the new kid on the block of architectural photography. After having assisted Peter Aaron for three years, he recently joined ESTO, the revered architectural photography agency. Francis is the eye of UM and has shot our projects for two years. Francis allows us to tell better stories. Not that we need our projects to look better, but Francis’ amazing technique and photographs allow us to better capture and share great places and moments.
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Luke Mandle, AIA
Luke has been an advisor to UM, helping our company to grow its design and build expertise. He has recently partnered with us for one of our largest projects, The Station in New York City. Luke has extensive experience in professional architecture along with construction and construction management. He has worked both on the West Coast, where he was Project Architect for Lundberg Design in San Francisco for nine years, and on the East Coast where he started his own practice, Two Ton, in Pawtucket, RI four years ago.
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Bud Saggal, Laser Cutter extraordinaire
Bud is one of a few collaborators in our Rhode Island outpost. Bud never ceases to amaze us. We did not think it was possible but he works harder than us. His knowledge and expertise are endless and the equipment and machinery he uses are top-of-the-line. But more importantly his attitude is the greatest. Nothing is impossible. Since we started UM and before, Bud has helped us on most of our projects, from the smallest experiment up to the largest commercial order. Simply put, without him our projects would not happen.

{Masks by Colgate Searle}