The Future Perfect: David Alhadeff

I initially started The Future Perfect as a personal pivot. I wanted to work with something more palpable after coming out of the tech world. Once I realized tech wasn’t for me, I decided to pursue my deep love of design. I saw this amazing community of American makers and artists who weren’t getting much visibility, especially compared to the more Eurocentric scene at the time. It felt like the right moment to give those voices a platform.

Starting as a collectible furniture retail store in Williamsburg in 2003, The Future Perfect has evolved over time into something much larger and curatorial. It’s become more about meaningful collaborations with artists and designers. My core mission is still the same as when I first started—championing work that feels relevant, personal, and visionary—but the scale and scope have grown in ways I never imagined.

Craftsmanship and innovation are two of our pillars that hold up the curatorial vision of The Future Perfect. We’re drawn to work that holds the signature of its creator, voices that feel genuine, expressive, and vulnerable, and pieces that reflect the emotional reality of a maker’s world.

I’m passionate about platforming new voices and introducing our audiences to designers who they might not be familiar with and may have been practicing for a number of years. Ultimately, what matters is whether the work is expressive, whether it is exploring something genuine. I like taking chances when I believe in the work.

When I first started The Future Perfect, vintage design, along with Italian and Danish design, dominated. It was truly a risk to do something more contemporary.

When I first moved to Los Angeles, I wasn’t sure which neighborhood would best serve our gallery program, so I decided to rent a beautiful house, live in it, and use it as a space to showcase our work. That first home sparked something entirely new. Instantly, we realized the power of this residential format: it allowed us to break away from the constraints of a traditional gallery and create an immersive, intimate way for people to experience design. By living with the pieces, by inviting people into a real, evolving home, we could show what it actually means to live with art and design.

We have so much amazing work across the country right now. In LA we opened shows by MyungJin Kim, Bower Studios, and Stan Bitters. Truly a powerhouse lineup. In New York for design month we also have an amazing lineup with Lindsey Adelman, Faye Toogood, Kristin Victoria Barron, and a new artist from Milan, Lucia Massari. New York is really an immersive experience of female-led shows. Lindsey was one of the very first artists I ever worked with when I launched The Future Perfect, so it’s really a full circle moment — this new work of hers that make up Hardware Diaries cements her as one of the most important lighting designers of our time.

When I began The Future Perfect, my focus was on American artists — it felt like an emerging scene with so much potential. Over time, our focus has widened. Now we’re including international designers alongside American voices, and it has really enriched the program.

In the next five years, I see The Future Perfect evolving in new directions — more locations, more immersive spaces that push beyond the idea of a traditional gallery. The Goldwyn House model really showed us how powerful it is to experience design in a lived-in, personal way, and we want to keep building on that.

We’ll also keep spotlighting new artists and designers — people with unique voices and bold ideas. It’s all about creating space for design that feels real, emotional, and forward-thinking.