Meet Logan Merry | Solutionist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Logan Merry and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Logan, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I think about risk as an exciting necessity and as opportunity for growth. A major bullet point behind the Deep End name was Risk; I’ve always been an all or nothing type but thankfully gained some patience and judgement helping me be more productive with that energy. I’d say throughout life a general willingness to try things has gotten me far.

In my practice risk plays a bunch of roles. The obvious is the financial risks in running and investing in business, especially one based on commission. Financial pressure was one of many motivators early on to take every project that came my way, which helped cut my teeth as a business owner and operator through repeating the project process start to finish so many times.

Outside of financial risks like taking on contractual overhead, investing in equipment, process experimentation, hiring help etc. I’m more consistently risking spending my time, energy and or other resources on consultation and an attempt at proposing ideas or pricing – judgement on the reward(s) and how much to input is important here.

After getting a gig there’s usually then the risk of ruining material, damaging a project, supplier mixups, miscalculations, physical injury, leaving money on the table, not meeting a timeline.. could go on and on. I prepare heavily and communicate in depth openly in the stages prior to the physical build to minimize even small setbacks. Priority management is probably the number one skill in helping maintain a level head through it all – generally nothing goes perfectly so roll with the punches and keep it moving.

Now that I’m close to seven years in I’m most concerned with the risks I get to take in design and technical aspects of the projects. I like pushing boundaries of what I know within engineering and science and what products and tools we have available to make ideas become reality. Almost every commission requires I learn something new and the potential for failure and excitement in creating an original helps me maintain both a hunger for more as well as a continued building of confidence in the problem solving and skilled craft involved in the work.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
After graduating and moving to Detroit in 2014 my work quickly geared towards functional projects. Everyone around me was starting new businesses or updating the business they were running and my skills translated well into helping design and create furnishings for their stores/manufacturing/clients.

Making and understanding things people physically interact with was one part of my BFA thesis; I see now the thoughts I had fleshed out at the time helped shape the way I think in terms of how objects make people feel through both use and aesthetics. The intimacy of touch and gaze of an end user deeply influence my decision making in design and motivates me to craft any project to a quality that only enhances their appreciation during the interaction.

The level of care given to my works is my common thread, and has been a huge benefit in the work marketing itself. Monetizing my art however required becoming aware of when good enough is good enough. The level of scrutiny I place on details is always there internally and carries the projects through completion, but by others critique and observation I’m decent now at seeing everything through the lens of the audience.. in contrast I still often choose to do certain things because I know the people in the know will appreciate the difficulty in achieving the result. As with anything else it’s all a balance, I just get the most satisfaction in doing a great job and love striving for that.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shoutouts would go to all of my family, the educators and mentors in my life, friends and creatives I’m connected with or inspired by around the globe, and the clients who keep me affording to create. Special shoutout to Fame at Three Thirteen for giving me my first project opportunity in the city, and the years of uplift and support since then.

Website: www.DeepEndStudio.com

Instagram: @DeepEndStudio

Image Credits
Lizz Cardwell IG: @LizzCardwell