Step Inside Astraeus Clarke’s Darkly Divine Showroom

The New York showroom of Jacob and Chelsie Starley’s design studio, Astraeus Clarke, is darkly divine—which is fitting, considering the brand’s name alludes to the Greek god of stars and twilight. Founded just three years ago making lighting fixtures in Brooklyn, AC has gone from strength to strength; later this year, furniture and objects will round out the catalog. “Each phase of our work—whether lighting or interiors—flows naturally from the last,” notes Chelsie Starley. “The showroom is the next step.”

The first collection taking pride of place in the new Chinatown showroom is Darning: tubular-steel sconces and pendants laser-cut with linear perforations that are then threaded with cord in a motif reminiscent of denim topstitching. Animal-hide parchment diffusers add to the rugged western charm (the Starleys’ home state is Utah, where they once salvaged and flipped condemned properties). As for the homey mahogany-and-maroon showroom, it’s laden with personal history, from the mirrored ceiling strewn with hand-cut stars referencing the couple’s surname to a curtain based on the pattern of a family quilt.