OUR STORY
A journey that began with a shared passion for glass, art, design, and a deep appreciation for the natural world.
Caleb & Carmen, Founders and Directors of Design
Siemon & Salazar is a lighting design studio founded by Caleb Siemon and Carmen Salazar. Known for thick flowing natural glass forms and distinctive color pairings, the studio’s aesthetic dances between the evolved craftsmanship of the Muranese tradition and the balance and restraint of Scandinavian design. The duo have been working together to design and make hand blown glass lighting and art objects in Southern California since 1999.
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The couple met while undergraduates at the Rhode Island School of Design where Caleb focused on glass and Carmen on sculpture. After traveling to Murano to apprentice under master glassworker, Pino Signoretto, Caleb returned to California determined to carry on the centuries old tradition and open his own studio. Friends, including Carmen, travelled from all over the world to help him realize this vision. In 2001 the intersection of Carmen’s diverse interests led her to SCI-Arc in Los Angeles. She received her masters in architecture and officially re-joined Caleb in 2008 to launch Siemon & Salazar.
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Caleb and Carmen launched their first lines of hand-blown glass lighting inspired by their vessel and object collections at the 2009 New York International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF). During this time the pair met the founders of Cerno who were also beginning their journey as a lighting company. Friends and colleagues in the lighting world for a decade, the acquisition of S&S by Cerno Group was a natural evolution in a relationship marked by camaraderie and collaboration.
MEET THE TEAM
Samuel Vazquez
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Sammy felt his calling to the arts as a young boy growing up in the family jewelry business. As far as his memory goes back, he remembers making and designing products. After high school, he studied glass blowing at Cal State Fullerton; at this time he also started apprenticing with Siemon & Salazar in 2010. Two years later, he was a full-time team member, and for the last 14 years, Sammy has become an integral part of everything made in the studio.
Rachel Perez
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Rachel has always loved the arts; since she was a kid, all of her free time was spent drawing, painting, sculpting, and sewing. However, the strongest pull was toward 3-dimensional mediums of creating. While majoring in studio art at Cal State Fullerton, her passion for glass developed. She took one stained-glass class and was hooked on the material. She fell in love with the beauty of the process and the challenges of blowing glass.
Matthew Ryan
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Some of Matt's earliest memories are of tinkering in his garage with his dad; he also loved to draw. His dad and grandpa were artists, and many of their pieces were around his home while he was growing up. This early exposure to art inspired Matt to pursue the arts in college. It was a 3-dimensional art class during his studies where he discovered glass blowing. Shortly after his introduction to glass, he started working at Siemon & Salazar, and since graduating, he has been a full-time part of the team since 2015.
Paul Brayton
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Paul was first introduced to glass while attending Pitzer College in Claremont Ca. All art majors had to complete an independent study off campus and he found a local glass artist (Rhys Williams) who agreed to take him under his wing. He was immediately mesmerized by the characteristics of glass. The heat, the fluidity of the material, and the continuous movement, dexterity and patience it takes to create anything out of glass.