James Johnson and Jesse Voigt (pictured above, left-right) are the partners behind Studio Jesse James, a creative firm based in Lexington that specializes in architecture, visual art, pottery, woodworking and more. Photo by Emily Giancarlo
Blending craftsmanship with modernist design, the Lexington-based business Studio Jesse James is working to redefine the intersection of art and architecture.
At the helm are married couple Jesse Voigt and James Johnson, a creative duo whose journey from Los Angeles architects to local small-business owners has been shaped by passion, sustainability, and a drive to build with purpose.
From architecture and woodworking to painting, pottery and more, Studio Jesse James offers a diverse range of services, all tied together by a commitment to thoughtful, responsible design.
Voigt, who calls architecture “the mother of all arts,” believes that sustainability and accessibility should be at the heart of every project.
“We were always taught {in school} to build something beautiful that will last 100 years, and that has continued to be our mantra, even though it seems the current industry is more about building cheaply and unsustainably,” Voigt said.
The couple met around 2010 in Los Angeles, where each had moved separately more than a decade earlier to pursue their individual careers in architecture — Voigt, a Colorado native, had moved there to work for architect Frank Gehry, while James, a Lexington native and University of Kentucky School of Architecture grad, was working for a firm in Playa Del Rey called R.L Binder Architects. As one of Johnson’s big projects with that firm came to a close, he found himself gravitating toward one of his first loves — woodworking and furniture. The couple met through mutual connections in the L.A. art scene and began collaborating professionally early on, producing a number of commercial installations ranging from creative office suites to restaurant chains, before launching their own business together in 2015.
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Custom end tables designed and built by Johnson. Photo furnished
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Custom coffee table designed and built by Johnson. Photo furnished
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Custom magazine stand designed and built by Johnson. Photo furnished
When they became parents, Voigt and Johnson decided they wanted to raise their daughter in a smaller college town., In 2017 they moved to Lexington, purchasing a home on Nicholasville Road where they renovated a detached structure that now serves as their studio. They each have their own specialties — woodworking for him; pottery and painting for her. But the couple generally collaborates when it comes to the design decisions and aesthetic presentation of the projects that Studio Jesse James takes on.
“We generally approach everything we do in our company from a jack-of-all trades mentality, in that we are always learning and trying new things that we filter through our aesthetic sensibilities,” Voigt explained. “For instance, I’ll design an overall architectural space, and then when we get into details — furniture, textural walls, etc. — I will pull James in to get his input on fabricating these elements. James heads up most of the woodworking and fabrication in our studio space, but he will run aesthetic details by me if we have a new product, etc.”
Navigating the challenges of running a small design business is not without its challenges, but for Voigt and Johnson, the freedom to shape their creative path has been worth it. They embrace a philosophy that constraints, whether in materials or methods, can push design to new heights.
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Voigt’s pottery can be found locally at Story Boutique on High Street, and Hopewell Bake Exchange in Paris, Ky. Photo furnished
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Voigt’s pottery can be found locally at Story Boutique on High Street, and Hopewell Bake Exchange in Paris, Ky. Photo furnished
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Voigt’s pottery can be found locally at Story Boutique on High Street, and Hopewell Bake Exchange in Paris, Ky. Photo furnished
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Voigt’s pottery can be found locally at Story Boutique on High Street, and Hopewell Bake Exchange in Paris, Ky. Photo furnished
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Voigt’s pottery can be found locally at Story Boutique on High Street, and Hopewell Bake Exchange in Paris, Ky. Photo furnished
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Voigt’s pottery can be found locally at Story Boutique on High Street, and Hopewell Bake Exchange in Paris, Ky. Photo furnished
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Voigt’s pottery can be found locally at Story Boutique on High Street, and Hopewell Bake Exchange in Paris, Ky. Photo furnished
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Voigt’s pottery can be found locally at Story Boutique on High Street, and Hopewell Bake Exchange in Paris, Ky. Photo furnished
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Voigt’s pottery can be found locally at Story Boutique on High Street, and Hopewell Bake Exchange in Paris, Ky. Photo furnished
“That’s the beauty of working for yourself,” says Voigt. “Once you’ve had that creative freedom, going back to working for someone else who has their own design ideologies or takes credit for your work is just not somewhere you want to be anymore.”
Smiley Pete reporter Matt Wickstrom recently sat down with Jesse Voigt and James Johnson to talk about their artistic influences, why they chose Lexington as their home base, and what’s next for Studio Jesse James.
You’ve done a lot of work in New York and Los Angeles. Why did you decide to leave there when you started Studio Jesse James?
JV: When you’re a small firm, you can have your base anywhere. When we first started this, that was a big concern of ours, not meeting face-to-face with our clients. Sometimes there’s an initial nervousness about being out-of-state, but so much of where you get work in this field is word-of-mouth. Once you get that, it doesn’t really matter where you are, as long as you communicate and produce a quality product. We’ve worked around that by having people on the ground in New York City and Los Angeles who we rely on if we need help on things like production drawings or visiting with a contractor.
You mentioned that Lexington’s “untapped potential” was a draw for you when choosing to make this your home. Is there anything you feel like Lexington is lacking in an architecture and design capacity?
JJ: It’s not just here, but I’d love to see more of a localized economy. Globalization has made so many places feel like Nowhere, America — they all look the same. There’s real opportunity to embrace a local vernacular in the way you make things. Lexington is in a position to have a unique voice in that. I’d like to see more of that rather than the generic developments we’re seeing more and more of.
In a lot of ways Lexington already has exactly what it needs with its iconic rolling hills and horse farms, we just need a more sensible way forward — why pave paradise?
Voigt and Johnson in the detached studio that they remodeled behind their Nicholasville Road home. Photo by Emily Giancarlo
What’s been the most liberating part about venturing out on your own with Studio Jesse James?
JV: People have always tried to pigeonhole what we do, but we’ve always done different things on the side. The studio gives us even more space to do that. Even before this, I was painting and had gallery shows [under the moniker Essi Zimm] and James was doing woodwork and building furniture. At my old firm, I began looping James into some of my projects there because I loved his work. We found though, that the more we designed for other designers, and not for ourselves, the more the work became watered down and bastardized before it was even built. When you are a smaller entity, like we are now, you are able to control all the design aspects, from fabrication, to goods, to architecture. It all became a much more encompassing process for us from idea to conception.
You all do everything from large-scale building design to pottery, woodwork and painting. How does each of those areas of focus inspire and inform each other?
JJ: When I started painting, the way I approached it was a lot more fluid than how I approach architecture, which I feel is a lot more ordered. There’s more precision that goes along with it. Having the project manager brain versus having the artist brain is a big plus because sometimes you have to jump between the two. I think that’s what works really well for our firm, moving between both gives us a perspective of how to be loosely creative.”
Jesse, you’ve also been an instructor at the University of Kentucky since August 2024. What’s that experience been like for you?
JV: Teaching again brings back the joy of our profession. There’s a lot of aspects of it that can get mind-numbing and difficult, but when you’re working with [students], you’re reminded all over again of the joy of creation, coming up with cool concepts, and being free to explore.
What are your long-term goals in Lexington and with Studio Jesse James?
JV: We’ve dabbled with getting involved in city boards and commissions in an effort to push a language of sustainability and responsibility. In other cities we’ve worked in, when you present to a planning commission, you go in with your architects, but here you go in with your lawyers, which is where the problem lies. Until we have mandates that address this, it’s really hard to move the needle forward. It all takes a top-down synergy and the city taking a stance on wanting to change.