James Geier of 555 International Finds His Place as an Artist – Hospitality Design

Posted On: August 28, 2019

Will Speros • August 28, 2019

James Geier

James Geier, president and founder of Chicago-based interior design, fabrication and fabrication firm 555 International, has always been a tinker at heart. From homemade windsurfing boards to experiments with industrial sculpturing, he has applied an eye toward projects which he would sense the potential even of a first draft. Here, Geier discusses how his artful background led to a portfolio of elevated dining environments.

What is your background?
I was born in Newark, New Jersey in the early 1960s. My family moved to Chicago when I was very young, so I grew up between a little town called Skokie, and Chicago. I was dyslexic, so, grade school was very difficult for me. But thanks to my mother, I got enrolled in art classes outside of school, and that’s how I found my place as an artist for the first time. Growing up, most of my jobs had been in the hospitality industries, starting at 10 years old as a pool boy for the first-ever Hyatt House hotel in Lincolnwood, Illinois.

As for education, I got started with studying art and industrial engineering at Western Michigan University. But in my junior year, I decided to transfer to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign seek a more advanced study in fine arts and industrial design. During college, I focused on designing and manufacturing advanced furniture designs, as well as combining sculpture and engineering to add functionality to the pieces I built.

When did you know you wanted to be a designer?
After I had been in college for about a year, I realized that my skills as a sculptor could be combined with the mechanical knowledge I have, to create and build anything I wanted. I started to explore what industrial design was all about- not just designing, but development and fabrication of all types of products- and luckily, I have made a career and life out of it.

What are some of your earliest design memories? 
When I was 10, I started customizing and building dirt bikes I would find from junkers. In 1973, I designed and built a collapsible wind sail which I attached to my skateboard. I was all over town surfing the streets with my handmade windsurfer.

Why did you start 555? 
Right out of college, I started a job with a retail display company in Chicago that was getting into the contract furniture business. After five years, I had risen from an assistant in the art department to design director, building the company’s capabilities across furniture and retail store sectors. I quit my job early in 1988, as I felt I had gotten everything I could get out of that position. Also, I had just opened my own restaurant, Union, which I designed, built out, and operated with my partner. So, the timing was just right to see what was next for me. Soon after, I received a call from a former client asking if I would be interested in doing consulting work for them in retail store design, which I did, and thus started my brand 555 International.

What is a recent project that stands out to you? 
Francois Frankie’s, a restaurant, brasserie and carousel bar concept we are about to complete in Chicago. The refined details of its interior stylize it as a hip hang out spot. However, the main feature of the space is the rotating carousel bar, where guests slowly move around the feature. Not only the engineering and mechanics behind it make it a great piece to build, but also getting the City of Chicago Building Department to approve it was a first.

What is one of your most challenging projects?
Roister on Fulton Market in Chicago, which opened in 2016. Working for one of the top chefs in the world, Grant Achatz, who has previously worked at Alinea, Next, and The Aviary was naturally challenging. Roister required complete originality and ability to synthesis with what Achatz was looking to create.

What are your greatest lessons learned? 
“Learn to live on half.” My mother told this to me after I received my first paycheck for delivering newspapers. I was 9 years old when she took me to the bank to open a savings account, so that I could start saving the half of the money I made. This wisdom has served me well in life and business.

Another one would be, “Do your push-ups.” This is me commenting to my son Jasper on the extraordinary effort it takes to prioritize and get prepared to do the job that needs to be done.

How would you describe your design language?
We do not have a defined design language at 555. We just create environments and specialty products that focus on a specific purpose, and engage with the needs of the guests. Each space we do is completely original. I like combining old and new, as that is how we live our lives too. Collecting and picking up things along the way to add to your living space is something I enjoy.

Is there an architect or designer you most admire?
Santiago Calatrava, since he’s pushing the limits of art and engineering while building some of the most beautiful and expressive spaces of all time.

What would be your dream project and why? 
Not exactly sure yet, but I know it’s coming.

  If you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, who would it be? 
Winston Churchill, for what he stood for and things he has done to inspire next generations.

Where would you eat and what would you be having? 
Having the best Thai food in the world at a beach in Krabi, Thailand. Or Cafe Luigi in Chicago and its pepperoni pizza on a thin crust pie.

If you weren’t a designer, what would you be? 
A retired designer!