Jonathan Weiss

Mastering Your Craft

For the second instalment of our Mastering Your Craft series, we are excited to highlight Jonathan Weiss, the renowned sound and audio system designer and founder of Oswalds Mill Audio. After partnering with Weiss to create custom speakers for our flagship stores, we wanted to sit down with him to explore the philosophy of sound and the emotion wrapped up in experiential design.

For the second instalment of our Mastering Your Craft series, we are excited to highlight Jonathan Weiss, the renowned sound and audio system designer and founder of Oswalds Mill Studio. After partnering with Weiss to create custom speakers for our flagship stores, we wanted to sit down with him to explore the philosophy of sound and the emotion wrapped up in experiential design.

Q: "What does mastering your craft mean to you?"

A: "Mastering your craft to me means knowing what you're doing, of course, but when you really have mastered your craft, you're able to bring it up to new levels and create things that no one's done before. That is true mastery."

Q: "What does mastering your craft mean to you?"

A: "Mastering your craft to me means knowing what you're doing, of course, but when you really have mastered your craft, you're able to bring it up to new levels and create things that no one's done before. That is true mastery."

Q: "How did you find yourself getting into sound and sound design and what initially drew you to this craft?"

A: "I worked at a movie theatre in Westwood when I was 14 years old that had old style theatre speakers behind the screen and the sound was so incredible, I never forgot it. So really what I've been trying to do in my adult life was to capture that experience of sound again. The first great speakers made by human beings were actually made in the late 1920s for movie theatres.

That's the DNA of what we do. We're the only company in the world that does that, which is really odd, but where sound has gone in the last 50 years is not a pretty place."

Jonathan wears a Navy Made-to-Measure Peak Lapel Airesco Suit and a White Made-to-Measure Poplin Shirt.

Q: "How did you find yourself getting into sound and sound design and what initially drew you to this craft?"

A: "I worked at a movie theatre in Westwood when I was 14 years old that had old style theatre speakers behind the screen and the sound was so incredible, I never forgot it. So really what I've been trying to do in my adult life was to capture that experience of sound again. The first great speakers made by human beings were actually made in the late 1920s for movie theatres.

That's the DNA of what we do. We're the only company in the world that does that, which is really odd, but where sound has gone in the last 50 years is not a pretty place."

Jonathan wears a Navy Made-to-Measure Peak Lapel Airesco Suit and a White Made-to-Measure Poplin Shirt.

A: "We're trying to revive the beauty of a technology from a time when the only thing that mattered was sound quality. Not how cheap can you make sound.

It's about the quality of the sound, because from the quality derives the experience and the experience of sound, which unfortunately very few people have actually had... experience of great sound quality, but it's transformative, it's truly a transcendental thing.

It's a beautiful thing, and you know, you can't have that experience unless you have incredibly good equipment. So the sound quality and the equipment and the experience, they're all tied up in one bundle. And you have to have all aspects in place to give people that experience."

A: "We're trying to revive the beauty of a technology from a time when the only thing that mattered was sound quality. Not how cheap can you make sound.

It's about the quality of the sound, because from the quality derives the experience and the experience of sound, which unfortunately very few people have actually had... experience of great sound quality, but it's transformative, it's truly a transcendental thing.

It's a beautiful thing, and you know, you can't have that experience unless you have incredibly good equipment. So the sound quality and the equipment and the experience, they're all tied up in one bundle. And you have to have all aspects in place to give people that experience."

"We're trying to revive the beauty of a technology from a time when the only thing that mattered was sound quality. Not how cheap can you make sound."

Q: "How would you describe your philosophy with sound and how it ties into experience?"

A: "I wouldn't say I have a philosophy of sound. What I strive to do is to create the most natural possible sound. So it's about giving people the most natural possible experience of sound.

Which again, most people have never experienced, because everything today is extremely digital and overproduced and not natural.

That's the hard thing to do and it's something that unfortunately very few people are familiar with anymore. One of the problems is that we have forgotten how to listen."

Jonathan wears the Navy Suede Button Through Overshirt, the White Cotton Long Sleeve Button Through Polo Shirt, the Dark Wash Denim Easy Fit Jeans and the Navy Suede Split Toe Loafers.

Q: "How would you describe your philosophy with sound and how it ties into experience?"

A: "I wouldn't say I have a philosophy of sound. What I strive to do is to create the most natural possible sound. So it's about giving people the most natural possible experience of sound.

Which again, most people have never experienced, because everything today is extremely digital and overproduced and not natural.

That's the hard thing to do and it's something that unfortunately very few people are familiar with anymore. One of the problems is that we have forgotten how to listen."

Jonathan wears the Navy Suede Button Through Overshirt, the White Cotton Long Sleeve Button Through Polo Shirt, the Dark Wash Denim Easy Fit Jeans and the Navy Suede Split Toe Loafers.

“There isn’t anything else that we know of that affects human emotion, as directly as sound.”

A: "We're hearing music everywhere all the time. It's in every car, every public building, every restaurant, every bar, you know, you just can't get away from it. You don't even know it's on because it's just playing all the time.

So because you're hearing sound all the time, people have forgotten what listening is like. Listening is simply hearing plus paying attention. And unless the sound is really incredible...beautiful, and the sound quality is so high, you don't want to listen. So you just ignore the sound.

What we're trying to do is to create sound that's so beautiful, so impressing on your body and your mind that it makes you pay attention.

And then you say, 'why have I not been listening? Why have I not been experiencing music in this way?'. That's a transformative thing. It's very important to me and the way I see why we do what we do and how we do what we do."

A: "We're hearing music everywhere all the time. It's in every car, every public building, every restaurant, every bar, you know, you just can't get away from it. You don't even know it's on because it's just playing all the time.

So because you're hearing sound all the time, people have forgotten what listening is like. Listening is simply hearing plus paying attention. And unless the sound is really incredible...beautiful, and the sound quality is so high, you don't want to listen. So you just ignore the sound.

What we're trying to do is to create sound that's so beautiful, so impressing on your body and your mind that it makes you pay attention.

And then you say, 'why have I not been listening? Why have I not been experiencing music in this way?'. That's a transformative thing. It's very important to me and the way I see why we do what we do and how we do what we do."

The LA 'Loft' Store

The LA 'Loft' Store.

“What I strive to do is create the most natural possible sound.”

Q: "Talking about your partnership with Thom Sweeney and what the process looks like for creating bespoke speakers. Could you tell us a little bit about that?"

A: "Well, I've always liked referring to what we do as the only bespoke audio company in the world, because really we are the only audio company in the world that can take speakers and customise them and create an entire system in-house for our clients where they don't have to wonder where they get the ‘cufflinks’ from...every aspect of a sound system, we can either make it or we have it in-house."

Jonathan wears the White Linen Patch Pocket Overshirt, the Navy Linen Cutaway Collar Shirt,the Dark Wash Denim Easy Fit Jeans and the Navy Suede Split Toe Loafers.

Q: "Talking about your partnership with Thom Sweeney and what the process looks like for creating bespoke speakers. Could you tell us a little bit about that?"

A: "Well, I've always liked referring to what we do as the only bespoke audio company in the world, because really we are the only audio company in the world that can take speakers and customise them and create an entire system in-house for our clients where they don't have to wonder where they get the ‘cufflinks’ from...every aspect of a sound system, we can either make it or we have it in-house."

Jonathan wears the White Linen Patch Pocket Overshirt, the Navy Linen Cutaway Collar Shirt,the Dark Wash Denim Easy Fit Jeans and the Navy Suede Split Toe Loafers.

A: "When a bespoke tailor comes to you and says, ‘Hey, you interested in working with us?’. This was the biggest thrill, because we're making speakers for the coolest clothiers around in the world today.

We got to make a bespoke Fleetwood sound speaker (that's our daughter brand) first for the Mayfair townhouse store and then for the Los Angeles store, where we literally made a bespoke speaker.

We wrapped and upholstered our Fleetwood DeVille speakers in Thom Sweeney fabrics so that they would look seamless, so it was as if it was a little piece of clothing that made sound hanging out in the store with you. And that to me was like one of the most fun things we've ever done at OMA in Fleetwood."

A: "When a bespoke tailor comes to you and says, ‘Hey, you interested in working with us?’. This was the biggest thrill, because we're making speakers for the coolest clothiers around in the world today.

We got to make a bespoke Fleetwood sound speaker (that's our daughter brand) first for the Mayfair townhouse store and then for the Los Angeles store, where we literally made a bespoke speaker.

We wrapped and upholstered our Fleetwood DeVille speakers in Thom Sweeney fabrics so that they would look seamless, so it was as if it was a little piece of clothing that made sound hanging out in the store with you. And that to me was like one of the most fun things we've ever done at OMA in Fleetwood."

"The quality of the sound comes first, second and third. Later, we design from an industrial design standpoint so that hopefully people will like it and say, I want to have that in my place."

Q: "How would you describe the fundamental relationship between sound and human emotion?"

A: "If you watch something, your eyes tell your brain what's going on and your brain makes some decisions. Sound doesn't work that way. And the reason is simple. Sound is not an image, sound is energy itself. Music is sound.

Music written down on paper isn't actually music until sound is involved. So music is sound and sound is energy. And it's actually the only energy in the universe that's our size."

Jonathan wears the Navy Linen Unstructured Single Breasted Suit Jacket, the Chambray Cotton Cutaway Collar Shirt and the Dark Wash Easy Fit Denim Jeans.

Q: "How would you describe the fundamental relationship between sound and human emotion?"

A: "If you watch something, your eyes tell your brain what's going on and your brain makes some decisions. Sound doesn't work that way. And the reason is simple. Sound is not an image, sound is energy itself. Music is sound.

Music written down on paper isn't actually music until sound is involved. So music is sound and sound is energy. And it's actually the only energy in the universe that's our size."

Jonathan wears the Navy Linen Unstructured Single Breasted Suit Jacket, the Chambray Cotton Cutaway Collar Shirt and the Dark Wash Easy Fit Denim Jeans.

“Sound is energy and is immediately felt in an emotional way. What we’re trying to do, is create sound that is so beautiful, it makes you pay attention."

A: "Sound waves are basically the size of us. And it's energy that goes right into our bodies and is immediately felt in an emotional way.

This is why at concerts everyone is feeling the same things and moving in the same way because sound creates what is called entrainment, which actually just controls your body and makes everyone move.

So, because sound is energy, it's the most powerful way to affect our emotional and physical state of being. And it's super important that we take the sound quality in music reproduction seriously because it directly affects the outcome of how happy, how great it feels, to listen to music and how that sound will affect you and how emotionally satisfying and healthy it can be."

A: "Sound waves are basically the size of us. And it's energy that goes right into our bodies and is immediately felt in an emotional way.

This is why at concerts everyone is feeling the same things and moving in the same way because sound creates what is called entrainment, which actually just controls your body and makes everyone move.

So, because sound is energy, it's the most powerful way to affect our emotional and physical state of being. And it's super important that we take the sound quality in music reproduction seriously because it directly affects the outcome of how happy, how great it feels, to listen to music and how that sound will affect you and how emotionally satisfying and healthy it can be."

"You have to make things that sound really great, but at the same time, that people want to have in their space. Because it's all part of a lifestyle. Life…style."

Q: "Looking forward, how do you envision your collaboration with Thom Sweeney evolving? Are there any exciting projects or anything you can share that are coming up?"

A: "It just gets better and better working with Thom Sweeney.

So, now having gone from the London townhouse and the LA store, what we can do in New York and in Miami, with the stores that are being planned, is very exciting, and working with the Billy Cotton architects and the people at Thom Sweeney to create the most elevated experience of sound that you can have, in any type of place like this in the world today. That's really what we're trying to do. And then to give them speakers that make people go ‘wow’, you know, 'how cool is that'.

Wrapping the speakers in the same cloth that Thom Sweeney use to make their clothes is such a good idea acoustically too. It makes for a speaker that looks fantastic, that sounds great, and that immediately communicates that, you know, that we work together, like really closely work together, and that's something that's beautiful."

Q: "Looking forward, how do you envision your collaboration with Thom Sweeney evolving? Are there any exciting projects or anything you can share that are coming up?"

A: "It just gets better and better working with Thom Sweeney.

So, now having gone from the London townhouse and the LA store, what we can do in New York and in Miami, with the stores that are being planned, is very exciting, and working with the Billy Cotton architects and the people at Thom Sweeney to create the most elevated experience of sound that you can have, in any type of place like this in the world today. That's really what we're trying to do. And then to give them speakers that make people go ‘wow’, you know, 'how cool is that'.

Wrapping the speakers in the same cloth that Thom Sweeney use to make their clothes is such a good idea acoustically too. It makes for a speaker that looks fantastic, that sounds great, and that immediately communicates that, you know, that we work together, like really closely work together, and that's something that's beautiful."