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L iving in Kyoto, Japan, the Industrial Design-

er of Slayer Espresso, Chris Flechtner loves
“walking down the street and enjoying a
Cheese Latte from a great little shop opened
with the help of Sawada-san from Tokyo/Chicago”, as he
shared. It doesn’t sound much like a treat, but to Flecht-
ner, it is indeed. “When not designing, I am designing; I
can’t turn it off, it’s just part of me,” he confessed. “I also
enjoy cycling, exploring and eating amazing food.”

Museum-inspired Aesthetics

On a weekly basis, Flechtner wandered around Bos-
ton’s Museum of Fine Arts during his Graphic Design
studies at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
If you have the chance to meet him in person, his tattoos
would reveal his affection for Eastern culture. He was
drawn to the Asian art wing especially, where he marveled
at the fine craftsmanship of Japanese samurai swords.
According to him, it was this fascination that led him to
an apprenticeship with a local bladesmith, building and
restoring swords. Still, you might find it hard to connect
the guy behind Slayer with this Flechtner at school.
Flechtner studied jewelry-making and metalsmithing
at first and then switched to MassArt’s Fine Metalsmith-
ing program as he was invigorated by the chance to work
with his hands. He also earned an MFA in furniture design
from the historical Cranbrook Academy of Art. As he
graduated, Flechtner worked as a furniture and product
designer in the architectural industry. However, with
abundant experiences and professional skills in design
and arts, he had no barista experience, no family lineage,
nor anything else to suggest a bright future in designing
espresso machines before joining Slayer Espresso in 2007,
the exact year that the brand’s revolutionary products
kicked off, provoking innovation in the design of espres-
so machines in specialty coffee. “To our Founder, Jason
Prefontaine, part of the appeal was that Fletchtner came
with fresh eyes,” shared Jacob Smit, senior content man-
ager & copywriter with Slayer.
Flechtner’s commitment to add beauty to the world
helped him develop a highly utilitarian style with a bal-
ance. This could already be seen through his works of
furniture, light fixtures, and motorcycles. For now, the
selection of natural wood for porta-filters and actuators
and sandcasting for X’s on the Slayer machines is a re- Photo / Slayer Espresso
flection of his thoughts on prizing beauty in transience
and imperfection. Those inspiring days at the museum
allowed Flechtner to let the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sa-
bi inform his palette of materials.

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