Monthly Archives: May 2020

Special Series on Designing for Disaster | 8 | Margie Grace on Creating Your Outdoor Oasis

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This is the final episode in the series, not because there isn’t more to learn but because we are coming out of this first lock-down and you have been provided with actionable strategies for making your space more functional, more livable and now is your chance to go make it real. Speaking of real, I mention that we are through the first lock-down, there will be more. Perhaps not in the near future but don’t kid yourself into thinking that this can’t happen again. Instead, hope for the best and prepare for the worst. This series was presented in parts to help you structure your design into categories and this is the final piece… landscape design. This episode features Margie Grace talking about: 

Editing your spaces

Embracing the opportunity to clean out and purge

Being hopeful and bringing new life into your life

Plan the environment; 1. Dream it,  2. research it, shop, repurpose, rebuild what you have, 3. build it and 4.  live in it. X amount of functions and Y amount of space.

Functional design. Fruits, flowers, herbs and decorative plants, trees and shrubs for shade and privacy… What is it you want? Functionally design your space.

Beds & Borders, seating areas, ground vs. potted gardens.

Margie, as you will hear if you are not familiar with her, is a tour de force. She is energetic for days and has a very clear vision as it relates to her approach. So, strap in and try to keep up.

Thank you, Margie, for your time and talent. For more about Margie Grace, please go to gracedesignassociates.com. Thank you Walker Zanger for your partnership and support of Convo By Design. And thank you for listening, were it not for you, there would be no Convo By Design. We are getting through this, and while we do, I will keep bringing you the ideas from incredibly talented creatives to make it a little bit better. If you have a question, ideas for a segment or you are a designer that wants to help, please email me at ConvoByDesign@Outlook.com. Take care of yourself and your loved ones.

Behind the Design with John Colaneri | 272 | The Designer’s Home

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I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design with a virtual case study of a designer’s own home with, designer, builder, design influencer, John Colaneri.

You most likely know John Colaneri from HGTV’s Kitchen Cousins, his books, or you have seen him on national talk shows. It’s easy to forget when watching celebrity designers that they are currently active designers and builders. It’s also easy to forget that they have homes of their own and designing for themselves can be even more challenging than designing for a TV show where the edit is always available. This conversation is from a virtual gathering called The Showroom presented by Walker Zanger, the presenting sponsor of Convo By Design. You are about to hear a walkthrough of Colaneri’s own home, recently completed. You are going to hear about how he put it together and how the internal negotiations with his wife made for some interesting product choices. This is a masterclass on design, product specification, and putting your true desire at the epicenter of the design. There are a number of references to the work and products in John’s home. You can follow along and see it for yourself @ColaneriJohn on Instagram as well as JohnColaneri.com. Both will be linked in the show notes. This is John Colaneri.

Thank you, John, Thank you, Erika, thank you, Walker Zanger, for your continued support and thank you for listening, downloading every episode and engaging on the socials. Please follow the show stay up to date on where we will be at convobydesign.com and @ConvoXDesign with and “X” on Instagram. If you are not yet subscribing, please do, you can find the show everywhere you find your favorite podcasts or simply ask Alexa or Siri, say, “Hey Siri, play Convo by Design podcast”, and she will. Be well and until next week, keep creating.

Designing For Wellness | 271 | Mitch Altman – CEO THERMASOL

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I’m Josh Cooperman and this is another episode of Convo By Design featuring Mitch Altman, third-generation CEO of THERMASOL. This is a conversation about multi-functional design for beauty, health, and wellness.

THERMASOL is a family-owned and operated business producing amazing steam shower products for over 60 years. This is the story of a California company now based in Texas and still run by the family that started it all. Mitch Altman is constantly improving the company and that product company is now so much more. THERMASOL is a technology company that provides the tools to turn the shower into an experience, a source for wellness and sanctuary and so much more.

I want you to hear from Mitch, and every month on Convo By Design, THERMASOL will be presenting a new feature on the podcast called, “A Moment of Zen, Designing For Wellness” where we explore new ideas in design with a focus on health, wellness and creating your personal oasis.

Thank you, Mitch, for the time. Thank you, Walker Zanger, for your continued support, and thank you for listening to the show, downloading each podcast episode, and engaging through the socials. Make sure you never miss an episode of the podcast, ask Siri to help you, say, “Hey Siri, play Convo By Design podcast.” And she will! Thanks for listening and until next week, keep creating.

Celebrating the LaCienega Design Quarter | 270 | Part 4 of 4

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For over 50 years, the LaCienega Design Quarter has been a design destination serving LA’s vibrant and extremely talented design community. This design district is special and has seen Los Angeles change from trendy studio town to a global creative powerhouse. For the past 11 years, Legends of LaCienega has been a celebration of design, showcase for amazing design talent and social gathering for anyone who loves design.

In 2019, Convo By Design was represented as an official media sponsor of Legends. I cannot tell you how amazing this was for me and how saddened I was when I learned that because of the coronavirus pandemic, the event was canceled this year. I think what saddens me most is that I personally will miss seeing all my friends and I imagine that many of you listening feel the same way. So, I wanted to take a look back and share some of the amazing designers from last year’s event. My hope is that this gives you a little bit of joy, I will republish this in a series of episodes so you can hear all about the 2019 designs and showrooms whose windows served as the canvas for these amazing designers. I would also like to again remind you how special the LaCienega Design Quarter is and suggest that when this is all over, please go visit the LCDQ showrooms again.

Tom Stringer

Dan Mazzarini

Legaspi Courts

Peti Lau

Alex Papachristidis

Kevin Isbell

Gianetti Home

Patrick Sutton

Brooke Wagner

Bridgid Coulter

That is a wrap on this episode of Convo By Design featuring the amazing creatives who decorated and designed the windows of the LaCienega Design Quarter in 2019. I hope hearing from these creators brings you a little joy and I look forward to Legends of LaCienega returning in 2021.

Thank you LCDQ for having me, thank you, Walker Zanger, for your continued support, and thank you for listening to the show, downloading each podcast episode, and engaging through the socials. Make sure you never miss an episode of the podcast, ask Siri to help you, say, “Hey Siri, play Convo By Design podcast.” And she will! Thanks for listening and until next week, keep creating.

Special Series on Designing for Disaster | 7 | Designer Kim Gordon on Finding Your Happy-Place Now

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I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design with a special series of episodes focused on the COVID – 19 pandemics from a different perspective. You already know about washing your hands and staying at home. But, staying at home has created a whole new set of unforeseen issues. Our homes were not created to serve as home, office, school, restaurant, daycare all at once. This series of episodes is designed to address the fact that most if not all of us are home riding out this pandemic, hopefully, this provides you with some inspiration and makes weathering this a little bit easier.

You are about to hear from an amazing design and an equally exceptional person. Kim Gordon is fearless, strong & sensitive. Her raw approach is refreshing and allowed for an amazing conversation about the idea of home. If this sounds too woo-woo for you, hang on a minute. Think about the idea of home and what you want it to be. It’s different for everyone and yet, there are consistent through lines that allow us to find what that special place means to each of us individually. In this episode, Kim talks about:

Hitting The Reset Button- Time to stop, think, and reassess.

Accept the Tension and Uncertainty- Stop fighting it and learn to live with it.

Time to Focus- This will allow you to rediscover what is truly important.

PLANTS- Kim loves to bring plants into foster relaxation.

Bring the Outside, In- Adding on the idea of plants with outside materials incorporated into the interior design.

What’s That Smell- The smell of home.

Water Feature- With the outside incomes sound with sight and smell.

Be Good to Yourself- That really is the core tenet.

Walk Your Space with a Fresh Look- Leave your preconceived ideas at the door and walk your space for the first time.

Home as Personalized Retreat- This process leads to a reassessment, rediscovery, and finding your personal happy place. A place you never want to leave.

Thank you, Kim for your time and talent. For more about Kim Gordon, please go to Kim Gordon Designs dot com. Thank you, Walker Zanger, for your partnership and support of Convo By Design. And thank you for listening, were it not for you, there would be no Convo By Design. We will get through this, together. And until we do, I will keep bringing you the ideas from incredibly talented creatives to make this a little bit better. If you have a question, ideas for a segment or you are a designer that wants to help, please email me at ConvoByDesign@Outlook.com. Take care of yourself and your loved ones.

Celebrating the LaCienega Design Quarter | 269 | Part 3 of 4

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In 2019, Convo By Design was an official media sponsor of Legends. I cannot tell you how amazing this was for me and how saddened I was when I learned that because of the coronavirus pandemic, the event was canceled this year. I think what saddens me most is that I personally will miss seeing all my friends and I imagine that many of you listening feel the same way.

It has been such a joy sharing these interviews with you. This is the third of four in this series and you have heard from over half of the designers from the 2019 event. I want to invite you to head over to the Convo By Design YouTube channel to see these windows, these showrooms, and these designers.

So, I wanted to take a look back and share some of the amazing designers from last year’s event. My hope is that this gives you a little bit of joy, I will republish this in a series of episodes so you can hear all about the 2019 designs and showrooms whose windows served as the canvas for these amazing designers. I would also like to again remind you how special the LaCienega Design Quarter is and suggest that when this is all over, please go visit the LCDQ showrooms again.

Masa & Jon Kleinhample
Klein Agency
http://www.klein.agency/about
Los Angeles, CA.

Kristi Nelson
KM Nelson Design
http://www.kmnelsondesign.com
Los Angeles, CA.

Gary Hutton
Gary Hutton Design
https://garyhuttondesign.com
San Francisco, CA.

Tim Barber & Patrick Tennant
Tim Barber, Ltd.
https://www.timbarberltd.com
Los Angeles, CA.

Drew McGukin
Drew McGukin Interiors
https://www.drewmcgukin.com/
New York, NY.

Max Humphrey
Max Humphrey Interior Design
https://www.maxhumphrey.com
Portland, OR.

Julia Wong
Julia Wong Designs
https://www.juliawongdesigns.com
Los Angeles, CA.

Chad Dorsey
Chad Dorsey Design
http://www.chaddorseydesign.com
Dallas, TX.

Martyn Lawrence Bullard
Martyn Lawrence Bullard Design
https://martynlawrencebullard.com
Los Angeles, CA.

That is a wrap on this episode of Convo By Design featuring the amazing creatives who decorated and designed the windows of the LaCienega Design Quarter in 2019. I hope hearing from these creators brings you a little joy and I look forward to Legends of LaCienega returning in 2021.

Thank you LCDQ for having me, thank you Walker Zanger for your continued support, and thank you for listening to the show, downloading each podcast episode, and engaging through the socials. Make sure you never miss an episode of the podcast, ask Siri to help you, say, “Hey Siri, play Convo By Design podcast.” And she will! Thanks for listening and until next week, keep creating.