I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design with some of the highlights from the Fall open house at Design Hardware. Incredible design talent, interesting conversations and insights into how the business of design is changing.
The design industry today is more robust and complex than ever before. And that is only going to continue to change over time. Accelerating with every new change in technology and business climate. Not to mention actual climate changes. Every quarter, I check in with design talent at the Design Hardware showroom in Los Angeles and we chop up issue like these and others. These are some of the highlights from our Fall 2024 event that took place in November. You are going to hear all about that, right after this.
What a day. Thank you Cecile, Candace, Bianca, Adam and Ben. These were just a few of the conversations we had and you can find more in depth with these individuals as well as additional creatives by listening to Doctoring Up Design, the official podcast of Design Hardware. Check the show notes for links to that and all the designers you’ve heard here today.
Thank you to my partner sponsors including ThermaSol, TimberTech, Pacific Sales Kitchen and Home, Design Hardware and Monogram for your continued support to the design community. Thank you for taking the time to listen to the show and share it with with family, friends and colleagues. Your time is the most valuable asset and I appreciate the time we spend here together on the show. Please keep those show and guest suggestions coming. convo by design at outlook dot com and on Instagram @ConvoXDesign with and “X”. Until next week, be well and take today first. -CXD
The smell of Fall is in the air and people across the U.S. are preparing for a holiday season that will include gatherings. Family and friends get together, give thanks and celebrate one another. Much of that celebratory time takes place in the kitchen, the heart of the home where conversation and meal preparation are shared and enjoyed. Are you ready?
It’s not only during the holidays, but everyday activities take place in the kitchen and a group of exceptionally talented designers gathered to share their thoughts on how the technological advancements in home appliances have changed the way people live and the way these advancements are bettering the lives of those who employ them. We started with a very simple idea to discuss:
Technology, Style and Todays Most Well Designed Kitchens: Everything is Changing, How Some of the Most Talented Creatives Are Changing the Rules.
The most talented designers understand that times are changing. They have seen it happen, in real time prior to the start of the pandemic. Societal changes dating back to the financial crisis of 08/09 led to a renewed look at the “value” of home and the Covid pandemic created a renewed look at the “purpose”. No space has changed more than the kitchen, previously dubbed, “the heart of the home” has morphed into the heart, brain and central nervous system. All things experiential touch the kitchen. Technology has led to some of the greatest advancements in expected areas like refrigeration, cooking and cleaning, but that is only the beginning. How have technological advancements led to increased quality of life? What followed is only the beginning in a wonderful journey of exploration.
Thank you to Pacific Sales Kitchen and Home and Monogram for making this gathering possible. Great partners like Pacific Sales and Monogram appreciate their design clients and strive to provide opportunities to gather, learn and share experiences with our likeminded creates. They make the built environment community stronger and that in turn increases the quality of life for those fortunate enough to engage remarkable designers like these. The following conversation covered a lot of territory and real world scenarios about this very subject. Here are just a few of the concepts we discussed:
Recovered time no longer spent on meal prep
Convenience through remote activation
Automated cooking for meal perfection
Reduced upkeep
App management
Decorative advancements
Efficiency
Increased air and water quality
Minimized need for tools
Simplified education for full and maximized use
Minimized food waste
In appliance cameras for off-site reference
Fully customizable space for design approval
And you are going to hear from some amazing creatives starting with Lynnelle Bryant of Masbuild Design Solutions, right after this.
What an incredible day. Thank you Lynnelle, Goli, Gwen, Jeanne, Laura, and Rachel. Thank you Shaun Ayala, Verzine Hovasapyan, and Ricardo Garcia with pacific Sales Kitchen & Home for your participation and support for the design community. Thank you to all my partner sponsors including Pacific Sales, Monogram, ThermaSol, TimberTech and Design Hardware. These are amazing companies and they are here to make your projects the best they can possibly be. Check the show notes for links to each as well as videos from our designconversations featuring each of these wonderful designers. Thank you for taking the time to listen and share Convo By Design with your friends, family, colleagues and clients. I couldn’t do this show without you, wouldn’t want to. Until next week, be well and take today first. – CXD
This podcast, started in 2013, now 11 years running. I wanted to break from the usual conversations to share some thoughts on gratitude and optimism. To share some updates and thank those who have participated in this exceptional run.
The production of this episode coincides with Thanksgiving, intentionally. This is the time of year when most design professionals and clients alike tend to shut things down for the year. Kids come home from school for the Winter break, family comes to visit, we buy gifts for loved ones, attend holiday parties and I like to think that I am not alone in looking at the past year reflectively while looking to the new year with renewed optimism. 2024 was a fantastic year with regard to the show. Convo By Design has hit a higher gear this year. Going back to by background in motorsports, that means we have opened up new opportunities and are running faster and harder than ever before. The post-pandemic world is different that it was prior. Some issues have emerged this year that I find disturbing. Natural disasters, climate change, weather patterns have all accelerated. It isn’t really about if people believe or remain climate change deniers. Ignore these changes at your peril. I experienced something in 2023 that forever changed the way I feel about climate changes. Father’s Day, 2023, there was a straight line wind event in Tulsa. 100 mile per hour winds for 30-minutes. You can imagine the destruction. My family was fine, but others were not as fortunate. As I write this, a series of hurricanes passed through the southeast and the devastation was tremendous. We are also saw a dock workers strike, a fierce election season which will once again separate families and end friendships. And as I say this, I cannot help but feel optimistic for the year to come. Why? I’ll tell you, rights after this.
Why the optimism? First, I have been incredibly fortunate. I have my family, my health, you… yes you, I am so thankful that you listen, even happier when you send an email to let me know you like the show, disagree with something I said or have a guest suggestion. I also have a roster of incredible partner sponsors. Patrick, Nick, Mitch, Rachael and Jari from ThermaSol. Dan, Jay, Sam from TimberTech. Shaun and Verzine from Pacific Sales as well as the amazing team at Monogram. Michele, Avi, Stassi and Jaime from Design Hardware. Then there are the incredible creatives who share their stories and their work with us, you and me every week on the show.
2024 has brought some new endeavors, exciting changes and portends great things to come. But tread cautiously. I’ll get to that in a moment. First, the new developments. I learned early on in my radio career that the only thing you can really count on is change. The Telecom Act of 1996 changed so much, for me…and you. Most of the people I speak with these days don’t listen to the radio, and that is unfortunate for radio, but not for all of the incredible audio programming that we have available. If there was no Telecommunications Act of 1996, radio stations would probably still be in the hands of individual owners instead of the 10 groups that almost every American radio station. When I was a teenager, growing up in the Valley. I listened to KLOS, KMET, KNAC and KROQ. Play a song for me and I can tell you about how old I was and what I was doing when it was popular. KMET and KLOS created a love for Guns & Roses, Motley Crue, Giant, Scorpions and Van Halen, KNAC sharpened the rock edge with Metallica, Ozzy, Anthrax and Megadeth. Then KROQ, my beloved KROQ. The Smiths, The Cure, Depeche Mode, Roxy Music, The Nails who by the way introduced me to the name , Kamala, “who couldn’t sing but kept the beat and kept it strong.” 88 Lines About 44 Women, check it out. The point is, independent radio groups kept things fresh and interesting. They introduced me to new artists to fall in love with. Radio today is a shadow of its former self. The artists you hear today aren’t broken by radio but through individuals on social media. I compare this to the design industry because there is a very similar pattern being established. There was a time for those of us who loved design and architecture, a time when if you wanted to see what designers were making a splash, you turned to the trade publications. The magazines who provided beautiful glossy images, contributors who were actually journalists, writers who could craft a story and explain the language of architecture and design. Those days too have sailed by because most of us don’t subscribe to magazines anymore. That makes me sad because I still love magazines. They just don’t love me back. And I know there are some of you listening who still subscribe to and read magazines, but you are in the minority and at some point, this too will cease. Case in point. If you like music, and who doesn’t, when was the last time you bought an album? Not a song, an entire record? Fine, CD, digital download or actual vinyl, the whole record? Swifties, no need to email me, you’re different, I get it. This comparison makes for an interesting comparison between musicians and designers & architects. both produce new work that is reflective of broader societal issues. If radio was still the boss, you would not get exposure to new artists except those the industry wanted you to hear. Same goes for designers. To be frank with you, if radio were still the boss, podcasts would all be controlled by the existing radio groups. And, if the shelter trade publications were still as popular as they once were, Convo By Design would probably never have happened. So, in a strange way, I’m grateful for that too.
I mention this because as you are listening to this episode of the show, we recently completed the 2024 installment of the WestEdge Design Fair, a show I have been associated with since 2015. I have produced the programming o the main stage since 2017 and this year brought new voices along with well recognized creatives in design and architecture. Along with the new and established voices, we are talking about relevant issues that are affecting everyone in the shelter space, residential, commercial, design, architecture, manufacturing specifying, everyone and all of it. Concepts like; What’s Next which addresses what many can expect in 2025 with respect to politics, workforce, shipping, receiving, tariffs and other cost issues. Offline Vs. Reconnected, a conversation about the value, healthand emotional benefits of cutting cords in the design itself, why and how for best effect. Authenticity Vs. Dupes, cancel culture taught us that there are ramifications for bad actions and bad actors yet theft, specifically idea theft, creative theft goes unpunished, or has thus-far. But that’s changing, those with sticky fingers beware. Vengance is coming. Have heard about the kerfuffle between the Donals Judd Foundationand Kim Kardashian and Clements Design. This is a huge deal concerning trade dress, intellectual property and trademark infringement. A big deal and not the only issue out there. How about Gifford V. Sheil. Another high profile copyright and trade dress infringement as it relates to content and social media. This one is really interesting. It revolves around …
We are covering a number of new ideas that warrant exploration. If you were not able to join us this year, fear not, every panel has been recorded as it has since 2018 and you will be able to listen in beginning in January with a limited series called WestEdge Wednesday where you will hear one of the 2024 conversations. I want to share something else pretty special with you. Something that will make your heart sing if you love extraordinary design talent, right after this.
2024 brought the inaugural year of the Convo By Design Icon Registry, a hall of fame showcasing some of the most extraordinary guests since the show started in 2013. The icons of 2024 include; Bunny Williams, Cara Woodhouse, Jean Brownhill, Alex Papachristidis, Susan Ferrier, Dakota Jackson, Brigett Romanek, Tim Corrigan, Kyle Bunting, Brian Pinkett, Jamie Bush, and I’m spilling the tea a bit, but December’s addition will be the Brownstone Boys. You will hear that episode in a few weeks. Third Thursday of every month will be the induction of a new icon. This is a hall of fame, not a massive click-bait list of dozens of creatives, these individuals have been selected for a few reasons that include their appearance on the show, their body of work, a willingness to give back to the industry and the manner in which they created their design business. All of these individuals have left an indelible mark on the world, leaving it better than they found it. Make sure you are listening to the 2025 class inductions, there are some very special people. Each icon, in addition to their induction episode, will be receiving a custom made and hand turned piece from JMC Studio. You can see what those look like on Instagram @convoXdesign, with an “x”. Final thoughts, right after this.
2025 is going to be an exceptional year, I can feel it. Been vibing with the universe and I can feel everything beginning to align. It feels different because, as I stated at the beginning of this episode, there are external forces at work that have made and continue to make life more complicated that it once was. I think that designers are futurists who make life better through their architecture and design. That talent is what will be addressing the climate change issues, costs of goods, specification and lifestyle. We adapt, we evolve, we change in response to the external forces that affect the manner in which we live, love and exist. I’m excited about the year to come and that joy comes form an appreciation for what is and acceptance of what was. That’s gratitude. I’m grateful and thankful for everyone who has come on the show this year, I’m thankful for my partner sponsors, TimberTech, ThermaSol, Design Hardware, Pacific Sales and Monogram. Please keep those guest suggestions and show ideas coming, convo by design at Outlook dot com and on instagram, @convoXDesign with an “X”.
Until next week, be well, take today first and Happy Thanksgiving. – Convo By Design
I’m josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design with a sampling from the Summer edition of the Designer Showcase event at Design Hardware. Every Season, we invite some of the most talented creatives from across the Southland and the U.S. to participate in strategic conversations, interviews, product launches and panel conversations. This is part of Design Hardware’s commitment to the design community. And we’ve got a sampling from that event.
This episode of the show features two very talented and very different creatives. The first is Jaime Rummerfield who you have heard before on the podcast. Jaime is an old friend and a crazy-talented designer. You have heard her before, usually with Ron Woodson, but things change and Jaime has gone out on her own. What’s that like? You’re going to find out. Then, you will hear from Marcos Santa Ana of Alloi. Marcos is an architect and general contractor with a very unique perspective on the work and art that is architecture. And you are going to hear all about it.
Thank you Jaime and Marcos. By the way, if you are listening to this on the day we published, November 12th, you still have time to see both of these amazing designers as well as dozens more at the WestEdge Design Fair, November 14th through the 16th at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. Here is a link to get tickets to the show and see all of the incredible programming produced by Convo By Design.
Thank you to my incredible partner sponsors; ThermaSol, Design Hardware, Pacific Sales, Monogram and TimberTech. These are all fantastic partners with exceptional products and service to match. I have vetted these companies and I believe in them, and I think you should too. Check the show notes for direct links. Thank you for checking them out and specifying them on your next project. I also want to thank you for listening to the show and sharing Convo By Design with your friends, coworkers and colleagues who you think might enjoy it as well.
Please also keep the guest and show suggestions coming; convo by design at outlook dot com and on Instagram @convoxdesign, with an “x”. Until next week, be well and take today first. -CXD
I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design featuring an old friend and a new one in a very familiar space, talking about what makes strong bonds and strategic partnerships work. All while staying in your lane.
Joan Barton, founder of Dirty Girl Construction and SheSpoke, a platform that explores the stories and successes woman-owned, operated and worked side of the construction and design industry shared the mic once again with an outstanding creative thinker, Amy Theresa | DesignTonik@DesignTonik.Amy is the founder of Design Tonik, art + design, specializing in residential and commercial interior design, furniture procurement, design consulting and event planning.
This is a multi-hyphenate company because Amy is a multi-hyphenate creative. Making her perfect fro a conversation with Joan and another exploration into SheSpoke and open and honest conversation by and for women in the built space.
Joan and Amy explore these ideas and talk about the discoveries and changes in the industry since approximately 2017. This is how contacts are made, bonds are formed, partnerships solidified and wok gets done. And done in a selective purposeful way.
This conversation was recorded live from Design Hardware in Los Angeles as part of our Day of Design programming series. And you are going to hear all about it, right after this.
Thank you Joan and Amy. Loved this chat and appreciate the time. Thank you to my incredible partner sponsors; ThermaSol, Design Hardware, Pacific Sales, Monogram and TimberTech. These are all fantastic partners with exceptional products and service to match. I have vetted these companies and I believe in them, and I think you should too. Check the show notes for direct links. Thank you for checking them out and specifying them on your next project. I also want to thank you for listening to the show and sharing Convo By Design with your friends, coworkers and colleagues who you think might enjoy it as well.
Please also keep the guest and show suggestions coming; convo by design at outlook dot com and on Instagram @convoxdesign, with an “x”. Until next week, be well and take today first. -CXD
I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design. Today, we’re speaking with Laura Tribbett of Outline Interiors. I have long held the belief that design is a right, not a privilege. You might disagree, but let me explain why and after you hear my conversation with Laura, you might be on board.
Good design is a right, not a privilege. Good design affects all of us, makes communities stronger and it makes for a well lived life. I think many if not most people have no idea what good design is because most people are so heavily influenced by social media and because social media, actually media in general is so heavily influenced by likes, loves and emojis of those who don’t possess an educational background nor expertise on the subject. Anyone can look at an image on Instagram and love it enough to post a fire emoji. Nothing wrong with that but let’s not confuse that with an understanding of how that design might function or how it works with other spaces in the dwelling or how those who live there will use the space. It’s just a picture, they like it. Fine. But it’s really interesting how when enough people like something, it influence others to believe that it is exceptional. It might be, but there is nothing in the posting of an image to support that. Sometimes, this leads to fame for wildly popular designers regardless of whether or not their designs are good. And the measurement for that is how the client is affected by that work. There is a quote from Arthur Conan Doyle’s, The Hound of the Baskervilles in which Sherlock Holmes says, “I know what is good when I see it.”
In this particular case, Holmes is reacting to a portrait. Purely subjective. At the same time, what separates good design form bad? I would say that when you have a trained professional, doing what they have been trained to do on your behalf and influenced by your desires, the results have a good chance of hitting the mark. Why am I telling you this? Because smart, well trained and talented designers understand their roles and can see beyond first level obstacles.
Laura talks about infusing “moments of joy” into every project and that is one of the reasons I enjoy her work ad enjoyed our chat as much as I did. It’s also why I think you are going to love it.
Thank you, Laura for taking the time to share your story. Thank you to my partner sponsors, ThermaSol, Pacific Sales, TimberTech, Monogram and Design Hardware. These partners are amazing companies all who have made a concerted effort to support the design community through education, incentives, events, media and exposure, not to mention a collection of extraordinary products and service to match. Check the show notes for links to each of them so you can see first hand how they can make your design business thrive and your projects exceed expectations. Thank you for listening, downloading, subscribing and sharing the show with your friends and colleagues. Thank you for your emails, show and guest suggestions. Please keep them coming, convobydesign at Outlook dot com and on Instagram @ConvoXdesign, with an “x”.Until the next episode, be well and take today first. – CXD
I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design with a conversation about going home. You’ve heard the old adage, you can’t go home again. Derived from the Thomas Wolfe novel published in 1940, posthumously. It’s true, you can’t go home again because so much changes in your absence. I went home recently to Manhattan Beach. It’s true things change, but not everything and sometimes, change is good.
I love Manhattan Beach. One of the things I missed most after we moved to Oklahoma was walking down the greenbelt with kids andgetting dinner in downtown MB followed by a trip to the Creamery for an ice cream sandwich the likes of which you just can’t find anywhere else. While there, I stopped into Brewco to speak with Michael Zislis, restaurateur, developer, hotelier and MB devotee. So much so, that through his restaurant and hotel development, has almost singlehandedly reshaped the city for the better over the past 30 years. We talked about the redevelopment of Brewco, an eatery on Manhattan Beach Boulevard and an iconic spot for those who’ve lived there or those who’ve come to visit. you’re going to hear that and then, you are going to hear from Noelle Isbell, Manhattan Beach designer who took on the Brewco project in amazing fashion, called her shot and delivered a spot that is representative of Manhattan Beach’s past, present and future. Turns out, you can go home again. Even if it’s not exactly the same. If you love design, you are going to love this story. If you are a designer, this is how you go and get that project you have always wanted. And you are going to hear all about it, right after this.
Thank you, Noelle and Michael, thank you for creating something that makes me feel at home!. Thank you to my partner sponsors, ThermaSol, Pacific Sales, TimberTech, Monogram and Design Hardware. These partners are amazing companies all who have made a concerted effort to support the design community through education, incentives, events, media and exposure, not to mention a collection of extraordinary products and service to match. Check the show notes for links to each of them so you can see first hand how they can make your design business thrive and your projects exceed expectations. Thank you for listening, downloading, subscribing and sharing the show with your friends and colleagues. Thank you for your emails, show and guest suggestions. Please keep them coming, convobydesign at Outlook dot com and on Instagram @ConvoXdesign, with an “x”.Until the next episode, be well and take today first. – CXD
I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design. But you know that and I am thankful that you are listening to the show and joining me on this little journey of ours. And, it is a journey. I was thinking about you this week. If you are listening to the show, you are a designer, architect, manufacturer, in the industry or a design enthusiast and you take time out of your day to listen to the show. I take that as a challenge to provide you with the opportunity to hear from amazing creatives, incredible brand partners and others in this industry all the while in pursuit of sublime design wherever we can find it.
We are in a fairly weird time right now, I know you feel it the same way I do. We’re all feeling the strange vibes from the economy, politics, social media. But home is refuge. Designers and architects make that happen. In an effort to further drill down on this idea, I host small format events presented and hosted by Pacific Sales and Monogram, the official appliance partners of Convo By Design. I have been working with Pacific Sales in one way or another since the podcast started in 2013. And by Pacific Sales standards, that would make me the rookie amongst their staff. I met up with my friend Shaun Ayala at KBIS this year and he introduced me to the Pacific Sales team that made the journey to Las Vegas. Everyone I met had been with Pacific Sales between 15 and 25 years. These days, when companies open and close or decide to reimagine themselves every year or so, Pacific Sales has been there for their clients and design partners for over 60 years and backed by Best Buy. This is not a commercial, they sponsor the show, absolutely and I am really proud of that. And they do great work, like hosting the event from which the following conversation was recorded.
The Complete Kitchen. What does that mean? The kitchen has changed in dramatic ways and continues to evolve in previously unimaginable ways. The primary kitchen, dirty or working kitchen, outdoor kitchen, butler’s pantry, wine bar, wet bar, coffee bar… ensuite kitchenette, bathroom beverage center, sport court kitchenette. The idea of kitchen has changed and is limited only by imagination… And budget. We’re going to talk about all of this. Here is who joined me at the Pacific Sales Kitchen and Home showroom in Irvine, California:
Thank you,Michelle, Terri, Jess, Susan, Paul and Joe. Thank you Verzine, Cesar and Shaun with Pacific Sales for hosting the amazing experience. I enjoyed our conversation and cannot wait to see what you do next. Thank you to my partner sponsors, ThermaSol, Pacific Sales, TimberTech, Monogram and Design Hardware. These partners are amazing companies all who have made a concerted effort to support the design community through education, incentives, events, media and exposure, not to mention a collection of extraordinary products and service to match. Check the show notes for links to each of them so you can see first hand how they can make your design business thrive and your projects exceed expectations. Thank you for listening, downloading, subscribing and sharing the show with your friends and colleagues. Thank you for your emails, show and guest suggestions. Please keep them coming, convobydesign at Outlook dot com and on Instagram @ConvoXdesign, with an “x”.Until the next episode, be well and take today first. -Convo By Design
