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WestEdge Rewind | 529 | Sustainable and Timeless Recorded Live in 2015

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I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design with a conversation from the past but no less relevant today and that is why I love producing the main stage at the WestEdge Design Fair. WestEdge, it’s coming up this November 14th through the 16th in Santa Monica at the Barker Hangar. This show is very special to me. I have been working with principles Megan and Troy, and co-founder Troy for years. This is a special show, my favorite show in California and that is saying something. It’s a labor of love and its with gratitude and appreciation to Megan and Troy that I get to do this every year.

 Designer Resources

Pacific Sales Kitchen and Home. Where excellence meets expertise.

Monogram – It’s the details that define Monogram

ThermaSol – Redefining the modern shower experience. Without steam, it’s just a bathroom.

Design Hardware – A stunning and vast collection of jewelry for the home!

 – Where service meets excellence

TimberTech – Real wood beauty without the upkeep

I wanted to share some past programs with you and it seemed like a good time as we lean in on this years show. One of the things that I have always loved about WestEdge is how it represents a celebration of design and a yearning to help elevate the industry in the future. For me, that desire to elevate has taken the form of freedom to curate panels, interviews and concepts that speak to the ever-changing and evolving nature of the design and architecture space. Troy and Megan have always supported my ideas and encouraged me to pursue the unique, undiscussed conversations in the same way I have always tried to do for you on the show.

For the past 2-3 years now, you have been hearing a lot of conversations about sustainability in design. The importance of sustainable consciousness in the industry. You have also been hearing a great deal about the story behind materiality and product. A true desire for narration in the design and materials that comprise it. It’s important. And I thought I would share our conversation discussing these very issues, recorded live, at WestEdge… In 2018.

Before we get to this, some thoughts on sustainable design and panel programming over time. The panel program you are about to hear was recorded in 2018. While not many were talking about this subject, we were and you are going to notice how far we have come since 2018 with regard to sustainable design practices. In large part due to conversations like this one. This is one of the reasons why the SoCal design community and beyond love this event so much. You are going to hear it here, first. The ideas and concepts that are shaping our industry now and well into the future. This year, we have an extraordinary slate of talks featuring amazing talent scheduled for the show. Find out more at WestEdge Design Fair dot com.

But first, It’s such a joy to look back at these and share them again.  Sustainable and Timeless Design featuring; Whitney Tinsley, Bret Englander of Cerno Group and Catherine Richardson of Libeco Linen. This program was moderated by Erika Heet of Interiors Magazine.

We’ll get to it, right after this.

TS

WE1

TT/ PS

WE2

DH

Thank you, Erika, Catherine, Bret, Whitney. Thank you, Megan and Troy from WestEdge. I enjoyed our conversations so much. 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

Old and New, A Design Story from an Emerging Design Destination, Kansas City | 521 | Kobel & Co.

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I’m Josh Cooperman, this is Convo By Design and this week we are heading to another hotbed of design in the Midwest, Kansas City. We’re visiting with Mallory Robins and Elizabeth Bennett, partners in Kobel +Co, a firm that curates happiness and joy through interior design and creation of contemplative spaces.

We are discussing things like curated minimalism, happy places and timeworn objects. All revolving around the idea that design is the curated creation of the place where you want to be. Sounds so easy, right? Manufacturing the place where you want to be. It’s not easy. That is why I think you are going to enjoy listening to the following conversation with Mallory and Elizabeth as much as I did facilitating it. I also enjoy sharing the stories from the design flyovers for a number of reasons. First, for years you have heard me complaining that the traditional design media doesn’t provide any love to designers not residing in New York, LA, Miami, Boston, etc. but you are starting to. And that is a good thing. I also enjoy doing this because it gives me a chance to come and visit these cities to fully understand the dynamics behind the growth of metropolitan areas across the US. For those who have never been to Kansas City, it is a fun, funky town with some really interesting design. Perhaps after hearing from Elizabeth and Mallory, you will.  Trust me, it’s worth the visit. You are going to hear all about it, right after this.

Designer Resources

Pacific Sales Kitchen and Home. Where excellence meets expertise.

Monogram – It’s the details that define Monogram

ThermaSol – Redefining the modern shower experience. Without steam, it’s just a bathroom.

Design Hardware – A stunning and vast collection of jewelry for the home!

TimberTech – Real wood beauty without the upkeep

We are discussing things like curated minimalism, happy places and timeworn objects. All revolving around the idea that design is the curated creation of the place where you want to be. Sounds so easy, right? Manufacturing the place where you want to be. It’s not easy. That is why I think you are going to enjoy listening to the following conversation with Mallory and Elizabeth as much as I did facilitating it. I also enjoy sharing the stories from the design flyovers for a number of reasons. First, for years you have heard me complaining that the traditional design media doesn’t provide any love to designers not residing in New York, LA, Miami, Boston, etc. but you are starting to. And that is a good thing. I also enjoy doing this because it gives me a chance to come and visit these cities to fully understand the dynamics behind the growth of metropolitan areas across the US. For those who have never been to Kansas City, it is a fun, funky town with some really interesting design. Perhaps after hearing from Elizabeth and Mallory, you will.  Trust me, it’s worth the visit. You are going to hear all about it, right after this.

Thank you, Elizabeth and Mallory, love your city, love your work. . I enjoyed our conversation and I am so appreciative to you for taking the time to share. 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 @ConvXdesign, with an “x”.  Until the next episode, be well and take today first. -Convo By Design

A Master Class in Kitchen Design | 516 | Creating Contemporary Kitchen Masterpieces and Ideas for Every Home

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I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design with a conversation about integrated and spectacular kitchen design. This conversation was recorded live from the Monogram kitchen inside the Pacific Sales showroom in Torrance, California. An absolutely gorgeous day inside and out.

Designer Resources

Pacific Sales Kitchen and Home. Where excellence meets expertise.

Monogram – It’s the details that define Monogram

ThermaSol – Redefining the modern shower experience. Without steam, it’s just a bathroom.

Design Hardware – A stunning and vast collection of jewelry for the home!

 – Where service meets excellence

On a beautiful Spring day in May, I was in Southern California to meet an extraordinary group of design creatives to talk about the revolutionary changes taking place in American kitchens from coast to coast, but specifically in California, where the dreamers have always come to explore, dream, and try new things.  It’s really extraordinary to think about the circular creative vision that begins with designers trying new things which in turn motivates manufacturers to innovate and provide those designers with was to push boundaries. We met at the Pacific Sales showroom in Torrance, a beautiful showroom with established vignettes where designers, architects and their clients can put their hands on the latest technology and appliance advancements.

Pacific Sales and Monogram are partner sponsors of Convo By Design. I am absolutely thrilled with this partnership and I’ll tell you why. I speak with designers and architects from coast to coast and beyond and one of the issues that keeps creatives up at night is finding and maintaining strong relationships with industry partners. And it’s getting more challenging to find good partners. Pacific Sales has been supporting the design trade for decades. Their trade partner program is robust with amazing incentives and their staff is  non-commissioned. That means you direct the process. Combine that with Monogram, another partner sponsor and you have quite the team. Monogram is built on performance and innovation. Exceptional products allowing designers to create exceptional spaces inside and out. All with the one goal of making your clients happy. Because that is what designers desire.

So, what are some of the most talented creatives doing with their kitchens? This is why we gathered, and you get to hear it all. This conversation features;

Anne Michaelsen Yahn | Anne Michaelsen Design @AnneMichaelsenDesign

Pam Barthold | Pazzam Designs @PazzamDesigns

Joseph Spierer | Joseph Spierer Architects @Joseph.Spierer.Architects

Cory Kingston | Cory Kingston Designs @CoryKingstonDesigns

And you are going to hear all about it, right after this.

Thank you Cory, Anne, Pam and Joe. Amazing. 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 @ConvXdesign, with an “x”.  Until the next episode, be well and take today first. -CXD

Susanne Csongor | 512 | Individual Reflections on Design, Making it Personal & Why Dogs are the Best

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I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design. The episode today features, Susanne Csonger of SLC Interiors. Susanne has spent decades honing her craft and taking the lessons learned and reinvesting that knowledge back into her design company. Usually, only discussions talk about the capital reinvested into the company. Susanne has adopted a unique approach that takes from personal experiences and lessons learned along the way to personalize her approach both personally and professionally. So, you might ask, what’s so unique about that?

Designer Resources

Pacific Sales Kitchen and Home. Where excellence meets expertise.

Monogram – It’s the details that define Monogram

ThermaSol – Redefining the modern shower experience. Without steam, it’s just a bathroom.

Design Hardware – A stunning and vast collection of jewelry for the home!

– Where service meets excellence

TimberTech – Real wood beauty without the upkeep

I’ll tell you. First, great question, one that I pondered myself. The answer is simple, but not easy. Susanne has taken lessons from personal experience to self-reflect, understand what is important to her and apply that philosophy to the work product and design ethos. From this conversation, I took away an understanding that Suzanne doesn’t just read the trades, go to shows and look online to capture tends and adapt them to her firm’s stylistic approach to design. Many successful designers do just that. And that works for them. But Suzanne is more of an artisan in her approach. One whose focus is on the shared experience of well-designed spaces. We discuss a number of other issues as well affecting design firms today like AI, social media, media attribution and regional differentiation. By the way, that last one is going to be a very big issue in the coming years as designers who expended from their traditional areas of work.

Thank you Susanne for a wonderful chat. Thank you to my partner sponsors ThermaSol, TimberTech, Pacific Sale and Monogram for you constant and consistent support of both Convo By Design and the industry. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to listen to the show. This thing of ours is amazing. 11 years strong and I could not do this without you. Please keep those emails coming, Convo By Design at Outlook.com. Reach out on Instagram as well. Tell me if there is a designer you would like to learn more about and we’ll see if we can make that happen. Thank you for listening, downloading and subscribing. Until the next episode, be well, and take today first. -CXD

Harmony From Chaos and Curated Style | 508 | Staci Munic

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I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design. Today on the show, you are going to hear my  conversation with interior designer, Staci Munic of Staci Munic Interiors. Hers is a firm based in Chicago and Palm Springs, an interesting combination for base cities. We talk about that in addition to her experience in the service industry leading all the way up to that of a restauranteur. If you own a restaurant, you understand how the kitchen works under extreme conditions. If you know that, designing a residential kitchen is a breeze, or so you might think.

Designer Resources

Pacific Sales Kitchen and Home. Where excellence meets expertise.

Monogram – It’s the details that define Monogram

ThermaSol – Redefining the modern shower experience. Without steam, it’s just a bathroom.

Design Hardware – A stunning and vast collection of jewelry for the home!

 – Where service meets excellence

TimberTech – Real wood beauty without the upkeep

A restaurant kitchen is nothing like its residential counterpart. But a residential kitchen, designed properly can have all of the functionality of a restaurant kitchen. Staci’s experience as a restauranteur gives her an edge and you can see it in her work. 

Because SMI works a great deal in Palm Springs, you might think that Staci loves Modern and Mid-Century Modern architecture, and you would be right. And the lessons learned from Modern architectures climb to prominence, fall from taste and back tells a pretty remarkable story that can help predict future ideas. We get into all of this and so much more. You are going to hear about all of it, right after this…

Thank you Staci for taking the time to talk. I really love the ideas shared and love your work. 

Thank you to Convo By Design partner sponsors, ThermaSol, TimberTech, Pacific Sales, Monogram and Design Hardware. And thank you for taking the time to listen, subscribe, download and share Convo By Design. Thank you to everyone who has made a show or guest suggestion, keep em coming, I love them as well as show ideas. I use many of them because I created this show for the design community in 2013 and who better to know what is working on the ground level but those who do it day in and day out. Please reach out via email, Convo By Design at outlook dot com and on Instagram @ConvoXDesign with and “X”. Thank you again to those subscribing to the show. By doing so, you receive every new episode the moment its published. You also receive The Design Messengers episodes on select Mondays that touch on new developments taking place in the industry, Drinking About Design on the occasional Friday where I get together with some amazing creatives over drinks, and The Convo By Design Icon Registry episodes on the last Thursday of each month where we enshrine exceptional creatives in our hall of fame. Until we meet again, be well, and take today first.

No Rules in the Universal Application of Design Products | 507 | Erin Minckley of Relativity Textiles

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I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design featuring a conversation with Erin Minckley of Relativity Textiles. An artist who started a textiles company from passion and love came a business and that is only the beginning.

From brand building to creating and sharing is how Erin crafted an idea to build a business. A business based on passion but also a business crafted to succeed in a very crowded, very competitive space. How? While we do get into the weeds a little bit about building a business, something I generally stay away from because Convo By Design is not a business of design show. There are more than enough of those and I never wanted to do that. It’s about the stories behind the work that I find so fascinating and Erin’s story is an interesting one. That story can’t be told without first exploring why she wanted to get into such a competitive space and how she does it differently. And she’s going to tell you all about it.

Designer Resources

Pacific Sales Kitchen and Home. Where excellence meets expertise.

Monogram – It’s the details that define Monogram

ThermaSol – Redefining the modern shower experience. Without steam, it’s just a bathroom.

Design Hardware – A stunning and vast collection of jewelry for the home!

 – Where service meets excellence

TimberTech – Real wood beauty without the upkeep

Thank you to Convo By Design partner sponsors, ThermaSol, TimberTech, Pacific Sales, Monogram and Design Hardware. And thank you for taking the time to listen, subscribe, download and share Convo By Design. Thank you to everyone who has made a show or guest suggestion, keep em coming, I love them as well as show ideas. I use many of them because I created this show for the design community in 2013 and who better to know what is working on the ground level but those who do it day in and day out. Please reach out via email, Convo By Design at outlook dot com and on Instagram @ConvoXDesign with and “X”. Thank you again to those subscribing to the show. By doing so, you receive every new episode the moment its published. You also receive The Design Messengers episodes on select Mondays that touch on new developments taking place in the industry, Drinking About Design on the occasional Friday where I get together with some amazing creatives over drinks, and The Convo By Design Icon Registry episodes on the last Thursday of each month where we enshrine exceptional creatives in our hall of fame. Until we meet again, be well, and take today first.

Burnishing A Reputation in Experimental Ceramics, Lighting & Art Design | 506 | Ethan Streicher on Design and the Journey

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I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design with an illuminating conversation about creativity, design and making things.

It’s that last part that I find so intriguing both Ethan Streicher of Streicher Goods. Anyone who has made something. I mean really made something as in a thing from a block of wood or multiple parts that were not designed to be put together knows that there is magic in crafting something from nothing. It’s what I imagine it feels like fro a designer or architect to take a space and turn it entirely into something else. Ethan Streicher is a maker of objects, an art director ceramicist and artist. 

Designer Resources

Pacific Sales Kitchen and Home. Where excellence meets expertise.

Monogram – It’s the details that define Monogram

ThermaSol – Redefining the modern shower experience. Without steam, it’s just a bathroom.

Design Hardware – A stunning and vast collection of jewelry for the home!

 – Where service meets excellence

TimberTech – Real wood beauty without the upkeep

Ethan and I shared some time and swapped ideas about makers and making. I feel as thought the design industry in all disciplines woke up in the summer of 2020. The greatest take away from that time is in two parts; 1. Once something happens, it can happen again. and 2. When an occurrence takes place that affects the entire planet and every person on it at the same time, there will be fallout, changes, disruption upon disruption. That has what happened. Many have returned to what they perceive as normality. But we are still in the midst of vast changes in the way way think and the manner in which we live. If you want to see  what that looks like, turn to creators, makers, artists and writers. Put down the magazines and news, they can only tell you what was and perhaps what is. But not what will be. Look to the makers for that. 

Be skeptical. After all that is what guards against the dreaded trendy next big thing. 

Be curious. Without curiosity, there is no possibility of discovering that which might change your life in unimaginable ways.

Be free with honest and probing questions. Our society has changed the way it looks at questions. A question will open the door to understanding. If someone is offended by the question, it might be because they don’t know the answer.

Makers, thinkers, writers, artists, designers will show you the state of our world in ways others can’t, or won’t. Ethan and I explore what it means to be a creator in times like these. If you are a designer, decorator or set decorator, Ethan is a new source. You’re welcome.

There you go. Thank you Ethan for taking the time to talk and sharing your work. Thank you to my partner sponsors for your continued support of the show and the design community. It’s important to the health of our industry. If you are a designer interested in learning more about my partner sponsors like Pacific Sales, ThermaSol, TimberTech, Monogram and Design Hardware, as well as any guests or concepts you heard on the show, please check the show notes for more information. 

Please keep those emails coming. convobydesign@outlook.com and reach out on Instagram @ConvoXDesign, with and “x”. Thank you again for listening. Until next week, be well and take today first. – CXD

New & Now featuring SheSpoke and ASID-Los Angeles | 505 | A Day of Dropping Design Knowledge LIVE from Los Angeles

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I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design with a ton to take in. When I moved to Tulsa in 2021, I thought that it would be a one year situation and then we would return to LA or figure out what was going to be the next destination. But something changed. Tulsa, Oklahoma is what the locals call, “Green Country.” And it is. Green. This part of the country is in what can only be described as the lower mid-west. It’s not the south. And one of the things that I noticed very soon after moving here was that life here is far less complicated than living in California.

Designer Resources

Pacific Sales Kitchen and Home. Where excellence meets expertise.

Monogram – It’s the details that define Monogram

ThermaSol – Redefining the modern shower experience. Without steam, it’s just a bathroom.

Design Hardware – A stunning and vast collection of jewelry for the home!

 – Where service meets excellence

TimberTech – Real wood beauty without the upkeep

I am a native Angeleno. I have moved away, but always came back. I love California. But some things have changed over the past 20 years. They have changed drastically over the past 2 years. I made a trip to LA to visit my friends at Design Hardware who were hosting a day of media and interviews. During that trip, I had the opportunity gather with a number of designers and contractors to discuss changes in the design and architecture landscape.

In addition to Convo By Design, I produce Doctoring Up Design, the official podcast of Design Hardware. Design Hardware is a sponsor partner of Convo By Design and the partnership is a strong one, going on over 4 years. Part of this partnership is hosting and producing the podcast, as well as hosting and recording unique design and architecture events. One such event took place in February. There were two groups, one group of designers, in partnership with ASID-LA and another group of all female contractors. This is a very interesting project spearheaded by Joan Barton, founder of Dirty Girl Construction as well as SheSpoke, a platform dedicated to promoting the success of women in the industry. 

So today on the show, we will hear from a group of ASID-Los Angeles Chapter design professionals discussing new design ideas taking shape in Spring of 2024 . We will hear from an all female group if contractors answering the question, “why is it so difficult to build in California.” One hint, Title 24. 

That was incredible. An amazing group of ASID-LA designers that included designers;

The following conversation features;

Cheryl Vines | Mesa Design Group

Jaqueline Steinberg | Eve Mode Design @JackieSteinberg

Lenora Mahle | Mahle Design @LeonoraMahle

Mark Cutler | Cutler Schulze @CutlerSchulze

Juliette Schatan-van der Meijden | Curated by Juliette  @CuratedbyJuliette

Nicole Schulze | Cutler Schulze @CutlerSchulze

Philip Nielsen | Nielsen Dye @NielsenDye

For information on each of these designers and their firms as well as the great work being done by ASID-LA and the Doctoring Up Design podcast, check the show notes for links. Next, we are going to har from Joan Barton, Lauren Howley, Shannon Sheehan and Catie Casazza. SheSpoke and why is it so hard to build in California.

Not one, but two amazing groups today. These were only segments from each of the conversations. For the full episodes, go to the show notes and click on the links. Thank you to everyone who participated in this incredible day of networking and professional growth. Sometimes it feels like everything is broken and the fixes don’t come easy. But when you have amazing talent like this, the problems seem to almost solve themselves. We will be doing another event in LA shortly and i will report back with the findings. If you are a designer, architect, landscape architect who wants to participate OR, if you are a publicist with a client that you think might be a good fit, please drop me an email, convobydesign@outlook.com. You can also reach out on Instagram @ConvoXDesign with an “x”.

Thank you to my incredible partner sponsors; ThermaSol, Pacific Sales, Monogram, TimberTech and Design Hardware for your continued support of both the show and the design and architecture community. It’s important.

So, thank you again for listening and supporting the podcast. Until next week, be well and take today first. -CXD

Daniel Ian Smith of Village West Design | 504 | Innate Design and That Which Makes Us Human

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I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design with a conversation with Daniel Ian Smith of Village West Design. Here is a quote from Daniel, “I believe everyone deserves to be surrounded by beauty, it is integral to what makes us human.” 

Pacific Sales Kitchen and Home. Where excellence meets expertise.

Monogram – It’s the details that define Monogram

ThermaSol – Redefining the modern shower experience. Without steam, it’s just a bathroom.

Design Hardware – A stunning and vast collection of jewelry for the home!

 – Where service meets excellence

TimberTech – Real wood beauty without the upkeep

That which is integral to making us human. Think about that for a moment. That which makes us human. The part that enriches us, makes life worth living. Meaning, purpose, form and function. I started this podcast because I love design. I love art, architecture, music and the that which enhances the experience of living. I will never forget the pandemic. I still think about it, a great deal. It was the medical community that repaired our minds and bodies, but it was the design community that repaired our souls. Mine anyway. I don’t just love design, I have worked with designers. For my wife’s birthday in 2018 or 19, I hired Nancy Russert, whom you have heard on this show. I wanted her to create a meditation space in the front yard of our Manhattan Beach home. She crushed it. As much as my wife enjoyed that space, it saved me during the pandemic. That space became a muti-hyphenate space, outdoors when the indoors became too confining. Daniel is a master architect with a distinct set of skills. Skills that better the lives of those he serves. And we talk about that and a number of other issues relating to the humanity of great design. 

Daniel and I cover topics rarely discussed like generational nuance as it relates to the way clients feel about and approach design. We’re exploring new ground here and this was really fun. I hope you enjoy it.

Thank you, Daniel. Loved our time together. Architecture and Italian. Love that. Thank you to my partner sponsors, ThermaSol, Pacific Sales, Monogram and Design Hardware, for not just supporting Convo By Design but for supporting the design and architecture community. Thank you, yes you…for taking the time to listen, download, subscribe and engage with Convo By Design. If you have a design friend that doesn’t know about the show, send them a link to this episode. They might enjoy it as well. If you want to connect, please do, convobydesign@outlook.com and on Instagram, @convoxdesign with and “x”. 

I will have something interesting for you next week, so make sure you are subscribing to the podcast which you can find everywhere you find your podcasts. Thank again. Until next week, be well and take today first. -CXD

 

The Design Messengers: Credit, Attribution and Media Standards | 494 | The Sofia Vergara Project in AD

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This episode of The Design Messengers is dedicated to an original in the field of design. Someone who has earned their reputation for the amazing work they do. This individual has been on Convo By Design in the past, I believe three times in different ways; As a solo guest, a multi-guest episode and on a panel I produced at the WestEdge Design Fair. Have you heard the story of Timothy Corrigan and Arch Digest? You probably have by now, if not in his Instagram feed, then perhaps through Business of Home who did an absolutely wonderful job covering this. If you have not heard this story yet, check the show notes for a link to the BoH story. Honestly, I can’t tell it any better than Fred Nicolaus executive editor @BOH did.

To synopsize, Tim worked on Sofia Vergara’s home in the Los Angeles suburb of Beverly Park. He worked on this project for years. His firm was replaced, for whatever reason with that of O’Hara Davies-Gaetano. Davies-Gaetano is another alum of Convo By Design. She has been on the show and I think that she too is a very talented designer. So, far so good, no problem. Clients and creatives part ways all the time. Enter @ArchDigest …The 800 pound gorilla in our industry. They publish the project and in the original piece, there is no mention of Corrigan’s work despite much of the specified material and architectural detail of Corrigan’s firm present in the final project. Corrigan called BS and had lawyers send a letter of complaint to AD which I have not read but which did result in a digital version correction and I would not be surprised to see a carefully worded correction in the next print edition. I am glad that they are doing this but to be frank with you, it is not only unfortunate that this happened but it was entirely avoidable. How?

  1. The trade publications have slashed editorial staff over the past decade.
  2. The contributors who are writing these stories are not, in most cases, trained journalists but instead, content producers who work off subject provided information and push the stories out fast. In many cases working on multiple projects for the same publication or in some cases freelancing for other outlets.
  3. There are no real journalistic standards for our industry. There should be.
  4. With the proliferation of social media, idea theft runs rampant, claims made are not checked and because there is so much content pushed out, it would take an army to do it.

I do not think there are any villains here. I think there are a number of players involved in this story that are overworked, overstimulated by social media content, driven to push out any celebrity driven story as fast as they can because that is what they believe their audience wants to see. I have issues with Architectural Digest and some other other industry pubs but AD in particular. Years ago, Architectural Digest published a piece on AD Pro that misattributed Convo By Design to another company. Check the show notes for a link, if it gets taken down by the time you hear this, email me and let me know so I can publish a screen shot to our IG feed. I reached out to AD’s contributor the week it happened. That was in October of 2019 and they still haven’t fixed it as of this recording.

Corrigan handled this the way it should have been handled. But let’s be honest about this… Were it a lesser designer, they most likely would have been ignored. I also think that what Tim did was incredibly brave. There could be ramifications, you just never know. My hope is that the folks at the shelter publications,  if they do believe strongly in our industry and who do, in fact make our industry better will use this experience to strengthen their journalistic practices. I would like to see all the trade pubs use trained journalists with a focus on design and architecture to write. That is not always the case. But, if it were, they could catch some of these inconsistencies well in advance of publication. And, if errors are made, which happen all the time because we humans a fallible and we journalists do make mistakes, once discovered, should have practices in place to correct the issue to the very best of their ability. We will see if this happens in this case. What does that mean… To the best of one’s ability. If I am being honest with you, I think there is far more that AD can do, I feel like in this case, they have thus-far done the bare minimum. You might ask, “like what, Josh?”. Great question. I did a bit more digging, and checked out AD’s YouTube channel. The Sofia Vergara project video remains on the channel, as of this recording on March 15th, it has just over 6 million views and absolutely no reference to Tim Corrigan. Sofia mentions O’Hara at least three times but there is no mention of Corrigan, his work or his influence on this project. There is no mention of him in the description

nor in any credits. There is no credit to O’Hara in the credits either which I found odd. I think it speaks to the lack of formal guidelines in media production and project credit attribution. 

Something else to consider, as machine learning continues to gain traction in every industry but specially ours, an algorithm would not know to credit Corrigan for his work on this project and in all future inquiries submitted through AI bots, he would never get credit for his work. This should trouble every single designer, architect, maker and brand from the biggest to the smallest. There should be rules, there should be standards. It would also stand to reason that the biggest players in the space from media to brands would act as thought leaders in this regard.

In an effort to help be part of the change, I would like to share a past episode of Convo By Design as it relates directly to this very issue. 

Episode 175, recorded in 2017 and published in 2018 called, Intellectual Right for Creative Types features Emile Nicolau, an IP attorney I worked with at Playboy along with Wendy Posner and Gary Gibson is a fantastic opportunity to hear about the ins and out of IP rights as they affect the design community.

The link to this episode is in the show notes. At the end of the day and through this episode you will learn that regardless of the IP or attribution issue, as a professional in any industry but specifically the design and architecture industry you can choose to defend your rights. You can also choose not to. But make no mistake, that is a choice and nobody is going to do it for you. If you see something that doesn’t make sense, say something. Those on the shelter media side, you have a choice as well. Do you make it right, or not? And that is a choice, one that should not be decided based on the size and experience of the creative, nor on wether or not they have an attorney but instead, is it the right thing to do. If you made a mistake, own it. Thank you, Tim for forcing this issue. Your actions have once again made the industry better than it was when you arrived.

Thank you for listening to Convo By Design. If you have questions or comments on this issue or any others, please email me, convobydesign@outlook.com. Until next time, be well and take today first. – Convo By Design

Source: All above mentioned source material was acquired from the internet on March, 15, 2024. 

Sofia Vergara_YouTube.com_March_15_2024

BusinessOfHome.com_March_15_2024

Instagram_TimothyCorrigan_March_15_2024

Instagram_ArchDigest_March_15_2024

Instagram_ODGInteriors_March_15_2024

#TimothyCorrigan #ArchitecturalDigest #ODGInteriors #SofiaVergara #MediaStandards #Design #Architecture