Category Archives: Uncategorized

Design Rockstars, Rebels & Raconteurs | 261 | A Blueprint for Success

Posted on by

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 46:24 — 42.5MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Email | TuneIn | RSS | More

I started Convo By Design seven years ago because I saw an opportunity to tell the stories of creators, designers, architects, artists, set decorators and others who change the way we live, build and design. I started recording panels and keynotes from West Week, Fall Market, Legends and of course, WestEdge Design Fair. After I started working with WestEdge co-founder’s Troy Hanson and Megan Reilly, the opportunity presented itself to start producing the stage. For two years now, the Convo By Design Programming Lounge has been a place to share new ideas, engage and explore the stories from inside SoCal’s vibrant world of design and architecture.

Rapidly, a new class of creators has emerged. These artisans are taking the industry to the next level through the work as well as through the stories they’re telling and the business they’re building. They are multi-dimensional. I crafted a panel called Rockstars, Rebels, and Raconteurs to showcase some of these unique personalities. This group included designers Lori Dennis and  Ryan Saghian as well as architect, Jean Brownhill. Consider this a blueprint for success and a roadmap for any new creative endeavor.

This chat was fun and covers a lot of ground so let’s get to it. Here are some of the topics covered:

Who are you? What an interesting question. Do you know? They do.

The next topic is one very near and dear to my heart, it too was covered at WestEdge and you will be hearing about it later this year on the podcast. The topic is mentorship.

The next topic is connections. So important and you’re going to hear why.

You have heard a lot about talk collaborations and you are about to hear more..this is good, really good.

Okay, we have covered a lot of ground here. Identity, mentorship, connections, collaborations… You’re about to hear about fear.  Not a topic often addressed but so important. Everyone feels it, but everyone responds differently. Here is how this group of rebels handles their fear.

From fear to drive and you’ll hear how they are connected.

From fear to drive, what could the next subject possibly be but working on the edge…

If you are going to change the business, disrupt or whatever you want to call it, you have to find your niche, locate the need, find the audience looking for what you have to offer.

From finding the need to maintaining momentum. This is a hard one. Making it to the top is one thing, staying there is another…

Finally, it comes down to blazing trails and doing things differently…

So there you have it for Rockstars, Rebels, and Raconteurs with Lori Dennis, Jean Brownhill, and Ryan Saghian. This is a blueprint for any creator looking to take their game to the next level. Special thanks to Ryan, Jean, and Lori. Thank you, Megan and Troy, thank you Erika Heet for moderating this conversation, thank you, John McClain, Kevin Isbell, Julia Wong and Nicolette Akiko for designing our stage at WestEdge. Thank you, Walker Zanger, for your support and thank you for listening, without you, there is no Convo By Design. If you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show everywhere you find your favorite podcasts. Until next week, keep creating.

#ConvoByDesign #Rockstars #RyanSahgian #JeanBrownhill #LoriDennis #WestEdgeDesignFair

Cutting Carbs | 260 | Cutting Carbon Emissions, Sustainable Building and Design

Posted on by

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 54:27 — 49.9MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Email | TuneIn | RSS | More

I found myself at the Design Hardware on 3rd Street in Los Angeles for a conversation on building sustainability, design, and wellness. I don’t think it will surprise anyone to know that there are a growing and distinct link to be made between sustainable design and designing for wellness. The trouble with the conversations around sustainability is that it’s dry, some say dull and it can be. What is truly exciting about the subject though is what happens in the application of sustainable practices. There is, truly a revolution taking place in the design and architecture space. The focus has completely flipped on its head, in a good way. Where many would once talk about how a structure is to be used and lived in, now we talk about how to design and build to serve the people who use that structure. Design is experiential. The experience is what makes it work.

Tract Metro moderates this chat with Maria McCain from the Natural Resources Design Council, Ben Stapleton of the US Green Building Council and Real Estate pro, Erick Zumwalt. This conversation connects the dots between sourcing, sustainable design, property value and how these elements all work together.

Enjoy this conversation recorded live from Design Hardware moderated by designer and TV host, Tracy Metro.

Maria McCain | Natural Resource Defense Council

Maria McCain’s work encompasses the organization’s entire real estate portfolio. McCain analyzes NRDC’s extensive data on waste, water, energy, and travel to develop and implement strategies that minimize the organization’s carbon footprint. These strategies are also applied to internal green construction projects. Overall, McCain values a methodical and integrated approach to solving challenges. She received a master’s degree in environmental monitoring, modeling, and management from King’s College London and a bachelor’s degree in environmental and natural resource economics from West Virginia University. McCain is based in NRDC’s Santa Monica office.

https://www.nrdc.org/experts/maria-mccain

Ben Stapleton | US Green Building Council

A native Angeleno, Stapleton is a recognized sustainability leader, who brings to this position extensive experience and connections across real estate, technology, and innovation. He led major operational growth, program development, and partnerships to triple revenue for the non-profit. Simultaneously, launched and managed the La Kretz Innovation Campus in Downtown Los Angeles, most recently serving as SVP, Operations & Finance for the LA Cleantech Incubator (LACI). The Campus has become an epicenter for sustainability in the region featuring events with
prominent local, national and international leaders, while being home to a community of cutting-edge businesses and nonprofits.

HOME

Eric Zumwalt

https://www.egcrealestategroup.com

That’s a wrap on this episode of Convo By Design recorded live from Design Hardware featuring Eric Zumwalt, Ben Stapleton, Maria McCain and of course Tracy Metro. Thank you Design Hardware for hosting and putting on such a great event. Thank you, Walker Zanger, for your generous support and of course, thank you for listening. If you haven’t already, subscribe to the show everywhere you find your favorite podcasts. Until next week, Keep creating.

What’s My Line | 259 | How to Create and Take a Design Product Line to Market

Posted on by

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:02 — 54.1MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Email | TuneIn | RSS | More

Resetting the scene for you, the WestEdge Design Fair was held, as it is every year, at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. These conversations were held in the Convo By Design Programming Lounge with custom designs from John McClain, Studio Akiko, Isbell Interiors and Julia Wong Designs. This conversation was transformative for a number of reasons. Interior designers, many if not most, want a line to call their own. That signature line not only creates an opportunity to do business outside of the design studio but it is considered by many to be a legacy proposition, something that extends beyond the design work.

As such, I wanted you to hear from power players in the space, and you are about to hear that conversation featuring Sue Firestone of SFA Design, Arch Interiors, Christopher Grubb, photographer, Gray Malin, designer Xander Noori, and designer Leslie Shapiro Joyal. This group was expertly questioned by journalist and editor, Alex Abramian. This group brings some serious firepower. Enjoy and be inspired.

Sweeten Your Design | 258 | Jean Brownhill

Posted on by

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:49 — 28.2MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Email | TuneIn | RSS | More

You listen to Convo By Design for a few reasons, I have been told, and 2 of those reasons are to find inspiration and hear the stories of designers, architects, futurists and creators responsible for the direction of design in So Cal and beyond. I have an amazing guest in Architect, founder and CEO of Sweeten, Jean Brownhill.

Brownhill’s story is a complex one full of long shots  successes and uphill battles. A women who is disrupting the construction space by attempting a massive change in the way the business is done. I want you to know that I use the word “disrupting” carefully and with purpose. Because that word has become overused with regard to business changing the status quo and because simply changing something isn’t enough, it has to be positive change or what’s the point? 

Brownhill is addressing some common issues and attacking those issues with thoughtful strategy available via Sweeten, a company that matches clients with vetted contractors in a transparent ecosystem that incentivizes the trade to remain on good terms and Sweeten is compensated through commissions on work transacted within that ecosystem. While I have not experienced the service myself, I like the idea because it provides all parties with positive motivating factors for doing things the right way. That would make Brownhill and Sweeten a truly disrupting company. And regardless of how you feel about that idea, what cannot be denied is that a woman… of color… an architect… in  the construction space… who has raised millions of dollars in VC funding… does make Jean Brownhill a unicorn. She is one of very few, this is her story.

Convo By Design is presented by Walker Zanger….A remarkable company and an equally remarkable design partner.  While the Walker Zanger brand was built on the promise to inspire designers and architects to do their best work, there is far more to it than that. Yes, that promise is fulfilled everyday through a commitment to provide the best ceramic, glass, stone, porcelain, quartz and concrete surfaces and finishes but at the heart of this is a family owned and operated business that provides stunning surfaces for a well designed home.  Walker Zanger started in 1952 and they are absolutely one of the best trade partners a designer can have. Check out their newest collaborative line with designer Pietta Donovan. A collection of Cement and Ceramic tiles inspired by the the patterns and colorways of the 1970’s and created with a comfortable modernity. Walker Zanger is on the cutting edge of design featuring products for every style and architectural feel you can create and they provide homeowners with the materials that dream kitchens and baths are made of. Check out any of their 14 showrooms across the country or shop online, Walker Zanger dot com.

That is a wrap on this episode of Convo By Design featuring Jean Brownhill, this was recorded at the WestEdge Design Fair in Santa Monica in October 2019. Thank you for the time Jean, thank you Walker Zanger for your generous support of the show and of course, thank you for listening. Without you, there is no Convo By Design!  Until next week, keep creating.

Beautiful Together | 257 | Product Partnerships Designed to Succeed

Posted on by

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:15 — 27.7MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Email | TuneIn | RSS | More

Every week, you and I go on this journey through the inner workings of the business of design and architecture together. Actually, that’s not completely accurate, it’s not just the business, it is the inner workings of a big complex machine of which the business is an integral part but certainly not the entirety of what we talk about every week. The very DNA of this world is design and architecture. Within that are many detailed and complex inner workings that aren’t always what they seem. I had an opportunity at the WestEdge Design Fair to sit and talk with some people of whom I am extremely fond. They include New Zealand born, Brooklyn based interior and product designer, Pietta Donovan and Walker Zanger Marketing Director, Erika Egede-Nissen. We talked about partnerships.

I get asked about this subject quite often and discuss it on the show equally often, what makes a good partnership between designers, showrooms and manufacturers? What is the best way to approach a line of products while trying to both hit a spot in the market, maintaining brand identity while simultaneously breaking new ground and being innovative. All these things are difficult to do in isolation but combined in a product launch. It’s hard, it’s complex but is also something that is best done in a collaborative framework. You don’t know when I was recording this intro and it’s immaterial to the point of the story but today I had a conversation with a showroom manager and their director of showrooms who was in from out of town. I was explaining how Los Angeles is different than New York, and how we are different compared to Houston, Dallas, Miami and Chicago. Of course we are, and those differences are not just regional, local or national. Design today is all about making our spaces truly unique to us as opposed to making our spaces exactly like the projects found in the trade publications. Listen, as the associate publisher and online editor for Modern Luxury Interiors California Magazine, I see the challenges the industry faces when trying to differentiate themselves from everyone else. Manufacturers, showrooms, designers and architects all face those very same challenges. You listen to the show, and if your new, welcome, you’ll be up to speed very quickly, I believe in brand, differentiation, innovation and that the true value of design lies in the talent of the individuals who create. Today, I offer a story that will touch on all of the above. The collaboration, partnership, innovation, promotion and execution is based on a few universal truths.

Nobody does this alone, you need others to help you succeed
Luck is something earned by working hard so that you are in the right place at the right time
More is learned by listening than by speaking
True mastery is displayed through application than description, in other words, show me, then tell me.

Todays story is told in two parts, first with Pietta and Erika. They are going to explain the anatomy of this unique and special partnership. Following that, you’ll hear from Jonathan Zanger and his perspective on the same subject.

The Christopher Kennedy Compound in Turlock, CA | 256 | Hosted By Nancy Russert of Les Beaux

Posted on by

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:05:12 — 59.7MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Email | TuneIn | RSS | More

Design houses are one of the elements unique to interior design and architecture. It’s like our version of the runway show in fashion, or the car show in the auto industry. Christopher Kennedy has become quite adept at ideating the design house and executing them. Christopher is a regular fixture in Palm Springs during Modernism Week and you have heard about some of those here on the podcast and even seen some of the interviews on our YouTube channel.  As a side note, before I started the podcast, I produced a design house in Hollywood I called Small Space, Big Style and Christopher was a featured designer on the project. He masterfully designed a 70’s inspired living room and was an absolute pleasure to work with. So when I heard that Christopher was creating a design house in Central California, I really wanted to cover it for you.

I had another idea at the time, I wanted to assign this project to someone who could cover its from a designer’s perspective so I reached out good friend, previous guest and fabulous design talent, Nancy Russert of Les Beaux and Twist Custom to go and see this project. She did, and in the process, created what is really a travel journal to the Central California Valley City of Turlock, definitely NOT a hotbed of design to see this project.

Convo By Design is presented by Walker Zanger….A fantastic company and an equally dependable design partner.  While the Walker Zanger brand was built on the promise to inspire designers and architects to do their best work, there is far more to it than that. Yes, that promise is fulfilled everyday through a commitment to provide the best ceramic, glass, stone, porcelain, quartz and concrete surfaces and finishes but at the heart of this is a family owned and operated business that provides stunning surfaces for a well designed home. Walker Zanger started in 1952 and they are absolutely one of the best trade partners a designer can have. Check out their newest collaborative line with designer Pietta Donovan. A collection of Cement and Ceramic tiles inspired by the the patterns and colorways of the 1970’s and created with a comfortable modernity. Walker Zanger is on the cutting edge of design featuring products for every style and architectural feel you can create and they provide homeowners with the materials that dream kitchens and baths are made of. Check out any of their 14 showrooms across the country or shop online, Walker Zanger dot com.

This is Nancy Russert starting off where most good travel stories begin, the airport. #Design #Interiors #MidCenturyModern #NancyRussert

Your Canvas for Outdoor Memories | 255 | Creating Memory Making Spaces for Outdoor Living

Posted on by

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 52:14 — 47.8MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Email | TuneIn | RSS | More

This is the time of year when many here in California are starting to think about getting back outside. It was cold for a week or two, we got a little rain to clean off the dust from the Santa Ana winds and now it’s time to start thinking about making new outdoor memories. For that, we are going back to the WestEdge Design Fair for a conversation called, Your Canvas for Outdoor Memories presented by Urban Bonfire and featuring; Patty Dominguez, VP of National Sales at Cosentino, Annette Reeves, lifestyle advisor for Pirch and designer, Cesar Giraldo. If you have listened to the show for a while, you know Cesar. This panel was moderated by Urban Bonfire President and Co-Founder, Ryan Bloom.

You are going to hear about collaboration, inspiration, design and putting it all together for a space that is a canvas for creating your outdoor memories. Enjoy this conversation, by design. A note, if you haven’t already please subscribe to the podcast everywhere you find your favorite shows, check out our videos form conversations like this one and engage via the socials. Can’t wait to hear from you and if your’e a designer with a story to tell, email me directly ConvoByDesign@Outlook.com.

#ConvoByDesign #WalkerZanger #Pirch #CesarGiraldo #UrbanBonfire #WestEdgeDesignFair #OutdoorDesign #InsideOut

Epic Spaces & Favorite Places | 254 | Bringing Inspiration Home

Posted on by

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:42 — 47.3MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Email | TuneIn | RSS | More

This is a conversation from the WestEdge Design Fair called Epic Spaces and Favorite Places… Here’s the idea… Online access has made the world a smaller place. It has brought us closer together and created the opportunity to see amazing things in wonderful and far away places. For some, that’s just not good enough. Travel, treasure hunting and using that as inspiration to create magnificent spaces is their true desire. This is a conversation about amazing places in exotic places and bringing it home moderated by USModernist.Org founder George Smart and featuring, Assembledge+ David Thompson, Massimo Buster Minale from Buster and Punch, interior designers Alison Pickart and John McClain and Fettle’s Tom Parker. This is a great chat about design, inspiration, travel and putting it together in pursuit of epic spaces!
.
.
.
.
#design #inspiration #travel #Assembledge+ #BusterandPunch #JohnMcClain #AlisonPickart #USModernist

Build Your Design Brand | 253 | The Firm Upgrade Master Class

Posted on by

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 58:51 — 53.9MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Email | TuneIn | RSS | More

This is a panel conversation from the WestEdge Design Fair called The Firm Upgrade, part of the Brand Development Series. It featured journalist, Alex Abramian, Project M+ Cleo Muranane, Designer Jeff Andrews and Xander Noori’s, Keon Khajavi-Noori. This conversation is about growing your design or architecture firm’s brand, your profile, doing more, doing better and increasing the productivity of your brand development, an afterthought for many creators. This is the whole conversation and it covers many of the questions you probably asked yourself before working on your resolutions for 2020.  Get off to a fast start… It starts here. This conversation was hosted by yours truly and I do hope you enjoy it.

Thank you for the time, Alex, Cleo, Keon and Jeff and thank you for listening, downloading, subscribing, emailing and coming out to our events. Without you, there is no Convo By Design. Please follow the podcast on Instagram, ConvoXDesign with and “X” and make sure you subscribe everywhere you find your favorite podcasts. That way, you will receive new episodes on your mobile device the moment they are published.

Convo By Design is presented by Walker Zanger.

Until next week, keep creating.

#WestEdgeDesignFair #ConvoByDesign #BrandDevelopment #XanderNoori #JeffAndrews #CleoMurnane #AlexAbramian #WalkerZanger

Martyn Lawrence Bullard | 252 | Designer, Traveler, Storyteller & Luminary

Posted on by

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:39 — 24.4MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Email | TuneIn | RSS | More

This is the seventh year of Convo By Design and I can tell you, this will be the most adventurous yet. Starting off strong in 2020, I want to share with you, the time I spent with designer, Martyn Lawrence Bullard. You know Martyn so I’m not going to go on with the big fluffy intro, instead, I want to tell you some things that you might not know…

Martyn is a major personality, that you already know. But did you know that he is a television producer and an actor? Sure, you’ve seen him on Million Dollar Decorators and Entertainment Tonight but did you he was on The Young and the Restless? True, he also has a passion for Hollywood, theater and set design. This explains a great deal about his theatrical design. Martyn loves to travel and he has recently designed a new boutique hotel in West Hollywood called, The Prospect. A project in which he shares his love for both old Hollywood and exotic destinations. Check out his remarkable hospitality design and listen to this episode… you will hear his design philosophy explained. Martyn and I met at his showroom on Melrose to talk about his participation in LCDQ’s Legends event.  He opened this store in 2017 and it is already a must-see destination on Melrose. We also discuss his window design, production of his eponymous design line and so much more. This is designer, producer, actor, traveler… Martyn Lawrence Bullard.

Convo By Design is presented by a fabulous design partner, Walker Zanger. Visit any of their 14 beautiful showrooms across the country or visit them online. www.walkerzanger.com.

#MartynLawrenceBullard #InteriorDesign #LCDQLA #ConvoByDesign #WalkerZanger #Hollywood