Dan Whitmore possesses some of the rarest books on the planet. The art of publishing and design around a first edition.
“A first edition book, for me, is representative of where I was in my life at the time and who I was when I was reading it” -Dan Whitmore
There are design books, books about design, about designers. Designers use books in their designs and then there are the types of books from which designers might design an entire room. Dan Whitmore is the proprietor of Whitmore Rare Books. He is a true fan of books, yes. But he is both a collector and purveyor of first editions, rare books and artistically bound treasures. I made the journey to Old Town Pasadena which really is the perfect place for his store. When I walked in, I got a little ‘Harry potter’ kind of feeling. The smell of aged paper and leather. Dan is an interesting guy. Starts his business out of a lifetime passion for old books, collecting and pursuing. For Dan, his pursuit of first editions and collectable books is much like that of an art collector, wine collector or any true collector for that matter. Some of these can fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars if not more. Dan and I talk about what is inside, outside and throughout some of the most rare and sought after in his collection. This is the story of a trained and formerly practicing attorney who decided to turn a page in his career and chase his passion for rare books. This is Dan Whitmore.
Before we get into this conversation with Dan, I want to thank you for listening and invite you to join in the conversation. You can find us @ConvoByDesign on twitter and @ConvoXDesign with an ‘X” on Facebook and Instagram. You can also find videos from these conversations on our YouTube channel, again search Convo By Design and you will find over 150 videos from some of your favorite guests, including the following. If you like the show, please send it to a friend so they can join our design community. Thanks for listening, enjoy the show.
I have a really fun conversation from the Programming Lounge presented by Convo By Design at the WestEdge Design Fair. This talk is called Colormix Forecast 2019. The conversation features Sue Wadden and Michael Plank from Sherwin Williams. As directors of Color Marketing for Sherwin Williams, they put together an amazing presentation and you can hear it here. Now, this talk was a challenge for me to put together for you because Sue and Michael have the visual presentation of color and striking images over music. As this is a podcast, it would be odd to have you listening to music and trying to visualize what the images actually are. I was there for this talk and watched it live and what I noticed while editing this was that something amazing happened. I have experienced this before, but this time was more extreme for me. Listening to Sue and Michael explain their color palate was more expressive to me than hearing and seeing it together.
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There have been studies that suggest that the brain is malleable in that when one sense is lost, others become stronger to compensate. I tried something here and listened to the recording of this talk and after, tried to compare the experience. What I found was that the colors I visualized while listening to Sue and Michael were more vivid AND more personal to me because I attached suggested colors like “dark rich blues” and “vivid yellows” to my own experiences as opposed to the images provided in the presentation. I’m not sure what’s happening here, but it was a really wonderful experience and I hope you can feel the same sensations, it was pretty cool and the best part for me was that I left feeling truly inspired. Color can do that.
Before we get into this conversation with Susan and Michael from Sherwin Williams, I want to thank you for listening and invite you to join in the conversation, you can find us @ConvoByDesign on twitter and @ConvoXDesign with an ‘X” on Facebook and Instagram. You can also find videos from these conversations on our YouTube channel, again search Convo By Design and you will find over 150 videos from some of your favorite guests, including the following. If you like the show, please send it to a friend so they can join our design community. Thanks for listening, enjoy the show.
Don’t make the common mistakes when working ‘California Crafted’ style into your design project. Let Sue guide you through the key steps to making it all work together. She also explains how designers can create signature lines that are true and authentic to the designer’s vision.
Every designer I speak with has their own unique talents and set of skills. That is what allows them to stand out and achieve a high level of success. People gravitate to creative types like a moth to light. I find it fascinating and I have been trying to see if I can isolate some of the quality as it relates to design and architecture and one thing has come to my attention recently that stands to reason but is still pretty interesting. Many designers are enjoying success as it relates to licensing their name and crafting partnerships with manufacturers. Designer lines is not a new concept, but the designers and manufacturers are getting better with regard to marketing, promotion and execution of marketing strategies to promote and sell. I wanted to know why and how so I sought out one of the incredible talents enjoying a high level of success. Sue Firestone.
Firestone is Chairman and founder of SFA Design. Sue has seen success as a designer, business woman and owner of her namesake product line. The Sue Firestone Collection includes a line of wall covering with Kravet and furniture line through A. Rudin. What you will find is that her line is completely on brand with her signature philosophy that California style that exemplifies the organic approach by which she built her reputation as a designer.
Sue talks about her inspiration. Her travels and what led her to where she is today. This is a case study in authenticity as a person and a brand. This is a case study in creative perception and application of skill. When these are aligned, anything is possible.
Thank you for listening to this episode of Convo By Design. Have you subscribed to the podcast? Are you checking out the videos on YouTube? You can see videos from the episodes like all three of the products featured on this episode. I know I am asking for a lot here, please also join in the conversation on twitter, instagram and facebook. As always, if you have a question about the show, a submission or idea for an upcoming episode, you can reach me at convo by design at outlook dot com. If you need links to everything mentioned above, you can find it in the show notes. Thanks for listening.
I thought about making this one long episode and thought better of it. You are busy and don’t have time for a three hour production. This is part two of our 200th episode retrospective. You heard from some remarkable designers, architects, set decorators and chefs. I wanted to share another side of the podcast in part two. A series of creatives that don’t necessarily fit into a specific category when talking about design and architecture.
The Triforium is a public art project that had seen better days in 2016. I met the people trying to save it, members of the Triforium project including members of the Portland based band Yacht… Claire Evans and Jona Becholt. They are bringing this amazing musical sculpture back to life…
Speaking of finding new passions. Jihan Zencirli of Geronimo Balloons explains how taking an idea and building a business out of it completely changed her life!
Then there are the fine artists who found their calling and built life around it. Artist like Hunt Slonem.
What is art without likeminded souls to share it with? Haily Zaki is the co-founder of the LA Design Festival. A showcase for LA’s creatives from virtually every discipline. Haily is smart, crazy talented and driven.
Speaking of remarkable events. Troy Hanson and Megan Reilly of the WestEdge Design Fair have put together a world class design and architecture focused event. They do so much to help connect the industry. This is a recap from 2015. Troy and Megan talk about the origins of the show.
This leads me to the ideas we need to talk about that aren’t always easy. Emile Nicolaou is an intellectual property attorney. Why should we be hearing from him? Because he is crazy smart and if you listen to what he tells you, you can protect your ideas. That doesn’t mean you can keep them from getting stolen… it means you know what your options are. Choosing not to defend your intellectual property is a choice, not knowing your rights is a crime…
Now, some random quotes that I really enjoyed and I think you will as well. Here is architect, Anthony Poon…
Designer and showroom owner, Patrick Dragonette…
Just for fun, this is a clip from episode number one from 2014 with artist Douglas C. Bloom…
This seems like a good time to share some of the things that have made an impact on me after doing this for five years. And keep in mind, I am neither a designer, nor and architect, not a chef or set decorator. However, I have produced design houses, hosted design industry events, published thousands of hours of content, both my own for Convo By Design as well as that for some of the biggest names in design. Because of this, here are some of the most impactful lessons I’ve learned.
1. Say “yes”.
2. Be open to new ideas, even if they are completely opposite to your own.
3. Collaborate whenever possible.
4. Experiment. Try something different.
5. Mix metals.
6. Use that color, you know the one. You can always re-paint, re-cover and re-design.
7. Take your intellectual property rights as well as those of others seriously. Choosing not to act is still a choice, know your options.
8. Ask more questions.
9. Listen to the inner voice.
10. Know your value.
11. Demonstrate the same level of responsibility you ask of others.
12. Change the conversation.
13. Tell your story everywhere you can.
14. Be your brand. Live it.
15. Be authentic.
16. Stress is pointless, it’s all going to work out.
I have also benefitted from learning about the superpowers of others… My favorite…
Architects see the minute details and plan for all potential outcomes
Designers have creativity oozing from every pore
Set decorators don’t say ‘no’. They are Macgyver like in their abilities to create options and fabricate ideas
Chefs are truly creative warriors who literally battle using knives
Trade Show Producers see the direction the business is going and try to hit it at a future point, not the present
Publishers see the big picture
Editors see through the obvious
PR Pros tell amazing stories
Thank you to everyone who has been a part of the first 200 episodes not the least of which are all of my guests for sharing your stories, projects, ideas and time. Thank you to everyone behind the scenes who have assisted in booking, coordination, load in, load out, parking image clearance, and so much more.Thank you to everyone at Snyder Diamond for your partnership. Russ Diamond, Dana Joy, Flavia, Becky… it is a joy working with you and I hope we are still working together for the next 200 episodes plus. Thank you to Miele for being a sponsor of the show. Thank you, VONDOM for your partnership and use of product and location for recording.
And, as we opened, thank you. You made a choice when you started listening to the show and watching our videos. I appreciate your time, your input and the support over the past five seasons of Convo By Design.
Thank you for getting us to 200 episodes! Thank you for listening to the podcast, watching our videos on YouTube, coming out to the events, design houses and remote recording sessions. Thank you for reaching out on social media and better yet, in person to tell me you like the show, disagreed with me about something I said or make a suggestion for a future guest or topic. The show is now in its sixth year and this is episode 200.
I wanted to do something special this week and for the past few months, I have been listening back to past episodes starting with the very first episode of Convo By Design, recorded in early 2014 with artist. Since then, I have recorded over 300 individuals in one-on-one interviews, panel discussions, group conversations and project tours. The show has been all over Southern California. We have recorded from Palm Springs, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, the Grand Canyon, Marfa, Texas and Big Sky, Montana. Convo By Design has taken you to the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts, Wattles Mansion, WestEdge Design Fair, WestWeek, Modernism Week, LA Design Festival, Fall Market and tours of homes with some of the worlds greatest and most talented creatives. I am not going to name them all here and of course, I can’t mention everyone but if you keep listening to the podcast, you will, at some point, hear from them again.
I have scoured through past episodes so you can hear again from some amazing, interesting, thought provoking and wonderful people. We revisit moments with architects, designers, set decorators, musicians, chefs, makers of policy and others who are leading the way as it relates to the way we live.
Before we get into this episode, I wanted to tell you why I do this podcast. I have been asked about the story in the past and I do love telling the story because this show was created using the ashes of one of my greatest failures. I am a brand manager by trade. After many years in brand development with companies like CBS and iHeartRadio, I was consulting for California Home and Design Magazine. After a lifetime loving design and architecture, I was thrilled to be working in the industry. At that time, I got the chance to produce my first design house called Small Space, Big Style. We had designers: Molly Luetkemeyer, Azadeh Shladovsky, Brian Patrick Flynn, Erinn Valencic, Christian May, Anette and Mary from Potted, a really amazing group. After the penthouse opened, we had events, parties, meetings, all kinds of really intriguing content. And I recorded not one moment of it. Sure, I have the leave behind books and a box of the issues showing the 12 pages of edit… and if you look for this design house, you will find two videos produced by the magazine. I remember feeling like all of this work went into a project and it just disappeared int the ether.
That was in 2012. The design house closed in 2013 and I spent all of 2013 planning and working on Convo By Design. I had another podcast project prior to this one, but it wasn’t what I wanted. Further proof that our first concept or idea is rarely the final product. And along that same line of thinking, Convo By Design hasn’t stopped changing since the very first episode. There are a couple of things that have remained constant, one of those is the partnership of our presenting sponsor, Snyder Diamond.
Over 200 episodes, we have heard from many designers. I love being around designers because the ideas rarely stop flowing and when talking about design, there are so many different styles and personalities, here are a few of the designers you have heard from over the past five years:
Estee Stanley
Jaime Rummerfeild
Kyle Schuneman
Ryan Saghian
Timothy Corrigan
Cesar Giraldo
Ryan White
Cliff Fong
Lori Dennis
Is LA Losing It’s Cool… This clip is one of my absolute favorites. First, it features moderators Mallory Roberts Morgan and Frances Anderton. I am a huge fan of both ladies. Second, their guests this panel are hilarious and make me laugh, I think even when they aren’t trying. Third, DIEM, Design Intersects Everything Made was an annual series presented by the West Hollywood Design District. I’m not sure the reason they don’t host it any longer, but I wish they did. Anyhow, we recorded almost all of the panel conversations between 2014 and the last year, 2017 from WestEdge. This features comments from Anderton, Darren Gold and then Christopher Farr as they discuss the status of LA and it’s relative “hotness” or “coolness” seemingly as always, according to media outlets that reside well east of the LA area.
In 2016, WestWeek from the Pacific Design Center included a conversation entitled Rebels of Design moderated by Erika Heet of Interiors Magazine and featured Eric Chang, Patrick Tighe (tie) and Cliff Fong. First, you’ll hear Eric Chang on bravery and making mistakes, then Cliff on experience and finally Patrick and Eric offer their views on diversity in design. These concepts all come together to form a real interesting idea abut taking risks, making mistakes and breaking through, and isn’t that what rebels do?
To Live and Design in DTLA, again from 2016 from West Week was a fun panel with a lot of participants but a very good topic was To Live and Design in LA featuring Spencer Nikosey, Erin and Ian Besler, Loryn Napala Danielle Rago, Monica Opaskar, Lawrence Azerrad and moderated by Carlo Caccavale. This clip features a brief chat about adaptations one must make when choosing to live and or work in any downtown but LA in particular.
When you cover design in LA, you have to talk about Set Decorators. They Not only cover the landscape, but they also design for a page, a script, real or imaginary characters, set decorators don’t have, in most cases, a real person to question about their style so they create the characters style from within. Here is set decorator KC Fox whose work you ave seen in Speed, Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and 40 Year Old Virgin talking about what goes into creating the character.
If you were not sure what the set decorators do, Rosemary Brandenburg talks about the business itself and what set decorators do within the production. Not just the production but the creation of the concepts like an interior designer would. If you are an interior designer, this might change the way you view your own process.
William DeBiasio is a set decorator who has worked on shows like Pretty Little Liars that went on to have a huge stylistic appeal. What’s really interesting is how set decorators can take the story and make the style popular. What if we thought about our homes and offices not as simply places to live but sets that tell our story. How might the narrative change? Here, William is talking about his approach to sets, props and the story.
We have spoken with some of the best and brightest minds in architecture today. Of those, there are some standouts, like Stephen Francis Jones discuss design challenges in restaurant development and new options in manufactured buildings like shipping containers.
Cliff Fong on opportunity, available resources and the endless opportunity creativity provides.
Sarah Lorenzen gave us a tour of the Neutra VDL House in Silver Lake. Cal Poly own the property and she is not only a member of the Architecture dept at Cal Poly, she is the homes custodian and resident. Here is Sarah’s take on Neutra’s legacy.
It’s very easy to be completely happy and satisfied with the design and architecture community in Southern California, but where is the fun in that?
This conversation took place at the WestEdge Design Fair and featured designers Kelli Ellis and Barclay Butera, also present was architect Greggory Phillips. This diverse panel discussed Maison y Objet in Paris. They compare and contrast this event with other design focused events around the US.
This is a conversation about experience. While it is difficult for people to share the finer nuances of individual experience, it is really fun to hear how each experience the same show so differently. It allows one to fully recognize that experience is truly unique to the attendee and that is why everyone should experience Maison, it is on my short list, for sure.
Enjoy this conversation on international design with some giants in the business. Before we get into this conversation, I want to thank you for listening to the podcast and invite you to join in the conversation, you can find us @ConvoByDesign on twitter and @ConvoXDesign with an ‘X” on Facebook and Instagram. You can also find videos from these conversations on our YouTube channel, again search Convo By Design and you will find over 140 videos from some of your favorite guests, including the following. If you like the show, please send it to a friend so they can join our design community. Thanks for listening, enjoy the show.
This is Convo By Design with award winning set decorator, Victor Zolfo. Award winning…. Oscar winning for his work on Benjamin Button. I was really curious what that experience was like. How do you prepare yourself for the Academy Awards? Do you prepare a speech, or not? What if you win, what if you don’t…. I know, it’s an honor just being nominated. I’m sure that it is, but what if they don’t call your name? So, you get to hear it strait from someone who’s been there.
Zolfo has works on some truly memorable projects including The Avengers, The Social Network, Deepwater Horizon, Real Steel, Daredevil, Godzilla, and many many more but what is really interesting about this list is the diversity in his work. You have a range, yes in genres, but look at the diversity in time and feel. Victor’s job, his art is taking words from a page and crafting an environment so when you and I go see this movie, we believe that character but also that the character belongs in that space.
You are also going to hear Victor talk about films like Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the 2005 Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie film that was rumored to be the start of their relationship. This film was really interesting as well for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that a main character is the house itself… And the house is killed off in dramatic fashion. How does Zolfo manage the process knowing the a film isn’t shot sequentially. You are going to find out. This is Oscar winning set decorator, Victor Zolfo.
I was in #PalmSprings for #ModernismWeek and got into a very passionately heated conversation between an architect, designer and myself on the topic of intellectual Property rights and their relationship to the design and architecture business. The designer at the table that night was LA native and LA design fixture, Gary Gibson. My background is in broadcasting and digital media. Was the general manager and program director for Playboy and the digital audio division. It was there that I met Emile Nicolau. Emile is one of the sharpest minds in the field of intellectual property rights. As the GM, I didn’t always see eye-to-eye with Emile, but I did always listen to him and he kept me out of trouble. As I was thinking about how I wanted to present the ideas regarding design and intellectual property, I heard Lori Posner on a panel at the 2017 WestEdge Design Fair and was really impressed t both her knowledge of artist’s rights, but the manner in which she conveyed the ideas and made them easy to understand.
See, I have been around intellectual property for quite some time and it is probably one of the most complex areas of the law. And it is probably one of the most misunderstood elements of the design and architecture business. If you are a designer, architect, artist, product designer or creative of any type that delivers a product or design based on your creative talents, you have rights based on that performance. Knowing your rights and choosing to or not to enforce them are two very different things. The following conversation is all about intellectual property rights featuring IP attorney Emile Nicolaou, art expert, Wendy Posner and designer, Gary Gibson. This interview was recorded live from the Convo By Design Audio Design Lab at the LA Design Festival. A collaborative space designed to showcase audio design and explore issues that affect designers of every discipline. Publisher’s Note: My voice sounds terrible, it sounded like this all weekend from talking non stop over a three day period of time. I will have to take that into account the next time we do this.
Enjoy this conversation covering intellectual property rights for creatives, And if you do, please, head over to Apple Podcasts and leave us a five star rating and a review, it is greatly appreciated and it helps new listeners find the show.
Special thanks to: Emile Nicolaou, Wendy Posner and Gary Gibson for adding their insight and expertise of a very important issue to this conversation recorded LIVE from the Audio Design Lab presented by Convo By Design at the LA Design Festival.
Music provided by Electric Sol Artist: Electric Sol Song: Your Love Makes Me High www.electricsolmusic.com
You have heard from set decorators on the podcast before. I enjoy speaking to set decorators for a number of reasons not the least of which is their MacGyver like skills. The great ones possess a superpower for turning one thing into something else for the sake of the script. Another skill is looking at a page of text and creating a designed space based on nothing but that. Designers and architects do this every day by channeling and deciphering the needs and wishes of clients, now imagine there is now conversation, only the printed page. In contrast, there is also no actual homeowner, chef owner or client complaining that the cerulean just isn’t the “right” shade, that is true. You have heard from William DeBiasio before but this is the first time we have had the opportunity to sit together for a loner conversation. One specifically about the business and dressing a set for imaginary people. DeBiasio has been a set decorator for some time and you have seen his work on Pretty Little Liars, Famous In Love, Crank, Ray Donovan, Melrose Place, Gossip Girl and Skyscraper.
Decorating a set is not that different from designing a home. I find it really interesting in the process that many set decorators use to build characters for which to design. It is very similar to the process many of the world’s most successful designers deconstruct their clients in order to design for them. Enjoy this episode of Convo By Design with Set Decorator, William DeBiasio.
If you like what you hear, and I hope you do. Please go to Apple Podcasts and leave us a note and a 5 star rating. It helps new listeners find the podcast.
Convo By Design Presented By Snyder Diamond publishes our 100th episode. Here is a composite that includes designers, set decorators, architects, influencers, innovators and artists. Thank you to everyone who made it possible to reach 100. Thank you to everyone who appeared, produced and promoted. Thank you to everyone at Snyder Diamond for your continued support and thank you to YOU, for downloading, listening, watching, posting and coming out to see us. Enjoy the following taste of Convo By Design at 100.
