I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design with a detailed conversation about why it is just so hard to build in California. It’s important to say in advance with listeners all over the world that picking California is the canary in the coal-mine. Which is to say that it is an early indicator of potential issues elsewhere because I think it is fair to say that California tries things first, as a rule.
It’s somewhat comforting to know that the Golden State remains a place where new ideas are tested. Unless you happen to be one of the brave individuals who is testing those boundaries. My friend Joan Barton is the founder of Dirty Girl Construction and SheSpoke Studio, a place for creative women to tell their stories. So today, this a Convo By Design takeover featuring Joan and an amazing group of women general contractors telling their war stories about building in Los Angeles in particular and California in general. And if you are in New York, Miami, Atlanta, Texas, well, maybe not Texas, but everywhere else, the concepts are on their way to your town soon so give this a listen. Thank you Joan for lading this amazing talk with some extraordinary GC’s, all women and some of the best in the business including; Shannon Sheehan, Laura Howley,Catherine Springer, and Catie Casazza. This was recorded live during the winter 2024 Day of Design event at Design Hardwareand you are going to hear all about it.
My friend and the moderator of the following conversation is Joan Barton of Dirty Girl Construction. Not only is Joan a multi-hyphenate creative. She a GC, musician, creative thinker, futurist, but she is also a terrific person. Wonderful and talented people are often surrounded by other wonderful and talented people, birds of a feather… as the saying goes.I’m not going to get into introductions , I’m going to let Joan do that part, but here’s what II will say about the following episode of the show. This is an important conversation because many of the reasons it is so challenging to build in California are due to the popularity of the state. This popularity and resulting overcrowding combined with a movement toward self-preservation combine with over zealous governance and natural disasters have led to bloated yet dysfunctional metropolitan management and over-regulation combined with material shortages. It’s a lot and it takes someone very special to articulate it and get to the bottom of it and you’re going to hear from her, them actually, right after this.
Thank you, Joan, Catie, Shannon, and Lauren for taking the time to share your thoughts. 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
I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design with a group of exceptional designers from our Day of Design gathering in Los Angeles in May 2024.
I think designers and architects provide a service that simply cannot be measured in terms of dollars and cents. Especially in an era of fast content, social media perspective that creates a social dysmorphia. We have all become so inextricably tied to the internet and social media that it is truly difficult to differentiate reality form make believe. The following conversations feature designers who met me at Design Hardware in LA for a day of creative thinking and sharing of dynamic design ideas that are shaping the way we design in 2024.
I have found that f you gather creative types and provide the platform for them to showcase their individual approach to the work, some universal concepts begin to form and you have the opportunity to see what really makes these people special. The reason skilled designers can do what they do is because they possess the ability to silence the noise and focus in on true needs and desires of their clients. This is how they do it.
So much fun, right? Thank you, Lauren, Amy, Letecia, Alina, Mary, Susie. It was not my intent, but this turned out to be an amazing showcase of women designers who are setting the tone for the next phase of our design renaissance! Thank you for taking the time to share your story. 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
I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design. Today, you are going to hear from Daniel Marcus – CEO and Jonathan Michaud – Head of Design of Soie de Lune. Like everything in life, this podcast has changed over the years, I have changed over the years, the business of design and those who contribute have changed which is why I love to begin with the origin stories of the guests who join me for these conversations. You’ll hear why.
What is really fun about the following chat is that the loom really hasn’t changed all that much. The yarns have. But the loom has not. Textiles are magical. The materiality of a fine silk, the texture, colors and ability to create is one of the concepts that allows designers to create exceptional spaces that differentiate based on color, shape and pattern, for sure but also the experiential nature of the space that allows clients to add that additional senses of touch and smell. This conversation covers all of the above and more. One of the concepts explored is how this company is addressing the challenges of achieving balance between modern design requirements and and the artisanal nature of weaving. Love this and I think you will to. We’ll get to it, right after this.
Thank you Daniel and Jonathan for taking the time to join me for this. Thank you to my partner sponsors ThermaSol, Design Hardware, Pacific Sales, Monogram and TimberTech. Thank you for your considerable support of the design industry and those who comprise it.
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
I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design. We are talking about the Remote Design House in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This episode features a tremendous talent and incredible friend, John McClain.
In the last episode of the show featuring this new design house project in Tulsa, Oklahoma, you heard about and from designer Gail Davis. This episode features John McClain and his work on Rose’s Room. First, a reminder about this project.
Designer Resources
ThermaSol – Redefining the modern shower experience. Episode 271 featuring Mitch Altman
Design Hardware – A stunning and vast collection of jewelry for the home!
The pandemic created a forced shelter-in-place which affected home and office design more than most other industries.
The core ideas of both home and office have changed forever. And rightfully so. At the same time, the very nature of what architects and designers do hasn’t changed at all, while their means, methods, processes and procedures certainly have. The remote nature of this design house is in direct response to designers responding to clients that they could not see in person at the time and, for those who have left their current city or state but love their designer and want to remain with them. If I live in Los Angeles and move to Aspen, I might want my designer to to work on my project. But if my designer doesn’t know how to work remotely, or virtually, that can and will be a problem.
Remote Design is the practice of working in one place on a project in another.
Virtual Design is the process of working on a project that does not currently exist. Thank of it as an idea without a physical embodiment.
The Remote Design House – Tulsa is a real project, using real designers who will never physically step foot in the project house. All the work is being done virtually, and remotely with local trades and artisans doing the work.
This project will also not have tours and there are no tickets for events or parties. No matter where you are listening to this, you will have access to the final project through videos, before and after segments, product features and an intimate look at the project house, neighborhood and City of Tulsa.
Side note. I was recently in Los Angeles for a design event in May and as I was telling many in the trade about the project, the Mose common response was, “eww, why Tulsa.” This has been a common response since I started planning this project in 2020. There is a visceral, negative response to the idea of Tulsa, Oklahoma and the Midwest from many I have met in LA, New York, Tab Francisco and the other “high style” design destinations. My response is always the same, “oh, when was the last time you were in Tulsa?” Not a single person with that response has ever been to Tulsa because had they been, they would know what a special city this is. Which is exactly why it was selected over Austin, Nashville, St. Louis, Kansas City, Seattle and Denver. Nothing against those cities, but Tulsa is special and over the next year, you are going to find out why.
The Family | The Jennings’s, Michael (45), Rachael (42) and their children, Davis (19) and Rose (17) are transplants from New York City. The family learned that they could work remotely from anywhere in the country and sought out a city where they could slow down, focus on family and still grow their business, make friends, finish high school and pursue a higher quality of life. The desire was to slow down, focus and decrease the rat race pace and find their space.
Michael is a TV producer. He is an avid cook, not a chef. He enjoys his work but is looking for ways to separate himself from doing it 24/7/365. Michael is connected (media) and looks for ways to disconnect, spend time volunteering coach youth sports and engaging in creative endeavors. This includes building and refinishing furniture.
Rachael is in sales. She manages a territory across the US and does the majority of her work online but travels about 5 times a year to industry trade shows. Rachel enjoys reading, yoga and quiet meditation. She is an avid baker who loves spending time in the kitchen and enjoys spending time with the family.
Davis is a college student, attending school on the east coast. While his room is not occupied year-round, when he is at home, he spends countless hours on research projects. He spends time gaming with his college friends around the country and enjoys reading, golf and computer training events.
Rose is a senior in high school. She is a highly accomplished athlete. She plays club soccer and lacrosse and debate competitions. Rose misses her friends back home and looks forward to playing host when they come to town and visit her. There are times when she is often exhausted and physically beat up from long tournament weekends. She spends long hours doing research papers and studying so her workspace needs to be both functional and comfortable. She is fashion forward and cherishes her personal space as teenage girls do.
The home is American Colonial built in 1936. This is a unique property with a park setting and Tulsa’s Crow Creek running though the back yard. Project rooms include; Living Room, Kitchen/ Dining Room, Michel and Rachael’s Room, Rose’s Room, Davis’s Room, Club Room, Guest Quarters w/ Sunroom, Office. All bedrooms are en-suites.
John McClain of John McClain Design is also a long time friend and by far the most business savvy designers working in the business today. Pair that with his tremendous talent and you have a complete deign professional whose work stops those who love design in their tracks.
John McClain is an accomplished interior designer, speaker, writer, and on-air contributor who has turned his lifetime passion for interior design into an opportunity to do the same for others. As a young man, John’s interest in creating beautiful spaces was sparked by his family’s talent in home building and renovations.
Soon, John began remodeling and redesigning home after home and combined a trade taught by his family with his natural aesthetic ability. Shortly after his career launch, John appeared on HGTV; and through this experience, his personality and design perspective were visible to a larger audience, and he was soon designing homes across the country. Next, John joined a prestigious interior design firm/furniture design company in Los Angeles, CA. Here, John gained an appreciation for the sophisticated west coast design style while collaborating on designs for many LA homes-including several celebrity clients. John also fueled his passion for custom furniture design-learning the ins and outs of quality craftsmanship and unique designs, eventually leading to his own home furnishings company, John McClain Home. John McClain Design is a well-crafted blend of John’s past design experience, education, and innovative-forward thinking.
John selected Rose’s Room and he infused it with glamour, style and a luxurious functionality that allows for work, study, fun, games, dreaming, relaxing and growing in a single space. It is so wonderful and I cannot wait to share it with you.
There you go, that is John McClain and I want you to notice a few things. John is resolute in his talents, style and abilities. That is not arrogant or cocky. John spends a great deal of time studying his craft, knowledge base of materials colors and finishes. Basically, John does the work and it shows in his design. That is the next superpower of the most talented designers. An unquenchable thirst for knowledge, a curiosity that leads to a superior base of knowledge. Why is this important? It provides:
A full understanding of what is available, and the performance of the product and materials.
Anunderstanding of the longevity of the idea. Is it a trend, a fad, or, is it something that will resonate for the duration of the design itself. This brings up another concept. Design is NOT forever. There is lasting style and classics but don’t mistake that to believe that the design is going to be forever. Nothing is. Everything has a lifespan. Architects design for 75, 100, maybe 200 years. Designers tend to create for 10, 15 or 20. Daily use furnishings and rugs will not last that long before recovering or restoration is needed. Keep that in mind.
Securing the best material quality available so when that sofa does reach the end of its life, it can be recovered, and reimagined to reflect the ideas of the day. A good designer sees that potential.
Superior designers who know their business are truly futurists. By that I mean they can look into the future based on what is happening today and predict how developing trends in design might affect other elements of the design. In this case, John designed for a 17 year old girl who will take this design concept with her when she gets her own place. And that design concept will craft her future design ideas and desires. Brilliant really.
So, it’s such a gift to have a great designer, but that’s not always enough. You need good product partners too. The pandemic and later, supply chain issues, inflation and staffing has put a white hot spotlight on the design industries product and manufacturing companies as well as the designers themselves. Not all the businesses in our industry were prepared for what happened, nor were they prepared for what would be required to keep clients and designers happy. We had some specification issues on this project and not every partner responded the same.
There was a console specified. The cost of the console was $2,000. The shipping, added later was $5,000. That is not a mistake, $5,000 to ship a $2,000 console. Needless to say, we cancelled that and found local artisan n Tulsa to craft one that that captured the original idea and I think it really did in the end. The materials used on this console were all reclaimed materials and that too felt pretty good. So, locally made by a local Tulsa, delivered locally and crafted of locally reclaimed materials. Oh, and it was delivered for about 20% of the cost of the other product. Not 20% less, 20% of the total cost. It required local research on my end and input form John. But it really worked.
There was one issue that really did not sit well and it had to do with the window coverings. We had a local workroom craft them but the materials came another vendor. The original order was not correct and the service required to fix it was less than stellar. Love the material, but will not be using that vendor again. Know your vendors and build that relationship even if you are not ordering from them now, it will pay off in the end.
Thank you, John for your time and talent. Your incredible and amazing vision. Thank you to Convo By Design partners and sponsors; ThermaSol, York Wallcoverings, Moya Living, Design Hardware. And thank you for listening and subscribing to Convo By Design. I so appreciate that you take me with you on your drives, hikes, workouts all the other places where you listen to your podcasts. For more stories from the Remote Design House – Tulsa and interviews, panels and design events, please make sure you are subscribing to the show. Remember why you do what you do and take today first. -CXD
I’m Josh Cooperman, this is Convo By Design. How’s your day going so far? Well, I hope. And I think it’s about to get a little bit better. you are about to hear my conversation with artist and wallcoverings creator, Ann Jackson.
If I have learned anything on this journey that you and I take every week for the past 10 years, it’s that designers, architects, artists, product manufacturers and the rest of you that make up the D&A community, you make the world a better place to be. You do so by crafting things and ideas that make life better because you make living better.. I hope you never forget that. It’s easy to do, especially when a new election cycle comes around and focus changes, it can get dark. So I am hoping to bring you back to the light for an hour or so at a time. This week, we are hearing from Ann Jackson. Ann is an artist and creator/ purveyor of fine wallcoverings. She is from Dallas, Texas, my second home and what I love most about Ann and her work is that she takes an artists approach to wallcoverings. She built her company around it and if you haven’t been introduced to Ann and her work yet, you’re welcome. Enjoy this conversation with Ann Jackson.
Designer Resources
ThermaSol – Redefining the modern shower experience
Article, great style is easy. It’s the best way to buy beautiful modern furniture
So great, thank you Ann for taking the time to speak with me. Special thanks to CXD sponsors and partners ThermaSol, Moya Living, York Wallcoverings, Franz Viegenr and Article Furniture. Thank you for taking some time out of your busy schedule to listen to Convo By Design. I produce this show for you. Those in the design industry to hear what others are doing and hopefully provide you with some inspiration to do that thing you do. Remember why and for whom you craft and create. Please subscribe to the show so you don’t miss an episode, you can find us everywhere you get your favorite podcasts. Thank you, have a great week and take today first. -CXD
This is Convo By Design and on the show today you are going to hear about a company that is changing the way you look, design and style the verticals, the upstanding barriers…. Yeah, we’re talking about wallpaper.
So much has changed when it comes to design in general over the past 10 years, but dramatic changes in wall coverings have been a major focus for many creatives who were actively seeking new design frontiers to conquer. I would say the last major developments in wallpaper came in the 1970’s with new and experimental colors, metallic and flocks.
Interesting to note that wallpaper dates back to the 16th century, much of which was used to design the interiors of cabinetry. By the 20th century, it was ubiquitous. Designs were simple at first, floral motifs to make the repeat an easier process. Block printed with different colors stamped over the last to create the desired effect.
Over time, the process in Europe got to be incredibly intricate and quality control got better. Flocks became popular using a powdered wool that was the byproduct of the wool industry. Think about that idea for a moment, what a remarkable use for a waste product. Until, the aforementioned 1970’s pretty much abused the concept in unimaginable ways combined with metallics and a color palette spilled over from the psychedelic 1960’s.
Backtracking for a moment, around the 17th century, chinoiserie style papers were coming out of Asia and could be found in the stylish boutiques of Paris and London. These were painted, not printed with non-repeating compositions with vivid color that lent the feel of true luxury.
Many designers have shared with me a trepidation for wall paper on the part of their clients. The rationales all make sense. A still fresh repulsion from the 1980’s and 90’s. A fear that it becomes instantly dated or clashes with the furnishings, fixtures and art. That final point is the one I want to focus on. The art. And that is really a good point because the proliferation of art at all price point levels has exploded over the past 8-10 years in the US. And this leads me into my conversation with Diane Perry, president of Area Environments.First about the company. Founded in 2012, Area Environments is a studio that curates originals from contemporary artists and with that, produces large format wallpapers and murals. This feels like the natural progression for the medium. Thinking about this differently, in a perfect world, one could build the space, style and scale around the art… But that isn’t realistic. So what about finding the art that you love and stretching, molding and conforming it to the space you have. See, that makes sense.
Diane Perry has been with Area Environments since 2018 and has an extensive art background. She is a photographer, graphic designer who originally studied fashion design.And that as the primer for my chat with Diane.
Are you subscribing to the podcast, if not, please do so you get every episode automatically when they are published. You can find Convo By Design everywhere you find your favorite podcasts and now, you can find us on DesignNetwork dot Org, a destination dedicated to podcasts, all things design and architecture so make sure to check it out.
Thank you, Diane. I really enjoyed our time together. Thank you Walker Zanger and ThermaSol for your partnership. And, thank you for listening and subscribing to the podcast. Keep those emails coming convo by design at Outlook dot com. Adding the word “pleasure” to our architectural aspirations will make life better for all who choose to embrace this idea. See if you can add this word to what you do every day and see what happens. I am looking forward to seeing you again in person at a design event near you very soon. Until then, be well and try to take today first.
