I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design. Today on the show, you are going to hear myconversation 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.
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.
I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design. I offer you a conversation with a previous guest about what is transpiring in the kitchen and bath space, in real time and the developments are extraordinary. This is Tiffany Cassidy of Lagnappe Interiors.
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!
I really do have a special place in my heart for return Convo By Design guests. It means a few things. One, they came back to do it again which means it was a good experience for them the first time. Second, and more important, there is a familiarity that you and I both share with this individual. That shared experience allows for a deeper level of conversation. In this episode, Tiffany shares her experience working on projects that are leveling up the form and functionality in the kitchen and bath spaces. This is important because there are some dramatic changes afoot and you are going to hear all about it, right after this.
Thank you Tiffany for taking the time to talk, I really enjoyed our time together. Thank you to my partners and sponsors ThermaSol, Moya Living and Design Hardware for your continued support of both Convo By Design and the design community. A side note, the sponsors and partners you hear on CXD are more than companies with a product, each of the partners I work with have been fully vetted, they are owned and operated by people who love what they do and have dedicated themselves to serving the design community and customers by providing the best products and services available. If you would like to know why I am so proud to have them part of Convo By Design, email me at convobydesign@outlook or on IG @convoxdesign with an “X”. I would be happy to share my experience. Thank you for taking the time to listening to the show and share in the experience, until next week, be well and take today first. – CXD
I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design. Following is another installment of the Wellness & Design Thought Leadership Series presented by ThermaSol.
In May, 2023, a special gathering took place at the Friedman’s Home Experience showroom in Long Beach, California. This gathering presented an opportunity to get some of Southern California’s most dynamic and creative designers together for a conversation about kitchen design. Our group engages in an open forum about how the kitchen has changed in form and function since the pandemic began in 2020. This idea started as an exploratory look at what has changed, but developed into an overarching dialogue about what it means to be a designer today. Further, how the design community has learned to lean in on each other for support, direction, inspiration and in the case of showrooms like Friedman’s Home Experience, how to provide designers and architects with opportunities to discover new product and specify with confidence to best serve the client.
Designer Resources
ThermaSol – Redefining the modern shower experience. Episode 271 featuring Mitch Altman
ICAA Southern California – SoCal is Southern California’s preeminent resource on classical architecture and the allied arts.
You are about to listen in on a real workgroup discussing the issues designers, architects and builders face today. The following conversation is between 7 creatives and at times, it gets complicated, just like conversations in the real world. The conversation was not intended for you to blow through while multi-tasking. There is a great deal of material here and it is intended to be listened to over time and re-listened as well. It is worthy of saving and. added to your resource library.
Before we listen in, I thought you would like to meet the participants:
Luxury kitchen design is more about form and function, but feel
Accessorizing in the kitchen is moreimportant than ever before and in more ways than is seen. Dividers and separators for sectioning the functions
The feel of the space is based on treating the kitchen as another living room with a different skill set
The return of the “triangle”? To this designer, it never left
Now that you have met the players, let me share the conversation that ensued. They were talking about materials. Brass, brushed gold and chrome.Understated glamour. Stamped wood, wood islands with nautical finishes.We are talking about custom organics. Luxury and organic.
Dust is a big issue with open shelving in kitchens now, as is clutter.
Thicknesses and finishes. Technical design details. Products for outdoor uses.
The art of sales and how designers can engage more efficiently with trades and showrooms.
Working with educated clients and the “Amazon Effect”, training customers to just buy and return if they don’t like it as opposed to buying right the first time.
Evaluating new lines and products.
Induction, new tech and new ideas, but what does that mean by way of new upgrades like the electrical panel? Government regulations, utility company specifications…How does this affect the design.
Steel cabinetry is becoming more of a standard in lieu of wood, stone and cement board outdoors and indoors. Durability is becoming more important as temperatures increase.
You are going to hear an honest conversation about supply chain, lead generation for products and materials.
I started hosting these conversations in 2017 following an event at a design festival. What I found was the moment the mics were off, the conversations started to be real. These real conversations have led to actionable steps and techniques designers can use in a real world scenario because at the end of the day, we are all dealing with the same issues. Some better than others. Enjoy this conversation from Friedman’s Home Experience in Long Beach, California on a sunny day in May, 2023.
I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo by Design with a conversation about building an absolutely exceptional design brand. Christopher Peacock is a truly exceptional creative with a rich history in creating some of the most extraordinary wood cabinetry in the industry today. There is a difference between crafting a product and building a brand. Peacock molded his eponymous brand in the US from humble beginnings and a keen understanding for what he wanted. And he’s going to share that story and insight here.
Christopher launched his firm in 1992. Christopher Peacock Cabinetry was built on the premise that wooden cabinetry should be beautiful and enduring. But when Peacock put his name on it, there was a greater sense of purpose. That is what I find so interesting here. This is the piece that is missing from much of what we. See and hear these days in the trades and in the media surrounding design and architecture. For many years now, the idea of luxury design has been inextricable tied to big, expensive and for lack of a better word, “extra”. I don’t think good design has to be big, expensive or “extra”. I think good, no, great design is about the nature of the work and manner in which the work is tied to the individual for whom it’s created. Look at art. A painting can sell for millions of dollars but at the end of the day, what is it…really. A few dollars worth of canvas and paint. But the work speaks. Fashion, same thing. A few dollars of fabric crafted into something extraordinary. It’s the art that goes into the craftsmanship. That is what makes design so special. And that is why Christopher’s sorry is so special. And why I am so pleased to share it with you.
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!
Thank you Christopher for taking the time to share your story. Thank you CXD partners and sponsors; ThermaSol, Moya Living and Design Hardware for your continued support. And thank you for taking the time every week to share some time together and hear the stories behind sublime design. Until next week, remember why you do what you do and for whom you do it, be well and take today first.
I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design with another creative from Tulsa, Oklahoma. I have been focusing on the Midwest a bit lately to share to illustrate and pull focus on the idea that nothing creative is happening in what I call the ‘design fly-overs’. Yeah, we’re going to get to that too.
The ‘design fly-overs’, any state that isn’t California or New York and cities that aren’t, Miami, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago or the others deemed as “it cities for design.” Within these non-fly-over cities lie creatives who go about their work every day creating amazing spaces that you never see in the glossy shelter pubs and online in the flavor of the month websites. If I sound a bit snarky about this, I guess I am. I have always felt that the majority of home & design editors, contributors and, dare I say… “influencers” don’t really know or love design. They know and love clicks, sales, shares and likes and there is nothing inherently wrong with that, we are a capitalist society. Without the business of design, there would be no design business.
That being said, and I have made this abundantly clear over the past 9 years doing this podcast, I am an outsider to the industry first. I can’t say that anymore. After talking about the business since 2010, I can’t really say I am not now an insider. But I came to interior design and architecture because I have always loved it and still do. That is why I don’t focus on speaking with creatives you already know. I love introducing you to amazing people doing incredible things for their clients and the brands that make it all work. SO, allow me to introduce you to Lynn Knight Jessee, principal designer and owner of Kitchen Concepts in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She is an award-winning designer with decades of success producing some fantastic projects with a showroom that features some of your favorite projects for the kitchen and bath. Jessee has been doing this for over 4 decades and you are going to hear about ways the business of design in Tulsa has changed and continues to change as more people discover this stylish city with a passion for traditional and an appetite for what’s next.
Thank you, Lynn. Loved our chat and what you’re doing. For more stories like this, make sure you are subscribing to the podcast. You can find the show everywhere you get your favorite podcasts… But, you already knew that. What you might not know, is that there are literally hundreds of other episodes for you to binge on now. Go check them out.Thank you ThermaSol, Article, York Wallcoverings and Franz Viegener for your partnership and support. You are remarkable partners and amazing allies for the trade. And, thank you for listening, remember why you do what you do and that the business of design is about making better the lives of those we serve. Until next week. Be well and take today first.
Designer Resources
ThermaSol – Redefining the modern shower experience
Article, great style is easy. It’s the best way to buy beautiful modern furniture
I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design with a special series of episodes designed to help you manage this coronavirus disaster by providing you with actionable ideas and tips to run your home more efficiently. We ALL have more going on at home now. You are not alone, as a matter of fact, I don’t think we’ve all been in more similar circumstances. While the stories of conference call disasters provide a little levity, I realized that our homes and resources are being taxed like never before. Our homes were not designed for this unless you’re a “prepper.” I am talking with some of the best and brightest in design and architecture to get their strategies for making space more efficient.
This episode was recorded on Saturday, March 21st with Marissa Zajack of Marissa Zajack Creative. Marissa is a master designer with vast knowledge and experience in restaurant and bar design. Marissa is providing some phenomenal advice on how to make your kitchen, dining and entertaining spaces operate more like the hospitality industry. A few simple ideas can help streamline meal preparation and make your kitchen and dining areas more comfortable and more inspiring in the process. This is Marissa Zajack.
Thank you, Marissa, for both your time and talent, thank you, Walker Zanger, for your partnership and support of Convo By Design. And thank you for listening, were it not for you, there would be no Convo By Design. We will get through this, together. And until we do, I will keep bringing you the ideas from incredibly talented creatives to make this a little bit better. If you have a question, ideas for a segment or you are a designer that wants to help, please email me at ConvoByDesign@Outlook.com. Take care of yourself and your loved ones.
Topic: Making Residential Kitchen and Entertaining Spaces Operate More Efficiently
Organize Your Kitchen
Keep an inventory of your supplies
Reorganize, move all supplies and tools are closer to where they will be used
Create ‘server stations’ with specific items for use away from cooking and preparation areas
Establish an organizational plan including times for foodservice and weekly meal plans
Go through all your resources and remove what you are not using right now
Freshen up your space, inspiration is in short supply, don’t run out
What can you repurpose to make your entertaining spaces more functional
Bring the outside in with garden cut flowers OR branches if you don’t have flowers
EDIT – Sometimes it’s not what you have but what you remove that makes the space function more efficiently
Place heavier items closer to where they will be used (simple idea…I know)
Look at what is lacking in your space right now. Solve what you can and plan to correct in better times
