Tag Archives: monogram

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

The 2024 Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts | 511 | Perspectives: One of America’s Favorite Design Happenings

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I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design with a return to one of my favorite design house destinations, the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts. Pasadena Showcase is an institution going on 60 years with a reputation for exquisite design, playful and fun ideas in fun and unexpected spaces and some of the best design talent around. Competing and collaborating to see who can be the showstopper but always for the betterment of the whole project.

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

This was so much fun. I haven’t had the opportunity to reconnect with the organization since 2020. I remember heading out to Pasadena and meeting with the designers outside by the pool instead of in their spaces. What a weird time. But this year, we gathered at Design Hardware in Los Angeles for a round table discussion about the project house this year. I was joined by:

Margaret Lalikian | Margaret Lalikian Design and Decor

Rachel Scheff | Rachel Scheff Design Studio

Rebecca Hansen | Rebecca J Hansen

Ashleigh Miranda | AYM Interiors

Shari Tipich |Shari Tipich Decorative Design & Artistry

Steven Cordrey | Cordrey Collection

If you’ve been listening for a while, you know how I feel about design houses and showcases. They are the equivalent to the auto show for gear heads. You get the chance to see what can be done with the right creative force and opportunity to showcase it without the usual boundaries of ownership. I am a fan of Pasadena because I am very familiar with them, I appreciate how they operate and I feel like the designers do as well. Again, this is a round table conversation and you are jumping right into the deep end of design house creations from the 2024 Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts. We’ll get to that, right after this.

What an amazing group! Loved this, hopefully you did as well. Thank you to all of the amazing creatives who shared of themselves and their work. Check the show notes to see their work and this remarkable house. Thank you to everyone at the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts for being so wonderful to work with! Thank you to my incredible partner sponsors, ThermaSol, Design Hardware, TimberTech, Pacific Sales and Monogram for your partnership and support for the design trade. Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to listen, download and share this show. It means the world to me. Thank you for your email guest submissions and show ideas. Thank you for following and interacting on Instagram. This support and engagement inspires me to work even harder to find amazing voices and stories behind design. Until next week, be well, and take today first. – CXD

Soie de Lune | 510 | Daniel Marcus & Jonathan Michaud on Modern Textiles and Respecting the Ancient Artistry

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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.

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

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

Susan Ferrier | 509 | Our May 2024 Design Icon Registry Inductee

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I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design with another installment of the Design Icon Registry. The Icon Registry inductee for May 2024 is the incomparable, Susan Ferrier. Here is how Susan describes her work, “Our interiors are meant to be experienced, to take you beyond the expected and into the extraordinary. We design lush, romantic spaces that are at once bold and refined, imbued with drama and meaning.” I’m going to suggest you might want more of this. Well, here it comes.

If you have heard these segments before, you know, I don’t do contests and I most certainly don’t do lists. Lists are gimmicks designed to capture clicks. They are, click bait pure and simple. You cannot tell me that a list of 50, 75 or 100 designers and architects are the absolute best at what they do without providing context. Lists are created in the hopes that those who are being listed will promote the accolades and that attention will be driven back to the author of the list. And contests where creatives have to reach out to their base to get them to vote for them is just wrong in my opinion. Because, if someone is amazing at what they do… Celebrate that, no strings attached. And that is what we are going to do here. 

Now, the criteria… Each inductee has been a guest on Convo By Design. They have a body of work that is exceptional in their various disciplines and there is no justification required for their world class status. They give back to the industry, they are innovators, givers and make our industry better than they found it. This project is called the Convo By Design Icon Registry, because that is what this is, tantamount to a hall of fame, but more. What is an ICON? Described as an icon; A person or thing regarded as a representative symbol or as worthy of veneration. A registry is a well curated list. You can consider this a venerable who’s who in our industry with gifts to offer and a willingness to share. Pablo Picasso is credited with saying, “the meaning of life is to find your gift and the purpose of life is to give it away”. Now, I am not suggesting that those enshrined in the Icon Registry have all just been giving away their gifts. These are professionals of the highest order and part of being a professional is knowing your worth and understanding your value. Each of these individuals have appeared on Convo By Design, shared what they know for the betterment of others, and I am deeply appreciative for that. This is the most authentic way that I can express my gratitude for that. As deeply appreciative as I am for their sharing, I am equally grateful for your taking the time to share a few moments, an hour out of your busy schedule each week to listen to the show. Again, the most authentic way that I can express that gratitude is to give you an opportunity to hear them again. Every month, the last Thursday of the month, unless it’s a holiday week, in which case I will publish a week sooner, I will share a new inductee with you.

As stated, the May, 2024 inductee is Susan Ferrier. She appeared on Convo By Design during the pandemic and I instantly understood her philosophy. Pre-pandemic, there was a shiny sheen over design. There was a focus strictly on how the look. Then, when the world changed, the focus became centered on how it works and yes, it still had to have the look, and the performance but also the feels, all of them. Susan Ferrier, was already doing this. Designing lush, lavish, romantic spaces for not just what might look good in a magazine but would also elicit an emotional response. Susan’s portfolio is a compendium of collected works that blend elegant concepts with earthy and opulent materials alike. Her work is special, not just because I or others think so, yes, important that her client’s think so. But in my conversation with Susan, you are going to hear that she thinks so. This isn’t a job to her, it’s a calling. A series of passions curate and collected, then elegantly molded and pressed together to create an experience as much as a designed space. That is what’s so truly special about Susan Ferrier and why she is in the Convo By Design Icon Registry.

Thank you, Susan for making this world a more beautiful place than you found it. Congratulations on your addition to the Convo By Design Icon Registry. Thank you for listening and subscribing to the show. Thank you to my partner sponsors Design Hardware, ThermaSol, TimberTech and Pacific Sales. these are amazing partners all, they support the trade and I love sharing these amazing resources with you. Thanks again for listening, until next week, 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