Tag Archives: Pacific Design Center

Cliff Fong | 406 | Wellness & Design Thought Leadership on The Artistry Behind Design

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I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design with a look back at some of the conversations that I feel have shaped my current views of the design industry. Influencers creatives who directly impact the direction of our business. This is Matte Black’s, Cliff Fong.

Last week you heard from Cliff on a panel and this week, I wanted to showcase him exclusively from our conversation back in 2016. Cliff’s ideas about design, taste, style and their direct relationship to the work he does, for whom he does it are inextricably tied together. We speak about him as a design show judge and how that work differs form his views of design in the real world. I would argue these viewpoints are more relevant now than they were then because since the pandemic, haven’t most design professionals become a reality design show in some form or fashion? I would argue that most participate actively in the conversation now as opposed to that in 2016.

One of the other aspects to this that I hope you notice are the things Cliff does around the work, as in, not the work itself but how he thinks about it and you fill find a certain zen state in his approach that has truly influenced the approach I take to my own work. I can still do way better at that, but this really did help me and perhaps it can help you too, if you’re into that sort of thing. Enjoy my conversation with Cliff Fong from 2016, right after this.

Thank you, Cliff. Loved hearing this again. I remember it like it was last week at the Crestron showroom in the Pacific Design Center. I don’t think that showroom is there anymore, but it is here. Thank you to CXD sponsors and partners, ThermaSol, Article Furniture, York Wallcoverings, Moya Living and Franz Viegener for your continued support. Of course, thank you for downloading, subscribing and listening to the show. Thank you for the emails of support and the guest submissions. I love them and it has allowed me to find some amazing talent to showcase. Please remember why you do what you do and for whom you do it. Designers, architects, artists, product designers, showroom managers, publicists, magazine editors, publishers, set decorators and everyone else that makes our industry stronger by the day, this show is for you. That’s why I do it. Thanks for listening. Be well, and take today first.

Design Rebellion Redux | 405 | Patrick Tighe, Eric Chang & Cliff Fong: Rebels of Design from the Pacific Design Center in 2016

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I’m Josh Cooperman, this is Convo By Design and today we are taking a look back at some previously incredible design events. We’re getting in the way-back machine and going to 2016, the Pacific Design Center for a conversation about design rebellion.

Designer Resources

ThermaSol – Redefining the modern shower experience. Episode 271 featuring Mitch Altman

Article, great style is easy. It’s the best way to buy beautiful modern furniture

York Wallcoverings – Designed to inspire for over 125 years

Franz Viegener – Finely crafted sculptural faucets

Moya Living –  Beautiful, durable powder coated kitchen, bath & outdoor kitchen cabinetry

This is a look back at a conversation recorded live in the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, California in 2016. It’s a very strange experience for me to rerun past episodes will including the original open. My voice changes every year, just like yours does, and while I have gotten comfortable with the recorded sound of my voice, strange cadence and often tangential leaps, it is very odd hearing these older episodes. But, I do it because I started recording these conversations in 2012 for a 2013 Convo BY Design launch. I did it because, believe it or not, when CXD began, I was the only one there to record these events like this one featuring Patrick Tighe, Cliff Fong and Eric Chang, moderated by Erika Heet. I’m glad I did, I hope you are as well. We’ll get right to it right after this.

Thank you to this distinguished group. Loved it even more now than I did then. Like wine, art and architecture, a good conversation only gets better with age and I am so happy that I could share it with you.

Thank you to CXD partners and sponsors; ThermaSol, Article Furniture, Moya Living, York Wallcoverings and Franz Viegener. Please make sure to check the show notes for links to each of these remarkable companies. 

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to subscribe and listen to the show. I appreciate you. Until next week, remember why you do what you do and take today first. CXD

A Spring Back to the Pacific Design Center in 2015 | 377 | The Capitals of Style

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Hello Creatives, If you’re new, welcome, if not, welcome back to Convo By Design. This journey of ours in search of amazing design, architecture, furnishings and art is in its 9th year now and I am so happy that you’re joining me for another episode. A special episode, a throw back if you will.

Every so often, I try to bring back past conversations so you can hear them again and this one is special. It was recorded live at the Pacific Design Center in 2015. It was called Capitals of Style and featured, Jane Hallworth, Ashley Hicks and Vincente Wolf. Moderated by Dan Rubenstein,  with a forward by Jeff Sampson, then VP of Marketing for the PDC and whom many of us in the SoCal design community miss dearly.

I wanted to republish this one because while travel has always been a top influencer of designers, travel is now so hot again it is time for both discovery and re-discovery. It’s time to recharge the batteries. It’s time to get out and while you’re at it, to go and see some world class design and architecture. Something tells me this conversation from 7 years ago holds as true today as it did then. Enjoy.

Thank you, Jane,Dan, Vincente and Ashley for participating in this conversation.Thank you to the Pacific Design Center for your many years of partnership and collavboration. Thank you Jeff for putting this panel together and casting it so masterfully. You are missed. Thank you ThermaSol, Article, York Wallcoverings and Franz Viegener and Moya Living for your partnership and support. You are remarkable partners and amazing allies for the trade. 

And, thank you for listening and subscribing to the podcast. I know you already know this, but… there are literally hundreds of past episodes of Convo By Design that you probably haven’t heard, especially if you are new to the show, so go check them out.

Saying Goodbye to a SoCal Design Luminary | 290 | Jeff Sampson

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Jeff Sampson was the Vice President of Marketing at the Pacific Design Center, a role he held since the later part of 2013. One of Jeff’s most notable contributions to our design community was to refocus PDC efforts of the annual West Week and Fall Market events. He did this through creative programming and a non-partisan approach to media partners. If you were a strong partner, it didn’t matter how long you were around. Jeff and I met in 2014, shortly after I started Convo By Design. I approached Jeff with an idea. I wanted to be a media partner that would record and feature Pacific Design Center programming to the trade. The podcast was brand new. The Pacific Design Center would recognize Convo By Design as a media partner which provided me a wonderful opportunity to introduce the idea of podcasting and on-demand audio to the SoCal design community. Jeff said ‘yes’, he didn’t have to do that. But he did, because that is the kind of person Jeff was. The type of person who would listen to you if you had an idea, because he was curious and because he cared. He was an excellent marketer, too. 7 years ago, not many in the trade knew what a podcast was, but Jeff recognized that he could get his remarkable programs out to more of the people, for whom he was working hard to serve, the trade partners and showrooms of the Pacific Design Center in particular and the design community as a whole would benefit.

Jeff Sampson had a 20 year career in marketing with the past 6 at the PDC. He had hundreds of friends and admirers in the design community. Jeff also had a life outside of design, where many more will miss him. They will miss him around the holidays, when Jeff would slow down and spend time with family and friends, at happy hour, which was kind of like an any-time holiday.

Jeff loved Doris Day and also had an affinity for Rhoda and Phyllis in TV and in real life, recognizing and appreciating all their imperfections. He loved traveling and sharing his experiences. He loved Paris “when it drizzles”, and “when it sizzles.” Jeff had style, he had grace and he took his exit too soon.

I wanted to honor Jeff the best way I know how, and that would be through sharing him in his own words. This is a conversation I had with Jeff in 2015. He was episode 15 of Convo By Design which means this episode was recorded and aired within months of starting the podcast. We met at his office in the PDC. This is Jeff Sampson.

That was my conversation with Jeff Sampson from 2015. Jeff was gracious with his time and his partnership. He was a good friend and amazing supporter of the Southern California design community. To those of you who knew Jeff well and called him a friend, I’m so sorry for your loss. I want to thank Jeff for his time and his incredible contribution to Convo By Design, I also want to thank you for listening. You make this podcast possible and it is comforting to know that we all share in the work and we can also share the grief at times like these. Please make sure you are subscribed so you don’t miss an episode and if you want to continue this conversation, you can find us on Instagram @ConvoXDesign, with and “X”. Be well, and until next week…Keep creating.

An Icon Returns to LA | 241 | Dakota Jackson

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Let me set the stage for you. I’m sitting in the HOFA Gallery on LaCienega, surrounded by white walls and beautiful works by local and international artists. This is the perfect setting for an interview, and what makes it that much more special is the fact that I had been looking forward to this conversation for a while. It was with Dakota Jackson.  Yes, Jackson is a legendary furniture designer, yes, Jackson also mastered the art of brad partnerships as the one he has nurtured for quite some time with Steinway & Sons. But, he is also a masterful conversationalist.  Because of this, I knew that I was going to be tested.

This is a conversation about so much more than furniture and design. This podcast affords me the latitude to explore new avenues with creatives. To really see what lies beneath the work and where it comes from.

Dakota Jackson is a masterful creative with a background in the art of magic, theater, illusion and craft. He is also a true artist with a legendary story to match his body of work. We talk about the desk he crafted for John Lennon at Yoko Ono’s request. You’ll hear about the days on Warhol, Diane von Furstenberg and his participation in the American Art Furniture Movement.

This is designer, artist, magician and maker, Dakota Jackson.