The Aspire House: Princeton is offering a fifth edition of this designer showcase and as design houses should, this one focuses on amazing talent and unique design. The New Jersey design house will offer live tours of the house which is a novel approach in 2020 considering almost all the other design houses this year have been forced to go with virtual tours. This was my first opportunity to cover the Aspire House: Princeton and as you will hear, this cohort of design talent is extremely diverse in style, aesthetic, philosophy and background. That is the secret to presenting a unique design experience which is exactly what the Aspire Design: Princeton house is. This episode features the following design house participants:
Dianne Durocher – Diane Durocher Interiors | Diane Durochere started her eponymous firm with the idea that a well-designed home is an investment in the quality of life. It influences the way we live. And that idea guides the way she designs.
Ginny Padoula – Town & Country Kitchen and Bath | Ginny Padola created her firm, Town & County Kitchen and Bath with the idea that clients should have access to luxury, bespoke cabinetry, high-end materials and finishes and work within the client’s budget and vision.
www.tckbdesigns.com @TownandCountyKitchenandBath
Tamu Rasheba Green – Lux Pad Interiors | Tamu Rasheba Green is the principal designer behind Lux Pad Interiors. Green’s mission is to infuse society with love, one project at a time. And, in each project, she considers client, community and environment with individually tailored beauty.
Alirio Pirela – Pirela Atelier | Alirio Pirela is an east coast designer with a focus on blending artistic and technical aspects in the work. Pirela is multi-cultural and multi-lingual with Latin and European influences in his work.
www.pirelaatelier.com @PirelaAtelier
Anna Maria Mannarino – Mannarino Designs, Inc. | Anna Maria Mannarino is an award-winning designer and principal designer of her namesake firm. The company promotes itself as transforming spaces from Cape Cod to Cape May. That span includes Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey and Maryland.
www.mannarinodesigns.com @MannarinoAnnaMaria
Gail Davis – Gail Davis Designs | Gail Davis is a powerful creative with a fondness for color, texture and presenting the unexpected in a way that continues to surprise and delight. Gail has a clear vision and presents ‘lively elegance’ with a timeless traditional style and a hint of modernity.
www.gaildavisdesignsllc.com @GailDavisDesigns
Joe Giamarese & Vivian Hung – Global Home
https://www.globalhomeny.com
Tram-And Poprik – Red Bank Design Center
Joe Berkowitz – JAB Design Group | Visionary designer, Joseph Berkowitz works to create ‘moments’ in time and space through design. Both simple and elaborate designs created through this elevated philosophy whose mission is to elevate personal and meaningful environments.
www.jabinteriors.com
Steve Mandel – Aspire Magazine | Aspire Design and Home Magazine produced and presents this design house and has enabled these amazing creatives to showcase their work in a unique format. Steve Mandel is the publisher of Aspire Magazine.
www.aspiremetro.com @AspireDesignandHome
Thank you to all of these amazing designers for taking the time to share their spaces. Design houses are like the design and architecture industry’s version of the auto show for the automotive industry. It is a chance to present real, imagined aspirational and conceptual ideas in a real-world format. With work and a little good fortune, 2021 will be a different type of year and we can go see this house in person next year. Until then, I hope you enjoyed hearing about their work, make sure you check it out online. Thank you to Walker Zanger for your continued support of Convo By Design. Thank you to all of you listening and subscribing to the show. If not subscribing yet, please do, it’s easy. You can ask Siri for help and you can find Convo By Design everywhere you find your favorite shows. You can also learn more about the show at convo by design dot com and convo by design with an ‘X’ on Instagram. Thanks again for listening, be well and until next week, keep creating.
To be completely honest, I can’t really tell you which I am more excited about, hitting episode 300 or ushering out 2020. It is completely irrational to blame anything, let alone everything that happened in the year, but I can’t remember a year as absolutely traumatic as 2020. And regardless of how you feel about the outcome of the elections, the future of a vaccine, or the return to normality, whatever that means, here is what I know. When this whole COVID thing started back in March, I started talking to designers and architects, nobody knew what was happening, everyone, myself included said things like, “In these unprecedented times” followed by a statement about the obviously troubling times were in. But, here’s the thing. As the weeks passed, more conversations took place followed by even more research… I slowly learned something. These are not unprecedented times. There was a pandemic in 1918 and the Spanish Flu went pretty much the same way this one has. There were people who complained about masks, society was shut down and it had a massive effect on how life changed on the other side. In the mid-1920’s Le Corbusier was touting the benefits of cleanliness and minimalism in residential design.
Prior to and during the early 1900s, indoor bathrooms featured mostly porous wooden furniture and paneling, it held germs and bacteria. The new focus on cleanliness led to tile, linoleum, built-in bathtubs. It led to bigger closets and less cabinetry that held clothing. It led to tile in bathrooms, more specifically the use of subway tile in residential design, and revolutionized toilet and porcelain sink production.
We are seeing some very similar behaviors and it is safe to say that design and architecture will change again after this pandemic is over. Not unprecedented. We have been through civil unrest, economic recessions, depressions… we have seen trying times. These are not unprecedented times, they are new to us. In an effort to try and understand what comes next I have spoken with incredibly talented designers and architects to help shed some light on what is most likely next. Speaking of “what’s next”, that is what is the most fun for me about producing this podcast. Exploring exquisite design now and figuring out what is going to come next with the best in the business today. That is what Convo By Design is all about.
So as I present episode 300, as is tradition, we look back on some of the conversations that have transpired over the past 7 years. It would be impossible to do this as if 2020 hadn’t been a completely different kind of year. Yet, much of what you are about to hear in the following episode has led up to this. I have long said that designers and architects are futurists and storytellers. You are going to hear some of those conversations and as you do, you will notice that every one of them has something in common, the betterment of life through design and architecture.
2020 has been a trip, has it not? When this whole thing started, I ran a special series called Designing for Disaster which was an opportunity to focus on the pandemic, in real-time and it was fascinating to hear how designers and architects were adapting in real-time.
I spoke with designer Joe Berkowitz about how design was going to change post-COVID. Joe shares his thoughts on the ‘edit’, something he already incorporates into his work, but now, is even more important than ever.
COVID was not the only major issue we dealt with head-on in 2020. A core component of social injustice is the lack of diversity in American society and our business is not exempt. Listen to Jean Brownhill, architect and CEO of Sweeten as she shares her story and her introduction to architecture. Jean is incredibly talented and driven, this is how she got her start.
On that same topic, I produced and moderated a panel at WestEdge Design Fair that covered the very issue of diversity, or lack thereof in the business. Some thoughts from Brian Pinkett, then Bridgid Coulter, and Ron Woodson.
2020 also brought a new series called The Showroom, a partnership between Convo By Design and Walker Zanger showcasing incredible work as well as an inspirational series designed to shine a light on working more efficiently within design partnerships. This is John Colanari.
Speaking of partnerships, we have a great partnership with Texas-based, Thermasol. This is Mitch Altman, the man at the helm of this family-owned and operated company doing groundbreaking work in steam showers for over 60 years.
Thank you, Lori. This is Ron Woodson and Jamie Rummerfield…
One of the events missed in 2020 that I cannot wait to come again is the La Cienega Design Quarter’s LEGENDS. In 2019 brought Convo By Design was an official media partner and as the event brought in design icon, Bunny Williams, we got a chance to hear her thoughts on what designers REALLY need to know. And then, she shared her thoughts starting out as a new designer working for the storied firm of Parish Hadley and specifically, what it was like working for Sister Parish.
This is Ryan Saghian from episode 112. Now, Ryan is another friend who has appeared more than once on the show and he never disappoints. Ryan is highly opinionated, incredibly talented, and always fun to talk to.
Thank you, Ryan Saghian. This is designer Ryan White who designer the Convo By Design Programming Lounge from the WestEdge Design Fair in 2016. It was a really special place masterfully designed by Ryan White and it could not have been executed without partners like Snyder Diamond and Warner Bros.
We wrap part one with architect Ward Jewell to whom I often refer back to when I need to be reminded of what’s really important. In times like these, look back and you will find your path for the future.
Thank you, Joan, this is Cliff Fong from episode 68. Another fine example of a multi-disciplinary designer, in this case, a fashion designer turned interior designer and entrepreneur.
Victor Zolfo, set decorator is going to tell you what it feels like to win an Oscar and a Bafta for his work on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Have you ever wondered what that feels like?
Dakota Jackson and his work are legendary within the art furniture movement. The magician turned designer turned magical designer talks about crafting a one of a kind gift from Yoko Ono to John Lennon.
This is a series of set decorators Rosemary Brandenburg first, then William DeBiasio and K.C. Fox. Set decorators are first and foremost, storytellers. Architecture is the language of design is the storytelling of design. While set decorators are not necessarily designers, they are some of the best storytellers around.
I am ending with one of the absolute best interviews around. Martyn Lawrence Bullard is highly accomplished, you know this. But if you listen to how he tells the story, you can understand how he got there.
As I wrap up this celebration of reaching episode 300 I am reminded that I did not get here alone. As a matter of fact, without the incredible creatives that appear on the show every week, you heard a small sample here but there are literally hundreds that have appeared on this show over the past 7 years. Without the trade partners like the WestEdge Design Fair, Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts, ASID, LA Design Festival, Pacific Design Center, and Set Decorator Society of America, this would not be the show that it has become I am eternally grateful. A huge thank you to all the media publishers and professional publicists who bring their skills to sharing the stories of our industry and make this possible. And most importantly, thank you for listening. Thank you for subscribing to the show and engaging at our events for the past 7 years and for the last 7 months, exclusively online.
Thank you for your emails, your texts, and your show suggestions. If it wasn’t for all of you that make up this amazing design and architecture community, what’s the point? So thanks for listening and until next week, Keep creating.
If you have been listening to the podcast for any part of the past 7 years, you understand that you are going to hear different perspectives on design and architecture. I believe that there is truly a language of architecture, and that design is about storytelling. I do this podcast because I love discovering new designers myself and thoroughly enjoy introducing them to you. If you are in the biz, it gives you a chance to meet someone whose work might influence or inspire you. If you are an enthusiast, it makes you dream of what’s possible. Joseph Dangaran and Brett Woods are currently producing future classics in modern design. Full stop.
The work they are doing makes use of materials, space, the landscape, and a sense of theater. You look at their work and you can see a nod to Schindler or Neutra, but not a byproduct. Their work is unique, it’s great, and these are two architects making it, this is Woods and Dangaran.
Thank you, Brett and Joseph, I enjoyed our time together. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next. Thank you for listening, downloading, and subscribing to the show. Join in the conversation @ConvoXDesign with an “X” and while your there, check out our amazing partner @WalkerZanger. You can also find everything you need at Convo By Design dot com. Thank you for listening, downloading, and subscribing to the show, without you, there is no Convo By Design. Be well and until next week, keep creating.
I enjoy talking about the business of design because only after you understand the business landscape and how the business works can you truly take your talents to their full potential. How many times have you seen a creative type with crazy skills but no business sense? The most frequently asked questions of me by those in the trade revolve around the brand development series of episodes and panels I offer every year in the fall. So when I have an opportunity to speak with someone like Michelle and share it with you, it makes me feel like I’m doing some of my best work.
Michelle has a degree in Business Marketing and grew up the daughter of a contractor with a love of and passion for design. This experience has given her a strong foundation by which she has built her own firm. These days, it’s not enough to be good, to have talent, or to know the business inside and out. You have to possess the skills and demonstrate the will to persevere under extreme circumstances.
As I recorded this conversation with Michelle, we were in the middle of a pandemic, which affects all of us, but Michelle was also coming off recent disruptions caused by the wildfires in California AND, a mass migration out of NorCal. So, how do you deal with trials and tribulations in the ordinary course of doing business, with tariffs and pricing issues affecting product delivery compounded by major shifts in population in an industry that is all about the creation of home? As you will hear, you know your business, you stay focused and you persevere. That is how we all succeed. This is Michelle Lisac.
Thank you, Michelle, for your talent, time, and willingness to share. Follow Michelle on Instagram to see her work @MichelleLisacInteriorDesign and follow us while you’re there @ConvoXDesign with an “X” and our amazing partner @WalkerZanger. You can also find everything you need at Convo By Design dot com. Thank you for listening, downloading and subscribing to the show, without you, what’s the point. Be well and until next week, keep creating.
This is Convo By Design with a four-part special from one of my favorite showcase projects, the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts presented in a whole new way. Of course, because it’s 2020. I have put together a four-part special about the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts and this year’s presentation is vastly different from what you have become used to. This is a combination of live and phone recorded interviews with the designers from this year’s showcase. Live, yes, I did make the journey to the house, and while I saw it, I did not see every room, I spent the majority of my time by the pool, sadly working because like you, I could use a pool day. I didn’t get to really dig into every room as I usually do, but I did want you to hear from the designers of this year’s home and I am turning this into four episodes.
There you go, check them out. This was so much fun, I love design houses and I know you do too. This year, Pasadena Showcase is going virtual and if you want to see their presentation, please go to Pasadena showcase dot org for virtual tour tickets and information.
Thank you Walker Zanger for your continued support of the show and thank you for listening, were it not for you, there would be no Convo By Design. Please make sure you are subscribed so you don’t miss a single episode. You can find Convo By Design everywhere you get your favorite podcasts. You can also ask your smart device to play Convo By Design, and it will. If you want to continue the conversation, you can find us on Instagram @ConvoXDesign, with and “X”. Be well, and until next week…Keep creating.
This is Convo By Design with a four-part special from one of my favorite showcase projects, the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts presented in a whole new way. Of course, because it’s 2020.
I have put together a four-part special about the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts and this year’s presentation is vastly different from what you have become used to. This is a combination of live and phone recorded interviews with the designers from this year’s showcase. Live, yes, I did make the journey to the house, and while I saw it, I did not see every room, I spent the majority of my time by the pool, sadly working because like you, I could use a pool day. I didn’t get to really dig into every room as I usually do, but I did want you to hear from the designers of this year’s home and I am turning this into four episodes. This episode features:
There you go, check them out. Back to coverage from the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts. This was so much fun, I love design houses and I know you do too. This year, Pasadena Showcase is going virtual and if you want to see their presentation, please go to Pasadena showcase dot org for virtual tour tickets and information.
Thank you Walker Zanger for your continued support of the show and thank you for listening, were it not for you, there would be no Convo By Design. Please make sure you are subscribed so you don’t miss a single episode. You can find Convo By Design everywhere you get your favorite podcasts. You can also ask your smart device to play Convo By Design, and it will. If you want to continue the conversation, you can find us on Instagram @ConvoXDesign, with and “X”. Be well, and until next week…Keep creating.
This is Convo By Design with a four-part special from one of my favorite showcase projects, the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts presented in a whole new way. Of course, because it’s 2020.
I have put together a four-part special about the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts and this year’s presentation is vastly different from what you have become used to. This is a combination of live and phone recorded interviews with the designers from this year’s showcase. Live, yes, I did make the journey to the house, and while I saw it, I did not see every room, I spent the majority of my time by the pool, sadly working because like you, I could use a pool day. I didn’t get to really dig into every room as I usually do, but I did want you to hear from the designers of this year’s home and I am turning this into four episodes. This episode features:
There you go, check them out. Back to coverage from the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts. This was so much fun, I love design houses and I know you do too. This year, Pasadena Showcase is going virtual and if you want to see their presentation, please go to Pasadena showcase dot org for virtual tour tickets and information.
Thank you Walker Zanger for your continued support of the show and thank you for listening, were it not for you, there would be no Convo By Design. Please make sure you are subscribed so you don’t miss a single episode. You can find Convo By Design everywhere you get your favorite podcasts. You can also ask your smart device to play Convo By Design, and it will. If you want to continue the conversation, you can find us on Instagram @ConvoXDesign, with and “X”. Be well, and until next week…Keep creating.
Caitlin Murray is the founder and creative director of Black Lacquer Design. Murray cut her teeth in the industry working for high profile firms, House of Honey and MASHstudios. So, when the time came for her to hang her shingle, she did it with confidence knowing that she did the work and knows her craft. Every week we meet and you hear the story of another creative doing amazing work. In these conversations, we talk about the work, but most importantly, we talk about the journey. Every creative has their own story because we all walk our own path. If we’re lucky, we don’t walk it alone. We have people who influence us along the way, who guide us, who provide inspiration. Yes, we talk about the work on this podcast because it is important, but even more important is the journey. I love bringing you these stories. Here is another that I think you will appreciate with Black Lacquer founder, Caitlin Murray.
If you enjoy the podcast, and I hope you do, please subscribe to the show everywhere you find your favorite podcasts. You can also follow along online, Convo By Design dot com and on Instagram @ ConvoXDesign, with an “x”.
Thank you, Caitlin, loved this. Thank you Walker Zanger for your continued support and thank you for listening.
Please make sure you are subscribed so you don’t miss a single episode. You can find Convo By Design everywhere you get your favorite podcasts. You can also ask your smart device to play Convo By Design, and it will. If you want to continue the conversation, you can find us on Instagram @ConvoXDesign, with and “X”. Be well, and until next week…Keep creating.
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.
Interior design is so much more than an accumulation of things arranged in a pleasing way. Interior design, done right, means understanding the needs of the client and then taking those desires, both seen and unseen, and crafting an environment that meets those needs. Ross Vincent is a rising design star that is already highly accomplished. His work is clean and elegant, modern, and comfortable.
You are going to hear Ross talk about the state of design here in Southern California as well as the influences that he brought with him from his home city of Seattle, Wa. This conversation also turns to design in the fly-over states and locations that are not normally included in the conversation about significant design and architecture. I love that, I think you will, too. This is interior designer, Ross Vincent.
Ross. I really enjoyed our chat. Thank you for taking the time. I also must note that this conversation was recorded live and in person. It seems like a lifetime ago since I was able to do this and I can’t wait to do it again. Thank you, Walker Zanger and Thermasol for your continued support. And, thank you for listening to the show. Please make sure you are subscribed so you don’t miss a single episode. You can find Convo By Design everywhere you get your favorite podcasts. You can also ask your smart device to play Convo By Design, and it will. If you want to continue the conversation, you can find us on Instagram @ConvoXDesign, with and “X”. Be well, and until next week…Keep creating.
