Tag Archives: southern california

You Need Some Inspiration, Find it Here | 263 | WESCOVER

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I’m Josh Cooperman and this is another episode of Convo By Design with an incredible digital resource for any creator, designer or artist who wants to get some new eyes on their work.

The resource is called WESCOVER, you can find them at WESCOVER dot com and you’re about to hear from Allison Murray, Content Director at WESCOVER. This is a digital portal for amazing creative work, they connect people, places and the work.

I spoke with Allison late in 2019 and while editing the piece, I was trying to find the best time on my editorial calendar to share this with you and then things sort of made the choice for me. 2020 stared off great in SoCal design… KBIS in January, Modernism Week in February and then coronavirus happened. The most amazing thing about creative endeavors is that they are an experience to be a part of and to share with others and when something like COVID-19 strikes, it makes the sharing part very difficult. There will most likely be many more canceled events in the spring and possibly summer months. The life’s blood of creative types is the export of work and import of inspiration. This is about connections and finding new sources of inspiration one artist, designer, architect, creator, or podcaster at a time. This is Allison Murray, Content Director of WESCOVER.

That is a wrap on this episode of Convo By Design. Thank you, Allison, for your time. Thank you, Walker Zanger, for your generous support of the show and thank you for listening and subscribing to the show. If you haven’t yet, it’s easy. You can find the show everywhere you find your favorite podcasts or ask Alexa. Say, “Hey Alexa, play Convo By Design podcast.”, and she will. Until next week, stay healthy and keep creating.

Mentorship Master Class | 262 | Timothy Corrigan, Michael Berman & Genevieve Trousdale

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The reason I love doing this podcast as much as I do is because of the amazing people I meet along the way. It’s as simple as that. In this episode of the show you are going to hear from three amazing designers and tremendous people; Michael Berman, Timothy Corrigan, and Genevieve Trousdale. The setting is WestEdge Design Fair and the top is mentorship. I have had the great fortune of interviewing each of them separately but I wanted them on stage so you could hear the story about the connection that binds the three of them together. This is a story about learning, teaching, sharing and collaborating. One of the greatest gifts that come from teaching is what the teacher learns from the student. This is story is very much about that.

That’s a wrap on this episode of Convo By Design. Thank you, Genevieve, Michael, and Timothy. Thank you WestEdge Design Fair for making a public forum possible. Thank you, Walker Zanger, for your support and most of all, thank you for listening. Were it not for you, there would be no Convo By Design. Until next week, keep creating.

Beautiful Together | 257 | Product Partnerships Designed to Succeed

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Every week, you and I go on this journey through the inner workings of the business of design and architecture together. Actually, that’s not completely accurate, it’s not just the business, it is the inner workings of a big complex machine of which the business is an integral part but certainly not the entirety of what we talk about every week. The very DNA of this world is design and architecture. Within that are many detailed and complex inner workings that aren’t always what they seem. I had an opportunity at the WestEdge Design Fair to sit and talk with some people of whom I am extremely fond. They include New Zealand born, Brooklyn based interior and product designer, Pietta Donovan and Walker Zanger Marketing Director, Erika Egede-Nissen. We talked about partnerships.

I get asked about this subject quite often and discuss it on the show equally often, what makes a good partnership between designers, showrooms and manufacturers? What is the best way to approach a line of products while trying to both hit a spot in the market, maintaining brand identity while simultaneously breaking new ground and being innovative. All these things are difficult to do in isolation but combined in a product launch. It’s hard, it’s complex but is also something that is best done in a collaborative framework. You don’t know when I was recording this intro and it’s immaterial to the point of the story but today I had a conversation with a showroom manager and their director of showrooms who was in from out of town. I was explaining how Los Angeles is different than New York, and how we are different compared to Houston, Dallas, Miami and Chicago. Of course we are, and those differences are not just regional, local or national. Design today is all about making our spaces truly unique to us as opposed to making our spaces exactly like the projects found in the trade publications. Listen, as the associate publisher and online editor for Modern Luxury Interiors California Magazine, I see the challenges the industry faces when trying to differentiate themselves from everyone else. Manufacturers, showrooms, designers and architects all face those very same challenges. You listen to the show, and if your new, welcome, you’ll be up to speed very quickly, I believe in brand, differentiation, innovation and that the true value of design lies in the talent of the individuals who create. Today, I offer a story that will touch on all of the above. The collaboration, partnership, innovation, promotion and execution is based on a few universal truths.

Nobody does this alone, you need others to help you succeed
Luck is something earned by working hard so that you are in the right place at the right time
More is learned by listening than by speaking
True mastery is displayed through application than description, in other words, show me, then tell me.

Todays story is told in two parts, first with Pietta and Erika. They are going to explain the anatomy of this unique and special partnership. Following that, you’ll hear from Jonathan Zanger and his perspective on the same subject.

The Christopher Kennedy Compound in Turlock, CA | 256 | Hosted By Nancy Russert of Les Beaux

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Design houses are one of the elements unique to interior design and architecture. It’s like our version of the runway show in fashion, or the car show in the auto industry. Christopher Kennedy has become quite adept at ideating the design house and executing them. Christopher is a regular fixture in Palm Springs during Modernism Week and you have heard about some of those here on the podcast and even seen some of the interviews on our YouTube channel.  As a side note, before I started the podcast, I produced a design house in Hollywood I called Small Space, Big Style and Christopher was a featured designer on the project. He masterfully designed a 70’s inspired living room and was an absolute pleasure to work with. So when I heard that Christopher was creating a design house in Central California, I really wanted to cover it for you.

I had another idea at the time, I wanted to assign this project to someone who could cover its from a designer’s perspective so I reached out good friend, previous guest and fabulous design talent, Nancy Russert of Les Beaux and Twist Custom to go and see this project. She did, and in the process, created what is really a travel journal to the Central California Valley City of Turlock, definitely NOT a hotbed of design to see this project.

Convo By Design is presented by Walker Zanger….A fantastic company and an equally dependable design partner.  While the Walker Zanger brand was built on the promise to inspire designers and architects to do their best work, there is far more to it than that. Yes, that promise is fulfilled everyday through a commitment to provide the best ceramic, glass, stone, porcelain, quartz and concrete surfaces and finishes but at the heart of this is a family owned and operated business that provides stunning surfaces for a well designed home. Walker Zanger started in 1952 and they are absolutely one of the best trade partners a designer can have. Check out their newest collaborative line with designer Pietta Donovan. A collection of Cement and Ceramic tiles inspired by the the patterns and colorways of the 1970’s and created with a comfortable modernity. Walker Zanger is on the cutting edge of design featuring products for every style and architectural feel you can create and they provide homeowners with the materials that dream kitchens and baths are made of. Check out any of their 14 showrooms across the country or shop online, Walker Zanger dot com.

This is Nancy Russert starting off where most good travel stories begin, the airport. #Design #Interiors #MidCenturyModern #NancyRussert

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.

World Class Design with Monika Haefelfinger | 235 | XTEN Architecture

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Monika Haefelfinger is the president of XTEN Architecture. She is Swiss born, daughter of an architect, alum of USC and Columbia and holds a Master of Science degree in Advanced Architectural Design. I absolutely loved my chat with Monika and I hope you do as well. This journey you and I take each week together allows us to explore all avenues of design and architecture. I always learn something from these and this. Monika and I talk about Swiss/ California compare and contrast, diversity in design and some of her remarkable projects.

Thank you for listening to Convo By Design. Please subscribe to the podcast and receive every episode as soon as it’s published, for free, delivered directly to your mobile device. You can also find the show everywhere you already get your favorite podcasts.