Former CEO of Design Within Reach and business consultant, John Edelman grew up on a horse farm in Connecticut. The youngest of 6, his childhood was filled with love, surrounded by his parents’ big dreams, in a home filled with visitors, from Andy Warhol to fashion executives. A hustler and daredevil from an early age, he excelled at flipping cars and riding dirt bikes but struggled in school. After college, John joined the family leather business, sorting buffalo skins in Thailand, worked for h...
Dec 14, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 148
Dr. Natalie Nixon grew up in Philadelphia playing double dutch and hopscotch on the street. Listening to jazz with her dad and exploring art with her mother taught her the value of improvisation and emotional resonance. Flexing her academic excellence while also being subjected to racial bigotry and red lining helped to hone her ability to see systems and span boundaries. Her experiences are vast and varied, from running a hat business in New York city to earning her PhD in Design Management in ...
Dec 07, 2021•57 min•Ep. 138
Industrial designer & entrepreneur, Yves Béhar, grew up in Switzerland on a steady diet of punk and windsurfing. After graduating from ArtCenter in California he moved to the Bay Area and got his professional start designing for The Burdick Group, LUNAR and frog. He founded fuseproject, his industrial design and branding firm, in 1999 and since then has been responsible for groundbreaking contributions to the design landscape across the fields of product design, brand development, business s...
Nov 30, 2021•46 min•Ep. 161
Live experience & interior designer Willo Perron grew up in Montreal surrounded by creativity. An industrious kid, he dropped out of high school at 14 to follow his own entrepreneurial and creative path. He got his start around the nightclub scene in Montreal doing everything from designing flyers, to lighting, to scouting DJs, and designing streetwear. Since then he’s gone on to design the now-famous aesthetic for American Apparel retail stores, as well as collaborate with many of pop music...
Nov 16, 2021•1 hr•Ep. 160
For this Clever Extra, Amy Devers sat down with Kent Parker and Paul Wilkinson of the design studio Formway in New Zealand and Giulio Bonazzi, who leads Italian synthetic materials producer Aquafil, to discuss their design collaboration. Together, they unpack the story behind a truly remarkable chair, the noho move chair. The noho move chair is revolutionizing residential seating design by addressing issues of health, movement, multifunction, and sustainability in monumental ways, while also pus...
Nov 02, 2021•35 min•Ep. 159
Information designer and advocate for data humanism, Giorgia Lupi, spent her childhood in Italy organizing buttons in her grandmother’s tailor shop, a data collector already in the making. The teenage years had her expressing herself through the punk rock and heavy metal scene in her town. After receiving her master’s degree in Architecture, she began her PhD in Design at Politecnico di Milano while founding Accurat, an internationally acclaimed data-driven design firm. Now a partner at Pentagra...
Oct 26, 2021•46 min•Ep. 158
On the afternoon of August 14th, 1915, fire ripped through Taliesin, the Spring Green, Wisconsin home of the world’s most famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. When the smoke cleared seven people would be dead, murdered with an axe at the hands of Julian Carlton, a servant of Wright’s. But why? The motive remains a mystery to this day. But there are so many other questions. Why does seemingly everyone know Frank Lloyd Wright but strangely, very few seem to know this much darker side of his story...
Oct 19, 2021•29 min
Interior designer and self-described “cocktail,” Yasmine Ghoniem has lived a whirlwind life across continents, cultures, and careers. Born in Kuwait to Australian and Egyptian parents, she lived throughout the Middle East before moving to the United States to attend Savannah College of Art and Design. She always had a deep love for music, feeling destined to be a performer, she formed indie rock bands with family and friends throughout the years. Yasmine eventually put down roots in Sydney, Aust...
Oct 12, 2021•54 min•Ep. 157
On this Clever Extra, Amy Devers sits down with Kari Pei, Interface VP of Global Product Design; David Oakey, founder of David Oakey Designs; and Bill Browning, founding partner of Terrapin Bright Green and co-author of Nature Inside: A Biophilic Design Guide. Together, they unpack the science, practical applications, and ROI of creating happier places with biophilic design. They dive into how diversity can inspire fabric patterns, how “evidence-based design” can improve cardiac patients' health...
Oct 05, 2021•52 min•Ep. 156
Sarah Stein Greenberg, Executive Director of the Stanford d.school, spent her childhood in Philly running bases, reading books, and getting lost in her vivid imagination. After getting an undergraduate degree in History, she embarked on an MBA at Stanford, which resulted in her introduction to the d.school and into the dynamic and fascinating world of design. As a lover of complexity and intersections, she found her tribe. Now she’s authored Creative Acts for Curious People, a rich and visual re...
Sep 21, 2021•48 min•Ep. 155
In this Clever Extra, Amy Devers sits down with Oliver Grabes, Head of Design at legendary design brand Braun. Known for iconic design, innovation, and the unique ability to be both revolutionary and relevant for a century, Braun’s focus on simple, easy-to-use design has led the way for functional, elegant, and enduring products. Oliver reflects on Braun’s legacy and its future, including their global study with Gen Z - confirming inclusive and sustainable design is what matters most to future g...
Sep 14, 2021•54 min•Ep. 154
A writer, speaker, and women’s creative leadership coach, Majo Molfino is a champion for smashing the patriarchy (both within and outside each of us!) and supporting women in harnessing their creative confidence and power. A precocious child, she was born in Argentina and moved with her family across the US and Canada, eventually landing in San Francisco. As an immigrant, she grew up trying to uphold the “Good Girl Myth” sacrificing her identity, her creativity, and her confidence to counteract ...
Sep 07, 2021•54 min•Ep. 153
In this special episode, we are shining some light on color. Brought to you by Ultrafabrics, this presentation was recorded in May 2021 as part of CLOSEUP, a liive & virtual 2-day design showcase event presented by WantedDesign Manhattan and ICFF. We dive into color - its power to influence our perception, our mood, even our consciousness with several experts. We hear from Kimberle Frost, a color specialist for Ultrafabrics; Larah Moravek, founder and design director of Dutch East Design; Ma...
Sep 02, 2021•39 min•Ep. 152
People-centered designer Marquise Stillwell spent his youth in Ohio learning to be a good neighbor and going to art museums with his grandfather. Always part of a community of makers—auto factories, steel plants, engineers and industrial designers—his curiosity for people and spaces grew into a passion for creating systems and formulas that make built environments better for all people. Not surprisingly, his ability to be open, vulnerable, listen and hold space is at the center of his design pra...
Aug 31, 2021•55 min•Ep. 121
Born and raised in Chicago IL, Kara Mann was steeped in an environment of creativity, elegance, and resourcefulness. An entrepreneur at heart, Kara would sell CDs to fund projects and lie about her age to work restaurant shifts. Now she runs her own studio and has racked up clients like Virgil Abloh, Goop and several luxury hotels. She’s just launched a collection with CB2 and a line of home essentials called Kept. The Wall Street Journal aptly calls her a “spark plug in the world of design.” Im...
Aug 24, 2021•1 hr•Ep. 131
Michael Ford is the designer and activist known as The Hip Hop Architect. Born in Highland Park, Michigan the son of a minister, Michael was raised to be inquisitive and question the world around him to find deeper truth. Early on, he found his passion for design and music, expanding it into a practice of architecture and design through the lens of Hip Hop culture. This led to his founding of The Hip Hop Architecture Camp®, a camp that positions Hip Hop Culture as a catalyst to introduce archite...
Aug 17, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 141
Designer Antionette Carroll, born, raised, and based in St. Louis, Missouri, is a natural born leader who has been on a mission since day one. She’s the founder of Creative Reaction Lab, a nonprofit educating and deploying youth to challenge racial and health inequities impacting Black and Latinx populations. Antionette co-pioneered an award-winning form of creative problem solving called Equity-Centered Community Design and in doing so has received several recognitions and awards including bein...
Aug 10, 2021•53 min•Ep. 140
Airbnb Co-Founder & CEO, Brian Chesky, grew up playing hockey and asking Santa for poorly designed toys so he could redesign them. A self-described “peculiar” kid obsessed with art, no one pegged him as a future CEO. He studied industrial design at RISD where he also met his future business partner. After soaring global success, Airbnb, having suffered dramatic losses due to coronavirus, is getting back to its creative values and making meaningful contributions in the modern crisis of connec...
Aug 03, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 136
Chandra Robinson is a Principal at LEVER and Portland Design Commissioner. A Portland native, she grew up with a great love for outdoor education, inspiring her to spend years as a sea kayaking guide and to study geography and physics. From an early age though, she was always fascinated by buildings and developed a deep love for spaces that felt safe, welcoming, and comfortable. She eventually found her way to Boston Architectural Center where she earned her MArch and found exceptional opportuni...
Jul 20, 2021•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 151
Founder of Design Milk and Clever co-creator Jaime Derringer grew up in New Jersey. An only child until 8, she was fiercely independent with an artistic streak, drawing inspiration from her quirky Nana. During college, she fell in love with Japanese and Asian culture, which still influences the artwork she does today, ranging from digital art to painting to tufted art. After college, she worked in project management, having a natural skill for coordinating and love for new challenges. In 2006, s...
Jul 06, 2021•51 min•Ep. 150
Designer Brian Rice currently serves as the Chief Brand and Design Officer for 3M. A self-identified “hybrid coast kid”, Brian was born in South Jersey and grew up in central Florida. A child of divorce, he acquired a greater appreciation for the different perspectives, culture, and environments he was exposed to from an early age. A curious student, he started down the engineering path but quickly realized that wasn’t the right fit, and switched to design. After college, he has worked for iconi...
Jun 22, 2021•44 min•Ep. 149
Former CEO of Design Within Reach and business consultant, John Edelman grew up on a horse farm in Connecticut. The youngest of 6, his childhood was filled with love, surrounded by his parents’ big dreams, in a home filled with visitors, from Andy Warhol to fashion executives. A hustler and daredevil from an early age, he excelled at flipping cars and riding dirt bikes but struggled in school. After college, John joined the family leather business, sorting buffalo skins in Thailand, worked for h...
Jun 08, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 148
On May 12, to kick off WantedDesign Online 2021’s online International Schools Show, host Amy Devers sat down with three brilliant, inspiring thought-leaders to discuss opportunities, advice, and insight for design students' next steps. Amy was joined by Natalie Nixon, Founder of Figure 8 Thinking; Diane Domeyer, Executive Director of The Creative Group; and Rosanne Somerson, President of RISD. The conversation looks beyond the portfolio to frame the value of creative training, stresses the impo...
May 25, 2021•56 min•Ep. 147
Principal of Commune Design, Roman Alonso grew up in Caracas Venezuela, often traveling around in a motorhome with his family to escape to nature, before moving to Miami as a teenager. He attended Boston University, with the underlying fantasy of getting to New York. After college, he got a job at Barney’s in New York, wrote for the style section of The New York Times , and started a publishing company, Greybull Press. Commune was founded in 2004 in Los Angeles and since then Roman and partner S...
May 18, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 146
Sculptor and furniture designer Jonathan Trayte, a native of Yorkshire, UK, spent his early childhood in a campervan with his family in rural southern South Africa. Back in the UK, his childhood was filled with weekend picnics in the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, sparking his love for sculpture. He went to Canterbury for his BFA and worked in kitchens on the side, a job that continues to influence his work today. Jonathan graduated from the Royal Academy in Art and was quickly met with success aroun...
May 04, 2021•40 min•Ep. 145
Civic and service designer Sarah Brooks grew up in Manhattan, the daughter of an actress and doctor. With a voracious imagination, she spent her days running around with the neighborhood kids or watching her mom on stage. As a teenager, she found her tribe in the punk rock scene, inspired by the DIY attitude and creative expression. After getting started professionally in TV production, sudden and profound tragedy struck, sending Sarah’s life on a radical detour through grief, healing, and rebui...
Apr 20, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 144
Designer Edward Barber grew up in a small UK village running around with his brothers, making tree houses, bows and arrows, and drawing. As a teenager, he fell in love with sailing, fixing boats, and photography. He eventually landed in the architecture program at Royal College of Art where in the first week he met Jay Osgerby. The two became fast friends, collaborators and founding partners of Barber Osgerby. In the early years, with some “engineered luck” in the form of Giulio Cappellini, Edwa...
Apr 06, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 143
Product designer Rebeccah Pailes-Friedman, grew up in rural New Hampshire in a family with a rich tradition of craft. By the second grade, she was making all her own clothes and knew how to use all the power tools in her grandfather’s woodshop. Her high school track coach worked for Nike, which meant the team got to test out the goods and she had a front row seat to the R&D of performance wearables. She’s racked up over 25 years of experience designing products for athletes at companies like...
Mar 23, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 142
Michael Ford is the designer and activist known as The Hip Hop Architect. Born in Highland Park, Michigan the son of a minister, Michael was raised to be inquisitive and question the world around him to find deeper truth. Early on, he found his passion for design and music, expanding it into a practice of architecture and design through the lens of Hip Hop culture. This led to his founding of The Hip Hop Architecture Camp®, a camp that positions Hip Hop Culture as a catalyst to introduce archite...
Mar 09, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 141
Designer Antionette Carroll, born, raised, and based in St. Louis, Missouri, is a natural born leader who has been on a mission since day one. She’s the founder of Creative Reaction Lab, a nonprofit educating and deploying youth to challenge racial and health inequities impacting Black and Latinx populations. Antionette co-pioneered an award-winning form of creative problem solving called Equity-Centered Community Design and in doing so has received several recognitions and awards including bein...
Feb 23, 2021•53 min•Ep. 140
