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Design Sponge
April 24th, 2007
new column: ask a designer

since i started d*s in august of 2004 i’ve tested out all sorts of ideas, columns and features. some have tanked (d*s snaps) and some have floated (the d*s guest blog) but i’ve learned that the deciding element for me is whether or not i feel like the feature is giving something back to the community as a whole. for me, the biz lady events sparked an idea i’ve been trying to expand on for a few months now- connecting real life “experts” with up-and-coming designers who could benefit from their advice. so i thought, why not make this a (semi) regular column on the site? so, starting next week, d*s will feature one designer for a week each and introduce their work, their success story and then open it up for questions. when their time is up we’ll move to the next available designer. i’ve tried to invite people that i think represent various stages of running a design-based business so you’ll see bigger names mixed in with smaller names- i think real designers running real businesses have the most practical advice for our particular audience. so, we’ll be launching THIS MONDAY with textile designer JUDY ROSS. in the weeks to come we’ll cover stationery, wallpaper, graphic design, jewelry, interior design, book deals for the small designer and any number of topics under the sun. but i wanted to open it up to you guys first:

WHICH DESIGNERS WOULD YOU LIKE TO ASK QUESTIONS?

i’d like to keep this indie for a while so please assume that for now i’m going to stick to people who aren’t as big as say, martha stewart. so, leave a note below and i’ll be sure to contact your requests and see if they’re available to share their expert advice.

[the coral fabric above is hable construction's "bead" in clementine- a gorgeous new colorway]

59 comments
Janet said:
April 24th, 2007 - 12:47 pm

Good idea. Jewelry designers would rule. I’d like to see more of them on here for sure.

Janet

Leyre said:
April 24th, 2007 - 12:48 pm

Woah, this is a really awesome feature Grace!

I’d really like to see Camilla Engman, I’m sure I’m not the only one!

PS - THANK YOU for the sneak peek into Sweet Juniper’s world, I have a wicked blog crush on Dutch and his little family ;)

design*sponge said:
April 24th, 2007 - 12:53 pm

thanks leyre!

i’ve emailed camilla so i’ll keep my fingers crossed. we have karin eriksson confirmed, too. people always seem to ask about the two of them together ;)

d*s

*isn’t sweet juniper the best? i was so nervous to ask them…

swissmiss said:
April 24th, 2007 - 1:05 pm

Excellent Idea Grace! A Graphic designer I would suggest: http://www.juliahoffmann.com

Julie said:
April 24th, 2007 - 1:11 pm

Hi grace- this is great. I know many of us are going to employ some key information from these successful designers. It might be completely irrelevant what I am going to ask for, but since my dream is to become a successful entrepreneur I would love to know a little more about Eva Jeanbart Lorenzotti-the brain behind Vivre and some others entrepreneurs. Thanks again for all the sharing.

Anonymous said:
April 24th, 2007 - 1:19 pm

since when is martha stewart a designer?

design*sponge said:
April 24th, 2007 - 1:20 pm

thanks guys

i think i might add ask a…design shop/entrepreneur owner in the mix, too ;)

d*s

design*sponge said:
April 24th, 2007 - 1:25 pm

martha stewart has designed interiors, tableware, bedding, furniture and lighting for various labels, including her major line for kmart. may not be super cutting edge but the woman knows how to run a successful design-based business (and magazine)

d*S

Anonymous said:
April 24th, 2007 - 1:26 pm

What about shop owners like Murray Moss and the Conran people? Maybe they have tips for small shop owners like us on getting a leg up on the competition?

Carl

Ms. M said:
April 24th, 2007 - 1:29 pm

I think this is a great idea! I would love to hear from Karim Rashid, maybe some top designers (not decorators so much). Thanks!!!

Melissa

Dave said:
April 24th, 2007 - 2:03 pm

It’d be interesting to hear from people who design for screen, for instance Chris Garrett of http://chrisgarrettmedia.com .

Anonymous said:
April 24th, 2007 - 2:19 pm

Kenneth Brown, Jonathan Adler

Anonymous said:
April 24th, 2007 - 2:20 pm

NO MORE ADLER, SERIOUSLY!

Anonymous said:
April 24th, 2007 - 2:22 pm

Hey Fellow Anonymous, we all have a right to our own personal taste and I happen to like Jonathan Adler. Let’s keep things positive shall we?

Anonymous said:
April 24th, 2007 - 2:40 pm

Ilse Crawford

Anonymous said:
April 24th, 2007 - 3:11 pm

Wary Meyers, Erin Adams

-arin

H. Kim said:
April 24th, 2007 - 3:18 pm

It’s not negative to say “NO JONATHAN ADLER”. Some of us feel it’s negative to keep reinforcing a designers that’s already overexposed.

To each his own but I second the “NO JONATHAN ADLER” comment.

Hannah

Anonymous said:
April 24th, 2007 - 3:47 pm

angela adams would be nice. (sure hope she’s not considered overexposed!)

rose

charlotte said:
April 24th, 2007 - 3:59 pm

love the idea! some suggestions - miles redd, markham roberts, john robshaw, lulu dk, david netto

jeff said:
April 24th, 2007 - 4:20 pm

How ’bout Tyler Hayes?

beklina said:
April 24th, 2007 - 4:31 pm

I’m really looking forward to this.

Ideas:
Virginia Johnson
http://virginiajohnson.com

Lotta Jansdotter, Jill Bliss, and Hable ladies.

-Angelina

Karen said:
April 24th, 2007 - 4:31 pm

I’d love to see Anne Kyyrö Quinn and Helen Amy Murray.

mk said:
April 24th, 2007 - 6:20 pm

Wow, what a great idea Grace! I am really looking forward to reading the new column!

Anonymous said:
April 24th, 2007 - 6:22 pm

I would love to see some jewelry designers answer questions too…like passementerie or linea nervenkitt…someone indie who is well on their way to becoming established.

Lauren said:
April 24th, 2007 - 6:43 pm

I’d love to hear from Kate at Three Square Design. I love your web site and her web design.

josephine said:
April 24th, 2007 - 7:28 pm

have a look at the stationery designers poppies for grace at http://www.poppiesforgrace.com their work is beautiful.

Anna said:
April 24th, 2007 - 7:39 pm

I’d love to hear from Maria of Port2Port Press! Her work is beautiful…Or/And D-Bros…

modish said:
April 24th, 2007 - 11:20 pm

Hey Grace! I think some other wonderful, successful indie artists and textile/goods designers we could learn from are susie ghahremani from http://www.boygirlparty.com, arounna from http://www.bookhou.com, alena hennessy, lisa congdon, tracy from happyowlglass.com, stephanie from http://littlebirds.typepad.com/, mav of port2port press, Alicia of http://rosylittlethings.typepad.com/ and my one of my favorite jewelry designers- jenny vorwaller aka: http://www.queenthings.com and http://www.jennyvorwaller.com/blog/...
oh my goodness, I could go on and on!
:) jena

Anonymous said:
April 24th, 2007 - 11:30 pm

yeah, especially because helen amy murray was getting 3000 quid per square meter for her leather work 4 years ago….

Tess said:
April 25th, 2007 - 12:13 am

I’d love to see Susie Ghahremani of http://www.boygirlparty.com!

amy said:
April 25th, 2007 - 2:03 am

oh! brilliant idea :) deanne cheuk?

KEYNOTER said:
April 25th, 2007 - 4:01 am

I’m not in the business but am interested in how trends become trends and how designers pick up on trends and so I would be interested in designers who are leaders especially in the material print design. It must take a great leap of faith to go all out on your hunch that what you design would sell. I’d be interested in print and fabric designers. This is a great idea.

Anonymous said:
April 25th, 2007 - 4:48 am

Great idea! I’d love to see jewelry artisan Michelle Bellanti of http://www.bellantijewelry.com

mav said:
April 25th, 2007 - 4:54 am

i would love to hear from Meg Mateo Ilasco about her design business and her books. and maybe the people who started cloverfield press {small edition books}. love the idea. thanks g.

Anonymous said:
April 25th, 2007 - 5:18 am

I like this idea but don’t see how it’s all that different from the podcast interviews (which I downloaded to my iPod and which were great multitasking creative/entrepreneurial inspiration while working out!). I particularly enjoyed hearing business advice delivered in the context of the different personalities (Maria at Port2Port came across as so modest and kind; the Fred Flare guys as super-playful, etc).

The two potential interviewees I’d like to know more about might not be considered indie enough but there’s just not enough info about their creative process out there and I am utterly entranced by their aesthetic: Linda Fargo/David Hoey and Eugenio Recuenco. So fabulous!

Anonymous said:
April 25th, 2007 - 5:23 am

Great idea! How about some Brooklyn Designers like Wud Furniture or Zia Priven? Those are some of my favorites from Bklyn Designs.

Uli said:
April 25th, 2007 - 5:37 am

Linda Fargo would be great to hear from.

Anonymous said:
April 25th, 2007 - 7:27 am

Guess those of us that like Jonathan Adler’s design arent welcome here

Anonymous said:
April 25th, 2007 - 7:34 am

any of the domino 10

Carol said:
April 25th, 2007 - 8:57 am

Please remember, design is not design, is not design. Graphic design is such a different medium than textile design. Don’t lump us all together.

design*sponge said:
April 25th, 2007 - 9:13 am

carol

no one is lumping anything together. design is an industry encompassing many different areas and to leave or single one part out of a project like this would be a disservice to up and coming designers of any type.

feel free to create something similar for only graphic designers if you like. i’m trying to make this program benefit as many people as possible, not only one type of designer.

d*s

Patrick M said:
April 25th, 2007 - 9:18 am

Oh please, Carol. I’m a graphic designer and I’m not offended. When I majored in graphic design I do believe I went to a DESIGN school. Don’t be so offended by your own industry.

Pat

Anonymous said:
April 25th, 2007 - 9:20 am

Kenneth Brown, Kenneth Brown, Kenneth Brown.

When I’m thinking about any project, I always think WWKD? (what would kenneth do).

Anonymous said:
April 25th, 2007 - 9:42 am

Sherwood Hamill
-arin

julie said:
April 25th, 2007 - 9:57 am

Nice idea Grace! You dodon’t mention furniture, but I’m always hopeful.

Here are some designers I’d be interested in hearing more about:

Rie Egawa and Burgess Zbryk
Egawa + Zbryk http://www.egawazbryk.com/

Chris Lehrecke http://www.chrislehrecke.com

Liz Galbraith & Ephraim Paul
Galbraith & Paul http://www.galbraithandpaul.com

Joe Futschik of Jef Designs http://www.jefdesigns.com

Marie Christophe http://www.mariechristophe.com

Unto This Last http://www.untothislast.co.uk

Studio Louise Campbell http://www.louisecampbell.com

Michael Iannone
iannone:design
http://www.i-sdesign.com/

Susan Bradley http://www.susanbradley.co.uk/

GAMplusFRATESI http://www.gamplusfratesi.com/

AfricaLive said:
April 25th, 2007 - 12:20 pm

Love this idea. I notice fashion designers are not on your list. I would love to see Rachel Roy featured, she does mostly clothing with her husband Damon Dash, but also some jewelry, I believe.

alice said:
April 25th, 2007 - 12:58 pm

I’d love to see some furniture too.

How about:

Desiron, http://www.desiron.com

Skram,http://www.skramfurniture.com

Wud Furniture Design, http://www.wudfurniture.com

Anonymous said:
April 25th, 2007 - 3:41 pm

I’d love to hear what the designers over at Portland’s Egg Press would have to say… I’ve always been a huge fan of their letterpress work.

Passementerie said:
April 25th, 2007 - 6:24 pm

I would love to see some furniture designers…and maybe some vintage/antique furniture store owners to discuss what to collect now, what will be “hot” in the future, etc.

Courtney

liz said:
April 26th, 2007 - 4:52 am

How about what designers think is good design who aren’t so trend oriented.

design*sponge said:
April 26th, 2007 - 5:12 am

liz

names would be awesome. please feel free to share.

d*s

stefan said:
April 26th, 2007 - 6:26 am

Miles Redd - brilliant NY interior designer.

Anonymous said:
April 26th, 2007 - 7:44 am

Amy Butler, textile designer; Heather Bailey of Freshcut, textile designer; Hable Construction.

Great idea!!

Erich said:
April 26th, 2007 - 2:13 pm

I would love to hear from jewelry designer, Sally Brock of Fancyjewels.com.

poppy said:
April 27th, 2007 - 8:57 pm

how did i miss all this excitement? great idea. can’t wait to read these. thinking if i can add anything…

Erica said:
April 28th, 2007 - 1:09 am

This is going to be exciting! But I’m drawing a blank at the moment as far as designers. Tricia Guild always pops into my head first.

I have a question….What font did you use for “ASK A DESIGNER”? I love it.

Anonymous said:
April 28th, 2007 - 5:15 pm

how about Tord Boontje…

Carol said:
April 30th, 2007 - 8:59 am

Dear Patrick M, I’m not offended by my industry, if anything, I am proud of it!!! I’ve been in the field 30 years. And I see us as a separate field. Why do people like you see only the negative!

Claire said:
May 7th, 2007 - 8:23 am

I’d say a top choice would be Wary Meyers. I love the stuff they’re doing for Time Out New York.
Also Eley Kishimoto. Although they may be too ‘big’ for your concept.
Good idea though!

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