You may know Edgar Blazona for his TrueModern kids furniture line. Yes, the pieces are loved as evidenced by the photos from our customers showing their cute kids posing next to a TrueModern dresser. And you may have helped Edgar with the naming of his new Edgar Blazona for TrueModern sofa line (congrats, Penny, it appears your ideas were winners!). But, what you may not know is that Edgar Blazona has led quite an extensive and interesting career in the design world. Take a look at where he has been and what he has in store for us soon. Enjoy!

Edgar, you have quite an extensive background…we want to hear all about it! Tell us more about your time as a furniture designer for Pottery Barn, the creation of the ice chaise lounge for the Ice Hotel in Sweden, your Modular Dwellings, etc. Share pictures too!

My time at Pottery Barn was great. I will always be thankful for what they taught me about the furniture manufacturing business. I would not have traded that experience for anything. The only thing that Pottery Barn lacked was clean, modernist design. But I always knew that I could get back to modernism at a later date.

I was given the opportunity to go to Sweden to the Ice Hotel. A good friend of mine was part of the creative staff there. When I arrived there, it was so cold and freezing that the ice would crack if left outside. They set me up in a warehouse with stacks and stacks of ice – 4 ft. by 8 ft. bricks of ice everywhere. I was given a chain saw and a few large chisels and I got to work. It didn’t take long to figure out what I could and could not do with the ice. The hardest part was making it perfectly flat and smooth. Not to mention, it’s not so easy carving a 90 degree angle with a chainsaw in the freezing cold. The piece turned out great. It definitely reminded me of Donald Judd and some of his early cast concrete works. The hotel was nice enough to put it in the lobby, which made my really proud.

When I was at Pottery Barn, I had to create something that was a little more simplistic and true to my roots. I was struggling with the “everyday living” lifestyle. I started creating prefab housing in the beginning before the prefab bubble exploded on the design community. Everyone else was working on full houses trying to get them down to the magic $100 per sq. ft. price point. These were mostly architects working on paper and 3-D renderings. I have always lived by the philosophy of “build it first” and not spend so much time tweaking out the drawings. But building a house as a prototype was quite expensive, so I scaled it down to make it affordable for not only myself but for the community to actually buy and own. I felt like we were trying to fill our Victorian style homes with modernist furniture and there was a real disconnect. I thought that people could create these buildings in their backyards, fill them with cool furniture and have a complete modern look at a reasonable price. This turned out to be harder than I ever imagined to get large prefabricated panels or structures in people’s yards. There are other companies out there today who took it quite a bit further than I ever did. Modern Cabana being one – one I really respect.

What is your workspace/studio like?

I design and run the business out of a small prefabricated building (www.modulardwellings.com) which I designed several years ago. It sits in my backyard here in Berkeley, CA. I also have a warehouse Read the rest of this entry »

This month Fit Pregnancy listed the Petunia Pickle Bottom Scout diaper bag in their “2009 Buyers Guide.” Yeehaw PPB! What better timing than now to get to know the creators of the heavily sought after bags. Meet the dynamic trio who started it all: DeNai (founder), her husband Braden, and close friend Korie. Their PPB bags are all over the place and coveted by celebrities, moms, dads and Ali.

This q&a has a lot to it so put the little tyke down for a nap, grab a drink of choice and enjoy the interview.

Right off the bat we have to explore the Petunia Pickle Bottom name. Where did it come from?

We can thank my dad for coming up with the silly, sentimental name. He’s a Biologist, but I half joke that he should have been a jingle-writer. When I was little he played the harmonica and made up little sing songs, one of which the phrase Petunia Pickle Bottom was born. There’s always a reaction of “Petunia huh?” but that’s why it works. People remember it. The best of course is when we get junk mail at the office addressed to Mrs. Petunia P. Bottom.

Speaking of names, the product names for many of your PPB bags certainly point to travel and the world. You don’t see many products with names like “Sightseeing in Sumatra” or “Moon Over Macau” lining store shelves. Tell me a bit more about the inspirations for these bags.

The bag naming is inspired by personal travel, favorite spots, or something I like to call “faux traveling.” Faux traveling is hopping on Google to check out far off places, research hidden gems to discover the perfect name that strikes the mood of a certain fabric I’ve created. There are 3 of us who do the naming in the office and you would be surprised just how much time and energy we dedicate to it—it’s often a scene of great debate.

Overall I’d say my silhouettes are inspired from various aspects of life. I spend a lot of time researching archival photos—I especially love it when I happen upon an antique store with a big bowl full of black and white photos. This picture into the past is a real treat and I find it very inspiring. Travel is also a common place I find inspiration—some of our best designs are fashioned from seeing the world with fresh eyes. The bag design could also be as literal as a vintage piece of luggage we’ve found or the function of the bag itself can help form the shape of the piece. The Cosmopolitan Carryall is definitely reminiscent of a vintage doctor’s bag. When the first sketch was complete it sort of reminded me of Doc’s bag on “Little House on the Prairie” (am I dating myself here)? It’s obviously made its own metamorphosis since those early stages but I think it lives up to what I call the vintage modern approach. A lot of our bags have also been designed to suit a specific part of “life with baby” in a fashionable way. Sometimes we will work backwards with a laundry list of “what” we would like the bag to achieve then move to the type of silhouette that might marry with that function.

I am always curious about work spaces. What is your office like?

As for our office and work culture, we’re pretty lucky. We have such a great team of people and feel like one big family. We occupy a space of a reclaimed 1900’s brick building that is Read the rest of this entry »

Last week I was thinking about a project I wanted to make with wool felt (yes, I spend a good amount of time thinking about textiles, don’t you?!) when James announced that Josh Jakus was the newest addition to our site. What a sign of inspiration! Josh is known for his felt pieces made from factory excess fibers and rubber designs made from recycled tires. When people use one of Josh’s products they naturally encounter the way it was conceived and developed. Amazing stuff. Enjoy the Q&A!

I’ve read that you have a background in both architecture and furniture design. What was the turning point that led you from architecture and furniture to soft goods?

I started doing furniture design in architecture school because they had a woodshop and I’ve always enjoyed manual work. As a design process I liked the simplicity and perfection of furniture as a counterpoint to architecture, which is so complicated and messy (sometimes in a good way). After I finished school I continued making furniture while I did freelance architectural work. My intent was to turn the furniture into a business that would go along side my architecture, but it proved to be very difficult to come up with commercially viable pieces. So I decided to experiment with Read the rest of this entry »

I never thought I would say this, but thanks to designers like Susie Mendive of SUM I am actually ecstatic wallpaper has made such a solid comeback. This is gen-u-ine excitement. My parents coated our home with wallpaper in the early 80’s, and it wasn’t pretty. It was so bad I remember as a little girl trying to peel it off to hint to my parents that they needed to do something with the walls. Now, times are different and I want to paper my walls myself!

Wallpaper actually gets me all riled up so I apologize in advice for my lengthy list of questions with Susie Mendive. Enjoy!

I know a bit about your background…a graphic designer with a graduate degree from North Carolina then to LA then to NY as art director with stila cosmetics…but I think there are some holes, especially in how you transitioned from branding cosmetics to designing modern wallpaper. Tell us more! How did SUM come together?

It happened very organically. I very much wanted to design and produce my own product and call all the shots. It just made sense at that point in my career. There is a lot of hard work involved and it can be consuming but I like taking it one step at the time.

Tell us about the name, SUM. How did you come up with this?

My husband and I were in Tokyo and it just hit me, Su is from Susie and M from Mendive but more than that it was the idea of a total home concept…SUM of all parts. A total approach to design and living.

The female silhouettes of your Floral Femme Fatale prints are an amazing graphic. They have a significant presence let alone bring Read the rest of this entry »

It may not come as any surprise to learn that at Design Public we LOVE bedding. We treasure bedding pieces that make it a joy to go to bed at night as well as hard to want to leave in the morning…not to mention look sharp all along the way.

With the introduction of Sanford Burrows we knew right away that we found something amazing. Take a look at the embroidery, the Italian crafted textiles, and the attention to detail Jill Sanford Burrows puts into her work and you’ll see what we mean. Enjoy the Q&A!

I’d love to learn a little bit about your background…how did you get into working with linens and designing for the home? How did Sanford Burrows come together and get off the ground?

I had a long career as a graphic designer. Years ago, I was living and working in London and found myself wanting to design something more tangible—something that people would have an immediate, emotional reaction to that didn’t carry a marketing message— so I decided to take a few fashion design classes. But, my interest kept being drawn Read the rest of this entry »

The newest addition to the DP family: Mod Mom Furniture. Mod Mom, aka Kiersten Hathcock, personally designs and builds all of her modern, mid-century inspired children’s furniture from her home garage.

Personally, I think it is hard to beat beautiful handmade furniture built by a mom with a power saw.

Enjoy the Q&A!

We know a little bit about your story…ex-TV network marketing executive turned stay-at-home mom turned self-taught furniture designer/builder. I absolutely love that you went for the power tools rather than the sewing machine or knitting needles. Now we want the full scoop. How did Mod Mom Furniture really get off the ground?

Mod Mom Furniture really came out of me needing two things: 1.) Another source of income (since we lost my salary) and 2.) An outlet to channel all the drive and creativity that surprisingly didn’t go away when I decided to stay home with the kids (then 6-months and 4-years). After leaving the corporate world, I took freelance marketing jobs and even nannied to help make ends meet but also be home with the kids. During that time, in 2005, I rekindled my love for woodworking while building a tiki bar and luau tables with a friend for my husband’s birthday party. I had forgotten how much fun it was to build and started to really think about how I could turn it into a business.

I started very slowly building toy bins and selling them to friends (who were kind enough not to point out the flaws because they wanted to be Read the rest of this entry »

Designers Matthew and Ariana Broerman of Paper Cloud have brought a truly handmade approach to design. All of their pieces, from journals to pillows to cards to lampshades, are made solely by the duo in their Cincinnati studio.

If you are on the hunt for a geniunely handmade item for your home, Paper Cloud is a great place to start. Enjoy the Q&A!

I find it inspiring that you two went from making handmade holiday cards for your friends and family to starting a business as extensive as Paper Cloud. A dream for many of us (myself included)! How did Paper Cloud come together and get off the ground?

When we started Paper Cloud in the fall of 2005, we had both been working as designers for two years in Cincinnati. We got great responses from the cards we were making for friends and family and we loved the idea of working and designing for ourselves. Matt comes from a very entrepreneurial family, and he grew up seeing the freedom and flexibility you have when you own your own business. Both of those things Read the rest of this entry »

Spring is just around the corner so now is the time to start thinking about outdoor living. With the warm welcome of sunny days ahead, let me introduce the Zen Outdoor Bench by Aric Mayer and Marni Saling of Aidan Olive. The Zen Outdoor Bench is beautifully crafted using local materials, local builders, and local facilities. Enjoy the Q&A!

I am very curious about both of your previous experiences or “past lives”…

Aric, you appear to be a man of many artistic talents. I noticed that you have worked with all sorts of mediums such as paint, wood, film, photography…you even learned how to build your own tools! How has your artistic background impacted your designs and business practices? How would you describe your design style/philosophy?

AM: It seems that what I work in comes first from a personal need to be in that medium. Then I start at the beginning and strip the materials back to their basics. With painting for a while I went all the way back to Vasari’s notes and made all my own paint and ground from scratch, Read the rest of this entry »

I am pleased to introduce the newest baby and kid furniture line to be added to our site: Spot on Square. Co-founders, Bob and Nicole Springer bring a clean and calm collection to the scene, keeping unnecessary noise away from your child’s treasured space.

The Hiya series, a nickname given to Bob and Nicole’s son by his twin sister, conveys a childlike sense of purity, simplicity and sustainability. Enjoy!

Where did the name Spot on Square come from?

Our son was drawing on the driveway with chalk. He had drawn a square with a circle in it. When I asked him about it he referred to as the spot in the square. Nicole and I thought this was great graphically and began to think about how we could use it. After a bit of thought we came up with Spot On Square. We felt that this was a good fit being a bit of a play on words yet it was quite playful at the same time.

Bob, you appear to have quite an extensive industrial design background. Tell us about your experiences and how has it evolved into to starting Spot on Square? How about being a father, how has this played a role?

I had the opportunity as an undergrad student to be an understudy to an eccentric Finnish designer named Stefan Lindfors. During this time I worked on a number of furniture projects and gained a love for furniture design. My time since has been primarily in a corporate environment. Read the rest of this entry »

Jed Crystal of Hepper has done exactly what I have hoped someone would do with pet products…he has created pieces that are aesthetically pleasing (especially for a modern home) while also perfectly functional for your furry friend. A true master of form and function.

If Jed Crystal is the designer, who then is Hepper? Hepper is the name of a rat-cat who moved in with Jed and was subsequently nicknamed Hepper (as Jed notes, “short for Hepburn, as in Audrey, as in elegant, beautiful and oh-so stylish”). Hepper is now the official product tester for all Hepper pieces. Enjoy the Q&A!

You seem to be a man of many hats. I saw that you have history and experience designing backpacks, gloves, footwear, lighting, furniture, housewares and now for pets. My goodness! What was the turning point that led you into pet design? How did Hepperâ„¢ come together and get off the ground?

Design is around me all the time I’m the guy who is under tables in the furniture stores looking at joinery so the pet products have actually been brewing for quite a while. The first inspiration was when Booker (big fat shadow tiger cat) came to live with me 12 years ago. He’s had Read the rest of this entry »