I suppose I have to join in the staff profile fun…

Where are you from? I am a Boulder, CO mountain girl at heart, but I lived in a small town in Illinois for a few years during my formative years where, like Joe, I learned to appreciate the taste of Midwestern cuisine (meatloaf, corn, frozen peas, Jell-O with marshmallows, etc.). I also lived in Saudi Arabia and Alaska shortly after I was born, but I don’t really remember either spot so I guess they don’t count.

Where do you live now? I have been a bit of a nomad during my 9 years in Nor Cal. Currently I have nestled myself into a corner in Oakland and love it but I have to continue my nomadic ways…as of next week I’ll be moving into a loft space in Emeryville. Expect lots of photos oh-so-soon!

How did you get interested in design? I have always had a passion for crafts, design, and art in general. As a child I would make intricate dioramas for book projects and they would typically be scenes in a home (and no, my parents didn’t make my school projects for me). In college one of my majors was in art with a focus on mixed media painting. I took a couple photography classes and while other students did their final projects taking pictures of people or landscapes, I was off photographing chairs.

What’s your favorite DP product and why? I have major love for the Blu Dot Nick Table. The character of the woodgrain and the rounded edges make me melt. Some may call me a “DP addict” since Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve introduced the ladies of our Three’s Company customer service team, Melissa and Kerstin. Now it is time to meet the ringleader aka Jack Tripper aka John Ritter aka…Joe!

Where are you from? Nebraska! The great land of beef, corn, and Football – with a capital F.

Where do you live now? Last year I moved from a fabulous sprawling penthouse in Oakland to an equally lovely shoebox in SF. It’s all about location, baby!

How did you get interested in design? I worked at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art for years and found myself attending as many architecture and design lectures I could get into. It is fascinating for me to learn about the process a designer goes through in order to realize their ideas. It is also interesting for me to see how people can interpret the same object in so many different ways. I think that’s where the line often blurs between art and function.

What’s your favorite DP product and why? Love my Area Jewel duvet and Area Theo coverlet. I always tell people its my ‘fancy’ bedding.

What do you like most about our company? I mostly work here for the free food. People say we have a Read the rest of this entry »

To piggyback off of Melissa’s staff profile, let me now introduce another one of our Three’s Company (aka Customer Service Team) characters: Kerstin!

Where are you from? Clearwater, FL

Where do you live now? San Francisco, CA

How did you get interested in design? I started cutting up clothes and sewing them, painting, doing ceramics, changing the way I “decorated” my rooms and other creative shenanigans when I was younger and throughout growing up. As I got older, I discovered new arenas of more sophisticated design regarding furniture and sustainable art, how loose the term “design” is, and how the kiddie painting and grown-up furniture design can work together… Did that make sense?

What’s your favorite DP product and why? umm… I don’t have a favorite, but I really love jefdesigns pieces, and I really need the Area Bruno Bed and some Graham & Brown Mode Enchant Wallpaper, please.

If you weren’t doing this what would you do? Probably be miserable while Read the rest of this entry »

Upon the event that you’ve ever been lucky enough to communicate with our customer service team…this is who is on the other end:

“The adventures of two women and one man
working together in one department.”

Since quality customer service is so important to us, these guys are very important to us. Luckily, we’ve got a great tight group with amazing karate chopping (aka customer service) skills.

We’ve shared a number of staff profiles in the past but there has been a major lapse in updating our team info. Now’s as good a time as any to get this going again and who better to start with than the Three’s Company (i.e. customer service) team. First up: Melissa!

Where are you from? Where do you live now? I am from the East Bay. I lived there forever until Read the rest of this entry »

I’m filing this under the category "What’s New"!  When we first started selling products for infants and children, we had to go to guest bloggers and other resources as none of us here at Design Public had kids or really knew anything about them.  Now that has all changed!  Congratulations to Sina, Design Public Co-Founder, and his wife Jenni, for giving us our first Design Public Little Peep Sara!  We can’t wait to meet her!

1.  Where are you from?  Where do you live now?  I was born in Michigan, and grew up in Western Pennsylvania.  First in small town called Oil City, and then we moved to Pittsburgh.  Since then I’ve lived in New Hampshire, New York City, and San Francisco.  I recently moved down to Menlo Park, a town just south of San Francisco.

2.  How’d you get interested in design? I’ve been a tinkerer, doodler, and amateur inventor since I can first remember.  I’ve always enjoyed art, building things, and working on crafts and in the shop.  I love coming up with new ideas and seeing if I can turn them into something real.  In school I studied engineering, and to me, design is the perfect combination of the aesthetic and emotional joys of art with the problem-solving challenges of engineering.

3.  What’s your favorite Design Public product and why? These days I have my eye on the Squat Benches by Vessel.  We have a small house, and we could use both more storage and seating – but we don’t have room for both. These are great multifunctional pieces that can do double duty depending on what we need them for.

4. What do you like most about our company?  Why do you work here (besides the fact that you are the co-founder)? Our people are awesome. They are passionate, imaginative, fun to be around, and great at what they do. Why I work here: We’re free to be as innovative as we can be – in all parts of our business. We’re constantly trying new things and brainstorming ways to improve on what we’re doing, so it’s a very energetic and fun environment that allows me to be creative and do something different every day.  Plus it’s just a fun industry: the designers, our customers, the parties.

5.  If you weren’t doing this what would you do? I’ve always toyed with being a full-time artist, but I’m pretty enticed by the career of mad scientist / inventor – working alone in the basement, letting my personal hygiene slip, talking to myself.  And, like George Costanza, I was always wanted to pretend to be an architect.

6.   What do you do in your spare time? I try to fit in art when I can: painting and drawing, going to galleries and museums. I love enjoying all of the amazing outdoor opportunities available here in Northern CA.  I have some of the best cycling, hiking, and trail running right outside my front door.  I go backpacking up in the mountains.  I’m big into cooking. These days I also spend a lot of time writing software, a newfound hobby of mine.

7.  Favorite member of the A-Team? Capt. Murdock.  He was the only one who truly understood me.

Sorry to tell you this, but Sina recently tied the knot and is off the market.  If you’d like to buy him a gift even though he didn’t invite you, here’s his Wish List!

Well, I am making everyone else post their staff profiles so I figured I might as well suck it up and do my own!  I have this weird deja vu feeling that I already did, and if that’s true, I apologize for the repeat, but I could not find it anywhere in the archives, so I am assuming I never added it to the blog. Anyway, here goes!

Where are you from?
Born in Jersey, raised in Cincinnati, spent my late teens and all of my 20’s in Charlottesville Virginia.   I lived in Boston here and there but I don’t belong there, so I never say I’m "from" there.  Oh yeah, there were also a few fun stints in Valencia Spain and Venice.

 
Where do you live now?
The A.T.L.  A-Town.  Atlanta.  (Never say "Hotlanta" – no one here does and it gets on our writer Jeff’s nerves big time).  The best thing about Atlanta is that sometimes Lil’ Jon is on your flight on the way home from Vegas.  That was my best celebrity sighting ever!
Read the rest of this entry »

The Flickr group photo that made me pause and backup the slideshow I had going on from our group pool.

Turns out it was created by our very own Antoinette Celes (a.k.a. Antoi), right here at DP.  Antoi states:

"I started mounting styrofoam blocks on one of my walls to function as toy display and soundproofing. I first saw this idea by multi-talented designer/video director friend, Roy Miles, who mounted a few large styro blocks as wall art. my idea is to cover the wall, in it’s entirety. stay tuned….

art/toys: lego "metal hands" by bwana spoons top shelf, and pixelblocks below. 

So seeing Antoi’s flickr picture reminded me that i was supposed to blog the staff profiles here and there, and I totally forgot.  Antoi’s title is basically jack of all trades – she has more interests and talents than the rest of us combined (sorry guys, but it’s true), and without her, the place would likely fall apart. Now that you’ve been introduced to her creative shelving solutions, GET TO KNOW ANTOI!

(by the way, I have no idea why some of the text below looks like an e.e. cumming’s poem, but I kind of dig it and don’t feel like re-typing everything, so I’m leaving it). 

Where are you from?
Native Chamorro born on Guam – spent my young childhood in Hawaii and lived all over the US (Florida, California, Maine, Colorado) and spent my teens and part of my adulthood on Guam & Saipan (Marianas Islands in the Western Pacific)

Where do you live now?
San Francisco

How’d you get interested in design?
As a child. I was always drawing and making things (learned crochet & crafts as a kid). I had wonderful Xmases where my mother would have a mono or dual-color decorating theme. As a kid, I would sit in spaces and mentally redecorate them. I love thrifting and second hand shops, which have given me an appreciation for vintage design & handcrafted things. I’m currently into mixing folk, kitsch and stark modern.

What’s your favorite DP product and why?
I must confess, the Duoplane CD Shelves , by Pure Design (now produced by OFFI). I don’t even want these for CD’s. I have a fantasy of mounting them in my kitchen as my spicerack. They’d also look cool horizontally spanning my hallway wall, from one end to the other, displaying my toy collection. They’re rad — horizontal or vertical. AND they’re reasonably priced.

I also think the Bendant lamp by MIO Culture is ingenious and I have a crush on David Brunicardi’s Sande Wave & Mag Tables .

What do you like most about our company?  Why do you work here?
I was drawn to Design Public initially because of the approachable attitude towards modern design, and that customer service is held in high regard. This mirrored my own personal philosophy.

I love the folks I work with — nuff said. Everyone has a great sense of humor (which I hold in high regard), casual meetings are held in the park, we’re an intelligent, hard-working bunch and you guys allow me to get loopy under pressure.

if you weren’t doing this what would you do?
I’d focus on my illustration, make funky kids clothing, learn Micronesian handicrafts and study tattoo art in Asian & Pacific cultures.

What do you do in your spare time?
Well, I already do too many things — make handmade accessories, knit/crochet, do illustration & graphic design, remake clothing, run a couple of blogs, go thrifting on the weekends, cook, photograph events and people, check out galleries when I can, and explore cheap eats in the city. I’m always on the lookout for a party event with a deejay that knows how to get my groove on.

Favorite member of the A-Team?
Mr T, of course.

Um, I think that shoud be, "Mr. T, FOOL!"  Thanks Antoi!

Happy Thursday!

We’ve got a bit of a lull in the holiday season here, so I thought it would be fun to take some time to introduce our team to you. I mean, you read this blog — who are these guys? And why should I read what they have to say about design? (Truth is, you should not under any circumstances.)

Let’s take Jeff, our copywriter, for starters. I mean, have you ever wondered about our web copy? Read this example for the Gus Design Group Steel Magazine Racks:

As well as being interesting and handy, the Stainless Steel Magazine Rack from Gus Design Group gives you a new way to store your magazines–by rank! You can put the fun, fluffy magazines at the bottom and the significant, responsible ones at the top; you can work your way up the ladder from People and Entertainment Weekly to the very heights of dwell and The Economist. Or, you know, the other way around. People has reporting in it too.

No, you aren’t in a Williams-Sonoma catalog anymore. Don’t see it? How about the description for the Plume Pillow from Eleventwentyfive or the Play-a-Round Table from Offi?

I love our copy. It’s a bit off the wall and fun, but so are we so it fits. The author of our web copy is Jeff. He lives in LA, and his is our first staff profile. Read it over and then check out Jeff’s Holiday Wishlist here.

Jeff, where are you from? Where do you live now?

I’m from all over the place. I was born in Alaska, and lived there on and off for about 7 years. I’ve lived in California for the past 11 years now, in L.A. for the past 6 or so.

How’d you get interested in design?

Well, I’ve loved Fallingwater since the first time I ever saw a picture of it. I know it’s utterly impractical (and extraordinarily improbable), but I like to think of it as my future house. It’ll never happen, but it’s a dream. Then, about five and a half years ago, probably, I saw a Frank Lloyd Wright book in the bargain section at Barnes & Noble, and all the pictures I saw just felt *right.* Like, there was something in the designs–furniture, art glass, architecture, the works–that I recognized as something in me, even though I hadn’t seen any of those photos before. Read the rest of this entry »