I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design. Following is another installment of the Wellness & Design Thought Leadership Series presented by ThermaSol.
In May, 2023, a special gathering took place at the Friedman’s Home Experience showroom in Long Beach, California. This gathering presented an opportunity to get some of Southern California’s most dynamic and creative designers together for a conversation about kitchen design. Our group engages in an open forum about how the kitchen has changed in form and function since the pandemic began in 2020. This idea started as an exploratory look at what has changed, but developed into an overarching dialogue about what it means to be a designer today. Further, how the design community has learned to lean in on each other for support, direction, inspiration and in the case of showrooms like Friedman’s Home Experience, how to provide designers and architects with opportunities to discover new product and specify with confidence to best serve the client.
Designer Resources
ThermaSol – Redefining the modern shower experience. Episode 271 featuring Mitch Altman
Moya Living – Beautiful, durable powder coated kitchen, bath & outdoor kitchen cabinetry
Design Hardware – A stunning and vast collection of jewelry for the home!
The Oasis Alliance – Providing design to those in need.
ICAA Southern California – SoCal is Southern California’s preeminent resource on classical architecture and the allied arts.
You are about to listen in on a real workgroup discussing the issues designers, architects and builders face today. The following conversation is between 7 creatives and at times, it gets complicated, just like conversations in the real world. The conversation was not intended for you to blow through while multi-tasking. There is a great deal of material here and it is intended to be listened to over time and re-listened as well. It is worthy of saving and. added to your resource library.
Before we listen in, I thought you would like to meet the participants:
Long Trihn – Managing Director of Friedman’s Home Experience – @friedmanshomeexperience
Lea Biermann – Principal, Lea Biermann Design – @lbkbdesign
Cheryl Kaye – Principle, Cheryl Kaye Design Studio @cherylkaye
Paul Fernandez – Principle, @kitchenkoncierge
John Feldman – Owner, @ecocentrix
Pam Barthold – Owner, Pazzam Designs @pazzamdesigns
Donna Johnson – @luxedesigner
Now that you have met the players, let me share the conversation that ensued. They were talking about materials. Brass, brushed gold and chrome. Understated glamour. Stamped wood, wood islands with nautical finishes.We are talking about custom organics. Luxury and organic.
Dust is a big issue with open shelving in kitchens now, as is clutter.
Thicknesses and finishes. Technical design details. Products for outdoor uses.
The art of sales and how designers can engage more efficiently with trades and showrooms.
Working with educated clients and the “Amazon Effect”, training customers to just buy and return if they don’t like it as opposed to buying right the first time.
Evaluating new lines and products.
Induction, new tech and new ideas, but what does that mean by way of new upgrades like the electrical panel? Government regulations, utility company specifications…How does this affect the design.
Steel cabinetry is becoming more of a standard in lieu of wood, stone and cement board outdoors and indoors. Durability is becoming more important as temperatures increase.
You are going to hear an honest conversation about supply chain, lead generation for products and materials.
I started hosting these conversations in 2017 following an event at a design festival. What I found was the moment the mics were off, the conversations started to be real. These real conversations have led to actionable steps and techniques designers can use in a real world scenario because at the end of the day, we are all dealing with the same issues. Some better than others. Enjoy this conversation from Friedman’s Home Experience in Long Beach, California on a sunny day in May, 2023.
Susan Ferrier | 509 | Our May 2024 Design Icon Registry Inductee
Harmony From Chaos and Curated Style | 508 | Staci Munic
No Rules in the Universal Application of Design Products | 507 | Erin Minckley of Relativity Textiles
Burnishing A Reputation in Experimental Ceramics, Lighting & Art Design | 506 | Ethan Streicher on Design and the Journey
New & Now featuring SheSpoke and ASID-Los Angeles | 505 | A Day of Dropping Design Knowledge LIVE from Los Angeles
Daniel Ian Smith of Village West Design | 504 | Innate Design and That Which Makes Us Human
The Design Messengers | 503 | An Extraordinary New Design Book from KAA Design Group, The PIRCH Saga Continues, An Architectural Pratt Fall and More!
Alex Papachristidis | 502 | Our April 2024 Design Icon Registry Inductee
Design Destinations and America’s Favorite Design Events | 501 | 2024 Kitchen and Bath Industry Show Review with Angeline Guido Hall, John Weinstein and Kevie Murphy
Lessons Learned After 11 Years and Five Hundred Episodes | 500 | Storytellers, Best Practices and Ideas to Make the Design and Architecture Industry Stronger
Vision, Leadership & Creative Functionality, Every Element for A Successful Firm | 499 | Katie McCaffrey
Incredible Brands Changing the Way we Design | 498 | TimberTech featuring Amanda Cimaglia and Designer Olga Naiman
CXD Design Icon Series for March 2024 | 497 | Jean Brownhill
High Point Market and All of the Questions You Were Afraid to Ask | 496 | Tammy Nagem, CEO of High Point Market Authority
Imbued Values and the Hand of the Architect: Thee Multicultural Approach to Modern Architecture | 494 | Mathew Chaney, FAIA and Bryn Garrett, AIA of EYRC Architects
The Design Messengers: Credit, Attribution and Media Standards | 494 | The Sofia Vergara Project in AD
The Immutable Laws of Design, Why Do Some Former Lawyers Make Such Great Designers | 493 | Katie Davis
WestEdge Wednesday No. Ten | 492 | All Roads Lead to Southern California; Long Live the Creative Experiment
Exploring the Architectural Identity of Los Angeles: Do Cities Define the Types of Architecture or is it the Other Way Around | 491 | KFA Architecture
The Design Messengers: Set Decoration as Functional Art | 490 | Don Diers, Jan Pascale, David Smith, Claire Kaufman & Julie Drach
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