CONTRIBUTORS
GET TO KNOW A FEW OF OUR CONTRIBUTORS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY AS THEY TALK ALL THINGS DESIGN. PRODUCED BY SARAH RAMIREZ
LAURA MOSS Photographer / New York If you could shoot anywhere in the world, where would it be? Dubai or Shanghai. I think amazing things are being done in these places. On your design wish list: Furniture pieces that can hide all signs of technology and still be beautiful, as well as a great comfortable chair that is cat-proof. Also, I would love to own the perfect ceiling fan. Having grown up in South Florida without air conditioning, ceiling fans were definitely important, but I find that their design is sometimes lacking. Favorite book on your nightstand: I really love Steven Pinker’s The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined. Preferred superpower: The ability to freeze time. Best career advice you’ve received: “It’s freelance—you are free to work with whomever you want.” I would not say it’s the best advice ever, but I do love it as it makes me step back and see how lucky I am to be in such a creative field and not stuck in an office forced to follow a specific career track.
JOANNE FURIO
Writer / San Francisco Whose work are you most influenced by design-wise? Charles and Ray Eames. My kids say that I’m stuck in the 1970s, but it’s midcentury elements that I love the most: low-slung houses, groovy furniture, tropical houseplants, mod clothes, heavy eye makeup and sky-high hair—all of it. Ideal work trip: Being sent on a travel assignment to India, Japan or Mongolia. All my Asian friends tell me I need to go to the Far East. Prized possessions: A Donghia deep armchair I got at a sample sale in New York, my grandmother’s marble column table lamps and a sterling-silver bubble ring from the ’60s that had been my aunt’s. Most interesting person you’ve ever met: Joshua Miele, a member of the board at Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired in San Francisco; he’s blind and creates all these new technologies for the visually impaired. If not a writer, I would be… A landscape architect. I love gardens and stone.
NATHAN KIRKMAN Photographer / Chicago My biggest creative influences come from… Anyone that shows a passion and continues to work at it. Who are some of the most fascinating people you’ve come across in your life? Author Ray Bradbury, designer Orlando Diaz-Azcuy and photographer Tim Hursley are all at the top of my list. I would love to one day own... An Hermès Leica camera, La Cornue’s Château 150 in carbon fiber and a photograph by Larry Sultan. What advice would you give to your 20-year-old self? I would most likely tell myself to take a course on business management—and to buy some Apple stock. Dream assignment: Anything that allows me to travel to new places!
CHRISTINE DEORIO Writer / Denver Design obsession: Benjamin Moore’s Homestead Green paint, which I discovered while visiting floral designer Frances Harjeet’s Queen Anne-style home in Denver. It’s elegant and soothing, especially in a room with lots of soft, natural light. If you could interview anyone, who would it be? Terry Gross, host of NPR’s Fresh Air radio show, who has spoken with many fascinating people during her career. I’m always impressed by how prepared she is for every interview and by her ability to ask probing questions in such a friendly way. I’d like to ask her how she prepares, how she handles difficult or taciturn guests, and how she stays so well-informed about everything. What’s intriguing you now in the world of design? The revitalization of Rust Belt cities. I love a good comeback story. The word “Detroit” used to conjure images of once-magnificent buildings in ruins. Now, many of those buildings are hip restaurants, and the city is coming to be known as “the new Brooklyn” for its influx of creatives and burgeoning art and design scenes.
moss headshot: courtesy laura moss. living room photo: laura moss; interiors by buckingham interiors + design. kirkman headshot: anna knott. deorio headshot: deborah cota/studiocota photography. furio headshot: courtesy joanne furio.
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