Product and interior designer Harry Allen shares how his childhood in New Jersey was shaped by frequent field trips to NYC, how he collaborated with chef Daniel Boulud to design his thesis project, and why he decided to cast an actual piglet for his now-famous piggy bank. Also, he's able to cut a really tight circle on a pair of skates, and we suspect he is a total boss in the rink.

We learn about Harry's idyllic childhood and early creativity, how he took a winding road to Pratt and ended up landing a booth at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York.

Harry might be most well known for the "Reality" series he created, which was picked up by popular design brand and manufacturer Areaware. Listen to learn how it all started with a relative's death and an inherited candlestick.

Harry met Murray Moss through a roundabout way, resulting in perhaps one of his most well-known interior designs. Learn how that relationship opened doors for him time and time again.

Harry lets us in on a story that involved ceramic foam material he was using for lamps, that had a very unfortunate—yet kinda hilarious—outcome.

Plus, we find out about the exciting NYC roller skating crowd of the 90s, and we find out that Harry feels most free on four wheels...

More recent projects include the NYCxDesign Design Pavilion, a stool for Umbra Shift, and acoustic tiles using an experimental material made from mushrooms from Ecovative.

See more of Harry's work on his website harryallendesign.com and follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Special thanks to the sponsor for this episode, BDE. Visit them at bdeonline.biz.

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Special thanks to Chris Modl of Yore Studio for editing this episode.
Music in this episode courtesy of El Ten Eleven—hear more on Bandcamp.
Shoutout to Jenny Rask for designing the Clever logo.

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