When you decide to create a podcast, you have to start somewhere. We've been calling this episode The First Pancake because this is where we started. We didn't want to subject a guest to all of our awkward, beginner-ness so we interviewed each other. This was our mock-up episode, we used it to work out our tech issues, audio quality, music, editing and format. We were planning to shelve it, you know the way you do with old sketches, jigs and models. But then we changed our minds and thought, hey—you guys might actually want to know a little more about us, why we're doing this, and what the process has been like. So we brought it back, and shined it up.

Left: Jaime Derringer / Right: Amy Devers

Jaime tells Amy all about how she grew up in South Jersey, spending summers on the Jersey shore, and spending the formative years cultivating her love of modern design in furniture stores.

She shares the backstory, trials and tribulations of running a media empire that includes Design Milk, Adorn Milk and Dog Milk. She also talks candidly about how she suffers from perfectionism, which she believes is a "sort-of disorder". She's even written an article about it. And, as an artist, she finds creating art is therapeutic in many ways, and has helped her overcome her desire for this "unattainable perfection."

Follow Jaime on Twitter and Instagram. Follow Design Milk on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Amy shares with Jaime the the somewhat circuitous path that led her to study furniture design at San Diego State University and Rhode Island School of design.

She tells the story of how she fell into show business, and talks about some of the shows she's hosted and the highlights she’s encountered along the way.

And she reluctantly divulges the origin of her childhood nickname, Schneider.

Amy Devers lives up to the Schneider nickname on the set of *Fix This Yard* (Photo by Emily Shur)

For more about Amy go to amydevers.com. Follow Amy on Twitter and Instagram and Facebook.

If you want more Clever, sign up for the newsletter to get notified of new episodes as they're released. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And most importantly, please spread the word to anyone who you think would dig it.

Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, SoundCloud, or subscribe using our feed:http://clever.libsyn.com/rss via your favorite podcast app. And please, if you like us, give us a rating!

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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Ep. 218: The Exquisite Love, Magic and Maximalism of Londubh Studio

Custom surface artists Lisa Donohoe and Brynn Gelbard met and fell in love in the queer underbelly scene of San Francisco in 2002, a time before bi-national same-sex marriage was legal. Self-proclaimed party animals, their diverse community was built on love, curiosity and celebrating each other's differences. In an evolution that was equal parts organic maturity and cosmic intervention, Brynn and Lisa moved to Los Angeles and founded Londubh Studio, specializing in elaborate and maximalist hand-applied surface designs. Now the duo, oft considered the design world’s secret weapon, are translating their wildness, love, magic, and the sacred, through exquisite artistry and pristine craft, into visual celebrations that vibrate with love and emanate joy. Turns out these former revelers are still going full-blast on life.

Ep. 217: Design Researcher Amanda Schneider on the Art of Contextualizing the Data

Founder and President of ThinkLab, Amanda Schneider, grew up outside of Chicago, inspired by a blend of engineering and design. Now a self-described “designer by degree, journalist by accident, and researcher by choice” at the helm of ThinkLab, she examines the ecosystem of the design world, unearthing and synthesizing the social and cultural shifts and drivers that impact the interiors industry. Together with her team, she offers insights and context that can empower better decision-making while also bridging the communication gap between creatives and the business sector. A keynote speaker (catch her recent TEDx talk) and the host of the podcast Design Nerds Anonymous, Amanda shares her wisdom on topics like communication strategies, storytelling, and the future of work.

Ep. 216: Clever Extra - Interior Designer Kerrie Kelly on Uniting Beauty and Function

Interior designer and lifestyle expert Kerrie Kelly is known for her distinctive California-inspired design philosophy. She got her start at Ralph Lauren Home and then moved to Del Webb Corporation where she was a boots-on-the-ground high-volume designer of homes, before founding her multi-faceted design studio, Kerrie Kelly Design Lab, in 1995. A graduate of both design and business school, she blends both of these skill sets in her work as an interior designer, trendspotter, and brand partner. She’s driven by a commitment to bringing thoughtful design into everyday life, which for Kerrie means blending beauty with functionality and translating that through a palette of luxurious and organic materiality.

Ep. 215: Kinfolk’s Idris Brewster Uses AR to Empower Collective Memory Building

Artist, creative technologist, and educator, Idris Brewster grew up in Brooklyn, being filmed for a documentary about his education as a black student at a prestigious, primarily white, school. His coming-of-age, only partially caught on camera, included a lot of basketball and hands-on artistic development. A grant awarded in college gave him early access to VR technology which opened a path to combining all of his talents and interests and expressing them through new media. Now, as co-founder and Executive Director of Kinfolk Foundation, he’s harnessing augmented reality, location-based technology, and community to engage in placing digital monuments in public spaces, memory building, and foregrounding the Black, Brown and Queer histories that have been intentionally silenced.

Ep. 214: Architect & Designer Marc Thorpe on Relationships, Responsibility, and Uncertainty

Architect & designer Marc Thorpe spent his youth, just outside of Washington DC, drawing and learning to navigate a destabilizing home environment. The son of two academics, he learned discipline, rigor, and resilience from his mom, while his dad, a critical thinker, taught him to challenge and interrogate everything. Always knowing he’d be an artist, he studied Industrial Design and Architecture. Now, he’s the Founder & Principal of Marc Thorpe Design, a multi-disciplinary studio, and co-founder (along with Claire Pijoulat) of Edifice Upstate, a design & build architecture agency. As someone with a unique ability to seize every opportunity, as well as create them from scratch, he’s worked with world-renowned designers, lead groundbreaking projects, and is leading the charge toward more responsible architecture. And while Marc has always been certain that he’d be a creative, it is uncertainty that is his greatest inspiration.

Ep. 3: Amy + Jaime (aka The First Pancake)

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Ep. 3: Amy + Jaime (aka The First Pancake)

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Ep. 4: Brendan Ravenhill

Ep. 2: Genevieve Gorder

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