Furniture designer, engineer and manufacturer Derek Chen identifies his childhood in the midwest as the origin of his love for American design, details how he transitioned from his first career as a management consultant to his second career as the CEO and Design Director of Council, a modern American furniture brand, and celebrates the merits of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as a model of ingenuity. Plus, he invented a technique for cleaning his room with a 2x4.

Chilean-born artist / designer / activist Sebastian Errazuriz captivates us with tales of his rigorous arts training, examples of his immaculate hustle and a specific method he employs whenever he needs to force an idea up to the surface. He’s as disciplined and driven as an Olympic athlete, and hell-bent on having us all re-think reality.

Seth Grizzle of architecture and product design studio graypants, tells us about being the creative kid in a family that didn’t quite “get” him, how an art teacher helped set him on the course to architecture and why living on a boat helps him edit his possessions down to just the ones that make a great story. Also, he reveals the story behind the name graypants.

New Zealand-based designer/maker David Trubridge, who is known the world over for his beautiful and environmentally responsible lighting and furniture, has wandered to the corners of the earth, soaked up all its glory, and pays homage to it in everything he does. Amy and Jaime are rapt as he details his life of adventures and poetically distills how they inform his work and his experience of humanity. A real salt of the earth, this guy.

Robert Brunner, co-founder of Ammunition in San Francisco, is kind of a big deal. You might not immediately recognize his name if you're not entrenched in the product design scene, but you definitely know at least one if not more of his designs. Maybe you've heard of Beats by Dre headphones? Yeah, we thought so. 

In this episode, Terry recounts his adventures in furniture design, including the genesis of his new design label Amen & Amen, cofounded with fashion designer Nana Boateng (see pics below). In the process, he slings some serious wisdom and infects us with his super-contagious lust for life. His high-octane enthusiasm and charisma is like jet fuel for your brain.

JONATHAN ADLER! YAY! We were so excited to talk to the potter and home decor mogul about life, love, and (irreverent) luxury.

In this episode, he reveals how he found refuge from a tortured adolescence in clay and the potter’s wheel, and how getting out from behind the wheel engendered a personal creative explosion. Plus, he drops some serious knowledge bombs on us!

We talk to design mogul Rebecca Finell of Finell about her unusual path from medicine to modern design, balancing business with babies, and standing out in a sea of sameness. 

Rebecca talks about designing her first hit product while still in school, transitioning from pre-med to industrial design, and her love of Austin, Texas. We also learn how good partnerships were a key to her success.

Los Angeles-based lighting and furniture designer Brendan Ravenhill is leading an interesting life. From a youth in West Africa, to running a growing studio in Los Angeles, he's made stops along the way that involve lobstering, boat-building, academia and a Schindler house. 

In this episode, Brendan reveals how profound grief led him to find solace in making things with his hands. While he's got a rigorous work-ethic, play tops his list of to-dos. He shares with us the story of his unusual courtship with his now-wife, and melts us like buerre with his French.

We couldn't be more thrilled that Joe Doucet is our very first guest. This NY-based designer is articulate, incredibly talented, and humble. We loved chatting with him about growing up in a small Texas town, designing from a place of naiveté, and we even found out that he also suffers from the ever-so-common imposter syndrome.