Co-founders of House of Rolison, Amanda Leigh and Taylor Hahn, grew up on opposite coasts but were both self-described angsty teens. Both had a deep love for art and architecture, choosing different professional paths before they met online and their fates intertwined. Their first date turned into a road trip and then quarantine-based cohabitation. Since starting House of Rolison, they’ve renovated a number of forgotten old homes into warm, elegant, modern beauties. Their complementary...

Frequently referred to as the godmother of Italian design, Marva Griffin Wilshire, grew up in a large family in Venezuela, reading House & Garden and rearranging the furniture. Drawn to Italy in the 1970’s, she landed a job as a secretary for Piero Busnelli, founder of B&B Italia, which opened up her entire world. She was introduced to architects and designers, getting a first-hand look at the inner workings of Italian design. Since then, she’s committed herself to giving young...

Polymath Holly Howard has lived many lives. A former professional ballet dancer, bassoonist, medical researcher and board-certified music therapist, she’s pulled from science, art, and design to create a one-of-a-kind path for herself. Now, she runs the successful culture-first business consultancy, Ask Holly How, to help creative entrepreneurs grow personally and professionally, and better understand that business and creativity are more powerful when wielded together.  Head to...

Lionel Ohayon was born in Canada to a family spanning Morocco, Israel, and Spain. This multi-cultural upbringing armed him with the ability to synthesize different inputs and understand complex topics from an early age, and an innate appreciation of hospitality. He founded ICRAVE as a design-build startup in 2002, and several ground-breaking projects later, is now leading the charge in reinventing hospitality experiences like the immersive and otherworldly Las Vegas Sphere, and the...

Illustrator, graphic designer, speaker and picture book-maker Andy J. Pizza grew up in the Indiana suburbs, the child of two diametrically opposite parents - dad in corporate finance and mom an artist. Often feeling out of place, he learned to cope by drawing and smoking cigarettes, before finding indie music, and from there gig posters and graphic design. Now, he’s a wildly successful illustrator and beloved podcaster who remains exceptionally honest, open, and real about the inner workings...

Here’s my Valentine to you, Clever listeners. This episode is all about love and how to intentionally design and build the long-lasting, mutually fulfilling, loving relationships you desire. Dr. Sara Nasserzadeh, author of Love By Design: 6 Ingredients to Build a Lifetime of Love unpacks her paradigm-shifting model of Emergent Love, and helps us with exercises and epiphany-inducing re-defines of attraction, respect, trust, compassion, shared vision, and loving behaviors. Along the way we...

Nancy Baker Cahill spent her youth gaining an appreciation for both civic engagement and dark humor. Her creative passions were ignited with a powerful youth arts program, but then went dormant for a difficult spell in adulthood. Now, fully in her stride as a new media artist known for work that examines power, selfhood, and embodied consciousness, her AR artwork can be found covering Time Square, at international festivals, and floating in unexpected, intangible places, worldwide. Images,...

Michael Ford is the designer and activist known as The Hip Hop Architect. Born in Highland Park, Michigan the son of a minister, Michael was raised to be inquisitive and question the world around him to find deeper truth. Early on, he found his passion for design and music, expanding it into a practice of architecture and design through the lens of Hip Hop culture. This led to his founding of The Hip Hop Architecture Camp®, a camp that positions Hip Hop Culture as a catalyst to introduce...

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning Product Specialist, Ana Arriola-Kanada, grew up in ‘the valley’ just north of LA, watching Robotech and working in the family shop. She moved to Japan just after HS to work in Anime. An autodidact driven by a powerful work ethic and growth mindset, she propelled through all facets of tech & design playing key roles in the development of web design, emoji (Adobe), mobile computing and the original iPhone (Apple), UI/UX, PlayStation (Sony)…etc....

Malene Barnett is an artist, activist, speaker and legacy maker working in one-of-a-kind ceramic sculptures and bespoke textiles. Raised in Norwalk, Connecticut, she’s an authority on the cultural traditions and practices of art in the African diaspora and how it translates into the modern black experience. She founded the Black Artists + Designers Guild, and is on a mission to use art as a tool to expand the conversation around marginalization in the arts and create greater opportunities for...

Legendary visual artist Cey Adams grew up in NYC immersed in the excitement and danger of graffiti, embellishing buildings and tagging “Cey City” on subway cars. From there, he began selling in galleries along with contemporaries Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, and designing merch, logos and singles for Run DMC, Beastie Boys, and LL Cool J. As founding Creative Director of Def Jam he designed cover art for Slick Rick, Public Enemy, Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, etc., toured with his...

Lettering artist Lauren Hom was a super shy and studious child. Her crafty mother would make snacks with her initials cut out of cheese slices. In her teenage years, her first love led to slipping grades and the realization that her creativity, not science, would be her path to college. She sold her parents on going to art school with the promise of learning the advertising business. After a brief stint at an ad agency, she started freelancing with her art, and now has made an art out of...

Lighting Designer John Sorensen-Jolink grew up in Portland, filling his days with soccer, youth symphony, horseback riding, and taking cabs between schools to train for a future as a pro dancer. After 10 years of performing with the best of the best (think Twyla Tharp et al) he answered an urge to learn how to design and make objects grounded in human connection. Now Coil + Drift is celebrated for its material forward honesty and graceful gesture with light and space. I guess you can take the...

In this special episode we’re introducing listeners to Alternative Design, an original podcast from Kimball International. Alternative Design explores the power of foresight in design to create future-ready spaces. In each episode, host Kaelynn Reid, an Interior Designer and Certified Futurist, talks to diverse voices to discover the ways our world is changing and uncover insights that will influence the built environment of tomorrow. In this special two-part episode of the Alternative Design...

Josh Rubin and Evan Orensten fell in love at first sight when they met in the office of Razorfish in the 90’s. But before then, Josh grew up straddling Miami and Vermont, where he gained experience navigating different worlds and perspectives. While Evan, growing up in Minneapolis, was bursting with curiosity, learning languages, and pushing to travel as often as possible. Their chemistry and compatibility ultimately led to the founding of COOL HUNTING. Now after 20 years, they are still...

For this extra special episode, we’re taking a practical look at the modern leadership methods and values that support a thriving culture and new vision of prosperity. We’re joined by four exceptional leaders - Natalie Nixon, Creativity Strategist & CEO of Figure 8 Thinking, Jenny Vazquez-Newsum, author of “Untapped Leadership: Harnessing the Power of Underrepresented Leaders” and CEO of Untapped Leaders, Jen Ruckel, Senior VP of Sales at 3form, and Karli Slocum, VP of Product and...

For our very special 200th episode, we’re joined by world-renowned architect and designer Patricia Urquiola. While she’s now known internationally, growing up in Spain as the middle child she was often forgotten. She found a certain joy in this freedom of being “in between”. Declaring she’d be an architect at age 13, she went on to study with the pioneers of the time, growing her roots in systemic thinking and Magic Rationalism. Now, Studio Urquiola is a powerhouse of international design....

Julian Lennon’s adventurous spirit sprung from a semi-nomadic youth in the English countryside where he spent his days as a farm hand and climbing trees. He navigated the tricky world of being John Lennon’s son by finding peace in nature, which he channels into his many creative endeavors. Through music, photography, film, books, and philanthropy, Julian’s path reflects his dynamic, curious spirit.  Images, links and more from Julian! Please say Hi on social! Twitter, Instagram and Facebook -...

Sound Designer Dallas Taylor picked up the trumpet in grade school and a whole new world opened up. After a debilitating chapter, he needed to find a new way to translate his love of sound into a profession. He went from music to recording, and into post-production for TV and film. Now he’s the creative director of his leading sound design studio, Defacto Sound, and the host of a lovingly crafted (and very popular) podcast, Twenty Thousand Hertz, about the stories behind the world’s most...

Illustrator Yuko Shimizu was born in Tokyo, Japan and began drawing from an early age. As a preteen, her family moved from Japan to the US, a huge culture shock that included learning an entirely new language and navigating social norms in 7th grade. This experience gave her an even deeper love for drawing - something that transcends any language barrier. After college, Yuko spent 11 years at a prestigious corporate PR firm in Japan before she decided to pursue her lifelong dream. At 34, she...

Designer and 2x4 co-founder Georgianna Stout lived in Paris before the bumpy transition to the US for elementary school. Unhappy at school, she graduated early and tried on Parsons for fashion design, but it wasn’t the right fit. At RISD, she found her people. The next few years were filled with deep connections, growth, and joy; eventually leading to a fruitful collaboration with her co-founders and the formalization of 2x4. Now 30 years in, 2x4 has grown to a team of 50 and has earned a...

Designer Bryan Costello grew up in an idyllic small town in North Carolina, obsessed with soccer. A self-described “hopeless romantic” he found school a bore and felt that life really began once he left college and moved to Raleigh. He dabbled in graphic design, worked in restaurants, and enjoyed his freedom. Then, he got the job that changed everything - in an antique shop. Since then, he’s opened a retail concept with epic parties, created a deeply moving and insightful fictional magazine,...

Bradley L. Bowers spent his youth hanging in the basement with Grandma Dorothy while she upholstered furniture. Always outspoken, in High School he found that only the art teachers embraced his questioning of the status quo. A fruitful spell at SCAD earned him Industrial & Furniture Design degrees + loads of skills, but it’s by tuning his antenna to the ‘little Yodas everywhere’ that he gathers his wisdom. Images, links and more from Bradley on cleverpodcast.com! Please say Hi on social!...

We're taking the summer off to recharge our creative batteries. Enjoy one of our favorite episodes from the archives and we'll return with new episodes in September. Interior designer and star of Netflix’s Queer Eye, Bobby Berk grew up in the rural south, feeling like an outsider. Before coming out as gay, he struggled with anger, depression and tension with his religious family. After running away from home and coming out, he made a break for Denver, and then NYC. Always designing...