Clever

Born and raised in Chicago IL, Kara Mann was steeped in an environment of creativity, elegance, and resourcefulness. An entrepreneur at heart, Kara would sell CDs to fund projects and lie about her age to work restaurant shifts. Now she runs her own studio and has racked up clients like Virgil Abloh, Goop and several luxury hotels. She’s just launched a collection with CB2 and a line of home essentials called Kept. The wall street journal aptly calls her a “spark plug in the world of design.”Images, links and more from Kara Mann!Many thanks to this episode’s sponsors:LutronLutron is reinventing the way you experience light with Ketra. With Lutron’s advanced lighting Ketra, you can bring the outdoors in, with light that shifts throughout the day like the sun and re-creates the warmth of incandescent lighting. View Ketra in action and get a virtual “Magic of Light” demo, live from their NYC Experience Center, plus explore projects, installations and more at podcast.ketra.com.Please say Hi on social! Twitter, In

Please enjoy one of our classic episodes from the archives this week!Interior designer and TV personality Lauren Makk grew up in the south, fluffing other people’s pillows, painting murals on train cars under cover of darkness, and rolling with her car crew Ill-usion. As a little girl, Julia Sugarbaker on TV’s Designing Women was Lauren’s career role model. Years later, she is also a designer on TV! She’s made her mark on Trading Spaces, FABLife, and Home Made Simple. She’s building an empire, leaving a legacy, and dreaming of giving the White House a “Makk-over.”Images and more from our guest!Please say Hi on social! Twitter, Instagram and Facebook - @CleverPodcast, @amydevers, @designmilkIf you enjoy Clever we could use your support! Please consider leaving a review, making a donation, becoming a sponsor, or introducing us to your friends! We love and appreciate you!Clever is created, hosted and produced by Amy Devers and Jaime Derringer, aka 2VDE Media, with music from El Ten Eleven and editing by Jennie

Award-winning architect and current Head of Global Design and Innovation for Gensler, Jordan Goldstein, discovered his passion for architecture at age 5 while visiting construction sites with his mother. From LEGO bricks to skyscrapers, he’s built his life’s work with an interdisciplinary approach and a focus on elevating the human experience. A believer in architecture’s role in supporting communities, today he’s an educator and sought-after spokesperson on the future of design both domestically and globally. Images, links and more from Jordan Goldstein!Many thanks to this episode’s sponsors:LutronLutron is reinventing the way you experience light with Ketra. With Lutron’s advanced lighting Ketra, you can bring the outdoors in, with light that shifts throughout the day like the sun and re-creates the warmth of incandescent lighting. View Ketra in action and get a virtual “Magic of Light” demo, live from their NYC Experience Center, plus explore projects, installations and more at podcast.ketra.com.Adobe

Please enjoy this rebroadcast episode from our archives!Everyone’s most beloved DIY hero, fashion designer, and creative maverick Todd Oldham grew up experimenting at the family craft table and stabbing his sister (volunteer fit model) with pins. A self-described little weirdo, he learned early on to eschew the arbitrary boundaries that society uses to stratify and separate. He values process over outcome and honors his curiosity while staying committed to excellence. This has earned him brand permission and a ton of wisdom for living a full, creative life.Images and more from our guest!Please say Hi on social! Twitter, Instagram and Facebook - @CleverPodcast, @amydevers, @designmilkIf you enjoy Clever we could use your support! Please consider leaving a review, making a donation, becoming a sponsor, or introducing us to your friends! We love and appreciate you!Clever is created, hosted and produced by Amy Devers and Jaime Derringer, aka 2VDE Media, with music from El Ten Eleven and editing by Jennie Joseph

Creative strategist, visionary, and design podcaster Maurice Cherry was born in Selma, Alabama where it quickly became apparent he was going to take the world by storm. Immensely talented on all fronts, Maurice has dedicated his career to recognizing and celebrating the power of Black design and creativity online. These days, Maurice is perhaps most well-known for his award-winning podcast Revision Path, which showcases Black designers, and as of 2019 is the FIRST podcast to be acquired by the Smithsonian. Images, links and more from Maurice CherryMany thanks to this episode’s sponsors:Yellow ImagesYellow Images is the number one marketplace of 40K high-quality premium mockups, creative fonts, Images 360°, and a creative store full of amazing graphic assets like lettering, icons, illustrations, pattern, textures, presets, brushes, UX & UI kits, and more. Use promo code CLEVER30 to get a 30% discount on your purchase right here. Don’t miss out! These coupons are limited, so first come - first served.W

Designer, illustrator and artist Timothy Goodman was labeled a “dead-end kid” in his youth until he did four years of hard labor with a mentor/father-figure in the home improvement industry, through which he found both discipline and a desire to study design. A degree and a few more mentors later he’s now known for his illustrations, viral social experiments, murals, books and even protests. Plus, he’s checking his white cis straight male privilege and championing inclusion in ways both meaningful and practical. Pretty rad.Images and more from our guest!Please say Hi on social! Twitter, Instagram and Facebook - @CleverPodcast, @amydevers, @designmilkIf you enjoy Clever we could use your support! Please consider leaving a review, making a donation, becoming a sponsor, or introducing us to your friends! We love and appreciate you!Clever is created, hosted and produced by Amy Devers and Jaime Derringer, aka 2VDE Media, with music from El Ten Eleven and editing by Alex Perez. Clever is proudly distributed by De

Furniture designer & maker, artist, and educator Wendy Maruyama is a legend in her field. Born with Cerebral Palsy, deaf, and growing up 3rd generation Japanese-American she discovered an interest in woodworking as a teenager and by early adulthood was one of the first two women to get an MFA in Furniture Design from RIT. Throughout her nearly 50-year career, Wendy has been extremely influential in the world of studio and artistic furniture. She’s also a badass feminist, and funny as all hell.Images, links and more from Wendy Maruyama Many thanks to this episode’s sponsors:WebflowWebflow gives designers the power of code in a visual interface, allowing you to directly build whatever you have in mind—without engineers. Webflow brings the power of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript into a visual interface so designers can actually build completely custom designs without worrying about writing code. Webflow is offering Clever listeners a limited number of discount codes for 10% off an annual plan with a new acco

On the morning of August 19th, 1993, mid-century architect, Norman Jaffe, parked his car in his client’s driveway, walked to Ocean Beach in Bridgehampton, New York, stripped down, folded his clothes, and dove into the Atlantic. He never returned and his body was never recovered. Was it murder? Was it suicide? Did he fake his own death? What happened to Norman Jaffe? Join us on this first episode of Clever Confidential, where we dig into the lesser known stories of the mysterious, darker side of design. Credits: Hosts: Amy Devers & Andrew WagnerGuest: Alastair GordonWriting and research: Amy Devers & Andrew WagnerProduction: 2VDE MediaEditing: Rich StroffolinoAll Sound Bites: from Alastair Gordon's documentary film "Beyond the Beach: The life and Death of Norman Jaffe, Architect"Theme Music: “Astronomy” by Thin White Rope courtesy of Frontier Records. Logo: Laura Jaramillo For more on Norman Jaffe please grab a copy of Alastair Gordon’s Romantic Modernist, The Life and Work of

Artist and product designer Bethan Laura Wood grew up with ample access to kitchen-table craft projects and a flair for self-expression. When kids made fun of her clothes, she reclaimed her style by going full-on “dress-uppy.” Her schooling, which included a craft-based technical track as well as conceptual rigor, has armed her with a finesse for elevating industrial materials to luxury levels, layered with depth and intrigue. Side note: she is known to travel in style, much to the delight of TSA agents! Images, links and more from Bethan Laura Wood!Many thanks to this episode’s sponsors:Wireframe is a new podcast from Adobe all about how user experience (UX) can help technology fit into our lives. Hosted by Khoi Vinh, Senior Director of Design at Adobe, Wireframe is a show for designers and the design-curious, leaning into how design intersects with current events and life changes. Just search “Wireframe” in your favorite podcast app or click here to start listening.Adobe MAX is the annual creativity co

Design*Sponge founder Grace Bonney grew up knowing she wasn’t straight but not knowing what to do with that. Her love of Riot Grrrl music and angry collages informed her creative identity and after studying art and journalism in college, it all melted together in the creation of Design*Sponge. After 15 years and a lot of success, she’s just announced that she plans to shutter this year and she’s sending it out in a blaze of experimentation and celebration. We can’t wait to see what’s next!Images and more from our guest!Please say Hi on social! Twitter, Instagram and Facebook - @CleverPodcast, @amydevers, @designmilkIf you enjoy Clever we could use your support! Please consider leaving a review, making a donation, becoming a sponsor, or introducing us to your friends! We love and appreciate you!Clever is created, hosted and produced by Amy Devers and Jaime Derringer, aka 2VDE Media, with music from El Ten Eleven and editing by Jennie Josephson. Clever is proudly distributed by Design Milk. Support this sh

Architect & Professor of Sustainable Design Joel Towers grew up in the suburbs with steady access to New York City. His father taught him to build and repair things, which helped carve his problem-solving neural pathways from a young age. Aware of the tension between humans and nature, a pivotal trip to Alaska set him on a dedicated path to striving for alignment and harmony. An educator at Parsons, he’s outspoken and optimistic about a future that is circular, decolonized, decarbonized, just, and feminist.Read the show notes here.Many thanks to this episode’s sponsors:XibitXibit lets you swap your artwork or photos out for another picture removing any hardware off the wall. It’s that easy to change the whole look of your room—anytime. Learn more at myxibit.com.WireframeWireframe is a new podcast hosted by Khoi Vinh, Senior Director of Design at Adobe, about how user experience (UX) can help technology fit into our lives. Search “Wireframe” in your favorite podcast app or click here to start listening.BAD

Danny Giannella, Tammer Hijazi and Jeffrey Renz are the trio behind Bower, a contemporary furniture and product design studio. With a focus on mirrors, they explore perceptions of depth, light and self. Through a free–thinking, experimental process, Bower aims to bring unexpected objects and environments into people's lives, with reflections taking center stage. They believe the mirror is the everyday object most closely related to our consciousness.Images, links and more from Bower!Clever Reflection Contest!Clever has teamed up with Bower and West Elm for the Clever Reflection ContestGrand prize: A custom one-of-a-kind Bower mirror + $250 West Elm gift card2nd prize: $250 West Elm gift cardTo enter: cleverpodcast.com/reflection-contestCheck out Bower’s collaboration with West Elm at westelm.com/bowerPlease say Hi on social! Twitter, Instagram and Facebook - @CleverPodcast, @amydevers, @designmilkIf you enjoy Clever we could use your support! Please consider leaving a review, making a donation, becoming a spo

In this episode of Clever we’re deconstructing the success of New Zealand’s response to coronavirus through a lens of design in a conversation with Ana Monroe, a civic design strategist and Akiko Kurematsu, a design and culture journalist in Auckland. New Zealand is considered a major success story in how they reacted to and contained the spread of Coronavirus, so we took a deep look at that success, by doing what designers do: taking it apart to see how it works.  Images, links and more from this episode on our show notes!Many thanks to this episode’s sponsors:Typetura - Typetura is truly responsive typography that makes breakpoints obsolete. It enables you to create stunning designs while dramatically reducing code. Get a month free with promo code CLEVER. Check out typetura.com/clever to learn more!Skillshare - Skillshare's online learning community is offering Clever listeners 2 months of free Premium Membership! Explore new skills, deepen existing passions, and get lost in creativity, with clas

Please enjoy this rebroadcast of a classic Clever interview!Industrial designer Ti Chang is co-founder and creative director of Crave, a start-up dedicated to innovative and elevated sex toys. Originally from Taiwan, as a child Ti moved with her family to the U.S. and grew up feeling out of place in small-town Georgia. Loneliness had its upside though; less friends, more creative time! An independent thinker and brave warrior for female empowerment, she’s on a mission to eradicate shame and guilt, and believes all women should own their pleasure. Amen, sister!Images and more from our guest!Please say Hi on social! Twitter, Instagram and Facebook - @CleverPodcast, @amydevers, @designmilkIf you enjoy Clever we could use your support! Please consider leaving a review, making a donation, becoming a sponsor, or introducing us to your friends! We love and appreciate you!Clever is created, hosted and produced by Amy Devers and Jaime Derringer, aka 2VDE Media, with music from El Ten Eleven and editing by Alex Perez.C

In this special program, presented as part of WantedDesign Manhattan Online Conversation Series 2020, we discuss leadership insights, best practices and innovative ideas that can help sustain art and design schools through the new realities of the global health crisis and beyond. A conversation hosted by Amy Devers of Clever, with Rosanne Somerson, President of RISD; Samuel Hoi, President of MICA and Lorne Buchman, President of ArtCenter. This episode is presented as part of WantedDesign Manhattan Online Conversation Series 2020, presented by Clever and Design Milk. Visit wanteddesignnyc.com/online to view the program and watch replays of live talks. Please say Hi on social! Twitter, Instagram and Facebook - @CleverPodcast, @amydevers, @designmilk If you enjoy Clever we could use your support! Please consider leaving a review, making a donation, becoming a sponsor, or introducing us to your friends! We love and appreciate you! Please fill out Clever’s listener survey. Thank you for your

Branding & design strategist Jessie McGuire was born in El Salvador and adopted by a “wholehearted feminist” single mother. She grew up exploring her creativity and getting encouragement to go to art school. After a few degrees and a slew of work experience she’s now the managing director of ThoughtMatter, where she’s fostering a culture of work worth doing, building a justifiable case for creativity and spreading the gospel of curiosity, thoughtfulness and generosity. And redesigning the constitution, nbd.   Images, links and more from Jessie McGuire!   Check out For the People.   Please say Hi on social! Twitter, Instagram and Facebook - @CleverPodcast, @amydevers, @designmilk   If you enjoy Clever we could use your support! Please consider leaving a review, making a donation, becoming a sponsor, or introducing us to your friends! We love and appreciate you!   Please fill out Clever’s listener survey. Thank you for your input!   Clever is hosted by Amy Devers and produced by 2VDE Media, with editing

People-centered designer Marquise Stillwell spent his youth in Ohio learning to be a good neighbor and going to art museums with his grandfather. Always part of a community of makers—auto factories, steel plants, engineers and industrial designers—his curiosity for people and spaces grew into a passion for creating systems and formulas that make built environments better for all people. Not surprisingly, his ability to be open, vulnerable, listen and hold space is at the center of his design practice.   Images, links and more from Marquise Stillwell!   Please say Hi on social! Twitter, Instagram and Facebook - @CleverPodcast, @amydevers, @designmilk   All past Clever episodes are available here in our archive. (Free, of course!)   If you enjoy Clever we could use your support! Please consider leaving a review, making a donation, becoming a sponsor, or introducing us to your friends! We love and appreciate you!   Please fill out Clever’s listener survey. Thank you for your input!   Clever is hosted by Amy D

Interior architect Jamie Bush grew up on a Long Island farm with machines, animals and free rein to explore. With farmers and eccentric creatives as his scrappy role models, he was always encouraged to make things, and to make his own way. After high school he ventured to New Orleans to find himself, come out, and study architecture. Now, having migrated further west to Los Angeles, he’s made a name designing organic modernist interiors for some of the most historically significant homes in the US. Images, links and more from Jamie Bush!Many thanks to this episode’s sponsors:Geometry - Geometry towels absorb up to 7 times their weight in liquid, and come in hundreds of vibrant prints. Get 15% off your order by using the code CLEVER at geometry.houseSkillshare - Skillshare's online learning community is offering Clever listeners 2 months of free Premium Membership! Explore new skills, deepen existing passions, and get lost in creativity, with classes from Skillshare. Get 2 free months of Premium Membershi

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 freelancing. Images, links and more from Lauren Hom Thanks to Adobe MAX for hosting us in the Airstream podcast lounge. Many thanks to this episode’s sponsor: Skillshare - Skillshare's online learning community is offering Clever listeners 2 months of free Premium Membership! Explore new skills, deepen existing passions, and get lost in creativity, with classes from Skillshare. Get 2 free months of Premium Membership at skillshare.com/clever. Please say Hi on social! Twitter, Instagram and Facebook -

This rebroadcast is presented as part of WantedDesign Manhattan Online Conversation Series, presented by Clever and Design Milk. Visit wanteddesignnyc.com/online to view the schedule and register for live talks. Gregg Buchbinder, Chairman of iconic furniture brand Emeco, grew up in southern California, on a “long leash” and with a constant longing to be surfing or sailing. That love of the ocean infused him with a very strong sense of sustainability as his driving purpose. The story of Emeco began long before Gregg—in 1944 with the 1006 Navy Chair—but their destinies have been intertwined for generations. They have been through hardship and tragedy together, and have arisen through miraculous transformations.Images and more from our guest!We would LOVE for you to fill out our listener survey. Thank you for your input!Please say Hi on social! Twitter, Instagram and Facebook - @CleverPodcast, @amydevers, @designmilkIf you enjoy Clever we could use your support! Please consider