It's time we got up on our horse and revved up our interviews. We should be interviewing at least once a month, don't you think? We'd started toying with some possible subjects, but then thought, "Hey, we should ask the readers who they would like to hear interviewed."
The way we would like to do it is to collect a pool of ideal subjects, choose at least one a month, send out the invite, collect readers' questions and then get them chattering away online.
So, on this nice slow day in the midst of the coldest, bleakest time of winter, we have this question for you: Who would you like to see AT interview?
Dwell founder Lara Deam. Thomas O'Brien. Thomas Paul. A Product/Brand Manager from Target's home furnishings division. DWR founder Rob Forbes. Kelly Wearstler. Martha. Head of Programming and Development at HGTV and Fine Living. Jay Griffith. Julius Schulman. Jasper Conran. Someone who reps smaller product lines.
p2!
i second enrique's idea to interview someone who is incharge of product/brand manager from Target's home divison- they are doing such a good job- would be interesting to hear more...
Lets see, how about asking someone like Bill Hamilton at the New York Times about what kinds of reproductions vs antique or vintage pieces are best to buy? What can one skimp on and when should one try to buy the best they can afford? I have seen some cool pieces at C & B, DWR, Target and some other places but are they going to fall apart? He wrote an interesting piece touching on this some time ago and I'd be interested in an expansion of the topic. Anyone else?
My answer to the question of "Who?"
Anyone with great ideas for home decor on a budget! On that note - Enrique's idea is excellent. I'm shocked by some of what I see in Target. Discount retail used to be trash. When I can afford better, I buy better - especially local. But I definitely have found some great Target stuff. If my cats weren't white, I'd have bought their dark gray Thomas O'Brien bedspread already.
I always enjoy interviews with "regular" people. I find it interesting and informative to hear how fellow city-residing apartment dwellers live life. What they love, what they do, essentially their secrets to managing their city lifestyle.
A questionnaire-type interview would work fine for this...or maybe a "typical day" type thing.
Gear the ?'s to their home, neighborhood favorites, commute strategies, garden, eating and shopping habits, etc.
Sort of like New York Magazine's Look Book feature on their site, but AT's could be about life style instead of personal style.
I'd love to read those!
There have been some NYC denizens on HGTV's "Small Space, Big Style" in whom I'm interested. Particularly a Chinese architect who made a two-in-one apartment with a hose-down bath to share with her sister and a couple of designers who made special furnishings.
Indeed, local architects or designers who have ideas for small-space living on a budget would be fabulous.
Perhaps the Target product/brand manager can explain why the store excels at promoting the "design for all" philosophy but falls very flat in the execution of the goods. I've never been impressed with the materiality or quality of the designer wares, even given the reduced prices.
David Rockwell
A series of profiles on the personal spaces / life styles of young, non-product designers may be interesting. This city is teeming with young, innovative designers from fields such as architecture, fashion, landscape architecture, graphic design, and film (among others). Object-based designers get a lot of attention on this site; I would be curious to see what more multidisciplinary designers are doing.
I would love to see more, as Janel put it, "regular people" comment on their house tours (The Inside Out Series).
Marietta Himes Gomez.
Sheila Bridges.
Kelly Wearstler.
Jeffrey Bilhuber.
Victoria Hagan.
On how to do what they do -- without spending a fortune.
I like Enrique's suggestion of someone who reps smaller product lines. This is of personal interest to me but I'm sure there are many among us who would like to have the inside scoop on how to get a rep and what they do to promote product lines.
I think another subject for interview would be an expert in color. There seem to be many of us here who are confounded by what colors to use and how to make those important decisions. I'd love to hear what a professional in the field of interior color has to say.
Jane Jacobs
Rob Forbes of DWR
Editor Dominique Browning and Testy Tastemaker Mayer Rus of House & Garden
Candice Olsen
Vicente Wolf
any of the boys from In a Fix.
and, of course, Martha Stewart!!
Interview MAXWELL. I know nothing about him. It would be nice to know him before his book launch.
Holly@ decor8
There's lots of great suggestions here!
I'd second the Maxwell interview (such a mysterious guy) and add Andrea Zittel. Has anyone checked out her living units at the New Museum?
I third the MAXWELL interview
Alsot, the designers for the Soho House, Soho Grand or Tribeca Grand.
Mayer Rus is roaringly funny in person. And, design-wise...he's almost always right.
I'll second Mayer.
Interview - Enrique. I always like to read what he writes.
Enrique really started the list off well! I think all his ideas are great. I second the vote for Shiela Bridges. I also like the idea of more "regular people" interviews -- I always wish I could ask some of the people on SSBS follow-up questions. And the small/local design entrepeneurs is a great idea.
In addition to free-form interviews, it might be kind of fun to ask a dozen or so standard questions (What is your current source of inspiration? Did you have a mentor? Formal training? What's the best new idea etc etc)
Since becoming a contributing editor on the AT-LA site one of my posting topics will be interviewing local interior designers and showroom/store owners.
As well as interviewing these talented designers I will be including images of thier beautiful work.
So watch out for Designer: Profiles to come!
I agree with Janel and Holly.
I want to hear from regular people who make this lifestyle work.
Hmm. I like the Target idea, but what bk said is not *entirely* fair... only mostly fair. It's specifically the furnishings that are lower-quality, with their chippy, chippy veneers and finishing. I've never had a problem with any of their small accessories - lamps, clocks, vases, candle-foofery, and so on. Some of the furnishings are decent for what they are, but they're not typically promoted (check out the Shabby Chic bookcase, if it's still around) - yes you can get better, but you'll either need to be handy or you'll need to spend quite a bit more. You can get decent bed linens at Target, but you must be very picky, and the better stuff isn't really any cheaper than it would be at some of the chain home stores (BB&B) or on overstock.com.
I like the idea of interviewing Maxwell, although I do remember reading an interview a few years back in... maybe ReadyMade.
Nobody's mentioned Jonathan Adler yet. But if you did land that interview, I would then want to ask him uncomfortable questions about bringing back terrible elements of 70s decor in the name of "fun". Make it stop! (I love about half of what he does, and I think the rest belongs on Lileks' "Interior Desecrations" site - it feels terribly UN-modern to me.)
i'd mention all the usual suspects like shelter magazine editors, designers and such, but it would be great to hear from people who have great style, those who are starting new businesses in home and furniture design. let's interview out of the box.
I agree with the idea of interviewing some of the lesser known but successful designers and/or shop owners who are in the biz. Someone I can relate to please. And the LAST person I would want to hear more about is Jonathan Adler-enough already!
the editor of Livingetc!
my friend rosalind Bentley, who i truly believe is a true genius when it comes to interior design, eventhough she is a journalist - a damn good one at that. She is a writer in Atlanta and a former writer for the home section of Minneapolis Star Tribune. She has spent years perfecting her craft - reading every design book and practicing for about 15 years on her own homes, making her homes absolutely beautiful, eventhough her main profession is journalism. she'd be a blast and she is a regular person. her former home in Minneapolis was all midcentury and now her home in atlanta is traditional. She knows everything about interior design and just has talent that i think rivals someone like Sheila Bridges. just a thought. mainly because she loves design like all of us.
t
miranda--
Jonathan Adler was interviewed here already...
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/111805/at-interviews/at-interview-jonathan-adler-005101
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/121905/at-interviews/at-interview-jonathan-adler-transcript-005585
Sorry, amanda!
I agree with so many of the comments...
Maxwell
Martha
Thomas O'Brien
vicente wolf
kelly wearstler
Mag editors-dwell, domino, carlos mota
local design business owners
go for a big ticket interviewee - martha stewart - andyou could ask her many a saucy question.
I agree with others who have suggested regular people...as well as interviews with AT editors and AT folks.
Ilse Crawford. First editor for 10 years of Elle Deco-UK and many other things. She has a loft in London (NYT's H&H 5/15/03, and elsewhere) that is so wonderful. I keep a clip of that article for inspiration.
Also love the regular people series idea. And an interview with Maxwell would be wonderful. AT used to have a great bio for Max, but it's gone?
The first picture in the following is of Crawford's London flat:
www.quadrille.co.uk/downloads/home.pdf
I second the editor of Livingetc.--maybe we could inspire them to offer a better subscription rate to us americans! what about benjamin noriega ortiz or miles redd? he's so big now--it'd prob bring the site exposure--plus im sure hed make a fun interview
I third the editor of LivingEtc!
I 2nd all Enrique's suggestions
Dominique Browning
Ilse Crawford
The people who took over Heath Ceramics
The people who run Velocity, Koo de Kir, Moss, and Clio (and how they decided to get into the biz)
The people who run Kiln and Hivemind design (and other local furniture designers)
In terms of "regular people," I nominate my old friend Skot Foreman. Haven't seen his house in Atlanta, but his house in Fort Lauderdale was fantastic. He runs a gallery in Atlanta and shares some space in NYC.
http://www.skotforeman.com/
Also, another friend, Victoria Bevan, who does great ceramic work and does some interior design, as well.
(I need to email him to say hi.)
How about Terence Conran? He would be great!
Yes! Murray Moss!
Benjamin Noriega Ortiz
No no no...
Who APARTMENT THERAPY should interview is a home & housewares product company. One with an interesting, innovative, insightful story.
My friend works for Good Housekeeping, who slammed an infomercial product a few years ago. I learned this company (after some product improvements, i guess, http://www.magikan.com ) is now going to be covered in Woman's Day, according to my other friend (gotta love new york!).
Ummm .... THAT sounds interviewing newsworthy to me.
Methinx if you interviewed Martha Stewart, you might have 2 parts of the Interview -- have Maxwell do the "Apartment Therapy portion", and have Sara Kate do the "Apartment Therapy: The Kitchen" portion, right? That way you have to click on each of them to get the appropriate piece of it!
She just came out with yet another book, which if often a good excuse for people to do interviews.
Michael Graves
A decorative art curator at MOMA
Buyer for MOMA design store
i truly think regular people are much better to interview. we can relate to them and we can relate to their love for decor. we love their stories and their passion - crazy passion for the samething we love. we can read all these other famous people (with the exception of my second choice living etc editor) in magazines or newspapers or on television. But real people - that's where you get inspiration. When they describe what they've done to their homes - I get the same feeling as when I spy (by accident of course) a beautifully-decorated home as i walk pass a window ... say in the west village or harlem or backbay in boston. Martha? Well, i love her, really I do, but what hadn't she said. what could you truly learn that you hadn't learned from her shows, mags or books? plus, i am a journalist and have interviewed some of these famous decorating folks - and they are too guarded at times. But anyhoo - that's my two cent. But if you have to find someone on the famous side - how about the editor or livingetc - did i say that? Ha! Or, say the cherner brothers?
later,
t
I second Dominique Browning! Her first book, Around the House and in the Garden, is one of my favorites.