It has been an action-packed summer for the design industry, where businesses of all stripes are rearranging their teams. Read on for Business of Home’s monthly roundup of arrivals and departures in design, manufacturing, media and more.
To the Trade
Briana Dworkin-Lubs left Massachusetts textile manufacturer Merida to create the new Boston- and New York–based consulting and trade resource firm 3and7studio. She brings more than a decade of sales experience to the company, most recently having served as vice president of sales at Merida. In her new role as principal, Dworkin-Lubs will represent hospitality brands in the interior design community.
Austin-based furniture and furnishings brand Four Hands announced two new leadership roles: the promotions of Candace Bridges to chief people officer and Rick Lovegrove to president of upholstery. Bridges has been with the manufacturer for more than eight years and comes to the position after serving as vice president of people and culture. Lovegrove brings more than 25 years of experience in domestic and international furniture manufacturing, global sourcing and product development. He rose to the position of vice president of design at the Canadian furniture manufacturer G. Romano before coming to Four Hands more than eight years ago.
Bode & Well by Angela Harris, a Denver-based lifestyle brand and newly formed sister company to architecture firm Trio, named Kathryn Lawrie as president. Lawrie brings more than 16 years of experience in product development, previously serving as vice president of licensing and corporate marketing for Springs Creative and handling multimillion-dollar budgets with Disney, Marvel, Paramount and more. In her new role, she will help Bode & Well launch products in traditional wholesale markets to retailers, trade and commercial accounts.
Design & Architecture
New York- and San Francisco–based architecture and design firm Ike Kligerman Barkley split up after 33 years, announcing architects John Ike and Tom Kligerman will lead separate firms on opposite coasts. After working together at Robert A.M. Stern, Ike and Kligerman founded their firm in 1989, which became Ike Kligerman Barkley with the arrival of Joel Barkley as a partner in 1999. As of January 2023, Kligerman Architecture & Design will be based in New York and led by Kligerman, Joe Carline, Andrew Davis, Margie Lavender and Ross Padluck as partners, along with Alex Eng as director of design, while Ike Baker Velten will be led by Ike, Carl Baker and Tyler Velten in Oakland, California.
Dallas-based Chad Dorsey Design announced Mark Cary as chief operating officer. Cary served in the hospitality industry for more than 25 years shaping the strategies of resorts, spas and private expedition yachts—most notably, the Rosewood Tucker’s Point Club in Bermuda and the Montage in Laguna Beach. He comes to the position after a decade as an associate and member of the executive leadership committee at hospitality interior design firm Looney & Associates. Along with owner Chad Dorsey, Cary will guide the studio’s direction and oversee projects from start to finish.
Minneapolis-based architecture and design firm Nelson Worldwide appointed two new hires: In its San Francisco office, Linda Mysliwiec has been named workplace national business leader, while Amanda Smith joins as senior director of brand marketing in Chicago. Most recently, Mysliwiec served as principal at Chicago-based design and architecture firm Lamar Johnson Collaborative, after working for global architecture and design firm Gensler for 15 years in Chicago. In her new role, Mysliwiec will manage the firm’s day-to-day operations and lead its nationwide workplace business efforts, including implementing strategies and creating inclusive environments. Smith, meanwhile, built up her portfolio in Illinois for 18 years, serving as a brand strategist for retailers and firms like Bader Art Metal and ZenGenius Inc. In her new role, she will work to build Nelson’s brand awareness through a holistic marketing approach.
Architecture and design firm Perkins&Will announced leadership changes at their studios in Dallas and Austin. In Dallas, Melissa Cooksey, Ashley Dias and Julie Frazier have been named principals. Cooksey—who has been with the studio for more than 20 years and has a background in renovation and sustainable design—will serve as a senior interior project manager for the corporate interiors team. Dias—a registered architect and strategic planner who has been with the firm for almost five years, previously serving as an associate principal—was named director of health care. In her new role, Frazier—who has a background in health care environments and has been with the firm for almost 20 years—will be a senior medical planner and hopes to use research to design environments that can elevate user well-being. Perkins&Will’s Austin studio also announced new associate promotions: Wendy Lamb as senior associate and Stephen Grant and Krystal Hagan as associates. Lamb will serve as senior project manager, bringing more than 20 years of experience on complex multifamily and mixed-use projects. Grant is the design applications manager in IT services and will play a key role in the firm’s integration of digital tools and workflows. Hagan will serve as office manager and oversee administrative operations, support management of office budgets and coordinate special events.
San Francisco–based architecture and design firm Blitz named three new principals: Justin Beadle, Kimberly O’Dowd and John Hunter. Beadle, who will lead Blitz’s new St. Louis outpost, has more than 15 years of experience in design and architecture, most recently serving as the design director at Blitz’s San Francisco office. Kimberly O’Dowd and John Hunter will head the firm’s San Francisco office and work to strengthen Blitz’s West Coast presence. O’Dowd has been with Blitz for more than five years, and her portfolio ranges from tenant-improvement to health-care to international socioeconomic projects. Hunter has more than 41 years of architecture experience, has worked at Blitz for more than eight years—most recently as technical director—and was a mentor to the firm’s founders, Seth and Melissa Hanley, in the early stages of their careers.
Full-service design firm HLW announced Anjali Mathai as new director of diversity, equity and inclusion in its New York office. Mathai is a licensed social worker and has nearly 20 years of experience in organizational design, previously working for 14 years at one of New York’s largest human services organizations, SCO, as director of social services. In her new role, she will help oversee corporate responsibility initiatives and culture-based programs, and build out the firm’s staff with a focus on ethical and social diversity.
Media & PR
Here at Business of Home, we’re excited to welcome two new hires of our own: Lizzy Reisinger as editorial assistant and Molly Jackson as marketing and membership director. Reisinger, whose most recent work includes this article, is a recent graduate of the University of Southern California, where she directed, produced and anchored for the school’s nightly television broadcast and wrote for Annenberg Media’s Spanish-language desk Dímelo. She returns to BOH’s editorial team after an internship last summer through the American Society of Magazine Editors internship program. Jackson, meanwhile, will joins the marketing team, where she will manage talent for the annual Future of Home conference and develop the BOH Insider membership program, among other initiatives. Prior to Business of Home, Jackson was the senior event marketing manager at Women’s Wear Daily and on the production and merchandising teams within the fashion industry at White & Warren.
Home design magazine Veranda announced several staff updates as it increases print pages and focuses on digital growth. Dayle Wood has been named decoration director and will oversee design market content, including furniture, lighting, textiles and tabletop. Wood has been with the shelter magazine for 10 years, most recently as its senior style and market editor. Rachael Burrow, previously the senior style editor at Coastal Living, joins Veranda as its new style director and will cover the luxury home, lifestyle and jewelry markets. Kate Phillips was promoted to visual director for Veranda and Country Living, where she was previously senior photo editor; Jaime Milan has been named the new deputy digital editor for Veranda’s online content; and Julia Ludlam, who was named art director for the Veranda team after working at Country Living and Coastal Living, will design print pages, direct photo shoots and lead the overall visual direction of the brand across all platforms. Madoline Markham has joined Veranda and Country Living as assistant managing editor, where she helps manage the day-to-day content operations of both magazines, and Kathleen Penton was named copy and research editor for Veranda.
New York–based design publisher Sandow announced two new hires: Katy Olson as the director of editorial special projects and Margaux Caniato as Sandow Design Group’s chief marketing officer and head of growth. In her new role, Olson will build a design membership program focused on digital and experiential content and serve as an on-air personality for Luxe Interiors + Design and SDG. She brings editorial experience from publications including AD Pro and Business of Home. Caniato, meanwhile, previously worked at New York–based marketing agency VP+C for 12 years, where she was a chief brand officer for clients like The Halo Collective and Figaro Apothecary. She will be responsible for building partnerships with design brands and overseeing marketing for businesses owned by SDG.
Lifestyle and interior design media company Apartment Therapy announced promotions on their sales and editorial boards. After serving as the title’s chief revenue officer for three years, Riva Syrop has been promoted to president, where she will continue to grow the company while reporting directly to founder and CEO Maxwell Ryan. Laura Schocker will serve as chief content officer. Schocker was Apartment Therapy’s editor in chief for four years and in her new role will oversee all editorial content across all platforms, including Kitchn and Cubby. Faith Durand will be the SVP of content and work with new editorial operations director Brenda Dargan-Levy.
Retail & Manufacturing
Customizable furniture brand Interior Define named Catherine Sylvester as chief marketing officer. Sylvester worked at Williams-Sonoma Inc. for 19 years and played an integral role in cross-brand marketing, where she boosted sales of brands like West Elm and Pottery Barn. As CMO, she will oversee Interior Define’s owned and paid marketing strategies and work to diversify the company’s resources.
Parisian silver company Christofle announced Pierre-Antoine Bollet as the new general manager for the Americas. Bollet has worked for 15 years developing French luxury brands in North America, including Louis XIII Cognac and La Maison du Chocolat. As general manager, he will focus on developing Christofle’s branding and expanding silver sales in the Americas.
Visual technology company Outward Inc. named Amy Smith as its new senior sales manager. Smith has almost 30 years of home furnishings experience and served as a project coordinator and merchandising assistant at American Signature Furniture before becoming a fabric and furniture sales representative for companies like Culp and Vision Fabrics in North Carolina. In her new role, she will be responsible for company sales in the eastern U.S.
Los Angeles–based wholesaler Sagebrook Home announced Mike Cohen as senior vice president of sales. Cohen has more than 20 years of home furnishings sales experience and joins the Sagebrook team after serving as senior vice president of sales at upholstery manufacturer New Classic Furniture in Fontana, California. In his new role, Cohen will oversee sales strategy and initiatives for the company’s sales force.
Home furniture company Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams announced Jennifer Gibbs as senior vice president of design. Gibbs has more than 25 years of experience in concept and product development, as well as design and business management, and has held senior design leadership roles at companies like Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie. Most recently, she served as the design director for Sutherland Furniture. In her new role, Gibbs will be responsible for all product development and design for MG+BW and will report to president and CEO Allison O’Connor at the company’s Taylorsville, North Carolina, headquarters.
Industry Organizations
The International Interior Design Association’s New York Chapter announced Sarah Levine, International Interior Design Association, as chapter president for the 2022-2023 term. She succeeds Elsie St. Léger, who currently serves as an assistant project manager at the NYU Langone Medical Center. Levine is an associate at Oregon-based design firm ZGF Architects and has gained 15 years of experience in commercial interior design from companies like TPG Architecture in New York and StudiosArchitecture in San Francisco. A member of the chapter since 2007, Levine will focus on industry advocacy and a return to in-person IIDA NY chapter meetings.
Homepage image: Caroline Selfers
