How to Thrive in the Passion Economy

The 20th century’s economy of scale has given way to an economy of passion. What does that mean for the design industry? Adam Davidson, one of the leading public voices on economic issues, shows how the modern financial paradigm offers new ways of making money, fresh paths toward professional fulfillment, and unprecedented opportunities for curious, ambitious individuals to combine the things they love with their careers. 

Adam Davidson is the co-creator of NPR’s Planet Money podcast, served as the media organization’s international business and economics correspondent, and has been a frequent contributor to This American Life, where he received a Peabody Award, a duPont-Columbia Award, and a Polk Award for his work on the radio documentary “The Giant Pool of Money.” He co-founded a podcast production company with Sony Music and served as a technical consultant to Adam McKay, the co-writer and director of the Academy Award–winning film The Big Short (as well as Davidson’s co-host on the Gimlet Media podcast Surprisingly Awesome).

Portrait: Michael Lionstar

The Future of Collaboration

Baccarat CEO Jim Shreve was described by Out magazine as “the gay rockstar CEO” and credited with making a centuries-old crystal brand cool again. His goal of changing the perception of Baccarat to be accessible, not elitist or fancy, shows up in the brand’s unconventional collaborations with Supreme, Lady M and Virgil Abloh. The strategy has worked, and the company is poised to hit record revenues this year, doubling expectations. In this interview, Shreve and new Baccarat collaborator Martha Stewart explain how they think about partnerships, why those choices are mission critical, and what it means to reach cult brand status. During the event, they will unveil their new collection for the first time.

Martha Stewart is the founder of the first multichannel lifestyle company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, an entrepreneur, a bestselling author of 99 lifestyle books to date and an Emmy Award–winning television show host. Stewart is the go-to source for the homemaker, reaching more than 100 million devoted fans every month through her magazines, TV shows and books, as well as her products for the home, which are sold at multiple retail and online outlets. She and her talented staff provide trusted, timely, and useful information on all aspects of everyday living: cooking, entertaining, gardening, home renovating, collecting, organizing, crafting, healthy living, holidays, weddings and pet care, both in print and on social media.

The Future of Life at Home

The future of home is a heavy topic, so we asked two of the wittiest creatives we know—Simon Doonan and Jonathan Adler—to weigh in on what life at home will look like in the future. Don’t expect research or data—this is straight from the crystal (or Lucite) ball. 

Simon Doonan is an expert judge on the NBC series Making It with Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman, a regular guest at The Moth, and the author of several books, including Confessions of a Window Dresser, Wacky Chicks, Drag: The Complete Story, How to Be Yourself, and his latest, Keith Haring. He spent 35 years as creative director of Barneys New York, and decorated the Obama White House for the 2009 holidays.

Portrait: Joe Gaffney

The Pivot to Home

The relationship between fashion and home has long been intertwined, but most designers feel they have to pick a lane. The fashion designers who dabble in home often stick largely to accessories: candles, napkins, tableware, maybe a bedding license. Furniture is a different beast, and the logistics of prototyping, quality control, delivery and returns quickly scares most creatives away. But COVID-19 has inspired some to rise to the challenge. The pandemic was rough for the fashion industry, and particularly for designers like Christian Siriano, who focused exclusively on eveningwear in a time when no one was going to glamorous parties. For Siriano, a pivot to furniture design felt exciting and used similar creative muscles. With his debut line available now on 1stDibs, the designer shares the challenges of putting the collection together and talks about whether the home space is a long-term play for his business, how making a chair is different than making a gown, and how he’s drawing connections between the worlds of fashion and home.

Christian Siriano is an American fashion designer and a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. He first gained attention in 2008, after winning the fourth season of Project Runway, becoming the youngest to take home the top prize in the design competition. That year, he launched his namesake collection, and has since dressed luminaries like Jennifer Lopez and Michelle Obama. In 2020, he launched his first home collection.

Understanding Design Personalities

In her work as a designer, Ingrid Fetell Lee noticed that people take different paths to create a joyful home. Some care deeply about being on-trend and invest their time and energy in staying ahead of the curve. Others put people at the center of their design, creating spaces that make everyone feel welcome. Some are practical and think through every detail, while others follow their hearts. Curious about these different approaches, Fetell Lee started to dig into them and realized that there were distinct design personalities—ways of thinking about home decor that influence how people get inspired, how they shop and make decisions, where they are most confident, and where they sometimes get stuck. These personality types can also explain people’s motivation for wanting to decorate, and can help designers understand what clients care about most. In this presentation, the designer reveals the hidden influence of our surroundings on our emotions and well-being, and how to tap into the hidden clues about what makes a client feel good at home.

As a former design director at design and consulting firm IDEO, the author of Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness, and the founder of the website The Aesthetics of Joy, Ingrid Fetell Lee empowers people to find more joy in life and work through design. Her popular TED talk, “Where Joy Hides and How to Find It,” has been viewed more than 17 million times.

The Challenge of Change

One of the biggest cultural shifts in the past year has been a refocus on equity in design. Companies, organizations and media brands have funded scholarships, built programs and launched initiatives—and while the momentum is exciting, real change takes time. One of the most notable efforts has been the Diversity in Design Collaborative (DID), which aims to gather the resources of major companies—from Gap and Adobe to Herman Miller—to build a pipeline of Black designers, broadening the talent pool. In this talk,  Eddie Opara of DID member organization Pentagram joins Caroline Baumann and Rupal Parekh to discuss the urgency of the initiative, the roadblocks to success, and what the industry can and must do to make real change. 

Eddie Opara is a multifaceted designer whose work encompasses strategy, design and technology. He joined Pentagram’s New York office as partner in 2010 and is a senior critic at the Yale School of Art. Born in Wandsworth, London, he studied graphic design at the London College of Printing and Yale University, where he received his MFA in 1997. He began his career as a designer at ATG and Imaginary Forces and worked as a senior designer and then art director at 2×4 before establishing his own studio, The Map Office, in 2005. He was named one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business in 2012 and 2014, and was featured in Ebony magazine’s Power 100 and Adweek’s Creative 100. In 2014, Opara authored the book Color Works: Best Practices for Graphic Designers (Rockport).

The Challenge of Change

One of the biggest cultural shifts in the past year has been a refocus on equity in design. Companies, organizations and media brands have funded scholarships, built programs and launched initiatives—and while the momentum is exciting, real change takes time. One of the most notable efforts has been the Diversity in Design Collaborative (DID), which aims to gather the resources of major companies—from Gap and Adobe to Herman Miller—to build a pipeline of Black designers, broadening the talent pool. In this talk, DID co-founder Caroline Baumann, and Eddie Opara of DID member organization Pentagram and Rupal Parekh of DID member organization Work & Co discuss the urgency of the initiative, the roadblocks to success, and what the industry can and must do to make real change. 

Caroline Baumann has a proven track record in culture and design, repositioning Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum as America’s preeminent design museum and overseeing a mammoth renovation that transformed the organization into a globally recognized powerhouse for critical design debate and presentation that is accessible to all. Following nearly two decades at the museum, she is now on a mission to use design as a force for positive change, building communities and experiences that foster compassion and belonging. An ardent and longtime supporter of equity and justice, Baumann has dedicated much of her career to introducing design to underprivileged communities across the nation. At Cooper Hewitt, she conceived and developed National Design Week, the Teen Design Fair, the Harlem Design Education Center and the National Design Awards luncheon. She is now consulting for various corporations and nonprofits, and was hired by Herman Miller last spring to assist with the company’s diversity and inclusion efforts. She co-led the development of the Diversity in Design Collaborative, which launched in May 2021 with the purpose of ensuring that diverse voices lead design in the future.

Interior Design 2.0

High-touch luxury services are notoriously hard to scale—and hard to disrupt. As a result, the business model for high-end interior design hasn’t transformed much in the last decade, let alone the last century. But change is afoot: Unlike most e-design platforms, The Expert didn’t attempt to automate, streamline or cut the costs of design services. Instead, it placed a premium on designers’ time and expertise. Dozens of top designers now use the platform, charging $400 to $2,000 per hour, many with a deep waiting list. Gwyneth Paltrow is an investor, as is Forerunner Ventures, the VC firm behind many successful startups. Founders Leo Seigal and Jake Arnold explain how the interior design industry has evolved and where the consultation-based model fits in. 

Los Angeles–based serial entrepreneur Leo Seigal began his career after dropping out of Oxford University in 2012 to take part in the prestigious tech-startup incubator Y Combinator in Silicon Valley with his first company, the crowd fundraising site Prizeo. He went on to co-found Represent.com (an online merchandise platform, sold to CustomInk five years ago for $100 million) and the women’s accessories brand Pop & Suki, for which he was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2017. 

Interior designer Jake Arnold has worked with celebrity clients including Aaron Paul, Rashida Jones, Julianne Hough, Sophia Bush, and Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, as well as entrepreneurs Stewart Butterfield, Jen Rubio and Katherine Power. His work has been featured by many publications, including on the covers of Architectural Digest and Elle Decor. In 2019, Arnold was named one of The Hollywood Reporter’s Top 20 Interior Designers in Los Angeles.

The Future of Virtual Worlds and NFTs 

Starting with Beeple’s NFT sale for $69 million in March 2021, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and digital real estate have had a breakout year. Although the number of users in metaverses is still small, selling real-world products to people in virtual worlds may become a cost-effective way to market. (To wit: Adidas dropped a collaboration with Karlie Kloss inside Decentraland, where attendees from all over the world could get a free virtual pair of Adidas shoes for their avatar to wear.) If a virtual storefront can cater to an infinite number of potential customers (millions more than walk down Madison Avenue in a year), then its value may reach Beeple levels. The rapid adoption of NFTs by the art world demonstrates just how quickly these changes can take place. As real-world companies set up shop in virtual worlds, they have the potential to drive up property values around them and foster investment in community-building projects, building a new and valuable digital real estate ecosystem with credible players and significant price tags.  In this talk, Janine Yorio and Noah Davis demystify the virtual landscape and spotlight the innovations to come.

Noah Davis is a postwar and contemporary art specialist at Christie’s, and has acted as head of sale for the department’s online-only First Open auctions, contributing to the auction house’s increasingly successful virtual programming. Most recently, he spearheaded the historic sale of Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days, establishing Christie’s as the vanguard traditional auction house for NFT offerings. Davis also assists the department with business-getting and client engagement for auction and private sales. He joined the company in October 2014 as a cataloguer; prior to that, he was a post-sale manager at an international auction house and worked in the publications department of the Gagosian gallery in New York. He earned his bachelor’s degree in English at New York University with a focus on absurdist postwar French theater.

The Future of Collaboration

Jim Shreve was described by Out magazine as “the gay rockstar CEO” and credited with making a centuries-old crystal brand cool again. His goal of changing the perception of Baccarat to be accessible, not elitist or fancy, shows up in the brand’s unconventional collaborations with Supreme, Lady M and Virgil Abloh. The strategy has worked, and the company is poised to hit record revenues this year, doubling expectations. In this interview, Shreve and new Baccarat collaborator Martha Stewart explain how they think about partnerships, why those choices are mission critical, and what it means to reach cult brand status. During the event, they will unveil their new collection for the first time.

Jim Shreve is the president and CEO of Baccarat North America. Previously, he served as vice president and head of global merchandising at Diesel for five years, leading the brand’s worldwide merchandising teams. He also worked for French brand Façonnable, where he oversaw European buying, merchandising, planning and product development, and spent 13 years with Gap Inc. as part of the team that transformed Banana Republic from a safari-inspired company to a modern sportswear brand. Shreve began his career at Nordstrom’s men’s division, opening several new stores. He is an active member of New York–based nonprofit God’s Love We Deliver.

The Role of Decor and Protocol in Diplomacy

Designers are well aware that the built environment plays a fundamental role in shaping human experience. It’s not just pretty things—it’s a stage set, as Angelo Donghia once said about a well-designed room, and the people are its stars. It’s an idea that guided Deesha Dyer’s work as White House social secretary during the Obama administration, when she welcomed luminaries from Pope Francis to Beyoncé to heads of state into The People’s House. Every detail— the floral arrangements down to the color of the napkins—was carefully curated and considered to set a tone for important decisions and discussions. Dyer shares how she learned and navigated thousands of dos and don’ts, the way she tailored events to the Obama family, and the role design plays in diplomatic relations across the globe. 

Deesha Dyer is the founder and CEO of Hook & Fasten, a social impact agency that specializes in transformational relationships between corporations and communities, with a focus on diversity and inclusion and executive operations. She’s an award-winning strategist and community organizer adept at turning ideas into causes that create tangible change. Dyer entered the Obama administration as a community college student intern and worked her way up to White House social secretary. She recently completed a two-year tenure at the Ford Foundation, and in December 2019, finished a fellowship at the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School, where she designed and taught a study course titled “From Imposter to Impact.” Named to Marie Claire’s New Guard of women changing the world, Dyer says her personal journey is guided by an unwavering passion for servant leadership, civic engagement and social justice.

Designers Will Build the Metaverse 

Home is about to be hybrid: There will soon be a new augmented virtual layer, and it won’t matter how small your physical living space is, because your virtual space can be as vast as you make it. During the pandemic, Michael Beneville and his team created a virtual replica of his Manhattan office, and meets his team there every day. He knows he’s walking around the virtual version, but it still evokes real-life memories of pets, parties and, yes, street smells. Beneville believes layering on the metaverse is the most profound and significant event on the near horizon—and that people don’t know how quickly it’s coming or just how much it’s going to affect their lives. In this talk, he explains why the ones who will build this world will be architects and designers—and why it’s an incredible creative task. Imagine designing in an unbounded universe where limits like physics (or zoning) don’t exist. The virtual world is poised to create an interesting arms race that redefines beauty in the built environment. 

Michael Beneville is the chief creative officer and visionary leader behind Area15, a 250,000-square-foot immersive art, entertainment and retail complex that opened in Las Vegas in September 2020. He also designed the New York City headquarters of iHeartMedia, the completely reimagined entrance to the Empire State Building Observatory, the lounges for BLADE helicopters in New York and Miami, and the Warner Music Group offices in Los Angeles. Beneville is the co-founder and chief creative officer of SpatialWeb, a next-generation platform that allows users to design custom environments for engaging and communal virtual experiences. Media-agnostic, his creative practice is informed by an international upbringing—Lebanon, Morocco, India, Mauritius, Senegal, Ivory Coast, England and the United States—and at 25, he moved to New York City to pursue a life as an actor and artist. He first made ends meet twisting balloon animals beneath a lamppost in Union Square, just around the corner from where his studio now sits. He and his team at Beneville Studios specialize in realizing the visions and telling the stories of some of the world’s most exclusive clientele—whether individuals, families or corporations—on projects that vary from privately commissioned books (he owns a book bindery), films and fine art to machines and corporate headquarters. 

The Future of Shared Space

The idea of sharing is central to the new economy, and it’s a powerful force in commercial and residential real estate—particularly in urban centers. For some, sharing a workspace or a home is based on economic efficiencies (lower pricing and streamlined services like cleaning, cooking and child care); for others, it’s driven by hopeful ideals (like-minded people, community events, friendships). Either way, good design is table stakes. WeWork’s Ebbie Wisecarver and Common’s Brad Hargreaves will address questions such as, How do we think about designing for the future of living and working as sharing becomes the norm? What are people looking for in shared spaces? And how can these learnings translate to other areas of design?

Ebbie Wisecarver joined WeWork in 2015 and currently oversees 730+ buildings worldwide as the company’s global head of design. Previously, she worked as a designer at Diller Scofidio + Renfro New York. She holds a master’s in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. 

Designer Case Study: Redefining Your Role as Your Firm Grows

As her firm grew, designer Kelly Finley had a decision to make: Stay small or change everything. She chose to go big, hiring an operations manager to help her implement new systems and repositioning herself as the company’s creative director. In this conversation, Finley explains why she hired an external CFO for strategic financial guidance, what it takes to rethink processes to facilitate growth, and how she’s pivoting from hands-on client management to guiding the firm’s big-picture vision.

Kelly Finley is the founder, CEO and creative director of Joy Street Design, a nationally recognized full-service interior design firm with offices in Atlanta and Oakland, California. As a former lawyer, Finley is no stranger to managing large, complex projects. With her fun personality, energy and love of bold colors, she brings the perfect combination of project management, creative design ideas and unparalleled service to her clients. In 2018, she founded Joy Street Initiative, an organization dedicated to improving lives through transforming spaces. The nonprofit is guided by the belief that restoring dignity and ownership in your living space is extremely important, especially when you are in transition out of hardship or trauma. Joy Street Design donates 10% of its profits to the program, which, along with vendor support, enables the nonprofit to transform the spaces of Bay Area shelters for women and children. Finley studied interior design and interior architecture at the University of California, Berkeley. She holds a law degree from Stanford Law School and a business degree from Emory University. She has been featured on the Today show, HGTV and KQED, as well as in a variety of publications, including House Beautiful, the San Francisco Chronicle, Elle Decor, Architectural Digest, California Home + Design, San Francisco magazine, This Old House, Gentry magazine and Apartment Therapy.

The Future of Good Business

A refreshing new corporate trend has begun to take hold in recent years: Businesses are starting to behave more like humans. Rather than focusing solely on profit, they are holding themselves accountable for their social and environmental impact. Many companies are working with the nonprofit B Lab to become Certified B Corporations, businesses that have met stringent standards for their mission and the value they create for their employees, community and clients. B Corps communicate their mission and create value for their employees, community and environment within a verified framework, which then allows them to organize as a Certified B Corporation. In this talk, Christopher Marquis, author of Better Business: How the B Corp Movement Is Remaking Capitalism, joins Eric Edelson, of B Corp Fireclay Tile, who explains how he is using his company as a catalyst for social change—and attracting a better pool of talent and a new base of conscious consumers as a result. 

Christopher Marquis is the Samuel C. Johnson Professor in Sustainable Global Enterprise at Cornell University and the author of the award-winning book Better Business: How the B Corp Movement is Remaking Capitalism. His research and writing focus on how businesses are creating a more resilient and sustainable capitalism by focusing on the elusive triple bottom line of environmental, social and financial performance. Prior to joining Cornell, Marquis worked at Harvard Business School for 10 years, developing an award-winning course on social entrepreneurship. He is the author of more than 20 peer-reviewed academic articles and more than 50 Harvard business cases on topics related to sustainable business, and has earned awards for scholarly achievement from the Academy of Management and the American Sociological Association. He earned a Ph.D. in sociology and business administration from the University of Michigan.

The Future of Life at Home

The future of home is a heavy topic, so we asked two of the wittiest creatives we know—Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan—to weigh in on what life at home will look like in the future. Don’t expect research or data—this is straight from the crystal (or Lucite) ball.

Jonathan Adler can trace his illustrious career as a potter to the first time he gave the wheel a spin at summer camp when he was 12 years old. After a college professor told him, “You have no talent. Move to New York and become a lawyer,” he listened—only to quit law and get back behind the wheel three years later. In 1993, Barneys bought his first collection of pots; in 1998, he opened his first store. Today, Adler has stores around the globe, and his offerings span furniture, lighting and decor. His motto? “If your heirs won’t fight over it, we won’t make it.”

The Future of Virtual Worlds and NFTs 

Starting with Beeple’s non-fungible token sale for $69 million in March 2021, NFTs and digital real estate have had a breakout year. Although the number of users in metaverses is still small, selling real-world products to people in virtual worlds may become a cost-effective way to market. (To wit: Adidas dropped a collaboration with Karlie Kloss inside Decentraland, where attendees from all over the world could get a free virtual pair of Adidas shoes for their avatar to wear.) If a virtual storefront can cater to an infinite number of potential customers (millions more than walk down Madison Avenue in a year), then its value may reach Beeple levels. The rapid adoption of NFTs by the art world demonstrates just how quickly these changes can take place. As real-world companies set up shop in virtual worlds, they have the potential to drive up property values around them and foster investment in community-building projects, building a new and valuable digital real estate ecosystem with credible players and significant price tags. In this talk, Noah Davis of Christie’s and fund manager Janine Yorio demystify the virtual landscape and spotlight the innovations to come.

Janine Yorio is the co-manager at Republic Realm, a pioneer in the nascent decentralized commerce industry and the world’s first digital real estate development company, with a footprint across seven metaverses and a development team on three continents. She was previously the CEO of Compound, a fintech app focused on real estate investing that was backed by leading VC firms NEA and Founders Fund, and that was acquired by Republic in 2020. She also previously worked in private equity for Northstar Capital and in real estate and hotel development at The Standard Hotels. She is a graduate of Yale University.

The Future of  Media 

The media landscape is in a moment of transition: E-commerce platforms are publishing their own content, legacy magazine brands are relying on affiliate programs, and journalists are untethering from publishing companies to become substackers or social media influencers. What even counts as media anymore, and where does the home industry fit in? Brian Morrissey interviews Zach Klein of Dwell and Mélanie Berliet of Dotdash about why content is still king, but where you put it and how you monetize it is paramount to success.

Zach Klein is CEO of Dwell, the leading media brand and marketplace for contemporary home design, reaching more than 30 million people annually. Klein co-founded Vimeo, and he also created Cabin Porn, the website that inspired a global fascination with small homes in beautiful settings. He turned the cult obsession into a household name by publishing a New York Times bestselling book of the same name, now available in eight languages with more than 400,000 copies in print worldwide. He recently released a second volume (Cabin Porn: Inside), which serves as a valuable reference for both the cabin builder and anyone seeking perspective on creating small spaces that work.

Designer Case Study: Enhancing Your ROI

When the industry hit a standstill in the early days of the pandemic, designer Everick Brown consulted a business coach with a simple goal: By the time the world reopened, he wanted Everick Brown Design to be an essential business. With his partner and co-founder, Lisa Walker Brown, he began to study his past clients and what made each relationship successful. In this talk, the couple share how understanding their own dynamic led them to better understand their client base—and their unique place among the competition.

Everick Brown Design is a New York–based interior design firm led by the husband-and-wife team of Everick Brown and Lisa Walker Brown, who blend modern and classic styles to deliver beautiful, timeless interiors for residential and commercial clients. With an intense focus on enhancing return on investment, the duo works with clients to avoid common design pitfalls. After more than two decades of experience working with divergent perspectives, they are adept at navigating the design conversation through transparent budgeting, clear communication and a balanced approach. The firm has designed homes throughout the U.S., and their commercial projects include the United States Tennis Association President’s Suite at the U.S. Open, John Ridley’s NōO Studios in Milwaukee, and the Coveleigh Club in Rye, New York. Their interiors have been published in Architectural Digest, House Beautiful and Westchester magazine, as well as being featured on NBC’s Open House NYC.

Designer Case Study: Putting the Client Experience First

Six years ago, Cortney Bishop’s new business manager asked her what makes her clients happy. The designer was quick to answer: “Coming in on budget and on time.” With that as the ultimate objective, she retooled her workflow, changed the way she talked about money with clients, and even opened a warehouse space to launch her own receiving business. In this conversation, she explains why prioritizing the client experience at every step of the design process is her secret to success.     

Cortney Bishop, principal designer and owner of Cortney Bishop Design, founded the full-service interior design firm in 2007. She holds a BBA in business marketing from the University of Georgia, and pursued her design career by blending her passions for travel, art, fashion and music. Her wide-ranging talent and innate ability to mix patterns and hues has resulted in a robust portfolio of diverse, inspiring residential and commercial projects, each reflective of the client’s lifestyle, personality and aesthetic. With a vision that runs the gamut of style and structure, Bishop enjoys inspiring other creatives, clients and everyday people through design. In 2019, she launched Harwood House, a line of woven textiles in collaboration with Holland & Sherry. This fall, her second collection, Kalos, is set to debut. Most recently, Bishop and her team completed The Ryder, her first fully branded, escape-meets-experience boutique hotel in Charleston, SC.

The Future of  Media 

The media landscape is in a moment of transition: E-commerce platforms are publishing their own content, legacy magazine brands are relying on affiliate programs, and journalists are untethering from publishing companies to become substackers or social media influencers. What even counts as media anymore, and where does the home industry fit in? Brian Morrissey interviews Zach Klein of Dwell and Mélanie Berliet of Dotdash about why content is still king, but where you put it and how you monetize it is paramount to success.

As general manager and senior vice president of the Home Group at Dotdash, Mélanie Berliet oversees all content initiatives and business strategies for The Spruce, The Spruce Pets, The Spruce Crafts and MyDomaine. She has more than 15 years of experience creating, managing, and publishing lifestyle content across platforms. Prior to joining Dotdash in 2018, Berliet was the chief editorial director of Thought Catalog. She has worked as a producer and writer for brands including MTV, Vanity Fair, Elle, New York, The Atlantic, Esquire and Cosmopolitan. She started her career as an analyst in the Fixed Income Division of Credit Suisse.

How Well Does Work-From-Anywhere Work?

As design professionals, we are curious about the future of work—both in terms of what we do for our own firms and what we are asked to build for our clients. Are we building cozy home offices in a suburb, or corner suites in a tower? We’ve heard about clients canceling design plans for a home office once they were called back to HQ, while others doubled down on the home office. Raj Choudhury is one of the foremost experts on the future of work, especially the changing geography of work and productivity effects of remote work practices such as work-from-anywhere (WFA), all-remote and hybrid-remote. Long before the pandemic, he was calling on companies to become WFA organizations. Now that they have, what have we learned about productivity and flexibility in the past year? What are the pros and cons of WFA for individuals and for companies? Choudhury answers these questions and more as he discusses a few of the hybrid work models he studies (such as the TCS 25-25 and remote-first) and shares how he thinks the future of work will ultimately play out.

Prithwiraj (Raj) Choudhury is the Lumry Family Associate Professor at the Harvard Business School, and was an assistant professor at Wharton prior to that. His Harvard Business Review article “Our Work-From-Anywhere Future” was a finalist for the 2020 HBR McKinsey Award; he has advised organizations like Google, Walmart, Arrow Electronics, Careem, Atlassian and Deloitte on the future of work; and his research has been cited by notable outlets including BBC, Bloomberg Businessweek, CNBC, NPR, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The World Economic Forum. Choudhury earned his doctorate from Harvard, and has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. Prior to academia, he worked at McKinsey & Company, Microsoft and IBM.

The Future of Media

The media landscape is in a moment of transition: E-commerce platforms are publishing their own content, legacy magazine brands are relying on affiliate programs, and journalists are untethering from publishing companies to become substackers or social media influencers. What even counts as media anymore, and where does the home industry fit in? Brian Morrissey interviews Zach Klein of Dwell and Mélanie Berliet of Dotdash about why content is still king, but where you put it and how you monetize it is paramount to success.  

Brian Morrissey writes The Rebooting, a weekly newsletter focused on building sustainable media businesses. Until last October, he was the president and editor in chief of Digiday Media, a vertical company that has titles covering media and marketing (Digiday), fashion and beauty (Glossy), and retail (Modern Retail). At Digiday, he was responsible for all editorial across the brands, memberships, product, events programming and design. Prior to joining the company in 2011, he had been digital editor at Adweek for six years.

The Future of Shared Space

The idea of sharing is central to the new economy, and it’s a powerful force in commercial and residential real estate—particularly in urban centers. For some, sharing a workspace or a home is based on economic efficiencies (lower pricing and streamlined services like cleaning, cooking and child care); for others, it’s driven by hopeful ideals (like-minded people, community events, friendships). Either way, good design is table stakes. WeWork’s Ebbie Wisecarver and Common’s Brad Hargreaves will address questions such as, How do we think about designing for the future of living and working as sharing becomes the norm? What are people looking for in shared spaces? And how can these learnings translate to other areas of design? 

Brad Hargreaves is the founder and CEO of Common, the nation’s leading co-living brand, which designs and manages multifamily apartments with more than 6,000 residents in over 10 markets across the country. Before founding Common in early 2015, he co-founded General Assembly, a global education institution with campuses in more than 15 cities worldwide. As part of the General Assembly founding team, he led the growth of the company's education business from its launch in 2011 into a global institutio. Most recently, he was a venture partner at Maveron, General Assembly's lead investor. Hargreaves won an Ernst and Young 2020 Entrepreneur of the Year New York award, and has been named to Vanity Fair’s Next Establishment list, Business Insider’s Silicon Alley 100, and the Crain’s 2017 40 Under Forty.

Building Momentum for a Rapidly Evolving Future

Instead of pining for an eventual return to “the way things used to be,” we must adapt our lives (and our businesses) to a new world and a new reality. In many cases, the circumstances of the pandemic accelerated many already developing trends; in others, they caused consumers to pause, reset and shift priorities. Either way, personal spaces are now being recalibrated, and design in all of its manifestations will be one of the most important growth areas as we enter the early stages of a Roaring 2020s. In this talk, futurist Jared Weiner stimulates new thinking and offers insights on how to better capitalize on emerging opportunities.  

As a leader at The Future Hunters, one of the world’s top futurist consulting firms, Jared Weiner evaluates emerging social, technological, economic, political, demographic and environmental trends in the global marketplace and identifies the strategic implications (the “So what?”) of those trends. 

The Challenge of Change

One of the biggest cultural shifts in the past year has been a refocus on equity in design. Companies, organizations and media brands have funded scholarships, built programs and launched initiatives—and while the momentum is exciting, real change takes time. One of the most notable efforts has been the Diversity in Design Collaborative (DID), which aims to gather the resources of major companies—from Gap and Adobe to Herman Miller—to build a pipeline of Black designers, broadening the talent pool. In this talk, DID co-founder Caroline Baumann, and Eddie Opara of DID member organization Pentagram and Rupal Parekh of DID member organization Work & Co. discuss the urgency of the initiative, the roadblocks to success, and what the industry can and must do to make real change.

Rupal Parekh is a partner at Work & Co, a design and technology company with nearly 400 employees across six global offices in the United States, South America and Europe. She leads marketing for the company and specializes in content strategy and messaging development, partnering with clients—which include Ikea, Gatorade, Apple, Nike, Mercedes and Give Blck—to launch successful digital products and new initiatives. Prior to Work & Co, Parekh was a strategic adviser to agencies, startups and brands, and a longtime business journalist and editor at Advertising Age. She has an M.S. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. 

The Future of Residential Real Estate

There’s no better bellwether for the interior design industry than the real estate market: When home sales are up, renovations and design projects are close behind. But as real estate prices have skyrocketed in the past year, new models for co-owning and long-term renting are emerging as attractive options—especially at the luxury end of the market. Owning a second home is becoming more accessible with Pacaso, a new venture from Zillow founder Spencer Rascoff and Dotloop founder Austin Allison. Now valued at $1 billion, Pacaso acquires luxury homes and sells up to eight shares (most range from $25,000 to $1 million) in the properties; shareholders stay for a set number of weeks per year, depending on the size of their stake. Allison discusses how these businesses impact the American dream of homeownership in a tight market and what opportunities they present for the design industry.

Austin Allison co-founded Pacaso in 2020 with Zillow founder Spencer Rascoff to make the dream of owning a second home a reality for more people after experiencing the profound effect it had on his own life. He started selling real estate at the age of 18 and worked in residential and commercial real estate for a decade. Pacaso is his second startup. In 2009 in his hometown of Cincinnati, he founded Dotloop, a company that created software to seamlessly manage real estate transactions. After Zillow Group acquired the company six years ago, he continued to run it as a Zillow executive until 2018. Allison enjoys running, flying and race car driving. He lives in Napa, California, with his wife and dog. 

The Future of Good Business

A refreshing new corporate trend has begun to take hold in recent years: Businesses are starting to behave more like humans. Rather than focusing solely on profit, they are holding themselves accountable for their social and environmental impact. Many companies are working with the nonprofit B Lab to become Certified B Corporations, businesses that have met stringent standards for their mission and the value they create for their employees, community and clients. B Corps communicate their mission and create value for their employees, community and environment within a verified framework, which then allows them to organize as a Certified B Corporation. In this talk, Christopher Marquis, author of Better Business: How the B Corp Movement Is Remaking Capitalism, joins Eric Edelson, of B Corp Fireclay Tile, who explains how he is using his company as a catalyst for social change—and attracting a better pool of talent and a new base of conscious consumers as a result.

Eric Edelson joined Fireclay Tile, a 35-year-old vertically integrated Certified B Corp, in 2009, and has helped grow it from 20 to more than 200 teammates while delighting residential and commercial clients with work that ranges from small decorative pieces to large-scale projects for clients like Google, Whole Foods and New York’s LaGuardia Airport. Edelson has an MBA from Stanford University and a B.A. from Amherst College. He lives in California with his wife and two girls, is an avid trail runner and an active member of the Young Presidents’ Organization.

Runway Ready at Home
(Sponsored by Miranda Kerr for Universal and Crypton)

In this virtual interview with the fashion icon, supermodel and entrepreneur, Miranda Kerr discusses her new home collection that is debuting for the first time at Future of Home. The space reflects her approach to creating a happy and healthy home and features a refined palette of materials and textures. Learn about Kerr’s inspiration for the collection, preview Universal’s new performance cotton boucle fabric from Crypton Home—an on-trend material made of more than 50 percent recycled cotton that will perfectly pair with a variety of furnishing silhouettes—and discover the power of organic skincare in the Kora Organics pop-up shop. Be sure to enter the Miranda Kerr Home x Kora Organics Giveaway for your chance to win a piece of furniture from Miranda Kerr Home along with a complete set of Kora Organics morning and evening skincare essentials.

Designing for The Next Generation
Sponsored by Crate & Kids

Crate & Kids creative director Sebastian Brauer exclusively reveals the brand’s new children’s collection—and its new collaborator. The of-the-moment line embraces the changes in how families are setting up their homes. As the creative leads from Crate & Kids and their surprise partner kicked off their brainstorming conversations in the early days of the pandemic, they noticed the white space for fun, versatile and elevated kids furniture, which became the inspiration for the new collection’s East Coast-meets-West Coast style. The ultimate goal? To give little ones the tools to transform their own spaces and provide parents with thoughtfully functional pieces. 

Sebastian Brauer leads a team of designers and merchandisers shaping creative direction for Crate & Barrel, offering a honed perspective on storytelling, trend exploration and product development. Prior to joining the company in 2019, he served as the vice president of design for J.Crew, leading concept, print and accessories design, and was the director of visual for West Elm, where he led the corporate and field visual teams to create compelling store presentations, new store concepts and immersive retail environments. Brauer started his career in URBN's Anthropologie art department before expanding into product design for footwear, accessories and home. Inspired to connect more deeply with artisan activism and production, he ventured out as an independent consultant in the world of global sourcing and design, which set him on his current path.

Modernizing an Iconic Brand
Sponsored by Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams

To become the CEO of an established and revered brand is a privilege. To inspire and ignite its future is a responsibility. For Allison O’Connor, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams’s first female CEO, the starting place was to embed a reinvigorated brand purpose of “artisans of comfort for all” with a business strategy of becoming an omnichannel, “modern maverick” home furnishings brand. She discusses how the company’s 32-year heritage of craftsmanship, sustainable materials, custom design, innovation, and social responsibility has provided the foundation for meeting trade customers where they are: navigating changing times in which home is more important as a place of belonging than ever before. O’Connor will also shares insights into the brand’s new partnerships, including its first collaboration with an interior designer. 

Allison O’Connor is a veteran executive leader, passionate customer advocate and proven brand builder who has created both business success and impact within corporate cultures on a global basis throughout her career. Since joining Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams as president and CEO in 2019, she has led the 32-year-old company’s transition to an omnichannel lifestyle brand, introducing key new categories including the MG+BW Outdoor furniture collection, a home fragrance line, the European Bed Linens collection, and brand partnerships with national and global makers and designers. She is known for her commitment to sustainability and healthy homes, support of women in business, and wellness and inclusion in the workplace.

Since 1989, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams has been designing comfortable furnishings for a healthy home. In keeping with MG+BW’s commitment to lasting quality and the craft of furniture-making, its new line of sustainably sourced upholstery is hand-built by skilled artisans at the company’s North Carolina factory and comes with extensive options for customization. The Fall 2021 collection also includes tables, storage, lighting, rugs, bed linens, home fragrance, art, decor and outdoor furniture, and is available online and in-store nationwide.

The Curated Bath
Sponsored by Ann Sacks, Kallista, Robern and Kohler

Kohler Co.’s family of brands have long been renowned for their industry-leading excellence. So what happens when all four brands—Ann Sacks, Kallista, Robern, and Kohler—come together to maximize their individual areas of expertise? A truly luxurious bath experience, in the form of the Ann Sacks Curated Bath Collection. While high-quality materials and expert craftsmanship connect each piece, versatility rules the day in this line, well timed to answer the reimagining of home environments and personal spaces. Ranging from classic to modern, the collection—including sinks and faucets, showers and baths, mirrors, lighting, storage and decorative tile and stone—offers the perfect pairing of chic sophistication and advanced convenience.

Seth Stevens is a leader and innovator in the field of design with a diverse background in product design, interiors and fashion. Since starting at Kohler in 2017, he has brought a global perspective to the Kohler luxury businesses, focusing on creating brand-defining kitchen, bath and lighting products for residential and commercial applications. A third-generation industrial designer, Stevens began his personal and professional exploration of design at an early age under his father’s and grandfather’s tutelage—a passion that continues today. Prior to joining Kohler, he held positions as divisional vice president of home categories at Sears Holdings Inc. and creative director at Brunschwig & Fils, as well as serving in a variety of design roles at Donghia, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, West Elm and Starwood Hotels. Stevens holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in industrial design from the University of Illinois. 

Founded in 1873 and headquartered in Kohler, Wisconsin, Kohler Co. is one of America’s oldest and largest privately held companies. With more than 50 manufacturing locations worldwide, Kohler is a global leader in the design, innovation and manufacture of home products. Kohler Co. luxury brands consist of wholly owned subsidiaries: Kallista, known for its luxury plumbing products; Robern, offering lighting, mirrored cabinetry and vanities; and Ann Sacks, a premier provider of decorative tile and stone.

Looking Back to Move Forward
Sponsored by CB2

Join CB2 divisional merchandise manager Andrea Erman and senior vice president of marketing Samie Barr for an exclusive conversation diving into how—and why—the brand has committed to continuing the legacy of iconic furniture designers like Clara Porset and Paul McCobb. Design is at the heart of everything CB2 does, so incorporating these groundbreaking designers was a natural fit. Learn how the McCobb collection remains true to the designer’s original midcentury designs (down to the hinges, in some instances), but was updated with a CB2 twist where appropriate.

Andrea Erman leads product development for CB2, focusing on the houseware category (which includes lighting, rugs, decorative accessories, tabletop, textiles and more). Her career with Crate & Barrel brands spans more than two decades, and she has been with CB2 since 2012.

Media's Shift to Platforms
Sponsored by Pinterest

It’s hard to be creative if you’re surrounded by negativity and comparison. On Pinterest, the experience is different: It’s a place to grow an inspired and engaged audience. Rather than passively scrolling, people are showing up for your ideas—and not just to like them, but to try them. There’s a new way to create, and it’s yours for the taking. Pinterest’s home and design creator lead Jeremy Jankowski sheds light on the platform’s latest features and the opportunities for innovative content creators, and shares what’s next for the 89 million people coming to Pinterest every month for home and design content.

Jeremy Jankowski joined the Pinterest team this year as creator management lead for the home and design category. He is a digital expert with more than 14 years of experience building and leading digital efforts and consulting across tech and publishing partnership sales, delivering record-breaking revenue results for Mode Media, Refinery29, and most recently, Domino, where he was chief client officer. As a 360-degree brand builder, he excels at forecasting sales trends in the ever-changing world of digital media. 

Pinterest is a visual discovery engine people use to find inspiration, including recipes, home and style ideas, travel destinations and more. People have saved more than 300 billion Pins across a range of interests, which others with similar tastes can discover through search and recommendations. Located in San Francisco, Pinterest launched in 2010 and has more than 450 million monthly users around the world. Available on iOS and Android, and at pinterest.com.

Looking Back to Move Forward
Sponsored by CB2

Join CB2 divisional merchandise manager Andrea Erman and senior vice president of marketing Samie Barr for an exclusive conversation diving into how—and why—the brand has committed to continuing the legacy of iconic furniture designers like Clara Porset and Paul McCobb. Design is at the heart of everything CB2 does, so incorporating these groundbreaking designers was a natural fit. Learn how the McCobb collection remains true to the designer’s original midcentury designs (down to the hinges, in some instances), but was updated with a CB2 twist where appropriate. 

Samie Barr brings more than 30 years of consumer and retail experience in fast-paced, high-growth companies like Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Starbucks Coffee Company to her role as senior vice president of marketing for CB2. She joined the company in 2017 and leads all marketing functions, including the launch of innovative collaborations with lifestyle brand Goop, retailer Fred Segal, interior designer Kara Mann, jewelry designer Jennifer Fisher, international men’s magazine GQ and more.

A Window of Opportunity
(Sponsored by Hunter Douglas)

It is the window that creates that liminal moment where the outside world converges with our home’s interior—which means the covering a designer selects for it has the power to not only add style to a room but provide a positive impact on a client’s life at home. The right window covering can enhance natural light, provide energy efficiency and add convenience with motorization. In this conversation, interior designer Marie Flanigan shares how she approaches the selection process for shades, blinds and drapery, and how she has been able to rely on Hunter Douglas’s offerings to meet a variety of client needs.

For more than a decade, Marie Flanigan has crafted spaces that celebrate innovative simplicity while expertly reflecting the lives of those who live within. Originally trained as an architect, she seamlessly unites structure with style, creating award-winning interiors that have been featured in many shelter magazines. She regularly shares her expert design and lifestyle advice with TV audiences, as in her most recent role on HGTV’s internationally broadcast series Brother vs. Brother. Flanigan’s latest projects include the debut of her lighting collection with Visual Comfort and the release of her first book, The Beauty of Home: Redefining Traditional Interiors.

Hunter Douglas is the leading manufacturer of window coverings and architectural products in North America. The company’s products are sold through certified retailers, where dedicated specialists work with designers and consumers to find and then install the perfect window treatments. Continual innovation of its wide range of high-quality window coverings is the cornerstone of the Hunter Douglas brand. 

Changing Spending Habits of the Next Generation
Sponsored by Afterpay

A generational shift is happening in payment preferences, and younger consumers are increasingly turning to “buy now, pay later” when shopping for major lifestyle categories. Afterpay vice president Bree Blazak shares how millennial and Gen Z shoppers are rewriting the rules of spending, and how home brands and retailers can innovate and offer flexibility throughout the customer experience.

Bree Blazak is the vice president of enterprise sales at Afterpay, the leading retail installment payments innovator and one of the fastest-growing global fintech companies. Blazak is a seasoned enterprise sales executive, with expertise in retail technologies, platforms and payments. Prior to joining Afterpay, she was the vice president of retail at Westfield Retail Solutions, a subsidiary of Westfield Corporation that is focused on reinventing commerce by enhancing digital and physical shopping experiences for retailers, brands and venues. Previously, she held roles in business development and sales at ShopRunner, a members-only e-commerce platform focused on bringing shopping innovation to retailers. She also worked in business development at YourAmigo, and spent her early career at various internet companies, including Verisign, DoubleClick and Register.com. Blazak graduated from Texas Tech University with a B.S. in French and business and from the University of North Texas with a B.A. in French language and literature. She currently resides in New York with her family. 

Afterpay empowers today’s generation of shoppers to buy your products now, pay over the course of six weeks, and never pay interest. As the preferred “buy now, pay later” provider in the U.S., Afterpay allows shoppers to go after what they want both online and in-store, with transparent spending limits and no external credit checks—and in the process, 86,000 of the world’s favorite retailers have unlocked sustainable growth with increased sales, greater foot traffic and more new-to-file customers. Afterpay is building its services to be more than just a payment platform; the company is also a solution for today’s retail businesses, delivering data, omnichannel services and marketing solutions to its retail partners.

Leveling Up
Sponsored by High Point Market

Attending High Point Market is not just about getting inspired—it’s also about leveling up. Three designers—Eneia White, Kati Curtis and Rajni Alex—share how establishing relationships with vendors, building new trade partnerships, and making a larger margin on trade products has allowed them to increase profitability and transform their firms’ growth trajectory. You’re invited to head over to the High Point Market in New York activation throughout the two days to visit with the panelists and get tips on mapping your Market experience to better your business model. Then, of course, be sure to lock in your travel plans to join Business of Home, these designers, and the rest of the industry at High Point Market every April and October! Save the date: Fall Market is coming up October 16 to 20, 2021, and Spring Market will be April 2 to 6, 2022. 

Eneia White is known for her positivity, warm smile and creative approach to problem-solving. Born and raised in a small suburb between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., she gained an early appreciation for learning through cultural diversity. White earned her BFA in interior design from The Art Institute of Washington, and developed her craft under the instruction of high-end designers and architects in D.C., Los Angeles and New York. When she’s not designing interiors, she enjoys building and collecting miniature dollhouses, reading, and trying out the latest restaurants New York has to offer.

High Point Market, held in High Point, North Carolina, is the largest home furnishings industry trade show in the world, with more than 12 million square feet and roughly 2,000 exhibitors throughout about 180 buildings. Each year, the Spring and Fall Markets welcome 70,000 to 80,000 attendees from more than 100 countries.

Leveling Up
Sponsored by High Point Market

Attending High Point Market is not just about getting inspired—it’s also about leveling up. Three designers—Rajni Alex, Kati Curtis and Eneia White—share how establishing relationships with vendors, building new trade partnerships, and making a larger margin on trade products has allowed them to increase profitability and transform their firms’ growth trajectory. You’re invited to head over to the High Point Market in New York activation throughout the two days to visit with the panelists and get tips on mapping your Market experience to better your business model. Then, of course, be sure to lock in your travel plans to join Business of Home, these designers, and the rest of the industry at High Point Market every April and October! Save the date: Fall Market is coming up October 16 to 20, 2021, and Spring Market will be April 2 to 6, 2022. 

Rajni Alex is the founder and principal of the award-winning design firm Rajni Alex Design, where she guides an elite team of designers to execute her vision. Her design philosophy is rooted in putting the client first—she understands the need to combine form and functionality, and firmly believes that good design can be both practical and aesthetically pleasing. From timeless pieces to sleek chinoiserie and French influences, her design style embodies a harmonious palette that does not shy away from color, sculptural forms or intricate patterns. In 2018, Alex was named a New Trad by Traditional Home and a Rising Star by New York Cottages & Gardens. She is also a recipient of the Decoration & Design Building’s Star on the Rise Award.

High Point Market, held in High Point, North Carolina, is the largest home furnishings industry trade show in the world, with more than 12 million square feet and roughly 2,000 exhibitors throughout about 180 buildings. Each year, the Spring and Fall Markets welcome 70,000 to 80,000 attendees from more than 100 countries.

Leveling Up
Sponsored by High Point Market

Attending High Point Market is not just about getting inspired—it’s also about leveling up. Three designers—Kati Curtis, Eneia White, and Rajni Alex—share how establishing relationships with vendors, building new trade partnerships, and making a larger margin on trade products has allowed them to increase profitability and transform their firms’ growth trajectory. You’re invited to head over to the High Point Market in New York activation throughout the two days to visit with the panelists and get tips on mapping your Market experience to better your business model. Then, of course, be sure to lock in your travel plans to join Business of Home, these designers, and the rest of the industry at High Point Market every April and October! Save the date: Fall Market is coming up October 16 to 20, 2021, and Spring Market will be April 2 to 6, 2022. 

The work of interior designer Kati Curtis, whose firm is based in Manhattan and Los Angeles, combines that sophistication of New York and a little taste of California. With a style that’s unrestrained yet very refined, she designs homes that are the visual story of the people living there. Her interiors are bold statements balanced by quiet details—the dark accents in a white room, the well-defined edge that reveals a surprise of color. A graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design, Curtis is a sought-after speaker and design influencer, and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Architectural Digest, Elle Decor and most recently House Beautiful. She travels frequently, and the colors, motifs, patterns and textures she encounters influence all she designs.

High Point Market, held in High Point, North Carolina, is the largest home furnishings industry trade show in the world, with more than 12 million square feet and roughly 2,000 exhibitors throughout about 180 buildings. Each year, the Spring and Fall Markets welcome 70,000 to 80,000 attendees from more than 100 countries.