The ICFF Podcast: Recent Episodes
ICFF
In this new series, ICFF's associate content editor Meghan Dwyer will sit down with influential design leaders to talk about how they got to where they are today, what drives them, and their biggest lessons learned navigating an ever-changing industry.
Rasmus and Ida Hildebrand, cofounders of Friends and Founders, were one of the featured Power Couple talks at ICFF+WantedDesign Manhattan in May. After meeting at Stockholm Design Week in 2008, the partners in life and in business realized that they shared a passion to create handcrafted contemporary furniture. Almost ten years later, they have made a name for themselves for beautiful seating, tables, lighting, and accessories. It’s a perfect match: she is the designer, the maker; he handles the business and marketing. Listen as the duo shares why they rarely argue, how they juggle life and work (and two sets of twins!), and their secrets to success.
Meghan is joined by Will Meyer and Gray Davis, co-founders of globally-recognized New York City-based firm Meyer Davis. The multidisciplinary design studio has established itself at the forefront of high-end commercial and residential design through its work on private residences, hotels, restaurants, retail experiences, and workplace environments. The firm's client list includes the worlds most prestigious hospitality brands, like Four Seasons, Auberge, One Hotels, W Hotels, Rosewood, Ritz Carlton, among many others.
Will and Gray discuss their early careers prior to Meyer Davis; the launch of their firm; what they believe are the keys to their continued success; William Gray, their new furniture, bath, and lighting collection; and what we'll be seeing from them in the near future.
In this episode of the ICFF Podcast, Meghan is joined by Laurence Carr, founder of boutique design firm Laurence Carr Inc. Born in France and educated at Paris Universite VIII and Parsons The New School in NYC, Laurence’s global influence comes from her time living in Europe, Australia, and Asia before moving to the U.S. and founding her eponymous design firm in NYC.
Her style combines essentialist luxury, contemporary aesthetics, ancient and wellbeing practices, and biophilia. This unique combination has been shaped by her love of Western European art, her experiences in dance since the age of 5, and influences from global cultures from where she has lived, combined with a modern aesthetic and a deep respect for nature. She calls it “Eclecticism in the 21st century.”
Laurence is an expert in circular design and is an advocate for advancing sustainable and healthy materials in the built environment through her show Chez Laurence on EarthxTV and her close involvement with the Sustainable Furnishings Council.
The accomplished architect and designer Andre Kikoski founded his internationally renowned firm to reflect his sensory approach to creating emotional connections between people and space. The small town Massachusetts-born designer was raised traveling regularly to visit family in Beirut—an experience that helped define his passion for culture and providing places for people to come together and create community. Andre's portfolio includes iconic cultural, residential, hospitality, and retail projects ranging from The Guggenheim to One Hudson Yards, and private residences in the Hamptons.
In this episode of the ICFF Podcast, Meghan is joined by New York-based interior designer and founder of boutique firm k&co, Krista Ninivaggi. Prior to launching her own firm, Krista honed her craft at renowned design firms including Gwathmey Siegel, Rockwell Group, AvroKO, and SHoP Architects, the latter of which she is largely responsible for launching the interiors division and worked on projects including the Barclays Center and the Shopbob headquarters. As of recently, Krista is starting a new chapter as head of interiors at Woods Bagot New York (big news! k&co has officially merged with the Australia-based firm). Krista shares what it was like navigating the design industry upon graduating from SCAD, how a softball league played in integral role in her landing at SHoP, and what is to come in the near future.
In this episode of the ICFF Podcast, Meghan is joined by Primo Orpilla, the co-founder of San Francisco-based multi-disciplinary design firm Studio O+A—a company that has changed the way we think about work and workplace. O+A’s groundbreaking designs for Facebook, Microsoft, Yelp, Nike, McDonald’s, Slack, Uber, and many other companies have demonstrated the power of design to make the work environment a catalyst for creativity and a vehicle for change. As Global Chair of Student Experience at IIDA, Primo works to promote design education and expand opportunities for young people in the profession. A frequent lecturer on design and the future of workplace, Primo speaks at schools and design conferences globally, empowering the next generation of designers.
In this episode of The ICFF Podcast, associate content editor Meghan Dwyer sits down with Carl Gustav Magnusson to discuss the industrial designer's acclaimed career, which spans studying under Charles and Ray Eames to a three-decade career as director of global design for Knoll.
Recognized as one of the most acclaimed industrial designers, Swedish born and educated in architecture, Magnusson has dedicated his career to the profession of design.
During his time at the Eames Office, Magnusson worked on projects ranging from the IBM Mathematica exhibit to the Eames Chaise, after which he opened his own studio in Rudolf Schindler's House in LA. At Knoll, as director of global design in the USA and Europe for three decades, Magnusson commissioned designers such as Richard Sapper, Ettore Sottsass, Mia Linn, Ross Lovegrove, and Frank Gehry.
Magnusson established the Knoll Design Symposium at Cranbrook Academy and co-founded The Knoll Museum. His New York-based firm, CGM Design has created products for Knoll, Spinneybeck, Teknion, MoMA, BMW, and the City of St. Moritz.
CGM Design has won 40 plus design awards since 2005. Magnusson has written on design, book chapters, and magazine articles, and photographed for Domus. He has lectured at universities and museums such as Yale and Neue Pinakothek, Munich; and curated exhibits for BMW in Stuttgart and Berlin.
Magnusson serves as a board member of The Bertoia Foundation and Madworkshop.
In this episode of the ICFF Podcast, we sit down with Odile Hainaue and Claire Pijoulat, founders of Wanted Design and Wanted Design Manhattan to discuss the company's origins and the many facets of the brand today. We also discuss ICFF and Wanted Design Manhattans co-location this November at the Javits Center in New York.
In the inaugural episode of the ICFF podcast, we sit down with Clodagh. As a trailblazer in the wellness space, the Irish-born designer first got her start in fashion, but is now known for her zen-like designs for the likes of Six Senses and Miraval that immerse guests in all five senses.
In this episode of the ICFF Podcast, we sit down with Angie Lee, partner & design director of interiors division at New York's FXCollaborative to learn about Angie's unconventional introduction to the industry, her unwavering goal to make interiors more inclusive for all, and her thoughts on how this past year could positively impact our futures as a society.