Tell us about yourself and your work: what you’re passionate about, what inspires you, and where you’re going. I am a graphic designer and a very passionate collector of all things modernism, mostly from the mid-twentieth century. I collect vintage furniture, pottery, toys, ephemera, records, books, packaging, etc.

Living in California has had a direct impact on what I do and what I like. The modern homes, the furniture, and all the history of designers in the area made it a very obvious choice for me. I am very inspired by my collection as well as by folk art, color, and, in general, the warmth of modernism from that era. I like to surround myself with things that inspire me, from the things I sit on to the things I look at.

My work is a direct reflection of the things around me. I have a dresser in my office that is filled with vintage ephemera that I’ve picked up over the years and I like to open drawers and just look at things every now and then. I also have two shelves with vintage packaging and an ever-growing library of vintage books.

Tell us about your space. What’s your aesthetic? What do you like or dislike? My space is an ever-changing showroom in a way. I am constantly looking for things and replace others when I find something that suits the area better. This forced me to start selling the things I don’t need anymore and it’s now growing into a store of vintage things.

You have a few vintage pieces by Charles and Ray Eames in your space. Why did you choose them? I have many of the vintage molded fiberglass chairs in different colors, some upholstered. They are just so fun and I use them all the time. I also have two molded plywood DCM chairs that I believe are some of the most beautiful, simple, and comfortable chairs I’ve ever sat on. Definitely recommended.

I picked them up because, well, Ray and Charles are probably one of the most influential designers in the U.S. — and on me personally. I just had to have them in my home.

Photos: Javier García

Give us a little insight into your background. I am an artist by nature and a graphic designer by profession. I’ve been drawing as long as I can remember. My earliest memories are of my mother drawing words in bubble letters and me coloring them in. As a child, I was an avid comic book collector, often doodling my own comics mostly consisting of army ants and nuclear dinosaurs. After high school, I enrolled at the Art Institute of California’s San Diego campus. I knew I wanted to do something creative for a living and I liked working with computers, so it was an easy decision to major in graphic design. While in school, I worked part-time for a print shop near campus, learning the in-and-out’s of the print industry. The hands-on experience I was learning at the shop was more than I was learning at school, so I left college after two years and returned home to the Bay area. I put together a portfolio of school projects so I could look for a job. It turned out the print company who printed my portfolio was looking for a designer, so I began working for them. I bounced around different print shops for about eight years before starting my own business as a freelance graphic designer and print broker.

What year was your studio established? What led to that point? I began working in my current studio in 2004. While in college, I began experimenting on canvas. I was interested in showing art in galleries and began submitting my work to group shows in the area. The living room of my apartment quickly became my studio: art on one side, design on the other, somewhere in the middle was the couch, TV, and other clutter. It was obvious that I needed a dedicated creative space, but I didn’t have much money, as the print shop I worked for wasn’t paying much.

My grandfather, a retired general contractor, built a workshop in the early 1980s for his wood-working hobbies. The space was perfect — he had everything an artist needed: a light table, a projector, a large drafting table, and a wood-burning stove to keep warm on cold days. He loved working with his hands and his personal projects kept him young. We ended up sharing the studio for few years until he passed at the age of 92. Times working next to him, often on the same project, are some of my fondest memories with him. I’ve continued to work in the studio, transforming it to suit my needs, but still leaving room for his wood-working tools.

Tell us what you’re passionate about, what inspires you, and where you’re going. Art and design consume most of my time. When I’m not creating, I’m studying other artists work and technique, researching future pieces, and day-dreaming about what they might look like. I also love baseball. I find it most relaxing to work in the studio with a Giants baseball game on the radio. Though I wouldn’t consider myself a math brain, I’m fascinated by the statistics and percentages in sports.

What inspires me is always hard to answer. The world around me is inspiring. Daily experiences, my friends — most of whom are artists and designers. I’m inspired by books because I like to imagine what the story looks like. Dreams often find their way into my work. Architecture blows my mind, especially Victorian-era buildings.

I can’t tell you where I’m going because I don’t think I know myself. I love being creative. I’m fortunate to have the resources and space I have. Art has taken me on some incredible experiences. With every show and mural, I become more confident that art is where I need to be focusing my time. Not knowing what’s next inspires me to work harder. I have faith that everything will work out and that if you concentrate on something long enough, anything is obtainable.

Were there any special considerations that influenced the studio’s set-up? What would you change if you could? The studio space is special to me for the very fact that I’m carrying on something my grandfather started. The space itself isn’t very big. One room, about 400 square feet. No running water, but lucky for me, there’s a faucet nearby to wash brushes. The heater is a wood-burning stove, but the climate in California is pretty mild and I don’t build a lot of fires. The space is perfect for what I need it for. I have room to paint, shelves for supplies, and desk for my computer. Yogi, the sweetest 13-year-old dog ever, keeps me company every day, often laying at my feet while I work. I wish the space was a little larger and had more natural lighting, but I make it work.

You have an Embody Chair and your grandfather’s Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman in the studio. Tell us how these both came to be. I do design work for Trope Group in Santa Rosa, CA. On occasion, I go into the office to discuss design and marketing strategies. They have a showroom where I enjoy test-driving the chairs on display. I’m not one to splurge on office furniture. Most of what I have now are hand-me-downs or pieces donated from past employers. I liked to imagine how nice it would be to have a real office chair. And then I sat down in an Embody chair and fell in love. The relief it gave my back was instantly noticeable. So I bought one and use it every day. I’ve yet to regret the purchase for a second. I love the look on someone’s face when they sit in the chair for the first time.

The Eames Lounge is something that I’ve known my whole life. It’s been in the family longer than I have. As a child, I remember curling up and napping in it, waiting for the adults to finish talking about things I didn’t understand. I never knew anything about the chair until a few years ago. It was always just a comfortable leather chair that was great to sit in with a good book or listen to music. So out of curiosity, I asked my mother about chair. This is the story she told me.

“In the summer of 1963, we moved into a 1940′s stucco house in San Anselmo. It had a large, well-lit area — empty except for a dining table and three chairs at one end, a hi-fi at the other, four Parsons-style end tables, and a matching coffee table (made by my cabinetmaker grandfather). It was the heyday of Swedish modern, and my parents were both working and had saved enough money to have — for the first time in their lives — a living room that was in style.

So off we went one Saturday to buy furniture in San Francisco. It’s probable that from his former profession in architecture, my dad had cards that got him into high-quality showrooms.

I was 16, the decorating gene had skipped me. What I loved were books, so armed with a copy of ‘Betsy in Spite of Herself’ by Maud Hart Lovelace (Betsy and I were the same age), I planned to spend the day reading in comfortable chairs.

They bought, that day, a mustard and grey Swedish modern sofa, a black Swedish modern chair, and a 3″ x 5″ red Rya rug. I was underwhelmed: they were uncomfortable and, to my eyes, ugly; the mustard was a disgusting color and all three items were wool — to which I was allergic.

However, I’d had a splendid time with Betsy, curled up in a seriously comfortable chair. When they were ready to leave, they came to find me. ‘Do we have to leave?’ I asked, stretching in the Eames Lounge.

They looked, not at me, but at the chair. They knew what it was; they’d admired Charles and Ray Eames for years. And they needed one more chair.

The rest is history. If you look at the feet, you’ll see scratch marks from Jack, the Springer spaniel puppy who hated being left alone and took it out on the furniture: he gnawed the Eames Chair legs, jumped on the coffee table so often his claws gouged out long tracks, and tore up feather pillows on the Rya rug. So much for style.”

Photos: Ricky Watts

What do you listen to while you work? Having to answer this, I’m realizing my listening style is quite manic…my process is a bit scattered (read: teeny tiny attention span) so my music shifts with my mood and focus. If I’m sketching or working in Photoshop or Illustrator then it could be anything from Black Keys and Beastie Boys to Arcade Fire and Heartless Bastards. If I’m working on copy edits or estimates, then I prefer to take it down a notch and listen to Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Ray LaMontagne, etc. And I’ve recently started listening to Debbie Millman’s podcast Design Matters…not only is her voice like a caramel blanket, but the creative folks she interviews are so amazing and inspiring that my skin starts tingling and my brain starts oozing. It’s a great feeling.

How do you listen? I work by myself in my home (so no need for earphones) and usually listen from my computer. I used to listen to my iPod when commuting to meetings, but found that I kept missing my metro stops. I’d get so wrapped into my music that I’d forget that I actually had a destination. Have I mentioned my short attention span?

Do you have any favorite music websites/providers? I love love love KEXP out of Seattle…it is my go-to radio streaming channel. AND I want to carry John Richards’ children.

Does music influence your work? I remember being a 7th grader drawing peace signs and bubble letters on my book covers and my parents telling me I was born way too late. They were right, and the psychedelic illustration style never left me.

Where do you find music recommendations? Who influences your musical taste? This will have to be a 3-part answer. Part 1) Thanks to my older brother Will Horne, I grew up listening to Beastie Boys instead of Debbie Gibson and Tiffany. Under his guidance, the first album I bought was Nirvana’s “Nevermind.” And then he left for boarding school and I bought Paula Abdul’s “Spellbound.” Clearly I wasn’t capable of making good musical decisions without him. Part 2) About 10 years ago I moved to the D.C.-area and met my future BFF Katie O’Brien. I knew her for a week before she asked me to join her at an Ani DiFranco concert. Her mix CDs got me through several birthdays, road trips, and job changes. Damn San Francisco for taking her away from me. Part 3) Brandon DeHart. His total recall of albums and artists makes my head hurt and his “Best Of…” collections are my music bible. I am a lost puppy without him.

If your work was a song or a musician, what or who would it be? I would say Dolly Parton for her deceptive Southern charm. At first glance, someone might say she’s all makeup, hair, and boobs. But when you listen to her music—and realize she writes her own songs—you sense the independent, stubborn sassiness hidden underneath the frills. And because of their irreverent lyrics and colorful album art, I’d also like to add Cake. Only they could make the font Copperplate seem cool. Plus I really love the packaging of their latest album.

CAROLYN’S PLAYLIST

Joy, Bettye Lavette

I Will Survive, Cake

Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains), Arcade Fire

Dancing On Our Graves, The Cave Singers

Old Old Fashioned, The Frightened Rabbit

Hustle and Cuss, The Dead Weather

Sugarfoot, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh, Say Hi

I Felt Like a Gringo, Minutemen

Reckoner, Radiohead

Everlasting Light, The Black Keys

9 to 5, Dolly Parton

Images: Carolyn Sewell

What do you listen to while you work? I work at all hours, so it’s more about the time of day that determines what I listen to. If I broke it out, I think it’s fair to say mornings are usually acoustic/folk. Afternoons I typically listen to more indie/rock. At night, I usually turn to more beat-driven/ambient/electronic music, and often jazz.

How do you listen? During the day, earbuds. Occasionally I’ll unplug and DJ in the creative department at the office. I love turning people on to new music. I listen through Seige Audio headphones while I work at home.

Do you have any favorite music websites/providers? If I’m listening to music online, it’s usually KCRW’s eclectic24. Lately I’ve been checking out Designers.MX. Such a good combination of music and design. I want to create a mix for them. I’m currently checking out Spotify.

Does music influence your work? Well, it must in some way or another. I listen to it all the time. It’s hard to pinpoint how a specific album or song would influence me through my design. However, I could design a poster in a shorter time listening to Animal Collective or Girl Talk than I would listening to an acoustic Neil Young album. An aspect of my job that I love is helping with the musical direction for a video or film Fairly Painless is working on. Whether it’s the pensive tone of The Album Leaf or an upbeat RJD2 jam, it’s a challenging task matching music with picture.

Where do you find music recommendations? Who influences your musical taste? I have a friend that owns a coffee shop and another friend who owns a record store—great resources. I also have a nightly routine of visiting a handful of music blogs such as I Guess I’m Floating, Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, Gorilla vs. Bear, and Aquarium Drunkard. Twitter can be a great resource, too.

If your work was a song or a musician, what or who would it be? I’d be honored to say M. Ward or Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), but actually I have no clue!

RICK’S PLAYLIST

For Beginners, M. Ward

Far, Far Away, Wilco

Used to Be, Beach House

French Exit, The Antlers

Trigger Cut, Pavement

William, It Was Really Nothing, The Smiths

Savage Night at the Opera, Destroyer

Kicked It In The Sun, Built To Spill

Real Love, Delorean

Circling, Four Tet

The Wilhelm Scream, James Blake

The Falcon Will Fly Again, Brad Mehldau

Images courtesy Rick VanderLeek

How long have you worked from home? I’ve been working from home full time as freelance graphic designer for 3 years, I’m working mostly in the fields of institutional and culture communication in France. I am also an illustrator, which I enjoy most and I try to post a sketch as often as possible on my tumblr blog. I would love create children books now! I’ve always had a place to draw where I lived as long as I can remember.

And where is home? Our home is in Lille, in the north of France, between Paris, Brussels, London and Amsterdam. I really enjoy living in one of Europe’s cross roads. We bought our house 2 years ago from one of my partner’s former architecture teachers. I like the idea that the place where I spend most of my days has been a home office for a long time.

Describe your style? How would you define your aesthetic? The house was built in 1930, we are furnishing it slowly with furniture found in jumble sales or vintage stores from the 30′s to the 50′s. The home office is the place where I feel free to stick any pictures I love anywhere on the walls just because I want to be able to see them all the time (and take it away when I’ve had enough of it). It is full of tins, old books and toys I find everywhere.

How do you keep your office organized? I’m thinking here of the physical space but also your computer. I organize myself with a pen and a paper – everything starts in my big blue notepad (they are always the same, I only change the colors of cover when I buy a new one). All my lifework is in there. I once threw one away by mistake, and had to have a look in the street paper recycling bin to find it… my neighbors thought I’d gone mad that day. When my notepad’s closed my workday is finished. Also shelves! Plenty of them –  so that books, magazines etc. can stand vertically, instead of horizontally in piles. Filling the shelves with the books I love when moving in, it is always a great pleasure.

Are there any particular programs you find really useful? I use Skype everyday, it changed my way of working in team with other freelance graphic designers, they became kind of colleagues in a way!

When you were setting up your home office what did you keep in mind? When we moved into this house the ground floor walls, where I work now, were already covered with bookshelves which was ideal, and the former landlord had given us a beautiful old “double desk”. We just had to refresh the white paint, sit down, and work. We added a big old workshop table where I like to draw because it is far from the computer and a big “cat-approved” sofa to make the place warm and comfortable, friends are always welcome to sit down and have a drink and a biscuit.

Is there any piece of home office furniture you covet? Honestly not really…  I might need to find a place on the walls for a proper inspiration board to avoid flyers, articles and post cards everywhere, that’s all I am thinking of for the moment.

What is a desk accessory you can’t do without? My “gigantic” screen, I miss it when working away from home on my portable computer.

What would you change about your own workspace? My workspace is a bit dark in winter, I need better lighting.

What do you most love about your space?  When the sliding glass windows are wide opened in spring and summer I feel like working outside and I love it.

What inspires you? I receive the Grain Edit newsletter every day. I love art and graphic design from the 50′s, I love the clear, simple and efficient style. I admire the way artistes use subtle and bright colors. Charley Harper is one of my favorite illustrator. I also admire japanese illustrators such as Yoshitomo Nara, for the same reasons I guess. Apart from this, I think that if you pay attention around you,  everyday life is always very inspiring.

How long have you worked from home? And where is home? Home is Atlanta Georgia, where I’ve worked as a graphic designer for just about twenty years. The bulk of my work has been as a consultant working out of my home office, though temporary stints commandeering client conference rooms is common. My company, Matador, takes an editorial approach to graphic design with a focus on typography for all media. By that I mean graphic design that starts with the content and works out to a finished product my clients can take to market. We do graphic design, but there’s a bit of writing to it as well. Some folks we’ve worked with: AT&T, Coke, IBM, ING, Mercedes AMG, Nintendo, and Time Warner.

Typography plays a major role in the practice beyond simply picking a font or knowing a particular brand’s guidelines. Every typeface has unique requirements in that it has to be set just so. It’s up to the graphic designer to understand what a particular typeface wants. We work within those bounds to let type communicate as it was intended. Everything else follows.

Being so enamored with type, I took time off from 2006 to 2009 to write  The Typographic Desk Reference (TDR), a dictionary of typographic terms and form. The TDR’s in its third printing and we’re looking to start localized versions before long. At the moment, we’re on the hunt for a European publisher.

Describe your style? How would you define your aesthetic? Initially I’d have to say I don’t have a specific style. My work requires adapting an aesthetic to the company or product I work for. But it could be said I have a modernist aesthetic. I don’t do postmodern, but if a client wants it I have a stack of postmodernist resumes I can haphazardly pick through. That’s a joke… well sort of. Postmodernist clients usually call back in five years, wanting to trade for a modern approach. Overall I’d have to say my approach is typographic, which could be considered an aesthetic at times.

How do you keep your office organized? I’m thinking here of the physical space but also your computer. Are there any particular programs you find really useful? I have some Bouroullec Valise boxes I use to file work documents. For archiving print work, I use some very refreshing plain white (with no advertisements) file boxes from the Container Store. Larger work gets tube rolled.

I have a server which gets backed up redundantly. Network user accounts get backed up to the server automatically, so adding a new MacBook is just a matter of logging in to the server with it. My music is on the server too—all 100 days of it.

For project management I use the 37 Signals Basecamp and Highrise apps. Nothing is proprietary, so the logistics of working with talent in Osaka is the same for someone in Copenhagen, or my printer here in Atlanta.

When you were designing your home office what did you keep in mind? I start with a book called Human Dimension & Interior Space by Julius Panero and Martin Zelnik. After brushing up on a little physical anthropology, I get to work realizing the space. Designing a physical space is no different than graphic design or typography where size, proportion, and space are equally considered. I’d say well placed furniture makes for high performance, but more importantly a better quality of life.

Is there any piece of home office furniture you most enjoy? My Eames Soft Pad Group Executive chair. I’ve had it for ten years and it just gets better with age. It doesn’t wear out, it wears in. Second would come my Eames Oval Table. It’s the only desk I’ve had that, placed diagonally, functions error free. I’ve just started to break-in my Ikea Billy bookcases. We’ll see how that goes.

What is a desk accessory you can’t do without? Where does the accessory end and the tool start? What often find their way back to the desk are my Pantone fan books. These are what I’d consider desk accessories to keep color organized, lest I imagine there’d be loose color all over my desk.

As difficult as it is, I try to keep things off the desk. My sideboard drawers are filled with little fiddly stuff like pens, paperclips and whatnot. This is a “desk accessory” I can’t do without. Open one of these drawers and you’ll clearly hear the theme music to Sanford & Son.

Oh, and my Leica D-Lux 3 camera. Best camera I’ve owned.

What would you change about your own workspace? The office is just big enough to fit two people comfortably, so I’d make it bigger, add more open space, and a half kitchen. A chaise for naps would be nice. I’d also like it to be detached from the house to slightly de-blur the work/home aspect. While we’re at it, just make the whole thing aluminum and glass and resurrect Donald Judd to design it.

What do you most love about your space? The view of the backyard through the sliding glass. The windows let in lots of natural light which is ideal for reviewing proofs and picking colors. It’s also good for the eyes to focus on something far away after staring at the computer screen.

What inspires you? For work related inspiration I look outside of graphic design to architecture, industrial design, music, and literature. And nothing beats traveling to see how other people do things.

“This month brought with it my five-year anniversary as a self-employed graphic designer, so I’m taking the opportunity to offer 15 pieces of advice to those thinking of “going it alone.

1. Look at the big picture Creating a modern business plan will help you think through the hard issues.

2. Tell your friends and family about your self-employment You never know what contacts they might have. Those close to you will want to help.

3. You will lose potential clients because your pricing is too high But also because it’s too low. Whether you like it or not, the rates you set will immediately give others a perception about the quality of your design work.

4. Don’t stress about pricing Design pricing is something independent graphic designers struggle with at some point. The best way to learn is through experience, and remember, you can always negotiate your price down from your initial quote, but never up, so if in doubt aim high.

5. You will make mistakes We all do. Learn from them, and move on.

6. When wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically Along similar lines, if you receive a complaint, allow the other person to do most of the talking. People want to be acknowledged, and the more you learn about a grievance, the more you can do to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

7. Compose your pitch Your pitch is a very brief description about how you will help your design clients, and is useful when describing your job to new acquaintances (without the risk of boring them into submission). The length should be somewhere between an elevator pitch and a dumbwaiter pitch.

8. Never stop learning Realise that in order to reach (and stay at) the top, you must never stop learning, whether it’s through recognised design courses, mentors, books, or other options. You’ll find a number of recommended reads here in my Amazon-powered design bookstore.

9. Publish a blog The readers you attract will prove to be an invaluable source of knowledge and help. My two blogs (this and that) are powered by the free-to-use WordPress. Here are some blog mistakes worth avoiding, and the WordPress plugins I use. An alternative to WordPress is MovableType.

10. Consider a partnership You and your clients can benefit when you work alongside those with differing skills — a web specialist or brand strategist, for instance. Just because you’re “going it alone” doesn’t mean you need to be the only person involved. When approaching a potential partner — be it for your entire business or for a one-off project — talk in terms of the other person’s interests. Would you say yes?

11. Encourage clients to talk about themselves A key element in all design projects lies in the information-gathering stage. Everything you learn can be used for the advantage of the project.

12. “A man without a smiling face must not open a shop.” A wise Chinese man once said that.

13. You will work with clients you don’t like Especially towards the start of your self-employment. With experience, you can learn how to spot troublesome clients before a project starts, and equally, how to spot the excellent ones.

14. Designing for committees isn’t a bad thing You can still achieve fantastic design results providing you know how to keep the process running smoothly. Chapter 8 of my book offers advice on dealing with committees.

15. Put the wheels in motion It’s time. People will tell you it’s not, but it is. The only thing stopping you? You.

Published on David Airey, graphic designer“

Does anyone else use your home office? I am the sole user.

How do you organize the space? Not very well. My flat files give the illusion of being organized. The piles are colorful, but in the end, they are still piles.

What impact do you think color has on a workspace? HUGE. White walls drive me insane. I make work that is BRIGHT, FUN, RIDICULOUS! My drawings are all black and white, but the rest is, well, over the top on purpose. I like using candy colors and hyperactive patterns to correlate to the craziness of consumerism. These are also pretty accessible to a lot of different viewers, too — kind of like consumerism. I am always exploring different color palettes; this decorative side of my work is really fun for me, since the other side is more concept based.

What desk accessory can’t you do without? My hot pink stapler. My cups and cups filled with pens.

Is there a piece of furniture you’d love to replace? I would love to replace the table top of my desk. It is just a piece of MDF covered with a sheet of dry-erase board. It is easy enough to replace…I just haven’t gotten around to it. I love the structure of my desk. I love sitting high, having a large surface area and a large space for storage underneath.

Is there anything you’d change about your space? I wish that I had a door. Living with your work has definite benefits, but I sometimes wish that I had a door to close. Eventually!

What or who inspires you? Big permission-givers to me have been: David Byrne, Tibor Kalman, M. Sasek, Saul Steinburg, Ray and Charles Eames, Joseph Beuys, Walls of Sound (Galaxie 500, Deerhunter — music that fills up and overwhelms and how to translate that into artwork), Fluxus, and Zine Culture to name a few. Also: yard sales, thrift stores, objects that look like a designer didn’t design them, and teaching my rad students.

What was the last thing you bought? An iced Americano from the cafe downstairs!

Photography by Anthony Georgis

Caroline De Vita is a talented graphic designer, illustrator, painter and mother of two. She doesn’t have a lot of spare time. She does have an enviable home office custom built by her husband. We caught her during a rare break to talk about all the ins and outs of working from home.

How long have you worked from home…and where is ‘home’? I’ve worked from home for about 12 years. My home now is in a little house in Los Angeles’ Westside city of Mar Vista, and I’m working out of a 200 square foot office my husband built for me in our backyard when I was pregnant with our first child.

What does an average work day involve? After walking home from dropping off my son at preschool, I make coffee while my computer starts up, check emails, make phone calls and start whatever jobs I’m currently working on. I am usually starving my 12:00, so I take a quick lunch and get back to work until 4:30, when I pick the kids up. If I have a deadline, I work remotely from a computer in the house while fixing dinner and watching the kids, 3 and 5. I pop back into the office after the kids are in bed if I still have work to finish.

Is there any form of technology that really inspires you and helps you in your work? I love my Wacom writing tablet. I illustrate as well as design, so it’s very useful for line drawings. It has a pressure sensitive pad, so I can manipulate the line weights to look like I’m using a japanese brush. My scanner is useful and inspiring because I scan just about anything I find, paper, leaves–anything, manipulate it and use it as a texture in my illustrations or as a graphic in my design work, and sometimes I just prefer to write or draw with a japanese pen or calligraphy pen on paper so I need to scan those into Photoshop.

As a graphic designer you’ve got multiple clients – large and small. How do you organize your space? I’m thinking here of your physical space but also your virtual space? This is probably not the best solution, but for virtual organization, I use Entourage Calendar to remind myself through pop up ‘reminders’ of due dates, etc. For physical organizing, I have a small rolling file next to my desk with files for each client. Anything that has to do with a particular job I’m working on goes into that client’s folder, no matter what it is. Every month I go through the rolling file and take out whatever jobs are finished and put into my ‘deep file’ cabinet on the other side of the office, to make room for upcoming jobs.

What item from your desktop can you not do without? Besides my computer, I can’t do without my drawing pad, brush pens and Uniball micro roller pen. Drawing and doodling helps free my mind of clutter and can sometimes inspire me.

What piece of office furniture do you love? Which would you like to replace? I love my old metal office desk and my Aeron Chair. The desk is the right size for me and I like how solid it is, the little bit of history behind it, and that I got my hands dirty taking care of refinishing it myself. I like the way my chair looks and how incredibly comfortable it is.

I don’t think there’s anything I’d like to replace, but I’d like to put up shelves on the wall to my right so I can easily see items that inspire me. Right now I have to turn around to look at my books and things I bought while traveling. I like warm things, like wood and clay.

What inspires you? Old, worn books, looking out my office window at our tall Australian paper bark trees, books I’m reading ….It really depends on where my head is at the time. Right now, I’m inspired by Shakespeare, Johnny Cash, Van Gogh, watching my 5-year old daughter draw her detailed, imaginative scenes, the intensity of playing in my Sunday soccer games!

How long have you been working from home? 8 years now. Before that I had been working at some really amazing design firms that helped inform me of what a great working environment can be like. I think I’ve taken a lot of that with me and it’s influenced a lot of how my space is now.

What do you like most about your space? That it’s my place to experiment and think. Also all of my favorite objects, books and personal projects are there. So it is very comforting to be there and work. It’s really nice to be surrounded by those things that inspire you. I often freelance on projects away from my studio and when I return it is the best feeling. It can’t be beat because it is my personal space.

Is there anything you would change about your workspace? I’d add about 1,500 square feet on it so I could have a place to print and also a small wood shop. That would be perfect. I really enjoy my small workspace a lot but I think it would be great to have the space to spread out a bit more to accommodate the other things I like to do. Something like the Eames office where they were creating such a diverse mix of things under one roof would be amazing.

What are some of your favorite objects in your studio? My most favorite object of all is the La Fonda del Sol menu I have that was designed by Alexander Girard. It’s such a great design piece. When I was given it I just stared in awe at the suns on the cover. I couldn’t believe what I was holding in my hands. I never thought in a million years they still existed. Then it just got better as I opened it up. It’s hard to beat those color combinations, they are really amazing.

Do you feel that your working environment has any influence over your work? I think it does. It keeps me motivated and inspired to keep on making things. Being in my studio is my favorite place to be. It’s were I go to have fun everyday.

Working from home can seem like a simple move…until you do it. At Herman Miller we’ve sent 12 staff home – to work! We wanted to see first hand how they made the transition. More on that little experiment later. Designer Carin Castelnuovo-Tedesco made a similar transition when she left her 750sf office and set up a virtual studio that she runs from a sunny upstairs office in her Los Angeles home. I talked to her about the big move and discovered there are definitely some ups and downs.

How long have you been working from home? For exactly 4 weeks. After having managed a full-service in-house creative department with up to 8 designers for 17 years I went from a 750sf space to a slick 150sf space.

Why the move? It was really inspired by my dream of owning my own business when I was older, and guess what….I’m older.   The transition to owning my own design business was new enough, and starting out from my home made perfect sense for a number of reasons  - including economic and convenience. Now I’m employing some of those same designers and creating a virtual design studio that’s convenient for all of us, because it’s in each of our homes!

What obstacles have you faced? The first is dog barking. I’m used to having my dog by my side, it seemed natural that she would be by my feet in my new home studio.  But on my first conference call she was distracted by someone walking past, and let out a series of loud barking howls.  Now before a scheduled call I walk my dog out to the backyard, it gets me on my feet too. Another obstacle, remembering to break for lunch – no one walking past my office talking about where they are going, eating, or if I’ll join them.  The last thing is training my family (that’s a polite way of saying my mom) that I don’t answer the house phone when I’m working and that just because I’m at home doesn’t mean I have time to chit chat about endless subjects.

Do you have any tips for someone thinking about working from home?Shower and get ready for work before you sit down, it’s a phsyc thing.  Let your significant other (in my case, husband) know that they are about to get squeezed out of your precious free time, but it’s a temporary thing until you get into a groove.  Invest in a proper comfortable desk chair!