Tell us about yourself and your work: what you’re passionate about, what inspires you, and where you’re going. I focus on responsive, future-friendly, front-end design and development. This means I design and code websites that flex and adapt to the device the user is viewing them on. Progressive enhancement ensures that users visiting a site from their phone on a congested mobile network aren’t forced to download the same site assets they would see on their 30″ display at the office. Future-friendly development means writing flexible, modular code structure that is mindful of what’s next in tech.

I’m inspired by quality craft, regardless of medium. It is endearing to witness a maker who is good at what he or she is making. I’m also inspired by my city and the people who call it home. Winnipeg has an incredibly rich arts and cultural scene, especially for a city of relatively small size. In the past few years our downtown has seen some really cool architectural installations, like a huge steel/LED sculpture called “Emptyful” that’s shaped like an Erlenmeyer flask, and OMS Stage, an open-air performing arts venue that looks like it’s straight out of a science-fiction movie. When the rivers freeze in the winter, we clear the longest skating trail in the world and line it with warming huts designed in an annual architectural competition. I think there’s something to be said for the resilience and outward thinking this city embraces.

Tell us about your space. What’s your aesthetic? What do you like or dislike? My space is a bit of an audio playground, with instruments and recording gear and a life-size cardboard cutout of Raj Koothrappali from the TV show ”Big Bang Theory” (he’s camera shy). I have a flawless Fender Rhodes piano that was built in March of 1972, and will forever be the coolest thing I own.

The studio monitors on my desk sit on foam/steel wedges that isolate the speaker vibrations from my work surface. These are my go-to for listening to most music, but if I’m listening to a concert recording I’ll also bring up the mono speaker stack for a different timbre. If I’m listening to something with poor quality sound, I’ll route the audio through an old GE stereo I modded a few years ago that can plug directly into my mixer. This is kind of like the aural equivalent of taking a mediocre picture of your feet with Instagram and applying a filter to make it “better.”

The big white pillow things on my walls are broadband absorbers that help eliminate sound reflections and frequency nodes. Each panel is 4″ of rigid fiberglass insulation and an open wood frame that is wrapped in fabric and hung with picture frame wire.

My window treatment (if I can even call it that) is several layers of translucent plastic tablecloth, held in place with binder clips and magnets. It turns my basement window well into a big softbox. When rabbits hop in the garden above it’s like a shadow puppet show without the puppets.

I’m constantly exploring ergonomics, and love finding new ways to make working better. Currently my wrists rest on a water-damaged piece of hardboard from an old drawer. This sits atop a stack of dollar-store craft foam that raises the leading edge of my keyboard and trackpad so they parallel my desk. I think most people have increased fidelity in their fingers and thumbs with their wrists either parallel to their desks or relaxed forward, instead of pulled back as most keyboard designs imply. This is in part why pianists are trained not to drop their wrists while playing.

My display sits on a 3″ roll of black duct tape, the underside of which is covered by parchment paper. Parchment paper has a low coefficient of friction, so slides around my glass desk with ease.

If I could change anything about my current setup, I definitely wouldn’t be working on a black glass desk. It is an incredible pain to keep clean. I’d like to try a sit-stand desk with a wood surface and motorized legs.

You have both an Embody and an Aeron in your space. Why did you choose them, and how do they differ for you? I like them both, and they are very different. I typically start the work day in the Aeron because I love its forward tilt. It arches my back and keeps my body in attentive posture, which helps me kick-start productivity if I stayed up too late writing code or playing hockey. The Embody feels more relaxed to me, and I’m most comfortable in it slightly reclined. I usually tackle less intensive tasks in the Embody, like long-form reading or answering email. The Embody’s arm rests adjust closer to my body than the Aeron’s, which I find helpful in reducing shoulder strain.

It may seem excessive to have two high-end chairs in such close proximity, but an investment in design and comfort is easily justifiable to someone who spends as much time at a desk as I do.

Photos: Brad Cerasani

Tell us about your background. As a kid I grew up drawing logos, cartoons, and Nintendo game characters with my older brother, Brad. I was always more attracted to simple graphics. Along with drawing I was always taking something apart and trying to rebuild it or re-purpose scrap components for something else. Every day I was making some type of Rube Goldberg machine or drawing in my sketch pad (an 18″ x 24″ spiral bound).

I got my BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD. I moved back to Cincinnati after graduating and got married to my wife Jennifer. We considered moving somewhere else, but made the choice to stay and invest in the city and continue to grow the amazing friendships we had here.

Most of my inspiration comes from word puns, strange human interactions, and the overlap between Art and Design. Some of my favorite artists include Henri Matisse, Charley Harper, Saul Steinberg, M.C. Escher, Paul Rand, René Magritte, and Josef Albers.

I have always wanted to build our own house. I love the concept of the Eames House, Case Study House #8, and the environment it created for their work.

Tell us about your space. Any special considerations that influenced its set up? The studio is the top floor of our house.  I used to have my studio downtown, but after we moved we compressed our residence onto just the first floor to allow for a studio to be combined. The setup is great because I have all my workspaces on one floor.  There is a main studio where I make most of my work, a workshop with all my tools and materials, a music room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. The space is very efficient. I can walk downstairs at any time to see my family, eat a snack, hang out, and head back upstairs to work. The idea of the home studio is extremely appealing and I would love to have it also function as a guest house for friends and other artists.

You have a few pieces by Charles and Ray Eames in your office. Why did you choose them? They are just as nice to look at as they are to sit in. Every line is so simple and beautiful. They are easily the best chairs we own.

Photos: Andrew Neyer

What is the benefit of having such an open plan? You overhear conversations; you learn by osmosis. And you’re expected to collaborate. You get to turn around, look over somebody’s shoulder to see what they’re working on, and ask questions. We’re very open about communication here, and it may sound funny, but it does really help when you hear people talking about something you’re not familiar with, especially if you’re from the same industry. You become curious about it and you start to learn about it. Over a period of time, it doesn’t seem so foreign.

An open plan also helps me understand the attitude and the vibe of the place without having to seek it out. I walk in and see who is and isn’t engaged. I can see if we’re not busy, or if we’re overwhelmed and stressed. You can read it much more quickly.

Additionally, it creates more interaction and helps people get to know each other better, which makes for a warmer, more friendly environment and culture. It allows for more transparency for everyone. And it’s important for people to be able to hear what’s happening on a project without having to call a meeting for it. You can just turn your chairs around and talk. A more free, flexible environment allows for things to happen, to get figured out quickly.

What are the drawbacks? Some people like it, some people don’t. It definitely takes people who are not insecure and aren’t afraid of admitting that they have things to learn. Competition is tough and we are doing things that are different than a lot of other companies, so there is a lot of learning that has to happen. We evolve on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. The setting supports that.

It also helps us flush people out a lot more quickly. There’s no hiding here. This business is fast-paced, relationship-based, and project-based, so you never know if you’re going to get that next project. It’s important that we’re all working toward the same goal without any hidden agendas, because that would ultimately cost us business or a relationship or have a negative impact on the quality of our work.

Because things don’t stay the same here for very long, we move people around based on teams or specific projects. You can’t become attached to an office or a spot. But every workspace is the same, so you can just get up and sign into another station, and that’s where you’ll work for the day or for the week or the month. You have to be flexible to be successful here.

Why did you choose Herman Miller furnishings for the space? How do they add to the environment? This is a setting that takes some getting used to it because it’s non-traditional in structure, from the open environment and open communication, to the flexibility of with whom and in what space you’ll work in. So I wanted the things that our teams have and use to be comfortable and beautiful, with special features and touches. Furniture is something I love. It’s like art. It creates an overall feeling of comfort, like you’re being treated a little bit special. Even though there are some things that perhaps people here feel they’re compromising on, they still have a beautiful chair and they still get to look at beautiful things.

I think it’s inspiring, especially the creatives in our company. It makes a difference that you have pieces of art all around. It doesn’t have to be something on the walls—it can be a shelf or a chair or a couch or a table. That’s what I love about our Herman Miller pieces. They’re functional art. Those pieces, along with our two outdoor spaces and other furnishings and features, keep people happy and comfortable being here. It makes them appreciate the space and have a sense of ownership. They are proud of it. It’s good to feel that way coming to work each day.

Thelab is quickly growing with plans for more regional offices around the country and possible offices abroad. As you’re expanding, how do you keep your employees motivated and feeling creative? I am definitely a big believer of environment and space. Our new space in Columbus, Ohio, is in an old furniture warehouse with incredible 40-foot tall ceilings with skylights. We tried to keep it unique, but also bring in a lot of the elements from this office. So a lot of the furniture is very similar. We have several Herman Miller tables, a lot of Aeron Chairs, Eames Molded Plastic Chairs with wooden bases. The furniture is something that helps us create a consistent “creative” look and feel. This keeps us on brand because we’ve really used interior design as a way to help distinguish ourselves as a specific kind of company.

So what does your interior design say about thelab and the message you’re communicating? It says that we’re a visual company. That we understand what looks good and what doesn’t. That we have some taste. And that we care about our environment enough to make this kind of investment in it. And I think that translates into how we approach our work and what people can expect from us if they do business with us: an attention to detail, the ability to go a step further than somebody else, and a passion for creativity.

Photos: thelab

So where did the name “Fotobia” come from? Fotobia is a name I made up. My whole life I’ve dealt with people misspelling my name, and I found that people had trouble finding my website DanielGoncalves.com because it was so hard to spell. One night while trying to think up an easy-to-remember website ad, I came up with Fotobia. It’s photographic bliss.

Tell us about what you do, what you’re passionate about, and where you’re going. I’m passionate about making images. Compiling an anthropological record of people as they are today. I’m fascinated by fleeting moments and try to immortalize them forever with my images.

My favorite subject to study via my camera apparatus is people. I love shooting portraiture, lifestyle, and travel photography. And although I’m not a photojournalist, I love street photography and shooting sports. It’s all about instinct and reaction. I find it a challenge and an opportunity to hone my craft/eye.

What inspires your work? I’m inspired by travel; it keeps my mind fresh. Most recently, my wife and I mucked around in various cities throughout the UK and also Paris. Our next major trip will be to Argentina and to Rio to experience Carnival. I can’t wait.

In Jacksonville, we also surround ourselves with creative people and most of our friends are local creatives. I find them to be a constant source of inspiration.

Most of all, Magda inspires me every day with support and encouragement. She also comes up with the craziest ideas sometimes and I love it.

Tell us about your space. Any special considerations when you set it up? The studio is located in a historic seminary that was converted into lofts near downtown Jacksonville. Magda was getting fed up with my gear taking over our living space; as punishment, I got my dream studio. She has always had a love for design, graphic elements, spaces. So when we found this loft, we created the clean, modern design together.

We were as much about function as we were about form. We found all sorts of little solutions to everyday needs. I love the couch, as it turns into a comfy bed for when I’m burning the midnight oil (more often than I’d like to admit), and also converts into a great super-lounge chair for three or four people for movie nights at the studio.

The studio is not huge, but it fits our needs perfectly. It’s right on the line of being just big enough to shoot in, but not so big that we don’t use all the space. I love the view; it feels like we’re in a secluded warehouse district. While brainstorming, I like getting lost in the image of cars on the highway looking like they are driving over the rooftops of the adjacent buildings.

You’ve got an Embody chair in the studio. Why did you choose it? We were thinking of getting the Aeron chair as recommended by many of our friends. We looked around and tried a few different chairs, including the SAYL. I fell in love with the design of the Embody. It’s a piece of functional art. I usually cannot tolerate to sit for a long time; but, with so many possible adjustments with the Embody, it is unbelievably comfortable, for any body type. I love it and would recommend it to everyone. I definitely think it’s one of my best investments. I’ve made my money back many times over in increased productivity.

Photos: Daniel Goncalves / Fotobia

Tell us about Candy Black: How it started, what you’re passionate about, and where you’re going. Candy Black was started out of a mutual passion for interior and graphic design between myself and Katie Culley (my fiance) and to offer these services to a clientele through a niche boutique studio. We both worked for other companies, but wanted to break away and start something new and interesting.

We formed in August of 2010 and it has been a very exciting journey ever since — from branding and interiors for Vauxhall Fashion Scout at London Fashion Week and full CMS web design and build for Graduate Fashion Week (UK) to quirky bar and restaurant projects. I think, to date, we are most proud of our latest project, a homegrown, family-run surf/ride/skate/coffee shop that we did all the concepting, strategy, branding, marketing and interior/exterior design for. The project was for Katie’s family, so they trusted us to direct the project and pretty much gave us free reign, which for a designer is always nice.

What inspires you? We draw our main inspiration from different lifestyles, as that is how we like to approach our projects — putting ourselves in the clients’/users’ shoes and visualize how they would see or interact with the work.

Tell us about your workspace. Any special considerations that affected the way it’s set up? What do you like or dislike? We completely refurbished the space, which used to be an old bakery (and had been used as accounting offices before us). We totally stripped it back and introduced the black and white palette to compliment the original floor-to-ceiling white tiles. We wanted to furnish the space with pieces based on the classics, like Eames molded plastic chairs and a 70′s sofa and industrial lighting combined with modern floating shelves and design equipment. We wanted a studio that fully embraces and showcases our passion for design. I do wish we had a little coffee/kitchen area with coffee machine and vintage fridge — I’m working on it!

Tell us about those Eames molded plastic armchairs. Why did you select them? We have four black Eames molded plastic chairs with wooden legs and a white Eames molded plastic rocking chair. (We also have four white plastic chairs with wire legs at home.) I love the way they exude design. They are a statement and an iconic piece, but always work with the space.

Photos: Courtesy of Candy Black

Why did you start Rich Brilliant Willing? Where have you been; where are you going?

Alexander Williams: After graduation, we decided to share a basement studio space in the East Village as a place to bounce ideas off each other after work. We designed a small gallery space together for an art dealer that one of us was working for, and the energy in the process became addictive. We started working on some easily producible furniture objects after that. By 2008, the recession meant two of us had lost our day jobs — and it was an opportunity to spend most of our time in the studio.

Theo Richardson: Today, as we’ve evolved, I’m excited about two things: One, we’re getting better as designers via our involvement in manufacturing, and two, developing our own work, we have fewer constraints when it comes to pursuing our ideas.

What inspires you in your work?

Theo Richardson: I’m inspired about applying our efforts to affect greater change in living and working environments via larger distribution networks. We’re working on ways to make our product more accessible.

Were there any special considerations that affected the way your studio is set up? What do you like or dislike?

Charles Brill: I wish we had more space to spread out! Our space is divided between shop/building space, and an office space with a glass sliding door. We enjoy having visitors, and being central in Manhattan is important to us.

You scored a few vintage Eames molded plastic chairs for the studio. How they add to your workspace?

Charles Brill: They are great for an small office because they stack, are lightweight, and appear visually simple.

See the above featured “Delta” series lighting and more at richbrilliantwilling.com.

Tell us about the workspace at the Neighbourhood. The main architectural design was carried out in collaboration with Dan Newport at Re-Form Architects. With the fantastic raw canvas of a 19th-century grade II listed building, and like a neighborhood in any city, there are a number of colliding influences and eras. Architecturally, we wanted to express clearly the distinction between new and old.

Were there special considerations that influenced the way the space is set up? Any particular obstacles to overcome? 24 Lever Street was pretty much in ruin after a fire destroyed a neighboring building in 2007, so the initial obstacles were simply to get the building to a viable, habitable state.

As the building is grade II listed, there were also several restrictions on what we could and could not do internally — for instance, the walls that had to be preserved. We wanted to respect and re-use as many of the original artifacts that we could, and reinterpret them in a contemporary setting. So, for example, we’ve reused many of the old-fashioned “front doors” found in the building in our meeting rooms (christened “Pie, Chips, and Peas” — a famous northern English trio) and mounted them in a simple glass wall.

Getting power and data around the space in a sensitive way was challenging. Embedding cables in the floor was not an option, and with great north-lights in the vaulted roof, we didn’t want to interfere with the lines with galvanized cable trays. So, we utilized an intricate network of galvanized air conditioning ducting to contain the 4 kilometers of cabling which needs to travel around the studio, hanging these from the primary beams.

As a creative company, it’s vital that we have an inspiring, and challenging, environment — with quirks, and stories embedded within our walls.

See more of the move into The Neighbourhood here — and get the look in your own workspace by starting with our Aeron chair.

How would you define The Neighbourhood’s aesthetic? Simply put, “eclectic,” with antique furniture from different eras, mixing up with contemporary design, custom-built pieces, and inevitably, a few finds from big-box stores. We wanted to create a studio rather than workplace, a home rather than an office. That’s why, for example, you’ll find all our childhood photos on the wall.

It’s an open-plan space, with no hierarchy in layout. (You won’t find the bosses hiding away in glass boxes.) By working in this way, we believe that this facilitates a better team-working environment, with collaborations happening more naturally and instinctively across disciplines and projects, and everyone sees what is going on.

What inspired the design of the interior? Phil Horton (one of our architectural team, recently emigrated to Australia) and myself spent time developing mood boards and references and exploring these through digital modelling. We spent a couple of days browsing various Manchester antique suppliers and flea markets. We had a small budget, so we needed to haggle, and sourced bit by bit, one item, one chair, one sideboard at a time.

Despite so much of our work being digital, we have a love of books, so built our own reception table out of a box of hardback books we found at a flea market for a fiver.

Our main meeting room was conceived as a dining room, but one where it’s encouraged to watch TV at the dinner table!

We’ve only one rule in the studio — that you can’t eat your lunch at your desk — so we built a table big enough to accommodate everyone for breakfast and lunch. So we commissioned a very simple but beautifully crafted plywood picnic bench.

With our budget, we could only stretch to a simple low-cost kitchen, but to complement the old tongue-and-groove timber paneling at the back of the studio, we created a tongue-and-groove zinc “overcoat” to clad the kitchen.

We spy several Aeron chairs at your desks. Why did you select them? As a creative team and studio, we spend so a lot of our lives at our desks, so even from the start we knew how important it was to invest in the most ergonomic seating. Aerons are a design classic. You feel like you’re floating when you sit in them, and with so many configurable settings they fit you individually like a tailored suit, no matter what size or shape you are.

You share your space with other start-up companies, students, and freelancers. What are the benefits? By mixing things up, we promote what we call “happy accidents” — those collaborations and skill-swaps that happen when a diverse set of creative minds share the same home. We feel there is much more to be gained by working in a creative community such as this.

See more of The Neighborhood — including the space before it was refurbished — in tomorrow’s Part Two.

Photos: Courtesy of The Neighbourhood

British illustrator Kate Banazi’s career as an illustrator began in a small, London studio but now happily occupies a home in Sydney, Australia, where she has lived and worked for the last three years. Kate shares her home with husband Alistair and 12 year old son Milan (also a talented illustrator.) Kate’s illustrations have appeared in Business Week, Australian journal Meanjin, Financial Review, Telstra, DT Digital, Future Living and in the last issue of Herman Miller’s very own Jugglezine (below).

How did your career in illustration come about? I originally freelanced in menswear design working on a tiny label with a friend, but after Milan was a born I couldn’t have as much fun in the fashion business, and that led me to freelance illustration.

How did you end up in Australia? I met my husband while I was on holiday here, on a blind date no less. We returned to London for four years where we decided to move to Australia, as we thought it would be great for Milan to grow up in the sunshine. Milan loves to go camping, mountain biking and snorkeling and the climate certainly helps for all those things.

Who do you illustrate for? Anyone who’ll pay me! It’s a varied, eclectic client base really and that suits me as its not straightforward illustration that I do. My clients include magazines, editorial, fashion.

What inspires your work? It could be anything. Sometimes nothing for months, then overload! I’m sucker for a piece of shiny orange plastic and a bit of brown corduroy. The brain works in funny ways!

Where is your home office and how much time do you spend there? It’s downstairs underneath the house in a quiet leafy setting. I’ve worked there for a year. It used to be in the house, but the space I have now is much more practical. I’m there for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I do try and keep some structure.

Which items in your office can you not do without? A scalpel and my drying rack. Two infinitely useful things to an illustrator.

Do you share the office with anyone else? No. It’s my space.

How do you stay organized? I don’t! It’s a constant work in progress. I do have method behind my madness and I constantly say that “I will get it done” but real life gets in the way. Even though it’s not tidy I know where everything is. Anyone moves my stuff and they die!

What do you listen to while you work? Andre: While I’m working, I usually like down-tempo stuff like dubstep or chop n’ screw. Nothing that’s too energetic or fast-paced. Dan: I am mostly into indie rock and some older rock and hip hop.

How do you listen? A: We all have headphones, but also have a sound system. D: At the office, I usually work with headphones on—one ear in and one ear out—so I can hear the phone and not be a total ass by blocking everyone out.

Do you have any favorite music websites/providers? A: On a daily basis, I check out nahright.com for mostly rap and hip hop. Whenever I want to stock up on some new mix tapes, I to go mixtapetorrent.com. Sometimes I check out voodoofunk.blogspot.com for these great West-African records, most of which are pretty hard to find. Most recently I found a blog of Bulgarian metal that I used to listen to as a kid, which is great because most of the early recordings were only on tape. D: Pitchfork, Pandora, Nodata, and Sordomusic.

Does music influence your work? D: Very much so. Music has been a huge influence in our work from the beginning. We started designing small runs of screen-printed posters, merch, and albums for our friends in college. After school, this helped us get jobs at MTV. And when we left to start Dress Code, we continued to design albums and merch for our friends’ bands, as well as starting to direct music videos.

Where do you find music recommendations? Who influences your musical taste? A: It’s mostly friends. I trust their taste when it comes to a genre. For instance, Jon sends me a lot of dance and electro; Matt sends me mostly southern rap; Shannon just sent me some dubstep. When I lived in Seattle, I used to listen to KEXP all the time; to this day, I still turn it on to hear some new eclectic mix. D: Most of my friends are really into music as well so I get a lot of recommendations from them. And my brother has always been a big influence on my musical taste. He has been in a ton of bands and has a great ear.

What song or artist best represents the work you create? A: This might sound like a joke, but I would say Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em. Why? He is young and naive, yet confident and successful. So many people hate on him, but he still turns out hits. His music production is totally DIY and stripped down—it reminds me of early punk when musicians barely knew how to play their instruments. There is an energy with him that I can associate with. D: ODB. Because there ain’t no father to his style.

Andre’s Playlist
Turn My Swag On, Soulja Boy

Hustlin’, Rick Ross

I Know Why, Gucci Mane

Straight Out The Rarri, Young Jeezy

I Got, Three 6 Mafia

Standing in the Kitchen, Yo Gotti

A Milli, Lil Wayne

Chevy a monsta, Rich Boy

So in Love, Shawty Lo

Growing Pains, Ludacris

Dan’s Playlist
Starring, Freelance Whales

Osaka Loop Line, Discovery

Two of Us, The Beatles

Hand Me Down Your Love, Hot Chip

Birds On Ice, Shook Ones

Beaches and Friends (Hey Champ Remix), French Horn Rebellion Vs. Database

Foreground, Grizzly Bear

Hayloft, Mother Mother

Home, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

I Don’t Wanna Hear It, Minor Threat

Transylvanian Candy Patrol, Savoir Adore

Images: Dress Code

Designer, bookbinder, and paper lover Emily Hamma Martin has her hands full. Not only does she offer design services and handmade paper goods through her design business, Orange Beautiful, but she is also in the middle of renovating and opening a new store in Chicago (check out her shop’s progress here). Between lighting installations and the sanding and polishing the store’s wooden floors, she took a minute to tell us how music plays a part in her creative process. (P.S. We’re noticing that a lot of our music profiles mention Pandora. What are you listening to?)

What do you listen to while you work? That all depends.  If I’m doing production or printing—where there’s a lot of repetitive steps— I tend to listen to more upbeat music. I’m a huge fan of Kenna, and the band Metric, so those two are my go-to groups when I need to get a lot of work done. But my upbeat list also includes a lot of 80s and 90s music: Madonna, The Cardigans, Garbage, Kylie Minogue, and, well, Ace of Base. If I’m doing more computer-based work, like designing or correspondence—things that require more of concentration—then I’ll listen to something just a tad bit more laid back: Jem, The Bird and The Bee, or Kings of Convenience.

How do you listen? In the studio, I listen to music on my computer through a set of external Logitech speakers with a sub-woofer (which sounds great, but my downstairs neighbors might not like it so much).

Do you have any favorite music websites/providers? In the last few months, I’ve switched over to listening to music almost exclusively on Pandora. I was going with the free X-amount of hours at first, but those ads were just too annoying. Oh, and the fact that I’d have to stop working every five to six songs to tell it that I was “still listening.” Now, I’m a paid subscriber (it’s like $12/year), and I can have constant music with the only interruption being that I want to change the channel.

Does music influence your work? Do you have an example? My immediate response to this question was “No, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t”—but then I realized that it has actually DIRECTLY affected my work. One of the designs from my first card line has a floral motif with the phrase “Miss You Much” on the front. That is a definitely paying homage to the Janet Jackson song of the same name, which I listened to endlessly when I was eleven years old.

I also have a holiday card that simply says “holiday…celebrate” on the front. Yep, that’s from Madonna’s “Holiday,” which came out when I was five. So, I guess succinct-yet-poignant lyrics not only stand the test of time, they also translate well into greeting cards.

Where do you find music recommendations?  Who influences your musical
taste? When I was 20, I studied abroad in Scotland at the Glasgow School of Art. I really came into a much greater appreciation for more unique music while I was there—a lot of which I still listen to today. The groups that I’ve continued to follow from my time there include Stereophonics, Gomez, and Travis, just to name a few.

Nowadays, pretty much all of my music recommendations come from my boyfriend, who writes, plays, and records his own music. He plays in a Chicago band called Absinthe & the Dirty Floors and also runs his own independent record label, Sidedown Audio. It’s hard not to find out about new music with him around. Many of our days off are spent walking to the local record store and looking for old vinyl, or buying the newest CD release.

What song or artist best represents the work you create? Justin Timberlake. He’s had a long career, starting at a very young age; has reinvented himself several times, while still remaining true to his talent; and he used to like Britney Spears.

EMILY’S PLAYLIST

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!

Graphic designer Jennifer Ramos just renovated her home office. It took two weekends to get up some new wallpaper and move around furniture, purchase a new desk and declutter. In fact, you can see the renovation in progress on her blog Made By Girl.

You just renovated your home office. How long have you been working in that space and what do you do there? I’ve worked in this space for over 2 years and I love it. It has 2 really large windows that let in lots of sunlight for those days when you don’t get to go out much because you’re stuck working! I also have a production studio in my home….but it’s not as pretty, so I don’t show that to the world. I like pretty.

Why did you choose a cool color palette? I figured that a cooler palette would make things brighter & look more crisp! It’s not the largest space in the world so it made more sense to brighten things up to give it an appearance of a larger looking space.

Where did you source the office furniture? Both desks are from West Elm, they’re called Parsons. The curtains are a velvety light blue & are also from West elm. And the white storage unit is also from West Elm.

How do you keep clutter under control? Oh, I hate clutter…it feels chaotic to me.  Even when I’m a friends place….I feel the need to organize & de-clutter if it’s a mess.  The best thing I’ve learned on how to keep clutter under control is always put things away immediately after you use them…you’ll avoid the clutter later. I also throw out everything I haven’t used in 3 months or more.

The wallpaper is called ‘Mackintosh Rose’ and you can get it a Graham & Brown.

What is your favorite desk accessory? My pencil holder…..I use it everyday and it was very inexpensive!

What inspires you? Pops of color, paint swatches, design books, magazines, furniture, art…..so many things inspire me.

Do you listen to music while you work? Absolutely, it relaxes me.  I usually turn on my iTunes on my Mac and let it play….I love Kings of Leon, Amy Winehouse, Chris Cornell…etc.

Timothy Dahl has been blogging every day since 2005 “which in relative terms isn’t very long but sometimes seems like forever.”  His home improvement blog Charles & Hudson offers great practical advice on everything from insulation to updating a kitchen with wall tattoos.

How long have you worked from home…and where is ‘home’? I’ve always had a home office but I’ve only been working full-time from home this past year. Laura (my wife) and I moved from NYC last year and our home office there consisted of a 5-ft tall loft area in our 1-bedroom apartment. We called it our “John Malkovich Loft”. You couldn’t stand up (unless you were short) but we managed to wrestle a desk and chair up there and when seated it was a workable space although a bit claustrophobic.

We now rent a small bungalow in West Los Angeles that’s about 900 sqft and since we both work from home it was imperative we had a bit more space. Fortunately this property has a separate building in the back which serves as Laura’s fashion design studio and I use the second bedroom as my main office. I’ve also carved out a couple spots in our back yard that work great and given the incredible weather in Southern California we can use almost year-round.

Utilizing our indoor outdoor space breaks up the workday and nothing beats fetch with the dog or 5 minute breaks on a speed bag to get you revved up again.

What does an average work day involve? I’ve been running the home improvement blog Charles & Hudson for about 5 years now and early on my work consisted of simply writing and publishing posts every day of the week (tougher than it sounds). As C&H has grown into a larger network that now totals 6 websites, my work day encompasses not only writing/publishing but everything else that comes with building a business. I typically start the day with reading and answering email. I write and publish content for the next day in the afternoon/evening and set a good portion of the posts to publish at 8am EST the following day time which alleviates me from waking up at 5am or earlier to catch the East coast readers. Posts are still published throughout the day by myself or team of contributors.

Lately I’ve made more of an effort to network with fellow bloggers and industry folks by attending home related events such as the International Builders’ Show and Kitchen and Bath show. Working from home is great but it’s just as important to shake some hands and connect with people in-person.

Is there any form of technology that really helps you with your work? Although it’s been around for awhile, wireless internet access really changed everything. Working remotely from a library or cafe was always possible but you couldn’t publish or read real-time content.

What I can’t do without is GPS and the flow of innovative applications that have taken advantage of this technology that now fits in the palm of your hand. Google’s streetview and Yelp’s monocle (on their iPhone app) still blow my mind.

How do you organize your space? I’m thinking here of your physical space but also your virtual space (any particular software or program that helps keep things under control?) I keep a strong division between personal and business finances and use separate filing cabinets for each so there is absolutely no cross over. I also value proper lighting and keeping my office on dimmers but my desk illuminated by a lamp keeps me focused.

I straddle the PC/Mac world and find benefits for using both. It has come to my attention that I use about 10 different Google products which at times is comforting and convenient but also extremely scary.

The following programs are almost always open on my computer desktop: Thunderbird, Tweetdeck, Photoshop, Firefox, Notepad or Textedit and Trillian.

What item from your desktop/office can you not do without? A good chair. I could work from a slab of plywood as a desk but an uncomfortable chair impacts all of my work. A neighbor in New York was selling a set of Knoll Pollock chairs and we couldn’t resist. I’ve struggled with one too many crappy desk chairs from Staples that fall apart after 6-months.

What inspires you? People and places. Observing people working towards a goal whether it be an entrepreneur bringing a product to market or one of the kids I coach in lacrosse working on throwing with their off-hand. People focused on their goals and their journeys inspire me.

I recently spent some time volunteering with Habitat for Humanity and our job site manager and my fellow volunteers were a great source of inspiration. It felt great knowing we were all working together for a common goal that wasn’t about succeeding in our careers or making money but leaving a lasting impression on a family for years to come.

Travel is also huge source of inspiration and I’ve been fortunate to spend time in areas around the world. I also realize there is still so much to discover, not only abroad but across our own country. If travel can be wrapped into outdoor pursuits such as hiking or snowboarding, even better.

Amy Feezor is the copy director at Real Simple magazine, she is also a freelance writer and blogs at M-Dashing about home design and decor and her obsessions with photography, artisan foods, travel, art, local restaurants, etsy.com, and organizing. This freelance life happens from her Brooklyn headquarters – a corner of her studio apartment. I thought this was a particularly appropriate ‘Inspriation’ after the last post about small spaces.

How long I’ve worked from home…and where is “home”? I have two offices: one at work-work, and one nestled in a nook within my small studio apartment. This is where I blog and work on freelance projects. I’ve been writing professionally for about ten years now, and my home office expands well beyond my desk and my Mac. It’s by my bedside within notebooks I keep handy in case I think of something while I am falling asleep (a common occurrence). It’s on my couch and my coffee table [an Eames molded plywood coffee table that was a recent purchase]. It’s in my kitchen. It’s even on the subway—I find that I do a lot of writing there (it feels strangely private…I even wrote much of this stuff on the F-train). I grew up all over the South, and don’t have an official hometown, per se. So that means that home is wherever I am at the time. Home as has been Birmingham, Nashville, London, Charlotte, Austin, and now home is Brooklyn. But it’s probably not my last home; we’ll see where the next few years take me.

What an average workday involves: Thinking quickly, writing quickly, eating quickly. Quick check-ins on email, Twitter, and my daily blog. Eating quickly again. Taking three to four meetings, in person or on conference call. Trying to find quiet moments to actually think a concept through. And reminders to myself to get up and stretch every once in a while.

Technology that inspires me? My new SLR digital camera. I can’t stop taking pictures right now, and I am really interested in how photography tells a story. As a writer, it’s a new way to adjust my eyes—to challenge myself to look beyond words and learn to rely more on the visual. It’s definitely starting to influence my work. I learned film photography back in college and have a cool metal-bodied Minolta that used to be my dad’s, but this is a whole new ballgame. I am learning more about how to control it and how it controls me. And for the record, I love my little machine so much that I’d probably make out with it if I could.

How I organize my space: My physical space is pretty organized and painfully neat. There’s not much clutter (what a disappointment; aren’t creative types supposed to be messy?). But I just can’t deal. Everything has its place with me, mostly because I’m very forgetful. Being organized helps me be less so. Also, there are folders. Many, many folders. And sometimes, they’re color-coded. My digital space largely mirrors my physical space (read: lots of colorful folders). I have a big to-do list I’ve created in Excel. I deal with bills in Quicken. And I also tend to have a bit of post-it note/Internet bookmarking problem, so I’ve been trying out Evernote.

Item on my desktop that I cannot do without: My red pen. It’s my magic editing wand. My notebook (can’t go anywhere without it). And the calendar…I’m always juggling deadlines and timelines, and need to constantly reference it. I’m still a bit old-fashioned about it, though—I like to have a paper one within reach by the desk.

What inspires me: Great storytelling, whether it’s from a book, a film, a TV series, a song, or a spot-on comedy routine. How my words look in different fonts. The designers I work with. Graffiti. Independent artists and people who post their art anonymously on the street just so it will be seen. Powerful small businesses. My camera in my hands. A big blank wall. Beautiful everyday objects. The Pacific Ocean. Other writers. Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Hampstead Heath in London. People who do things instead of just talk about them. Olive oil. Anything with butter in or on it.

Most important piece of furniture in my workspace? And what I would change about my office if I could? My desk in my workspace and my coffee table in my living space—they’ve become interchangeable, in a way. Since my studio is small, I move back and forth between the two areas to brainstorm, write, and think. They work together as my writing table, my computer holder, my place-to-find-a-pen, my library, and my dinner table. If I could change something it would be more space! A place to have a printer (mine currently lives under the bed). And a cute assistant who smells nice and has large bicep muscles (does that count?).

Deb McLean is an Australian stylist with a talent for making minimal look warm and inviting. She also takes really interesting moody iPhone photos. All the images in this post are shot on her phone and her blog has a section devoted to them.

Can you tell us a bit about your work? What does a ‘normal’ day involve for you? Well, actually, as a stylist a lot of my work happens outside the home. But I do have a large office and props room set up in my house. I style for both interiors and food accounts. They are quite different from one another so it’s a nice balance. I arrange all interior propping plus if needed I paint and set construct in the studio. I’m very hands on.  In a food shoot I am cooking and plating food stylishly of course, plus responsible for all the dinnerware props and surfaces etc.

How big is your work space? It is around 5 meters square [about 53 square feet]. I share it with my partner  Colin who is a graphic designer. We have a media room attached to our lovely white space with big white desks and lots of color-coded designer books. We love our music so when I do sit at my desk to blog [Deb’s blog is Busy Being Fabulous] it is a lovely relaxing space to be in. Each night I spend some hours compiling my next blog entry. I love it, especially when I get such great feed back. It puts a smile on my face!

Is there any form of technology that really inspires you? It has got to be my iPhone! I’m in love with what I can achieve and I am forever shooting fully styled  little still life stories for my blog. It’s where my creativity can let loose.

What desk accessory can’t you do without? My Mac computer and Bose speakers. Without them I would be lost.

Do you have any tips for organizing a home work space? Box it. Neat is the word of the day. A work space has to have order so it functions effectively. But, a work space should also feel like home. Books, magazines, fun collections of stuff that inspire you give it a lovely mood. It should have your personality. Clients love to see snippets of your personality in an office space. I love picture mood boards that you can alter depending on you design addictions.

Morgan Satterfield is many things – a teacher, artist, gallery manager, blogger, thrifty shopper and the owner of a house – she is also very funny. Her blog The Brick House chronicles the renovation of the Hemet, CA home she and her husband share with their dog Iggy. (Hemet is near Palm Springs…as Morgan says, Google it).

What sort of work do you do and how does that impact the space you work in?  My day job is teaching fine art and managing a gallery at a private high school for the arts. I’ve been working in contemporary art galleries for the last five years and those big white walls have rubbed their magic into my design sensibilities, especially when it comes to my work space. I’ve got to have my obligatory iMac, white walls, sculptural objects, art (of course) and clean open white space. When I’m not at school or painting I also run a blog called The Brick House that’s all about buying our first home and it’s slow and budget friendly renovation in a sleepy retirement community in Southern California. Most of my blogging for The Brick House is done at home in our office. I don’t need much equipment to run the blog, just a home, a camera and a computer. Also, the balls to put it all on the internet.

How long have you been in your current work space and what size is it? I’ve been in this space for about two years. The desk is an original built-in constructed in the 1950′s and is almost twelve feet long when you add together the two sections of the L-shape. It has tons of storage and is a spacial beast that takes up about half of the room.

Do you have any tips on how to organize a work space? Oh no, I just stick everything in drawers and hope nobody opens them. I like everything in view to be beautiful or functional while all the other crap needs to be hidden away. Built-in storage is great for this, if you opened the doors you’d be horrified at the mess but a casual glance gives the impression that I’m super clean and very organized. It’s all an illusion.

What are some of the pitfalls of blogging from home? It sucks up a lot of time. Time I could be using to organizing my drawers.

What do you most enjoy about working from home? All my content and material are right here. All I have to do is look around and go “hey that’s ugly, lets fix it” and bam – blog content. Plus my dog [that's Iggy below] and the fridge are here, so that makes it awesome. Oh, and I can wear my pajamas. I’m doing it right now.

Do you have a desk accessory you can’t work without? My iMac. It’s amazing.

How big a role does technology play in your work? Huge. HUGE. Super huge. Without technology there would be no blog. The Brick House wouldn’t have every frivilous detail documented and posted on the internet for international perusal and judgement without my digital camera, computer and Photoshop. I use technology for my classes and in the gallery constantly. Computers, cameras, projectors and the internet are indespensible when it comes to almost everything we do. Super dependancy, even in something as analog as a painting class. Digital technology is a tool that is increasingly embedded in the structure of working and education.

I just got a new Mac mouse and it’s incredible – is there anything you’re loving right now? I want a new Mac mouse desperately, the scrolling ball on my old Mac mouse sucks. Just so awful. I recently got my first iPhone and I think we are in a romantic relationship. Now I finally know what all the fuss was about.

The editors over at Etsy liked Dee Adams’ Oakland home and studio so much they’ve included it in their Get The Look: Decor section. Christine, a writer and editor at Etsy, took the studio as a starting point and put together an amazing list of furniture and objects all from Etsy sellers. She’s done a great job. Here’s just a few of the cool things she found.

1. A red in/out tray from Found Vintage Style.

2. Orange desk lamp from Vintage on the Make.

3. Laser cut bamboo calendar and clock from Decoy Lab.

Rob Hopkins is a a young designer and blogger living in San Diego. What inspires him? You’ll need to read all the way to the bottom of the interview to find out.

How long have you worked from home…and where is ‘home’? I started working right out of college which was 3 years ago, so I’m still relatively new to the experience. I live in San Diego, but home will always be Buffalo, NY. I’m extremely proud of where I’m from, which is the inspiration behind The Queen City Studio, right now it’s just my blog, but someday it will be a legit design studio! My apartment now is two blocks from San Diego’s Mission Bay which sports a great view of downtown, and it’s about a mile from the Pacific Ocean. Being in a place with almost perfect weather year round definitely has its perks.

What does an average work day involve? I’ve actually been working full time at an interactive agency for the past year. But, I work from home every Friday and I do all of my freelance work at night or on the weekends, so I’m still working from home quite a bit. My typical work-at-home day is wake up mid-morning, eat some breakfast and go through all of my favorite design related blogs to get my mind going. After a couple of hours of work, I’d head out to my patio to read and/or take a nap in the sun. Wake up, do some more work, hit the gym, eat dinner, and then get the bulk of my work done in the evening/night. I’m definitely a night person. There’s something extremely calming about working at night with the windows open and some music playing. It allows me to get into my own little world and whatever I’m working on becomes a part of that world and doesn’t feel like work.

Is there any form of technology that really inspires you, helps you work more efficiently? I would have to say the iPhone is pretty inspiring. At work we’re in the final stages of development of an iPhone app for a big action sports brand, which I designed, and the experience has been really rewarding. In terms of design, it’s still a very new medium and so much can be done in what seems to be such a small space. The same thing happened with web design. In the beginning, developers (or “web designers”) were the only people designing websites – which made for some pretty visually painful websites. But once graphic designers learned the medium, websites became a lot more sophisticated. Don’t get me wrong, there are still a lot of bad sites out there, but there are also tons of beautiful ones. Anyways, the same thing is happening with the iPhone. A lot of apps are still very shiny and tacky; they use tons of gradients and big rounded corners, bulky bevels—because most are done by the developers that work on them. But that’s changing. I’d bet that most designers own iPhones by now, and we can’t help but look at these apps and want to clean them up. It’s just how we think, and we’re learning the medium to try and establish better aesthetic standards.

How do you organize your space? As far as physical space goes, I tend to like ‘organized clutter’ meaning I like having a lot of ‘stuff’ but I keep it all pretty organized. Whether it’s something large or a tiny knick-knack everything is neatly placed, so I can still easily function. I’m also the exact opposite of a pack-rat—if something isn’t needed or wanted, it’s in the trash. To some, the wall above my desk or the stickers on my MacBook might seem random, but there’s a very meticulous and planned approach when anything is added. In terms of software and programs, I tend to just use my own system. I keep things separated by project, a place for active and inactive projects, source files, copy, etc. I’m the same with files as I am with physical stuff—if I don’t need it, I trash it. We use Basecamp at work, and it’s a really great tool for organizing projects, corresponding with other team members, keeping track of deadlines, and documenting conversations.

What item from your desktop can you not do without? My MacBook Pro. I think it may be the best purchase I’ve ever made. If there’s a fire, there’s no way it’s not coming with me. Oh, this isn’t a tangible item, but my music – I’d be useless with out my music. [Below is a piece from Rob's personal portfolio]

What inspires you? It might be cliché, but honestly, everything around me can be inspiring. It seems like I notice things that most people might not, whether I like them or not I think I take something away from everything I see. More specifically, I think it’s the work of my peers that inspires me the most. There are so many talented people out there doing great work, and at the end of the day I want to be right there with them. Not because I want to “be a famous designer” or anything, but because, simply put, design is one of the most powerful tools in the world—who wouldn’t want to contribute to that? [Below is another piece from his personal portfolio]