LAUNCH PAD SUCCESS STORIES

2018 marks the fifth anniversary of the Launch Pad at WantedDesign Manhattan. The Launch Pad is a platform for emerging designers who wish to make connections with manufacturers and retailers during NYCxDESIGN, New York’s celebration of global design. Each year, a group of industry professionals reviews the exhibited work to select a Best of Launch Pad prize. Since 2014, the Launch Pad has exhibited over 100 designers from dozens of countries and over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing the stories of some of the designers who have participated in years past and the manufacturers who’ve discovered them. Here are the 2018 Launch Pad participants.

LAUNCH PAD FIFTH ANNIVERSARY: ELISH WARLOP

Elish Warlop is a Brooklyn-based lighting and furniture designer. She received a BA at Cornell University, became a licensed architect and then pursued an MFA in furniture design at RISD. She launched Elish Warlop Design Studio with the aim of merging creativity and design with construction and experimentation. Her work appears simple and elegant but reveals more complex construction meant to draw in the viewer.

Q: Which year did you present at WantedDesign?
In the 2014 Launch Pad and in 2017, I presented my pieces with Design Within Reach within the Launch Pad space.

Q:Did you make connections with brands and fellow designers? 
Yes. Every year at WantedDesign the judges are outstanding. It was an excellent opportunity to speak to people in the industry I would not have had access to before. I got to speak with a few of them personally in regards to my work. Specifically I remember getting feedback from Mirko van den Winkel, VP of Moroso USA, Antoine Roset, VP of Roset USA and Kari Woldum, VP of Merchandising at Design Within Reach.

Q: Tell us about your favorite project you’ve worked on since you participated in Launch Pad at WantedDesign.
Because of Launch Pad, I got connected with Design Within Reach. In meeting their VP of Merchandising at the time, I was able to work with them on 2 lines of lighting.  One was Rings, which I had designed for the Launch Pad event and the other was Magnify, which I designed specifically DWR. I think the most eye opening part of the process was the prototyping and manufacturing stage, I was very much involved in the process, and was able to visit the manufacturing facilities with the DWR production team. The final manufacturer we settled on worked hard with us on getting the design to where we wanted. DWR very much had my back in regards to getting the prototype right before production. I am really happy with the final results on both pieces.     They both came out at the same time, this past April, and I was featured in their catalogue. See more here.

Q: How has your work evolved since you shared your work at WantedDesign? Is it now in production? If so, with whom?
I may have just answered this question above. I think one of the ways my work has evolved, is that the designs are getting better and better. As I grow and learn, my work becomes better adapted to its environment. The Walnut Shades I showed at Wanted 2014 are a good example of evolving design. We are always trying to streamline the process of the bent lamination and create an ease of install, so each time we make them we work on improving the process. The largest job I have had to date was just completed. The shades were installed in a storefront at Pure Yoga, a studio in a recent renovation by the UK architect Thomas Heatherwick.   And mentioned in Wallpaper here.

Q: What advice do you have for emerging designers who will be showing at the Launch Pad in 2018 and beyond?   
I would tell the participants at Launch Pad that it is an fantastic event whether you win or not.   Launch Pad and Odile and Claire are basically giving you the opportunity to meet with brands, press, and other designers you would not have otherwise been exposed to. I would say don’t be shy, talk to as many people as you can.   It is a great opportunity to get connected.

Q: Where can people learn more about you and your work?
Here and here.

LAUNCH PAD FIFTH ANNIVERSARY: AVANDI

AVANDI is a Brooklyn-based contemporary studio that designs and manufactures a selection of home goods and jewelry inspired by sustainable solutions and modular systems. AVANDI generates durable products that seamlessly blend technology and craft. AVANDI’s profoundly versatile designs thrive in a nomadic space, shifting their function to meet your needs, merging with your lifestyle while adding a bit of fun and playful elements.

Q: Which year did you present at WantedDesign? Did you make connections with brands and fellow designers?
I presented at Wanted Design in 2015. I connected with the other Launch Pad designers, and with people from the Trade (architects, interior architects, designers).

Q: Tell us about your favorite project you’ve worked on since you participated in Launch Pad at WantedDesign.
I had a lot of fun working on the STACKED Jewelry Box. I love collaborations, and working with talented makers, and this project was just that! My friend Melanie  and I designed it together, and she turns each piece in her studio.

It was designed with the modern woman in mind and made from hand-turned maple and cork and a solid copper top. An alternative to the traditional rectangular box, this minimalist bowl has different sections for different pieces, using cork to protect your most precious metals. The maple container has a round bowl inside and the cork has different compartments for earrings and bracelets.

Q: How has your work evolved since you shared your work at WantedDesign? Is it now in production? If so, with whom?
I have been focused on self production for a while. Now, I am working toward licensing, and I am currently working with a brand that will produce a product I designed.

LAUNCH PAD FIFTH ANNIVERSARY: DEAR HUMAN

Dear Human is a Montreal-based design firm dedicated to thoughtful material use. Their projects often begin with playful experimentation with industrial castoffs and scrap materials to see where they can go. They make and design their works in their Montreal studio, and occasionally by other local makers. Dear Human works in collaboration with architects, artists, interior designers, and industrial designers to realize their projects.

Q: Which year did you present at WantedDesign? Did you make connections with brands and fellow designers?
We first presented at Wanted in 2015. Yes, we connected with many designers that we are still in touch with today—these relationships have led to many interesting opportunities, including continuing to return to WantedDesign in 2016 and 17 with Quebec Design.

Q: Tell us about your favorite project you’ve worked on since you participated in Launch Pad at WantedDesign.
One of our favorites was to work with Shake Shack in NYC for their new store in Forest Hills. We made a large-scale paper tile installation for them last year and were proud of how it turned out.

Q: How has your work evolved since you shared your work at WantedDesign? Is it now in production? If so, with whom?
Since then we have changed quite a bit—we moved from Vancouver to Montreal for our business. Our tile production has improved a lot and we continue to do many projects with the paper tiles all the time. We still manage production ourselves at our studio in Montreal. We are also carrying many other products that include recycled paper.

Q: What advice do you have for emerging designers who will be showing at the Launch Pad in 2018 and beyond?
It’s an old adage, but “a rolling stone gathers no moss” has been our most important mantra we live by. It’s important to embrace and expect constant change and growth comes naturally.

Q: Where can people learn more about you and your work?
On Instagram at @dear_human or www.dearhuman.ca

LAUNCH PAD FIFTH ANNIVERSARY: RICHARD CLARKSON STUDIO

Richard Clarkson Studio is a Brooklyn-based art and design laboratory. They create objects, products and installations that are minimal in style, honest in material, elegant in simplicity and sculptural to the core. Distorting the ever-blurring lines between art & design, we use processes and methodologies drawn from both disciplines.

Q: Which year did you present at WantedDesign? Did you make connections with brands and fellow designers?
We first presented at Wanted Design 2015 in Gallery 6 alongside Launch Pad but not included in it. In 2016 we presented as part of Launch Pad, then in 2017 we presented at Wanted Design in the tunnel. Each year we have had an amazing experience meeting brands, media contacts and fellow designers – many of which have become good friends – specifically from the Launch Pad group of 2016.

Q: Tell us about your favorite project you’ve worked on since you participated in Launch Pad at WantedDesign.
In September of last year we were approached by GE to design a Smart Lamp, it was an amazing experience to work with an international corperation in a new product category. The Lamp which came to be called Sol launched earlier this year and is available on amazon.

Q: How has your work evolved since you shared your work at WantedDesign? Is it now in production? If so, with whom?
We aim to continually evolve and refine not just our work and products but also our ethos and studio culture. Since Launch Pad we have grown from two full time people to five full time and two part time. Our network and interactions with other creatives has played no small part in this expansion, as we draw inspiration not just from the products of other designers but from the designers themselves and the way in which they design.

Q: What advice do you have for emerging designers who will be showing at the Launch Pad in 2018 and beyond?
Interact as much as you can with the other Launch Pad designers. Immerse yourself into Design week – go to some of the parties, see the other exhibitions tell people you are presenting at Wanted in Launch Pad. Get a friend to cover your booth for a hour or two so you can take a proper break for lunch. Treat Wanted Design as an investment, create a budget for press material, business cards, product information cards, branding and signage. Have a digital press kit ready to go, fill it with the best photos and videos of your product.

Q: Where can people learn more about you and your work?
www.richardclarkson.com

LAUNCH PAD FIFTH ANNIVERSARY: BEGÜM CANA OZGÜR

Born in 1989, Turkish designer Begüm Cana Ozgür graduated from Bilkent University’s Interior Architecture and Environmental Design department. In 2013, she received her masters degree at the Cranbook Academy of Art in the 3D design department and then began her studio based in Istanbul where the cultural richness of the land has been the major motive in her work, developing an interest in ancient craft practices. Here’s a brief conversation with her.

Q: Which year did you present at WantedDesign? Did you make connections with brands and fellow designers?
I attended Launch Pad in 2016. It was a good opportunity to make  connections with press, retailers and other designers. I got connected to Nanimarquina, current editor of my project shown at Launch Pad.

Q: Tell us about your favorite project you’ve worked on since you participated in Launch Pad at WantedDesign.
I am currently working on a new rug collection which excites me the most. This new collection is about creating visual color effects through graphic lines.

Q: How has your work evolved since you shared your work at WantedDesign? Is it now in production? If so, with whom?
One of the projects I present SHADE rug collection is currently in production by the iconic brand Nanimarquina, whom I met during my presentation at WantedDesign 2016. The following year we launched the collection during NYCxDESIGN 2017.

Q: What advice do you have for emerging designers who will be showing at the Launch Pad in 2018 and beyond?
LaunchPad is a great opportunity to show your work to the design community. Be curious of the diverse selection of wok as well as you enjoy being part of it.  As you form relations with companies and press, keep in mind that the surrounding designers could be a great collaborator for future projects!

Q: Where can people learn more about you and your work?
www.begumcanaozgur.com
instagram.com/canaozgur