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	<title>Sources For Design</title>
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		<title>Mad for Midcentury</title>
		<link>https://sourcesfordesign.com/archives/2992</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[jbump_sfd]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 27 Nov 2024 01:03:35 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Story]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://sourcesfordesign.com/?p=2992</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[The late architect Albert Frey was born in Switzerland but spent most of his life in Palm Springs, where he started his days with a glass of grapefruit juice and a headstand. He also designed some of the edgiest designs in the desert, including his own home built around a boulder above the Palm Springs [&#8230;]]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="p1">The late architect Albert Frey was born in Switzerland but spent most of his life in Palm Springs, where he started his days with a glass of grapefruit juice and a headstand. He also designed some of the edgiest designs in the desert, including his own home built around a boulder above the Palm Springs Art Museum and the town’s aerial tramway. You can see his work and the work of dozens of other midcentury architects and designers during Palm Springs Modernism Week (modernismweek.com), which runs February 13-23. And, no, it’s not too early to get tickets for this event, now in its 20th year, because it tends to sell out. It’s no wonder that the event has become a global phenomenon—the town is transformed into one giant house museum/cocktail reception/costume party/people-watching event for its eleven-day run, last year drawing some 130,000 attendees who participated in 400 events, all of which helps local organizations raise funds. Modernism Week was launched in 2006 as part of two established programs—the Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Council Symposium and the Palm Springs Modernism Show and Sale, growing exponentially each year.</p>
<p class="p1">At press time, the specific schedule for the February event had not yet been released, but past Modernism Week events put a major emphasis on the work of Southern California architects who helped create Palm Springs’ “look” between the end of World War II and the 1970s. Frey was among these design giants—and his noted experimental aluminum house, “Aluminaire,” was recently relocated from the East Coast to the Palm Springs Art Museum grounds. Other notable architects put their stamp on the town, including William Krisel, William Cody, Richard Neutra, John Lautner, A. Quincy Jones, Hugh Kaptur, Donald Wexler and others. Many of their signature projects were designed for celebrity clients like Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore, William Holden, Bob Hope and Kirk Douglas, who escaped Hollywood for the privacy of cactus and palms.</p>
<p class="p1">Bus tours, walking tours and private home visits give you a glimpse of this sleek, airy desert style. Sinatra’s Twin Palms estate, designed by E. Stewart Williams, is usually open for Modernism Week tours, as is Sunnylands, the sprawling, 1966 Walter and Lee Annenberg estate by Jones and interior designers William Haines and Ted Graber. Look for lectures and panels by design experts, a vendor showcase, book signings and more. Factor in fun during the event, too. Past festivities have included a swinging martini-fueled house party, a soiree celebrating the caftan as a fashion icon, live music and plenty of Instagram moments, thanks to vintage cars and participants dressed to the hilt not just in Palm Springs-centric Trina Turk designs, but wildly hued 1960s minis and patterned bell bottoms. Can’t make it in February? Plan waaay ahead for the October 2025 Modernism Week, a four-day, smaller version of the annual February event.</p>
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		<title>The Architect Client Bond</title>
		<link>https://sourcesfordesign.com/archives/2989</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[jbump_sfd]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 27 Nov 2024 00:58:36 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Story]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://sourcesfordesign.com/?p=2989</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[On a hot autumn afternoon, architect Ned Sawyer and Fred Corbus sip cold drinks around the dining table in the home Corbus shares with his wife, Jan Perozeni Corbus. They’re reminiscing about the origins of Sawyer’s graceful steel and glass design for the Corbus house, which sits lightly between boulders and across a wash in [&#8230;]]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="p1">On a hot autumn afternoon, architect Ned Sawyer and Fred Corbus sip cold drinks around the dining table in the home Corbus shares with his wife, Jan Perozeni Corbus. They’re reminiscing about the origins of Sawyer’s graceful steel and glass design for the Corbus house, which sits lightly between boulders and across a wash in North Scottsdale. Fred Corbus and Sawyer are also discussing the recent workshop addition and the expansion of a deck, as well as plans for a detached guest house.</p>
<p class="p1">This architect-client relationship is warm, frank and respectful. And, if there were a Guinness World Records entry for this kind of thing, the Corbus-Sawyer partnership would likely win. They’ve been working together on the same house for more than half a century—53 years to be exact.</p>
<p class="p1">The bond had its origins in the 1960s, when Corbus and his then-wife, Donna, purchased a five-acre “unbuildable” parcel in the desert not far from the old Reata Pass stagecoach stop. “I’d been driving around, four-wheeling, looking for land for six months when I came around a corner and saw this land,” remembers Corbus. “I heard a voice tell me that this was where I was going to live for the rest of my life.” With no water, no power and the nearest grocery store some 35 miles away, the property owner felt a little bad about selling “a pile of boulders,” discounting the price to $1,500 per acre. School and careers took the couple to Hawaii and then Australia, where they also traveled to Southeast Asia and became enamored with simple, shaded pavilion-like architecture. It took until the early 1970s for the Corbuses to return to Arizona and start the design process for a home on the site. “I knew conceptually what I wanted,”remembers Corbus. “We found five local houses we liked and knocked on doors asking about the architect.” The knocking led to modernist Al Beadle, who declined the project but suggested they talk to Sawyer, who was starting his career in Beadle’s office. Sawyer came up with a simple, 1,300-square-foot plan based on eight-foot modules for scale and consistency, with floor-to-ceiling glass walls that captured the nature of the site. It was Sawyer’s first stamped project as a newly minted, registered architect. But actually building the house proved to be a challenge. “Nobody would loan me money for the project,” says Corbus, “and I went to more than a dozen banks. I had to start building it myself, with my own money, framing it until I finally got the money to enclose the house.”</p>
<p class="p1">When the initial phase of the house was completed, it won many national, regional and local design awards, launching Sawyer’s career. He soon returned to add on two eight-by-eight modules for the couple’s two children, born after the initial design. Some ten years ago, Sawyer returned again, working with both Jan and Fred Corbus to expand the kitchen, add on a larger living room and redo the bathroom. More recently, Sawyer oversaw the workshop addition and deck expansion, designed to capture north-facing views and to incorporate boulders. “We’ve had a long, trusting relationship in terms of honesty and feedback,” remarks Corbus, 85, of Sawyer, who’s 81. “I’ll propose something, and Ned will tell me it’s wrong or vice-versa. He listens.” “I’m not designing my house for me,” says Sawyer of his approach. “I’m designing a house for Fred and Jan. Sometimes, Fred wants to know why we do something, and I have to tell him that it just looks better that way.” Why does Corbus keep going back to Sawyer? “He knows me, he,knows the property. Ned can see what could go there and he captures the magic. He’s also been up here for parties and sees how well the house works. People migrate to different areas and have a series of experiences in the house.”And then there’s the guest house, to be built downhill, a bit closer to the main road. “The design process is ongoing,” says Sawyer. “We have a great relationship. I enjoy the process and like a client who wants good architecture.”</p>
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		<title>Always Iconic &#8211; Paul Jeffrey</title>
		<link>https://sourcesfordesign.com/archives/2898</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[jbump_sfd]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Aug 2024 17:50:35 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Story]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://sourcesfordesign.com/?p=2898</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Wearing his signature porkpie hat and sporting stylish oversized glasses, Paul Jeffrey traces the arc of his career as a furniture designer in the airy conference room of a downtown Phoenix high-rise where he has his studio. “I believe I have a higher purpose than design,” he says, choosing his words carefully. “My journey, I [&#8230;]]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Wearing his signature porkpie hat and sporting stylish oversized glasses, Paul Jeffrey traces the arc of his career as a furniture designer in the airy conference room of a downtown Phoenix high-rise where he has his studio. “I believe I have a higher purpose than design,” he says, choosing his words carefully. “My journey, I have realized, has nothing to do with furniture.”</p>
<p>But more about the purpose later. In the meantime, Jeffrey highlights his newest work and talks about the path that has led him to become one of the most<br />
sought-after custom furniture designers in the Valley. The new works include custom cabinets for a client’s pottery collection in a house done by interior designer Jim Felter, pieces for a home office and shelving and a desk for a corporate office. Though most of his work in the past has been custom pieces, Jeffrey recently launched The Kallos Collection, his furniture line that includes shelving, desks, buffets, benches and even a sofa—now available through TOWNhouse at the Scottsdale Design Center.</p>
<p>“I think this recent work has helped me evolve from a designer to an artist,” Jeffrey reflects. “A designer is concerned with function and practicality. An artist puts meaning into the work. The Kallos pieces have motion, inspiration and a story behind them.”</p>
<p>Jeffrey’s story began in suburban Detroit where he grew up and studied industrial design. He landed a job as a designer in the concept car division of Ford, an elite position. “I was one of only maybe five Black car designers in the world,” he remembers. “I had a good salary and all the perks.”</p>
<p>Feeling something was missing, he decided he wanted to teach inner-city children about design and manufacturing. Jeffrey and his then-wife headed to Los Angeles, which turned out to be disastrous. “I lost all of our savings,” he admits, “and, in 2003, we moved to Phoenix, where my father-in-law bailed us out.” A stint as an assistant manager at Walgreens followed as Jeffrey inched his way out of a low point, then he began working for California Closets as a designer and joined ASID.</p>
<p>Custom work followed, and Jeffrey met a craftsman named Rene, giving birth to Paul Rene custom furniture. “We had a little shop on the west side of Phoenix,” Jeffrey recalls. “Rene didn’t speak English much, and I didn’t speak Spanish, so it was a lot of Google Translate.”</p>
<p>But somehow, it worked, and Jeffrey began getting work directly with<br />
homeowners and other clients. His designs soon caught the eyes of media types,<br />
winning him awards and press. It even landed him on Ellen DeGeneres’ “Next Great<br />
Designer” HBO series and garnered an article in the New York Times. “I got<br />
booted off the DeGeneres show, but it was a win for me,” he says. “It put my name out around the world.” Jeffrey was also invited to speak at The Royal Academy of Arts in the Hague, Netherlands. “I had to explain to the students there how my designs revealed my inner self,” he recalls. “It was a nerve-wracking experience, but I did it.”</p>
<p>During COVID, Jeffrey moved his studio from the front of the Phoenix production facility to the present high-rise, sending drawings to his ten-member production team electronically. In 2022, he traveled to Guadalajara, Mexico to find an efficient production team there as well, specifically to make his Kallos line of furniture. That led Jeffrey into the maker business, meaning he gets designers’ own pieces efficiently manufactured in Mexico.</p>
<p>But back to that higher purpose. Jeffrey always had a desire to mentor young people but hadn’t had much time to do so. “On a hot August day in 2020, I was filling up my car with gas on the west side of Phoenix when a young man approached me,” Jeffrey recalls. “He told me he had just gotten out of prison and asked me for $25. I was in a mood, so I ignored him at first.” Soon, he felt sympathy for the young man. Jeffrey reached into his car and pulled out a Paul Rene brochure and explained his own journey to success, hoping to be an inspiration. “The man said, ‘I know you! I saw your picture in a magazine,’” Jeffrey remembers. “He said I wasn’t wearing shoes, and, indeed, I did an ad where I wasn’t wearing shoes.” It turns out the young man taped that picture on his cell wall, wanting to be like Jeffrey when he got out. “What are the chances of that happening and us meeting?” asks Jeffrey.</p>
<p>The encounter inspired Jeffrey to say yes to speaking to school and community groups, sharing his story and his climb out of loss. “My ultimate goal is to teach young people about life,” he says. “We are like furniture, really. A raw board has to be cut, hammered, nailed and sanded. That is the process of taking a piece of wood and turning it into a beautiful piece of furniture, a piece of art.”</p>
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		<title>Father&#8217;s Way</title>
		<link>https://sourcesfordesign.com/archives/2892</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[jbump_sfd]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Aug 2024 17:40:32 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Story]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://sourcesfordesign.com/?p=2892</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Family doesn’t always influence career paths, but for architect Jessica Hutchison-Rough, AIA, and interior designer Caroline Swaback, Allied Member ASID, there are direct lines from their well-known architect fathers to their current success stories. “I grew up going to Taliesin West for Easter and other special occasions,” recalls Swaback of the fabled Scottsdale architectural compound [&#8230;]]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Family doesn’t always influence career paths, but for architect Jessica Hutchison-Rough, AIA, and interior designer Caroline Swaback, Allied Member ASID, there are direct lines from their well-known architect fathers to their current success stories. “I grew up going to Taliesin West for Easter and other special occasions,” recalls Swaback of the fabled Scottsdale architectural compound where her father, architect Vern Swaback, studied with Frank Lloyd Wright and worked for decades before launching his own practice in the late 1970s. “Taliesin was a never-ending labyrinth of design that was fascinating.”<br />
Hutchison-Rough was born in 1979, the same year her father, Lee Hutchison launched Urban Design Associates, where he became known for his detailed organic pueblo-style homes. “My mother was in education, but joined UDA not long after that as the office manager,” says Hutchison-Rough, “and my sister and I made ourselves at home in the office. We did filing, running blueprints and sweeping. I knew I wanted to be an architect since I was little.” For Caroline Swaback, the seed for a design career was further nurtured at home. “We had a cabin in Payson with a loft where my father had his drafting table and my sister and I had a playroom. Dad would draw pretend houses, and I would draw my dream house,” she says. “In the 1990s, my father designed our family house in North Scottsdale, and I remember going to the groundbreaking, then watching it being built. He designed the furniture and did the art for the house, too.” By the time she was a teen, Swaback was certain of a career path, drawn more to interiors than architecture, intrigued by the psychology of how space affects the inhabitants. As a teen, she interned at Studio V, the Scottsdale interiors firm founded—then spun off—by Vern Swaback and his partners. Supported and encouraged by her father, Swaback received her interior design degree from NAU. Hutchison-Rough also remembers going to job sites as a youngster, seeing projects from beginning to end. Starting with her high school years, Lee Hutchison helped her get internships with interior designers Billi Springer and Bess Jones, and Scottsdale’s planning department. “I even did site cleanup work for Manship Builders,” recalls Hutchison-Rough of her well-rounded introduction to design and build. “By the time I was in high school, I was drafting and rendering by hand.” She got her undergrad in architecture at ASU, where she did a brief internship with Jones Studio, then, with her husband, went to British Columbia, where she received her master’s in architecture at the University of British Columbia and became licensed in Canada. For Swaback, joining Studio V upon graduation from college seemed natural. “They have a broad range in their portfolio, and I couldn’t imagine working anywhere else,” she says. “The people here are my best friends.” Now a project manager and designer at Studio V, Swaback never worked directly with her father on a project, but her first job with the firm was the redo of a 1999 Vern Swaback-designed house for new owners. Hutchison-Rough had a more circuitous route back to Arizona. She was in Canada from 2000 to 2010, working on commercial projects in Vancouver. Tiring of corporate work and wanting to start a family, she moved back to Arizona and joined the family at UDA, where she began as a project architect. “The market was in a downturn then, and hiring me was a bargain,” she says with a laugh. Eventually, Hutchison-Rough began helping with marketing, creating a website, expanding the staff and updating UDA’s technology. By 2014, her parents instituted a transfer of ownership to Hutchison-Rough, and they fully retired in 2018. Will there be a third generation, this time inspired by the mothers’ career paths? Hutchison-Rough’s two children have desks at UDA, an echo of her own childhood surrounded by drafting tables and blueprint machines. It’s a little too soon for Swaback to tell. Her first baby was born earlier this year. For now, the two pay fond tributes to their fathers. “I learned so much from my father,” explains Hutchison-Rough, “lessons that I still use today.” Says Swaback, “I am proud to be Vern Swaback’s daughter. He’s always been happy to have me in the industry.”</p>
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		<title>Succession</title>
		<link>https://sourcesfordesign.com/archives/2889</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[jbump_sfd]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Aug 2024 17:37:54 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Story]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://sourcesfordesign.com/?p=2889</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[It’s happened often here in Arizona. The charismatic founder of a design firm steps away due to a serious illness or dies, and employees are left scrambling to figure out what to do with the business. Chaos ensues, and the outcome isn’t always great. Today, though, savvy design practices have put succession plans into place, [&#8230;]]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It’s happened often here in Arizona. The charismatic founder of a design firm steps away due to a serious illness or dies, and employees are left scrambling to figure out what to do with the business. Chaos ensues, and the outcome isn’t always great. Today, though, savvy design practices have put succession plans into place,<br />
ensuring years of stability and future growth. We spoke to the principals of three<br />
high-profile design studios—Wiseman &amp; Gale Interiors, Swaback Architects +<br />
Planners and Jones Studio—to learn how they are making sure their legacies last another<br />
generation or more.</p>
<p>“When we looked into it, we realized that there were four options for our practice,” says architect Neal Jones, president of Tempe-based Jones Studio. &#8220;We could lock up and leave, merge, sell or put together a succession plan. We chose a succession plan.”<br />
Jones Studio was founded in 1979 by Neal’s brother, architect Eddie Jones as a sole practice after he was asked to design and build a home just east of the Arizona Biltmore. “I worked out of a spare bedroom in my house, which was designed by Ralph Haver, and I had client meetings in the dining room, which leaked during rains,” remembers Eddie Jones with a laugh. “I used to drive a VW Beetle to sites, but I had so many speeding tickets that I lost my driver’s license.”</p>
<p>Always wanting to work together, Neal joined Eddie in 1986 after he earned his master’s in architecture and an MBA from the University of Illinois, followed by five years at a large architectural practice in Atlanta. “There was like one house on the boards and no money,” recalls Neal of his first months onboard with Eddie. Focusing on his business education, Neal began bringing in the business, responding to RFQs and getting Jones Studio’s name in front of decision-makers. With Eddie as the principal designer, Jones Studio’s breakthrough project was the 1988 Homolvi State Park’s visitor center, just outside Winslow.</p>
<p>That began a steady flow of work from government entities like the BLM and GSA (for which the studio has done several land ports of entry at the Southwest border), ASU and UA, and, perhaps their most high-profile project, the Cardinals football team’s training facility. Residential, religious and public art work came in as well, as did hundreds of design awards. As the firm grew, so did the need for space. Several years ago, they designed their own freestanding building in downtown Tempe, 6,700 square feet of light-dappled modernism.</p>
<p>But a little more than a dozen years ago, the brothers began thinking about the future of the firm, particularly when architects Brian Farling—who joined the firm in 1998—and Jacob Benyi, who came on as an intern in 2002, expressed an interest in becoming principals and, eventually, owners. “I admit, we were not a big corporation and weren’t thinking about the long-term,” says Eddie, “but Brian’s initial request triggered us to think about it. We realized it was irresponsible not to have a plan.”</p>
<p>Neal began studying the process, reading about succession plans, going to seminars and hiring a consultant who helped with the firm’s valuation and putting a process in place. “We wanted Brian and Jacob to have a path to ownership if they wanted it,” says Neal, “and we didn’t want to leave them high and dry financially.” In 2014, Brian and Jacob were made principals and given 5 percent stock in the company, a percentage of which has increased over the years, giving the younger architects full ownership of the 21-member Jones Studio today. Under the succession plan, Jacob will become the next president of Jones Studio when Neal steps down and Brian will become principal designer when Eddie steps down. “We are now four decision-makers at Jones Studio,” says Neal, “and we are the luckiest people in the world because we did not have to struggle to find the talent to carry on Jones Studio. I fully expect Jacob and Brian to change the firm and run it differently. That’s okay. It’s a good thing.”</p>
<div></div>
<div>“Swaback Architects + Planners may be one of the oldest firms in the Phoenix area that has not been bought or merged,” says John Sather, the firm’s managing partner. “We are 45 years old, which is older than Taliesin Associated Architects, the afterlife of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural practice.</div>
<div>The firm’s history, as well as its longevity, is rooted in the principles and teachings of Frank Lloyd Wright, Sather explains. Vern Swaback spent more than 20 years at Taliesin—including a few years of being taught and mentored by Frank Lloyd Wright himself. Wanting to push the architectural envelope, Swaback established his own practice in the late 1970s, living and working out of a small guest cottage on a Paradise Valley estate.  Swaback was Sather’s teacher at Taliesin’s Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, and Sather soon joined his former mentor in the new venture. “Vern slept on a cot in the back room of the cottage,” remembers Sather, “and I lived in a tent on the grounds. That’s really how the company started. Musician Charles Lewis lived in another guest cottage on the property and played piano all day long. It was a creative, magical place and time.”</div>
<div></div>
<div>With Kohler in Wisconsin as a major client, Swaback’s sole proprietorship business grew and added more architects, planners and support staff. “Soon into our growth, it became clear that some of us had become important practitioners in the company,” says Sather of the firm that now numbers 40 employees, “and that we were fully capable of running our own firms. Vern sought counsel and approached me and architect Jon Bernhard to become partners.” The initial three partners opted to keep the Swaback name as it became part of their brand identity. “We didn’t have three names that went together magically, and we didn’t need to have all of our names on the door,” says Sather of the naming decision.</div>
<div></div>
<div>Under the trio’s guidance, the firm moved into Scottsdale offices of their own design, angled around a landscaped courtyard. Studio V, an interior design practice, was launched and then spun off as a separate entity. The award-winning architectural and planning work kept coming steadily and from far-flung locales. In addition to Kohler Village in Wisconsin (an ongoing client), there were signature projects like the master planning and designing of homes at Martis Camp in California, the Big Horn golf clubhouse in Palm Desert, the Univision television station in Phoenix—the largest rammed earth house built in modern times—and work on repurposing buildings at historic Fort Apache in northeastern Arizona to serve the needs of the Apache community.</div>
<div></div>
<div>In recent years, the three Swaback partners began coming to terms with their lives and the more distant future of the practice, bringing in architect Michael Wetzel and landscape architect/planner Jeffrey Denzak as partners. Not long ago, Vern Swaback stepped down for health reasons but remains the founding partner. “Here at Swaback, we have nurtured very talented architects and planners who are groomed to be the next generation of partners,” says Sather. “Whether they want to or not is up to them. We talk about transitions frequently and we make room for others. Just like when we started, Swaback Architects + Planners has never acted a single day as if our existence is guaranteed. Our work ethic is still that of a startup, focusing on doing good work.”</div>
<div></div>
<div>In recent years, the three Swaback partners began coming to terms with their lives and the more distant future of the practice, bringing in architect Michael Wetzel and landscape architect/planner Jeffrey Denzak as partners. Not long ago, Vern Swaback stepped down for health reasons but remains the founding partner. “Here at Swaback, we have nurtured very talented architects and planners who are groomed to be the next generation of partners,” says Sather. “Whether they want to or not is up to them. We talk about transitions frequently and we make room for others. Just like when we started, Swaback Architects + Planners has never acted a single day as if our existence is guaranteed. Our work ethic is still that of a startup, focusing on doing good work.”</div>
<div></div>
<div>By 2002, Scott remembers, Anne Gale began thinking about retirement and a succession plan. “She didn’t have any obvious family members to pass the business down to,” he says, “so she approached my mother and interior designer Sue Calvin about taking over the practice.”<br />
By then, Scott had a successful career in management consulting after a degree in finance and an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management. “I was working in Germany at the time, and my father sent over the proposal for the Wiseman &amp; Gale succession. “I put together a business plan and wrote myself into it,” says Scott with a smile. “I’d always wanted to have a family business, and this was the ability to work with not only family, but with people who had been lifelong friends.”</div>
<div>With Scott handling the business end of the practice, his mother and Calvin focused on the design work, bringing in new clients and projects that won awards and were published locally and nationally. Anne Gale remained on board, helping with the transition and still working with clients almost to the day she passed away in 2023. “Anne was a great teacher and mentor to the designers here, and set up the collaborative process we still use today,” says Scott. “She taught the designers when to know that a project was ‘done,’ and she set up the business to make it easier for our transition to happen.”</div>
<div>Now with a staff of 20, including designers and support people, Wiseman &amp; Gale has come even farther in the ownership succession. Sue Calvin and Patty Burdick have retired, but interior designers Jana Parker Lee and Holly Ogden have joined Scott as the newest partners. “What has been passed down here is good design,” says Scott. “That’s why our clients keep coming back.”</div>
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		<title>Wellness Check</title>
		<link>https://sourcesfordesign.com/archives/2771</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[jbump_sfd]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2024 17:51:29 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Story]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://sourcesfordesign.com/?p=2771</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Wellness Check The Global Ambassador provides everything guests need to stay healthy, in a stylish setting. By Nora Burba Trulsson Photography courtesy of The Global Ambassador Guests of The Global Ambassador needn’t abandon their daily health and fitness routines. In fact, the on-trend wellness options offered by the hotel might inspire visitors to continue new [&#8230;]]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Wellness Check</p>
<p>The Global Ambassador provides everything guests need to stay healthy, in a stylish setting.</p>
<p>By Nora Burba Trulsson</p>
<p>Photography courtesy of The Global Ambassador</p>
<p>Guests of The Global Ambassador needn’t abandon their daily health and fitness routines. In fact, the on-trend wellness options offered by the hotel might inspire visitors to continue new regimens back home. The hotel’s spa and fitness center offer plenty of self-care options, in a setting designed by interior designer Judith Testani to be elegant and light-filled, not to mention calming and serene.</p>
<p>The spacious spa includes ten treatment rooms—many of which have floor-to-ceiling windows with views of Camelback Mountain—where guests can be pampered with massages, facials, body treatments, light therapy, IV drips and more. Additional amenities such as a whirlpool, steam room and sauna are offered, as are options guaranteed to have a chilling effect—such as time spent in a cold plunge or a cryotherapy chamber. First-to-market and exclusive modalities and products include partners such as Augustinus Bader, Biologique Recherche, U Beauty, Oxylight Sapphire, MOVA by Camila Perez and Environ. The salon menu highlights makeup, blowouts and brow shaping.</p>
<p>As part of the spa, the men’s locker room is a warm retreat with low-key lighting as well as accents of stone, deep-hued wood and tile, while the women’s locker room features curvaceous lines, golden tones and avian-themed wall covering accents. A relaxation room sets the mood with pale cream and blue colors, luxuriously cushioned seating and a wave abstraction wall covering. Rather than being tucked into a windowless basement, the adjacent 9,000-square-foot fitness center features glass doors that can be opened to access terraces, designed to invite sunrise meditation and alfresco classes. State-of-the-art equipment includes names like Technogym and Eleiko. Guests can chart their own exercise routines or join daily classes in the movement and spin studios, with a schedule that offers HIIT, yoga and Beatz workouts. For the core conscious, a Forma Pilates workout delivers. Private training and guided hikes are also options, as well as nutrition coaching, physical therapy and mindset coaching.</p>
<p>Guests might also want something a bit more low-key, such as an hour or two of vitamin D therapy and the chance to paddle a few laps in the pool, where striped lounges and high shrubs evoke a French Riviera ambiance. A stay at The Global Ambassador just might take the place of a few days at a destination health spa.</p>
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		<title>Bon Appetit</title>
		<link>https://sourcesfordesign.com/archives/2753</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[jbump_sfd]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2024 17:46:07 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Story]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://sourcesfordesign.com/?p=2753</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Bon Appetit Restaurants at The Global Ambassador feature Sam Fox’s magic touch By Nora Burba Trulsson Photography courtesy of The Global Ambassador and Michael Baxter It could be said that the heart of The Global Ambassador is the hotel’s lineup of culinary offerings. Founder and restaurateur Sam Fox was hands-on in the development of the [&#8230;]]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Bon Appetit</p>
<p>Restaurants at The Global Ambassador feature Sam Fox’s magic touch</p>
<p>By Nora Burba Trulsson</p>
<p>Photography courtesy of The Global Ambassador and Michael Baxter</p>
<p>It could be said that the heart of The Global Ambassador is the hotel’s lineup of culinary offerings. Founder and restaurateur Sam Fox was hands-on in the development of the five food and beverage options, from menu development to making sure the back of the house operated efficiently. Working with interior designer Judith Testani, Fox ensured that each restaurant was unique, yet flowed with the hotel’s global concept.</p>
<p>Just inside the entrance, it’s the Lobby Bar and not the front desk that takes center stage. With moody lighting and a low, patterned metal ceiling, the ambiance is warm and relaxing—evocative of grand hotels in New York or Europe. Cushioned armchairs, round cafe tables and curvaceous barstools invite guests to gather and linger over a glass of wine or a basil and ginger cocktail and choose from an all-day menu of bar foods. For those who want a bit of daylight, the bar also opens up onto the landscaped patio, where woven French bistro chairs, cushioned wrought iron furniture and custom benches provide seating.</p>
<p>Adjacent to the Lobby Bar is Le Âme, the hotel’s main restaurant, patterned after a Parisian steakhouse. With energy emanating from the open kitchen set at the back of the room, the restaurant gets its warmth from rich tones, a coffered, patterned ceiling, arched grilles atop mirrors, curving booth seating and a wood floor. To one side, a private dining room is a glassed-in jewel box, overlooking the patio. Serving classic fare like steak au poivre and French onion soup, Le Âme is also open for breakfast, lunch and brunch.</p>
<p>Across from Le Âme on the main level is Le Market, inspired by Left Bank institutions like Café de Flore, where writers and artists gather to discuss culture. With a collection of round bistro tables and rattan chairs, as well as bar seating, the mood is further enhanced with deep green walls and vintage photographs of Parisian street scenes. Outdoor seating allows guests to people-watch the goings on at the hotel’s entrance. The menu transitions from coffee and pastries in the morning to fromage and wine as the afternoon progresses.</p>
<p>Set next to the pool, the indoor-outdoor Pink Dolphin is named for the legendary Amazon River aquatic mammal and features a Latin-inspired menu for breezy lunches and afternoon noshes. Offerings include fresh juice-based cocktails, Peruvian ceviche, tacos and more.</p>
<p>Arguably the most unique restaurant at The Global Ambassador is Théa Mediterranean Rooftop, located (yes) atop the hotel. With dead-on views of landmark Camelback Mountain on one side and downtown Phoenix on the other, the restaurant offers indoor and outdoor bars and seating, as well as a private event space. Floor-to-ceiling windows bring the views indoors, while outside, casual but elegant seating areas are defined by planters brimming with botanicals, courtesy of Berghoff Design Group. Open for dinner and brunch, the menu travels the Mediterranean with choices like flaming saganaki, charred octopus and Moroccan roasted carrots.<div id="metaslider-id-813" style="width: 100%;" class="ml-slider-3-107-0 metaslider metaslider-flex metaslider-813 ml-slider ms-theme-default nav-hidden" role="region" aria-label="Digital" data-height="380" data-width="900">
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		<title>Power of Two</title>
		<link>https://sourcesfordesign.com/archives/2749</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[jbump_sfd]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2024 17:31:38 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Story]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://sourcesfordesign.com/?p=2749</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Power of Two Business collaborators Sam Fox and Brian Frakes chalk up another success with The Global Ambassador. By Nora Burba Trulsson Photography courtesy of The Global Ambassador Literally and figuratively, Sam Fox has his fingers in many pies. Brian Frakes, it could be said, makes sure those pies get baked and delivered. Restaurateur Fox, [&#8230;]]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Power of Two</strong></p>
<p>Business collaborators Sam Fox and Brian Frakes chalk up another success with The Global Ambassador.</p>
<p>By Nora Burba Trulsson</p>
<p>Photography courtesy of The Global Ambassador</p>
<p>Literally and figuratively, Sam Fox has his fingers in many pies. Brian Frakes, it could be said, makes sure those pies get baked and delivered. Restaurateur Fox, founder of Fox Restaurant Concepts, and developer Frakes, principal of Common Bond Development Group, opened their most recent collab, The Global Ambassador, in December 2023. The luxe hotel in the Arcadia neighborhood of Phoenix—the first hotel project for both of them—looks to be a smash hit, judging from the buzz around the project and the crowds enjoying the property’s five food and beverage venues, 141 rooms, wellness offerings, meeting spaces and private club options.</p>
<p>“I’ve been wanting to get into a hotel project for a while,” says Fox, “and when the land became available, Brian and I went full on. We took on a more grandiose project than we ever thought.”</p>
<p>Fox and Frakes’ paths crossed years ago in Tucson. Born in Chicago, Fox grew up in Tucson, where his family was in the restaurant business. In a now-legendary move, Fox, who was enrolled at UA, took his tuition money, dropped out of school and used the funds to open a restaurant in 1992. “It was called Gilligan’s Bar and Grill, in Tucson, and loosely based on the TV show, ‘Gilligan’s Island,’” Fox explains. It was the first inkling of Fox’s genius for coming up with restaurant concepts. “We featured a Thurston Howell country club sandwich on the menu,” he remembers with a laugh.</p>
<p>Also a UA Wildcat, Frakes initially got to know Fox through his wife, who was friends with Fox’s wife. “When I was a student at UA, we paid Sam’s bills with our parents’ money by eating and drinking at Gilligan,” jokes Frakes.</p>
<p>Fox, though, moved on from Gilligan’s and opened Wildflower in 1998, which served modern American food and was located in the Casas Adobes neighborhood of Tucson. The restaurant—still open—was the genesis of Fox Restaurant Concepts. “Right after Wildflower, I then had the opportunity to do another restaurant almost around the corner,” Fox explains, “so I had to come up with another concept so it wouldn’t compete.” Thus, Zinburger was born. Bloom in Scottsdale followed, then North Italia at Kierland Commons, also in Scottsdale, came next. Fox eventually moved his operations to Phoenix and has, to date, developed 15 restaurant concepts and opened more than 150 restaurants in 18 states, which employ some 7,000 people. In 2019, he sold Fox Restaurant Concepts to the Cheesecake Factory as a wholly owned subsidiary, of which Fox is still in charge. “I did not dream one bit that my career would be like this,” says Fox. “None of this was planned in the beginning, it was not strategic at first. It was all one day at a time.”</p>
<p>Frakes was a bit more traditional in building his business. Born in Tucson and raised in Phoenix, he got his degree in finance from UA. Frakes began his development career with Westcor in 1999 and in 2002, joined Westcor senior partners at WDP Partners. In 2014, he launched his own commercial real estate development company in Phoenix, Common Bond Development Group. To date, he’s been involved in the identification, acquisition, entitlement and management of more than eight million square feet of regional, neighborhood, specialty and power shopping centers in the state, with anchor tenants like Safeway and Sprouts.</p>
<p>One of the first projects Frakes did with Fox was The Yard on 7th Street in Central Phoenix, a sprawling former car and motorcycle dealership where Fox’s Culinary Dropout restaurant took up much of the square footage. Similar Culinary Dropout-anchored projects in downtown Tempe and Gilbert followed, along with other Fox Restaurant Concepts work.</p>
<p>The Global Ambassador, thus far, was the biggest project tackled by Frakes and Fox. “This was an amazing project for both of us,” says Fox. “Brian and I are both the developer and the end user.” Adds Frakes, “We were synched up, conceptualized it, dreamt it and built it. With Sam as the operator, this hotel was designed from the inside out. He knew how it should work operationally.”</p>
<p>Will there be another Global Ambassador? Maybe. “We’re always looking,” says Fox, “but today as we speak, the hotel is only 180 days old, and we are focusing on executing a very high level of hospitality.”</p>
<p>In the meantime, there are more Frakes/Fox projects in the works, including a development in Peoria, a Doughbird and Flower Child restaurant combo in Tucson and The Henry restaurant for Midtown Phoenix locale. The pies keep coming.</p>
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		<title>Furniture Stories</title>
		<link>https://sourcesfordesign.com/archives/2688</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nora Burba Trulsson]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 08 Feb 2024 12:56:07 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Story]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://sourcesfordesign.com/?p=2688</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Furniture Stories At TOWNhouse, founder Eddy Doumas digs deep to know details about every piece of furniture and art he carries. By Nora Burba Trulsson Photography courtesy of TOWNhouse You could spend hours with Eddy Doumas on the floor of his new TOWNhouse showroom at the Scottsdale Design Center. He can rattle off not just [&#8230;]]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Furniture Stories</strong></p>
<p><strong>At TOWNhouse, founder Eddy Doumas digs deep to know details about every piece of furniture and art he carries.</strong></p>
<p>By Nora Burba Trulsson</p>
<p>Photography courtesy of TOWNhouse</p>
<p>You could spend hours with Eddy Doumas on the floor of his new TOWNhouse showroom at the Scottsdale Design Center. He can rattle off not just the basic facts about a piece, but its overall history as well. “This is a chair designed by Clara Porset Dumas,” says Doumas, pointing to a slim woven chair from Mexa, a Mexican furniture company. “She was Luis Barragan’s interior designer, and this is a licensed reproduction from her archive.” A few steps away, he points to a pair of sturdy armchairs. “These are officers’ chairs, designed by Pierre Jeanneret for the new planned city of Chandigarh, India. He was Corbusier’s cousin, and he ran the India project and designed furniture for the public buildings.” Nearby, Doumas insists a visitor sit in a golden-hued Gio Ponti chair. “Can you see that you can’t really sit up straight in it?” he asks. “It’s designed for slouching.”</p>
<p>TOWNhouse is Doumas’ passion project, the work of a self-described “art and furniture nerd,” a showroom where he carries vintage, licensed reproductions and modern classic design furniture, art and accessories, all with a story and a pedigree. You won’t find the usual Knoll and Herman Miller suspects here, but instead, pieces by Edward Wormley, Adrian Pearsall, Paul Evans and others, as well as present-day designers such as Phoenix furniture maker Paul Rene and Chicago outdoor furniture artisan Zachary A. The showroom also carries Proper, the in-house line that is an homage to classic design.</p>
<p>Doumas’ path to TOWNhouse includes several success stories. Growing up in Chicago and Greece, he received a degree in fine art and started his career as a bookkeeper for an interior design firm. “I learned the industry from the business side,” he points out. Doumas launched his own interiors practice in Vail, soon expanding to Palm Beach and the Hamptons, following a second-home clientele. In 2003, he launched Town showroom at the Denver Design District, offering lines of furniture, fabrics and more, then brought the concept to the Scottsdale Design District in 2014. “We’ve had great success with Town,” says Doumas, “and the two showrooms have grown to feature multiple market-driven lines that meet the designers’ needs.”</p>
<p>But Doumas had an itch to offer something unique, artisanal, crafted. “I wanted to showcase pieces that are original designs, or respect the original design, and art that is not just decorative,” he explains.</p>
<p>He found a showroom just across the parking lot from Scottsdale’s Town and opened TOWNhouse, fitting the 6,000-square foot space with a full kitchen to cater events in the space, thanks to a collaboration with a Cordon Bleu-trained chef. He has a library full of design tomes (including books on obscure designers) and doesn’t mind clients sitting down and spending time turning the pages and soaking up a bit of knowledge. Doumas also hosts regular events, “TOWNhouse socials,” during which speakers come in to give talks about topics like Edward Wormley’s collaborations with Jack Lenor Larsen.</p>
<p>With many pieces being vintage or one-offs, a good deal of the inventory is sold off the floor, and the showroom is open to the public, with courtesy to the trade. “I don’t like the exclusivity that we see in some parts of the design industry,” Doumas says. “I believe in the democracy of good taste.”</p>
<p>And good taste draws. Architects, interior designers and other clients have discovered the stories and unique pieces at TOWNhouse. “This is meant to be a place where people can come for a cultural lifestyle,” Doumas says. “Everything here is design-driven.”</p>
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		<title>Getting in on the Ground Floor</title>
		<link>https://sourcesfordesign.com/archives/2685</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nora Burba Trulsson]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 08 Feb 2024 12:55:53 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Story]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://sourcesfordesign.com/?p=2685</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Getting In On The Ground Floor Iconic by Kaitlyn Wolfe launches a new furniture line. By Nora Burba Trulsson Photography by Steph Neiheisel/Gothgloss and Karla Hammond Kaitlyn Wolfe has covered a lot of ground in her 30 years—an undergrad in biology, an MBA and, in 2019, the launch of her interior design/build firm, Iconic By [&#8230;]]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Getting In On The Ground Floor</strong></p>
<p><strong>Iconic by Kaitlyn Wolfe launches a new furniture line.</strong></p>
<p>By Nora Burba Trulsson</p>
<p>Photography by Steph Neiheisel/Gothgloss and Karla Hammond</p>
<p>Kaitlyn Wolfe has covered a lot of ground in her 30 years—an undergrad in biology, an MBA and, in 2019, the launch of her interior design/build firm, Iconic By Kaitlyn Wolfe. Last year, <em>Sources for Design</em> named her a Design Icon in the field of interior design. Recently, she added yet another accomplishment to her resumé—a new furniture line she calls Ground Floor.</p>
<p>With the support of her 27-person team that handles interiors and construction, Wolfe’s new line includes some 20 pieces with items such as consoles, side tables, benches, bathroom vanities, lighting, planters and beds. “We’ve been making custom furniture all along for our projects and clients,” says Wolfe, “but this was a pretty aggressive timeline to get this collection out in a few months.”</p>
<p>This first capsule collection, with prices ranging from $69 for candles in handmade ceramic containers to $6,900 for a bed, is called “Blueprint,” Wolfe explains, and she hopes to drop two or three collections yearly. “This first collection reflects our aesthetic,” she says of the line that features tile, wood and metal details, as well as different colorway choices. “The pieces are heavy and feature a Brutalist influence, with a lot of functionality.” Indeed, most of the pieces do double duty, like the console table that has a globe light to illuminate, say, an entry hall, or the bench that offers storage and  a place to drop keys and cell phones. Many of the pieces have male names, including the Lloyd side table, named for one of Wolfe’s design heroes, Frank Lloyd Wright.</p>
<p>Wolfe unveiled furniture at a November event at the Icehouse in the Warehouse District of downtown Phoenix, with music, food and drinks. “We sold a lot of pieces that night,” Wolfe says. For now, though, the pieces are available online through her <a href="http://ground-floor.co">ground-floor.co</a> website, but Wolfe plans on expanding her 5,000-square-foot Scottsdale studio to include a shopping experience, where customers can see the pieces displayed in the airy setting. “Design professionals are welcome to make appointments to see the pieces,” she explains, “and, presently, we offer local delivery.” Wolfe also is in talks with several Phoenix-area retailers to carry the Ground Floor pieces.</p>
<p>“I’m excited about offering these capsule collections in the future,” Wolfe says. “We can play with different materials and combinations. We’re looking at incorporating concrete in the next collection. What will tie it all together will be simple, functional design and limited quantity.”</p>
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