Imagine a Place

Latest Episodes:

Designing for the generation above us. Mar 21, 2022

Show notes

Our guest today is one of the world’s leading experts in designing for a population that is too often overlooked and misunderstood.

Jane Rohde believes in a global cultural shift toward de-institutionalized senior living communities. As Principal as JSR Associates, she is putting people at the center of her practice – For Jane, this means more than just the senior living residents, but also the staff and the community at large. Today, Jane Rohde shares a vision for how a more blended, empowering, and richer senior living and community experience could look.

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Imagine a Place gathers industry-leading voices that can inspire the design community through storytelling and broaden our creative horizons. The goal of Imagine a Place is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives.

How to build boldly. Mar 14, 2022

Show notes

Today, we host Bolanle Williams-Olley, aka Bola. She’s the CFO for the New York design and architecture firm Mancini Duffy, and she’s going to help you Build Boldly.

Build Boldly is the title of Bola’s recently published book. It’s a hybrid autobiography and self-help book that immerses you in her own journey and how those lessons can apply towards building your own career.

B.O.L.D. is the acronym that ties it all together and today, we explore the “B” part of that acronym – “Be Yourself”. Sounds easy on the surface right? Well… just like everything in life, there’s a lot more to it.

Learn more about Bolanie and her book, "Build Boldly" here: https://www.bolanlewo.com/book

Click here to get your FREE copy of the Imagine a Place journal:

Connect with Doug below:

On Instagram: @Douglas_Shapiro

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doshapiro/

By Email: dshapiro@ofs.com

Email Imagine a Place: imagineaplace@ofs.com

Connect with Maria on LinkedIn.

Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn.

Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World.

Click here to get your own Imagine a Place Conversation Card Deck.

Furniture is not a four letter word. Mar 07, 2022

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Dianne Murata is the witty and enthusiastic founder of Kimiko Designs. In today’s interview, she helps you think differently about furniture planning and specification.

Dianne brings over 2 decades of experience in furniture planning and design and she doesn’t hold back in our conversation. She shares how furniture doesn’t have to be the “F word”, why we’ll need to embrace our inner MacGyver as designers in the future, and some advice on where you might want to be shifting a little more of your focus.

Click here to get your FREE copy of the Imagine a Place journal:

Connect with Doug below:

On Instagram: @Douglas_Shapiro

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doshapiro/

By Email: dshapiro@ofs.com

Email Imagine a Place: imagineaplace@ofs.com

Connect with Maria on LinkedIn.

Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn.

Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World.

Click here to get your own Imagine a Place Conversation Card Deck.

Colors, textures, patterns, ideas, thoughts, and words. Feb 28, 2022

Show notes

Over the last 10 years, Gensler's Todd Heiser has emerged as one of our industry's most creative and BIG thinking leaders in workplace design - and you're about to find out why.

Todd Heiser is a Co-Managing Director of Gensler’s Chicago office. His leadership showcases more than 20 years of experience in next-generation design at the cutting edge of workplace strategies, and his commitment to conceptual and technical development transforms spaces around the globe.

Sure, Todd Heiser knows his stuff about the workplace, but what we really love about Todd is his simple sincerity and honesty - stick around until the end of this episode as he provides some nuggets of wisdom that apply to any designer at any point in their career.

Click here to get your FREE copy of the Imagine a Place journal:

Connect with Doug below:

On Instagram: @Douglas_Shapiro

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doshapiro/

By Email: dshapiro@ofs.com

Email Imagine a Place: imagineaplace@ofs.com

Connect with Maria on LinkedIn.

Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn.

Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World.

Click here to get your own Imagine a Place Conversation Card Deck.

Don’t be afraid to play. Feb 21, 2022

Show notes

We asked our previous guest, Kia Weatherspoon (episode 35 - May 3, 2021), for an intro to someone she’d want to hear from – The first name on her list: Jessica Caldwell.

Jessica Caldwell is the founder of Folke Creative in Brooklyn NY, a boutique branding and design studio inspired by the stories of people, places, and things. She also runs the design blog: Design is Lit.

Today, Jessica will let us in on her "messy" process of design and also provides some wise advice on how to conjure creativity.

She starts her interview reflecting on a moment that eventually leads to a simple and beautiful statement from her:

“Life is filled with little luxuries, little glimmers of hope and love… if you’ll only just look for them."

Connect with Jessica on Instagram: @jesswonderland

Click here to get your FREE copy of the Imagine a Place journal:

Connect with Doug below:

On Instagram: @Douglas_Shapiro

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doshapiro/

By Email: dshapiro@ofs.com

Email Imagine a Place: imagineaplace@ofs.com

Connect with Maria on LinkedIn.

Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn.

Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World.

Click here to get your own Imagine a Place Conversation Card Deck.

Introducing Imagine a Place Productions! Feb 15, 2022

Show notes

Ok, a few episodes back, we mentioned that we were cooking up some good stuff in the kitchen at Imagine a Place. Well today, we are proud to announce the launch of our own podcast network, Imagine a Place Productions!

The goal of Imagine a Place Productions is to further elevate the belief that the places we make and the ways we design them matter in our lives. Our new collection of podcasts gathers industry-leading voices that have the power to inspire and educate through conversation and storytelling.

Our first announcement as part of this new network features the design industry favorite, Break Some Dishes. Jon Strassner and Verda Alexander are two giants in the world of interior design -- About 18 months ago, these long time friends came together to start their journey as podcasters with Break Some Dishes - a podcast dedicated to environmental crises we face as a global community under the lens of creativity and design.

In addition, "The Resilience Lab" is an Imagine a Place Productions original that will be hosted by author and speaker Rex Miller. The monthly podcast and blog will explore how we can integrate resilience into work and our lives for wellbeing through the journey and stories of others.

Break Some Dishes is currently available to listeners on Apple Podcasts, Audible, Google, and Spotify, and "The Resilience Lab" will be launching in March.

Connect with Maria on LinkedIn.

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Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World.

Click here to get your own Imagine a Place Conversation Card Deck.

Creating lasting spaces for joy. Feb 14, 2022

Show notes

There is just so much we want to say about our guest Mark Ostrom today - It’s just hard to fit that much goodness into one introduction though. Mark is the founder and executive director of Joy Collaborative, a nonprofit that you will love learning about.

Joy Collaborative is a partnership of impassioned doers and givers –designers, architects, and builders; donors, volunteers, and sponsors – who come together to transform kids’ personal spaces, creating environments that for some kids become magnets of activity; for other kids a place of respite.

For all the kids and families Joy Collaborative serves, they aspire to create spaces that deliver joy. Because as Mark explains, "everyone deserves a space where they can be themselves."

Learn more about the Joy Collaborative: https://joycollaborative.org/

Click here to get your FREE copy of the Imagine a Place journal:

Connect with Doug below:

On Instagram: @Douglas_Shapiro

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doshapiro/

By Email: dshapiro@ofs.com

Email Imagine a Place: imagineaplace@ofs.com

Connect with Maria on LinkedIn.

Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn.

Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World.

Click here to get your own Imagine a Place Conversation Card Deck.

Place matters and so does your journey. Feb 07, 2022

Show notes

In 2016, Amy Leigh Hufford stood on a stage in Chicago as she was handed the IIDA Interior Design Student of the Year Award. For those of us in the room for that moment, it would prove to be unforgettable … and you’re about to hear why.

Amy’s an interior designer at Nelson Worldwide and to say she’s wise beyond her year would be a terrible understatement.

Through today’s conversation with Amy, you’ll take away three things: A load of inspiration on embracing your path no matter how rough that road is, you’ll think deeper about your role as an advocate in design, and how to explore our emotional connection with space in new ways.

Click here to get your FREE copy of the Imagine a Place journal:

Connect with Doug below:

On Instagram: @Douglas_Shapiro

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doshapiro/

By Email: dshapiro@ofs.com

Email Imagine a Place: imagineaplace@ofs.com

Connect with Maria on LinkedIn.

Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn.

Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World.

Click here to get your own Imagine a Place Conversation Card Deck.

What is the secret sauce? Jan 31, 2022

Show notes

Christian Giordano is the president and co-owner of the New York design firm Mancini Duffy, and the host of the popular podcast - The Anti-Architect. We hosted Christian Giordano right here on Imagine a Place in June of 2021. We brought Christian back on the show because after our first interview with him, we felt like he had a “secret sauce” at his firm… and we wanted to figure out what it was.

It will be up to you to decide what that “secret sauce” really is - but if we had to break it down, it’s these three things: Thankfulness, a vision, and a critical eye for your own profession.

Listen to The Anti-Architect Podcast

Click here to get your FREE copy of the Imagine a Place journal:

Connect with Doug below:

On Instagram: @Douglas_Shapiro

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doshapiro/

By Email: dshapiro@ofs.com

Email Imagine a Place: imagineaplace@ofs.com

Connect with Maria on LinkedIn.

Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn.

Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World.

Click here to get your own Imagine a Place Conversation Card Deck.

Data applied to place. Jan 24, 2022

Show notes

Shuli Steele is the Director of the Higher Education market at Planon, a global leader in smart building technologies. She’s an author, a TEDx speaker, and a self-titled learner advocate.

In this episode, Shuli shares how space planning at the campus is evolving. We discuss campus and work/life culture and what we really crave from others when it comes to our time in the workplace.

Click here to get your FREE copy of the Imagine a Place journal:

Connect with Doug below:

On Instagram: @Douglas_Shapiro

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doshapiro/

By Email: dshapiro@ofs.com

Email Imagine a Place: imagineaplace@ofs.com

Connect with Maria on LinkedIn.

Follow Imagine a Place on LinkedIn.

Click here to get your copy of Maria's children's book—Design Your World.

Click here to get your own Imagine a Place Conversation Card Deck.