It’s Clever’s 10th anniversary! We’re celebrating by honoring some of the amazing stories we’ve collected over the years. Jay has continued to make meaningful contributions to the world since this conversation, and we have updates. Be sure to subscribe to our Substack & social (IG & LI) to catch up on Jay’s recent news!

Clever Ep. 163: Industrial designer and founding partner of Barber Osgerby, Jay Osgerby, grew up in a small town in England, with his close-knit multi-generational family and the backdrop of his grandparents’ experiences through WWII. His childhood was filled with making things - inspired by his Swiss ancestors’ stories of watch and camera making. His parents were incredibly resourceful, whether it was opening a shop together or repurposing curtains when the local cinema closed. This pioneering spirit is something that Jay has carried with him throughout his career - from his studies at RCA where he met long-time business partner and friend, Ed Barber, to designing the 2012 Olympic Torch, to revolutionizing how people work remotely with Soft Work seating. Now, 25+ years into design, Jay reveals the triumphs and tragedies that lined his path and forged his character with candor, humor, and an unflagging optimism that burns bright and steady like the inextinguishable flame of the Olympic Torch.

Images, links and more from Jay Osgerby!

Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven.

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It’s Clever’s 10th anniversary! We’re celebrating by honoring and revisiting some of the amazing stories we’ve collected over the years. Our guests have continued to make meaningful contributions to the world since we had our initial conversations, be sure to subscribe to our Substack & social (IG & LI) to catch up on some of their recent news!

Michael Ford is the designer and activist known as The Hip Hop Architect. Born in Highland Park, Michigan the son of a minister, Michael was raised to be inquisitive and question the world around him to find deeper truth. Early on, he found his passion for design and music, expanding it into a practice of architecture and design through the lens of Hip Hop culture. This led to his founding of The Hip Hop Architecture Camp®, a camp that positions Hip Hop Culture as a catalyst to introduce architecture and design to underrepresented youth. He’s also working with some of Hip Hop's greatest names as he leads the design of The Universal Hip Hop Museum in The Bronx. 

Images and more from Michael Ford on our website!

Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven.

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SIGN UP - for our Substack for news, bonus content, new episode alerts

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Special thanks to our sponsors!

• Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.
• Join us for Emerging Designers Spotlight LIVE, Sunday May 17, 4pm on the Main Stage at ICFF NYC. Register to attend for free with code: MISKGENSPK

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s Clever’s 10th anniversary! We’re celebrating by honoring and revisiting some of the amazing stories we’ve collected over the years. Our guests have continued to make meaningful contributions to the world since we had our initial conversations, be sure to subscribe to our Substack to catch up on some of their recent news!

Ep. 56: Jerry Helling - President and Creative Director of Bernhardt Design, Jerry Helling, grew up on a ranch in a remote town with 11 people in his graduating class before venturing to USC and a potential career in Hollywood. A personal epiphany combined with serendipity rerouted him into the furniture business, resulting in a long and distinguished career as a keen mentor of talent, a champion of originality, a risk-taking, needle-moving industry voice, and a major benefactor of international design. Plus, he’s really nice!

Images and more from Jerry Helling on our website!

Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven.

SUBSCRIBE - listen to Clever on any podcast app!

SIGN UP - for our Substack for news, bonus content, new episode alerts

VISIT - cleverpodcast.com for transcripts, images, and 200+ more episodes

SAY HI! - on Instagram & LinkedIn @cleverpodcast @amydevers

Special thanks to our sponsors!

• Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.
• Join us for Emerging Designers Spotlight LIVE, Sunday May 17, 4pm on the Main Stage at ICFF NYC. Register to attend for free with code: MISKGENSPK

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s Clever’s 10th anniversary! We’re celebrating by honoring some of the amazing stories we’ve collected over the years. Our guests have continued to make meaningful contributions to the world since we had our initial conversations, be sure to subscribe to our Substack to catch up on some of their recent news!

Ep. 213: The Quiet Rebellion of Biodesigner Natsai Audrey Chieza - Natsai Audrey Chieza spent her youth in Zimbabwe in a close-knit extended family where she and her cousins were “in each others’ pockets.” In her teenage years the national economy crashed, necessitating a family relocation to the UK, and she began learning the skill of “not belonging.” Architecture studies proved alienating so she found a way to combine them with her love of fashion (to the consternation of her professors.) Rejecting the prescribed path of a professional architect, she instead pursued a postgraduate program in Material Futures that set her on a path of designing with bacteria. Now, she’s founded Faber Futures, a biodesign studio, and Normal Phenomena of Life, an artful lifestyle and fashion brand that also functions as a working prototype of a new model bioeconomy. She’s spent her whole life quietly not doing what was expected of her, and in this space of outsiderness she’s been very busy creating new paradigms for how we might collaborate with nature and new models for the equitable stewardship of these new biotechnologies. So, in terms of cultural infrastructure, she is an architect after all! 

Images and more from Natsai Audrey Chieza on our website!

Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven.

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SIGN UP - for our Substack for news, bonus content, new episode alerts

VISIT - cleverpodcast.com for transcripts, images, and 200+ more episodes

SAY HI! - on Instagram & LinkedIn @cleverpodcast @amydevers

Special thanks to our sponsors!

• Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.
• Join us for Emerging Designers Spotlight LIVE, Sunday May 17, 4pm on the Main Stage at ICFF NYC. Register to attend for free with code: MISKGENSPK

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s Clever’s 10th anniversary! We’re celebrating by honoring some of the amazing stories we’ve collected over the years. We’re kicking off the party with a rewind of our very first episode! Joe Doucet has continued to make meaningful contributions to the built environment since we had this conversation, be sure to subscribe to our Substack to catch up on some of his recent works!

New York-based multi-disciplinary designer, Joe Doucet, tells Amy and Jaime why he doesn’t start any project with sketching, how a pair of avant-garde headphones caught the attention of Lady Gaga, and how he cross-trains his brain. 

Images and more from Joe Doucet on our website!

Special thanks to our sponsor! Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.

Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven.

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SIGN UP - for our Substack for news, bonus content, new episode alerts

VISIT - cleverpodcast.com for transcripts, images, and 200+ more episodes

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Special thanks to our sponsors!

• Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.
• Join us for Emerging Designers Spotlight LIVE, Sunday May 17, 4pm on the Main Stage at ICFF NYC. Register to attend for free with code: MISKGENSPK

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Curator Alyssa Velazquez grew up with theater as her first form of community—a foundation that continues to shape her curatorial work. Her current exhibition at Center for Craft, Craft-itarianism: Community Action Through Craft, explores how craft can add joy, distribute resources, and foster community among at-risk and marginalized people. Velazquez brings a unique interdisciplinary approach to her curatorial practice at Carnegie Museum of Art, pulling from past work in art preservation, acting, and scenic design. Alyssa teaches us that the act of making can form resource generation within communities that need life-affirming support, and that craft methodologies—from job training to art therapy to social enterprise—can be applied to create meaningful social change.

Images and more from Alyssa Velazquez on our website!

Special thanks to our sponsor! Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.

Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven.

SUBSCRIBE - listen to Clever on any podcast app!

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VISIT - cleverpodcast.com for transcripts, images, and 200+ more episodes

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Special thanks to our sponsors!

• Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.
• Join us for Emerging Designers Spotlight LIVE, Sunday May 17, 4pm on the Main Stage at ICFF NYC. Register to attend for free with code: MISKGENSPK

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Julia Watson, a landscape architect, author, and educator, developed a passion for global cultures and knowledge as a child in Australia, inspired by her parents' National Geographic collection. She has since dedicated her career to exploring traditional knowledge systems and their application to contemporary design challenges like extreme weather, waste management, and population growth.

At the heart of Watson's work is a profound respect for indigenous knowledge systems and a commitment to applying Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) to climate-adaptive design. Through her work with Lo-TEK, including the recently launched Lo-TEK Office for Intercultural Urbanism, and her books, Lo-TEK: Design by Radical Indigenism and the upcoming Lo-TEK Water (November 30 release), she strives to facilitate the equitable exchange and implementation of indigenous knowledge and technology to the crucial and complex challenges of our evolving world.

Images, links and more from Julia Watson on our website!

Special thanks to our sponsor - Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.

Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven.

SUBSCRIBE - listen to Clever on any podcast app!

SIGN UP - for our Substack for news, bonus content, new episode alerts

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SAY HI! - on Instagram & LinkedIn @cleverpodcast @amydevers

Special thanks to our sponsors!

• Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.
• Join us for Emerging Designers Spotlight LIVE, Sunday May 17, 4pm on the Main Stage at ICFF NYC. Register to attend for free with code: MISKGENSPK

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Designer Liz Ogbu grew up in Oakland as the daughter of Nigerian immigrants, but it wasn’t until her first trip to Nigeria at 16 that she grasped the profound role place, family, and cultural context play in shaping who we are—and what we create. Drawn to the creative possibilities of architecture, she studied both architecture and engineering before traveling across Africa on a Watson Fellowship, an experience that sharpened her understanding of who her work is ultimately for: the people most impacted by design.

Today, Liz is catalyzing what design can do—in transforming informal marketplaces, helping communities heal after being fractured by freeways, and weaving practices of grief, accountability, and repair into the built environment. Her work transcends traditional architecture, centering the excavation of harm and the pursuit of more empathetic, community-rooted design at a moment when it’s needed more than ever. 

Images and more from Liz Ogbu on our website!

Special thanks to our sponsor! Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.

Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven.

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Special thanks to our sponsors!

• Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.
• Join us for Emerging Designers Spotlight LIVE, Sunday May 17, 4pm on the Main Stage at ICFF NYC. Register to attend for free with code: MISKGENSPK

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Artist and designer Dennis Maher has spent decades exploring the life cycles of buildings. After studying architecture at Cornell, he moved to Buffalo, New York—where a job in demolition introduced him to the visceral reality of the built environment constantly breaking down and rebuilding itself.

That experience sparked a practice rooted in salvaged materials, forgotten objects, and the imaginative transformation of ordinary spaces. Maher’s work now spans sculptural installations, living environments, and his most ambitious project: The Assembly House, an evolving artwork housed inside a historic church that also serves as a training ground for the building arts.

Part immersive artwork, part cultural attraction, part educational engine, The Assembly House teaches people to build while reconnecting them to the tactile, communal experience of craft. Through what he calls “architectural dream worlds,” Maher explores how memory, materials, and imagination reshape the way we understand the spaces we inhabit—and the role we play in building them. 

Images and more from Dennis Maher on our website!

Special thanks to our sponsor! Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.

Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven.

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Special thanks to our sponsors!

• Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.
• Join us for Emerging Designers Spotlight LIVE, Sunday May 17, 4pm on the Main Stage at ICFF NYC. Register to attend for free with code: MISKGENSPK

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Oscar-winning costume designer Deborah L. Scott grew up sewing doll clothes, puppets, and getting swept up by the stories at the cinema. At 21 she went to work costuming show girls on the Vegas strip. Once in film, her adaptability, imagination, and resourcefulness carved a path that led to projects with Steven Spielberg and James Cameron, and onto sets of the biggest films of our time. 

Images, links and more from Deborah on cleverpodcast.com!

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If you enjoy Clever we could use your support! Please consider leaving a review, making a donation, becoming a sponsor, or introducing us to your friends! We love and appreciate you!

Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Rich Stroffolino, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven.

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Special thanks to our sponsors!

• Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.
• Join us for Emerging Designers Spotlight LIVE, Sunday May 17, 4pm on the Main Stage at ICFF NYC. Register to attend for free with code: MISKGENSPK

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Public artist Michael Townsend grew up in a military family that relocated often—at least ten times during his childhood. He learned early how to explore new locales and seek out new friends before moving on to the next temporary hometown. His final relocation was to study art at RISD, when he chose Providence as home—and began quietly reshaping it. He founded the Tape Art movement in 1989 and built a thriving practice rooted in ephemeral public murals, deeply personal underground installations, and highly clandestine collaborations, including the now-legendary Secret Mall Apartment.

For more than 30 years, he has created hundreds of temporary murals and collaborative public works around the world, including the 9/11 Hope Project and the invention of the BOOM! Projector. Now, with the success of the Secret Mall Apartment documentary on Netflix, it’s clear that he and his collaborators were deeply intentional about incubating that narrative until it was ready to be heard.

Moving fluidly in and out of the shadows—showing up, making an impression, then dissolving underground only to emerge again—turns out Michael himself may be a work of ephemeral art.

Images and more from Michael Townsend on our website!

Special thanks to our sponsor! Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.

Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven.

SUBSCRIBE - listen to Clever on any podcast app!

SIGN UP - for our Substack for news, bonus content, new episode alerts

VISIT - cleverpodcast.com for transcripts, images, and 200+ more episodes

SAY HI! - on Instagram & LinkedIn @cleverpodcast @amydevers

Special thanks to our sponsors!

• Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.
• Join us for Emerging Designers Spotlight LIVE, Sunday May 17, 4pm on the Main Stage at ICFF NYC. Register to attend for free with code: MISKGENSPK

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.