Insider Trading

We asked our coterie of 10 design professionals to reveal the keys to their success.

Karen D. Singh -- Interior Design, 3/1/2005 12:00:00 AM

Jayne Michaels and Joan Michaels

Who they are: Interiors dynamic duo, 2 Michaels. Secret weapon: Each other.

"Even though we're twins, we don't think the same." "For wingback chairs, I go for modern, unique, gutsy, chiseled," says Jayne.

"My choices are timeless, traditional, sculptural, and womblike," says Joan. "Working together creates a dialogue of endless possibilities."

D.B. Kim

Who he is: Vice president of Westin Design and hospitality hero. Secret weapon: Functional products that are good-looking.

"Moisture-resistant wall coverings help provide a visually pleasing, comfortable experience to our guests, while also being highly functional. I stay away from decorative items and unwanted details. My mantra? Stop decorating; be efficient."

Mark Zeff

Who he is: Zeff Design'sresourceful renegade. Secret weapon: Always on the hunt.

"The search is what I really enjoy. Finding an unusual object and working it into a project is like adding fine jewelry to an outfit. These fixtures are so organic and jewel-like. They seem Byzantine in nature. We're grouping 40 of them in Jeffrey Chodorow's L.A. restaurant Social Hollywood, an old athletic club that dates to the late 1920's."

Robin Guenther

Who she is:Guenther 5 Architects'queen of green. Secret weapon: Sustainable materials.

"Materials tell the story of the project. Not just through their appearance—color, texture, hand—but also through their substance—source, extraction, manufacturing, and disposal. That part of the story used to be silent, but no longer."

Laura Bohn

Who she is: Laura Bohn Design Associates'materials goddess. Secret weapon: Metallics.

"Using metallic finishes is similar to painting with watercolors. They allow you to build layers of hues that then reflect back on the room's palette, only softer."

Lee F. Mindel and Peter Shelton

Who they are: Shelton Mindel & Associates'purveyors of smart spaces. Secret weapon: Books.

"Samuel Johnson once said, 'Knowledge is of two kinds: We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it.' A source of information transcends the value of any product in any time. Knowledge is a timeless pursuit."

Bill Schwinghammer

Who he is: Johnson Schwinghammer Lighting Consultants'master of illumination. Secret weapon: Corrective lenses.

"As an architectural lighting consultant, I help bring to life certain areas, volumes, surfaces, or finishes so the actual space is consistent with the designer's vision. Light is radiant energy visualized through the color spectrum, and at times measures need to be taken to rectify an inconsistent palette and lighting condition. Corrective lenses filter the spectrum by blocking out unwanted colors while letting through the desired and enhancing colors of light. The most important thing a designer can do to prevent errors is to select finishes in lighting conditions that are similar to those that will be used in the space they're working on."

Dennis Janson

Who he is:Janson Design Group's sound machine. Secret weapon: Noise-controlling materials.

"As an architect and an acoustician, I determine the way sound interacts with surfaces or volumes, to the listeners' benefit. An understanding of how certain types of products treat the arrival of sound is the first step in controlling it. To eliminate mid- to high-frequency echo, diffusers work well, as they breakup the sound waves and reflect the sound in a uniform rather than discrete pattern. For frequency reduction in areas like video-conferencing facilities, fiberglass panels work well, as they affectively absorb these frequencies to reduce sound decay rates. Leave a 1-inch air space behind the fiberglass and you create a mini bass trap that absorbs even lower frequencies."

Starworks sources

2 Michaels

1. Franco Albini through Brian Kish, 27 Greene Street, New York, NY 10013; 212-925-7850; briankish.com.

2. Poltrona Frau, 145 Wooster Street, New York, NY 10012; 212-777-7592; frauusa.com.

3. Donghia, 485 Broadway, New York, NY 10013; 212-925-2777; donghia.com.

4. Holly Hunt, 801 West Adams, Suite 700, Chicago, IL 60607; 312-329-5999; hollyhunt.com.

5. Burden and Izett Antiques, 180 Duane Street, New York, NY 10013; 212-941-8247; burdenandizett.net.

D.B. Kim

1. Maharam, 251 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010; 800-645-3943; maharam.com.

2. Innovations, 150 Varick Street, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10013; 800- 227-8053; innovationsusa.com

3. MDC, 1200 Arthur Avenue, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007; 847-437-4000; mdcwall.com.

4. Innovations, as above

5. Innovations, as above.

6. Maharam, as above.

7. Innovations, as above.

8. MDC, as above.

9. Innovations, as above.

10. Innovations, as above.

11. Maharam, as above.

12. Maharam, as above.

Zeff Design

1. L'Artigiani International, P.O. Box 18, 9080 Lochristi, Belgium; 32-9-337-05-02; lartigiani.com.

Guenther 5 Architects

1. C&A, 311 Smith Industrial Boulevard, Dalton, GA 30722; 800-241-4902; cafloorcoverings.com.

2. C&A, as above.

3. C&A, as above.

4. Ice Stone, 63 Flushing Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11205; 718-624-4002; icestone.biz.

5. Ice Stone, as above.

6. Arc-Com, 33 Ramland South, Orangeberg, NY 10962; 800-223-5466; arc-com.com.

7. HBF Textiles, 900 12th Street Drive Northwest, Hickory, NC 28601; 828-328-2064; hbf.com.

8. Arc-Com, as above.

9. Kirei, 640 10th Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101; 619-236-9924; kireiusa.com.

10. Stone Source, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10003; 212-979-6400; stonesource.com.

11. Arc-Com, as above.

Laura Bohn Design Associates

1. Ann Sacks, 8120 Northeast 33rd Drive, Portland, OR 97211; 503-281-7751; annsacks.com

2. Ann Sacks, as above.

3. Création Baumann, 114 North Centre Avenue, Rockville, NY 11570; 516-764-7431; creationbaumann.com.

4. Outwater Plastics, 4 Passaic Street, Wood-Ridge, NJ 07075; 888-688-9283; outwater.com

5. Artistic Tile, 79 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003; 877-528-5395; artistictile.com.

Shelton Mindel & Associates

1. Mechoshade Systems, 42-03 35th Street, Long Island City, NY 11101; 718-729-2020; mechoshade.com.

Johnson Schwinghammer Lighting

1. Zumtobel Staff, 3300 Route 9 West, Highland, NY 12528; 800-932-0633; zumtobelstaff.com.

2. Lucifer Lighting, 414 Oak Street, San Antonio, TX 78202; 800-879-9797; luciferlighting.com

3. Zumtobel Staff, as above

4. Philips Lighting, 200 Franklin Square Drive, Somerset, NJ 08875; 201-563-3000; lighting.philips.com

5. Dec-Tec, through Continental Lighting, 928 Broadway, New York, NY 10010; 212-254-4400.

Janson Design Group

1. RPG, 651-C Commerce Drive, Upper Marlboro, MD 20774; 301-249-0044; rpginc.com.

2. RPG, as above.

3. RPG, as above.

4. Acoustical Solutions, 2852 East Parham Road, Richmond, VA 23225; 800-782-5742; acousticalsolutions.com.

5. MBI, 5309 Hamilton Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44144; 216-431-6400.

6. RPG, as above.

7. Acoustical Solutions, as above.

8. RPG, as above.

Shelton Mindel's Top 50 Reading List

1. Aalto, Alvar. Alvar Aalto: Between Humanism and Materialism

2. Abercrombie, Stanley. George Nelson: The Design of Modern Design

3. Albers, Josef. Interaction of Color

4. Alpern, Andrew. The New York Apartment Houses of Rosario Candela and James Carpenter

5. Ando, Tadao. Tadao Ando: Light and Water

6. Barragan, Luis. Barragan-The Complete Works

7. Croquis, El. El Croquis 77i/99: Sejima + Nishizawa

8. Croquis, El. Herzog &DeMeuron, 1998-2002

9. Dal Co, Francesco & Mazzariol, Giuseppe. Carlo Scarpa: The Complete Works

10. Düchting, Hajo. Farbe am Bauhaus: Synthese und Synästhesie

11. Eklund, Douglas. Thomas Struth: 1977-2002

12. Fiell, Charlotte &Peter. Design of the 20th Century

13. Fiell, Charlotte &Peter. Scandinavian Design

14. Franzina, Antonio. Andrea Palladio: Le Ville

15. Fromonot, Francoise. Glenn Murcutt Buildings and Projects: 1962-2003

16. Futagawa, Yukio. Global Architecture 70: Walter Gropius Bauhaus/Fagus Factory

17. Galassi, Peter. Andreas Gursky

18. Gimenez, Carmen. Calder: Gravity and Grace

19. Itten, Johannes. Design and Form: The Basic Course at the Bauhaus

20. Jodido, Philip. Tadao Ando: Complete Works

21. Kantor, Sybil Gordon. Alfred H. Barr, Jr. and the Intellectual Origins of the Museum of Modern Art

22. Kelly, Ellsworth. Ellsworth Kelly: Red Green Blue—Paintings and Studies, 1958-1965

23. Kosinski, Dorothy. Henry Moore: Sculpting the 20th Century

24. Lamprecht, Barbara Mac. Richard Neutra - Complete Works (Jumbo Series)

25. Lobell, John. Between Silence and Light

26. MacKay, Robert, et al. Long Island Country Houses and Their Architects, 1860-1940McLeod, Mary. Charlotte Perriand: An Art of Living

27. Meier, Richard. Richard Meier Architect

28. Moller, Henrik Sten, and Udsen, Vibe. Jorn Utzon Houses

29. Morgan, Morris Hickey and Vitruvius, Pollio. The Ten Books on ArchitectureNiemeyer, Oscar. Curves of Time: Oscar Niemeyer Memoirs

30. Poulsen, Louis. Light Years Ahead-The Story of the PH Lamp

31. Ramsey, Charles and Sleeper, Harold. Architectural Graphic Standards, 10th Edition

32. Roman, Antonio. Eero Saarinen: An Architecture of Multiplicity

33. Rouillard, Dominique. Superarchitecture: le Futur de l'Architecture, 1950-1970

34. Rouland, Linda &Steven. Knoll Furniture 1938-1960

35. Rykwert, Joseph. Louis Kahn

36. Saunders, William. Modern Architecture: Photographs by Ezra Stoller

37. Serota, Nicholas. Donald Judd

38. Serra, Richard. Richard Serra: Sculpture 1985-1998

39. Sheridan, Michael. Room 606: The SAS House and the Work of Arne Jacobsen

40. Stern, Robert A. M. &Others New York 1900: Metropolitan Architecture and Urbanism 1890-1915

41. Storr, Robert. Gerhard Richter: Forty Years of Painting

42. Sulzer, Peter. Jean Prouve Complete Works- Volume 1: 1917-1933

43. Treib, Marc. Thomas Church, Landscape Architect: Designing a Modern California Landscape

44. Tzonis, Alexander. Classical Greek Architecture: Construction of the Modern

45. Tzonis, Alexander. Santiago Calatrava: Complete Works

46. Vanlaethem, France. Gaetano Pesce: Architecture, Design and Art

47. van Zuylen, Gabrielle &Schinz, Marina. The Gardens of Russell Page

48. Vellay, Marc, and Frampton, Kenneth. Pierre Chareau