Women Designers You Should Know Amber Asay

Sustainable fashion is a complex issue, but women are the ones leading the charge. Join Roanne Adams and Amber Asay as they shed light on fashion industry's 4 most influential women designers, who are putting in the work to be kinder to the earth.

Renowned graphic designer Gail Anderson shares her journey from creating magazines in her youth to working at Rolling Stone and beyond, discussing her experiences as a woman of color in the design industry and the evolution of her career. Listen in on how Gail's mentors shaped her path and the fulfillment she finds in seeing her designs in the world.

In this episode Amber Asay and Lisa Congdon talk about the legend that you may have not heard about, Gere Kavanaugh, who's work spans 1950's through 2020. She's another Cranbook Academy and multi-hyphenate designer, and has the most impressive repertoire of work.

Today I am joined by Catherine Casalino to talk about the life and work of the incredible graphic designer and artist, Barbara Kruger. From her graphic design background, how that influenced her art, to the meaning and impact of her collaged artwork. We even dive into the ironic cycle of her regurgitated work being regurgitated by the skateboard brand, Supreme, and their head-scratching lawsuit story.
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Barbara Stauffacher Solomon (graphic designer) passed away days after we recorded this episode. Guest, Rachel Gogel and Amber Asay dive into Barbara's life, design approach, and impressively long career as a woman designer.

On today’s episode, we’ll discuss the life and work of industrial designer, Evelyn Ackerman, who’s work was prolific during the Mid-Century California Modernism era in the 50s and 60s But what makes this episode even more exciting is that we’re joined by her daughter, Laura Ackerman-Shaw, who offers a unique perspective and personal insights on the incredible work of her mother.

Laura Ackerman-Shaw, is a Stanford University graduate with a bachelors and masters degree in English literature, boasts 35 years of experience in publishing and has been the Executive Director of Ackerman Modern since 2015. She passionately preserves and promotes her parents’ design legacy through museum exhibitions, presentations, scholarships under their name, preserving their archive of work, writing articles, and licensing her parents products with brands like Design Within Reach and CB2. Based in the Bay Area, Laura, her husband Marc, and their son Aaron live in a vibrant mid-century modern Eichler home, embodying the artistic essence inherited from her renowned designer parents.

Evelyn Ackerman, alongside her husband Jerome, was a leading figure in Mid-Century California Modernism. Her colorful and whimsical designs spanned ceramics, mosaics, tapestries, woodcarvings, and hardware, embodying the Bauhaus philosophy of blending art, craft, and industry for accessible quality goods. Her design style ranged from geometric minimalism to biomorphic abstraction to figurative stylization, highlighting her intuitive use of pattern, color, line, proportion, and composition.

Evelyn and Jerome’s pieces from the early 1950s through the early 1980s gained recognition nationally and internationally, noting the cultural nuances encountered in Evelyn’s creative journey. Her and her husband’s timeless creations adorned postwar modern interiors, fueling California’s housing boom, have been seen in museums and even on sets in movies and television. Despite retiring from manufacturing in 1979, their legacy endures, captivating collectors today and resonating with a new generation drawn to their collaborative spirit and unwavering dedication to their artistic vision.