Interior designer Trip Haenisch resounded loudly on our radar when his work was featured on the cover of Elle Decor last summer. Yup, the one with Courteney Cox on the cover. Of course, to Haenisch, working with celebs is all part of a day’s work, as he also counts Aaron Sorkin, Christina Aguilera, and Cher (Cher!) among his clients. But don’t get the wrong idea. Haenisch’s work reveals not a trace of bling. His style is understated and clean. His Friday Five feels wonderfully insider-y — in addition to a concept car and very famous fashion designer, Haenisch spotlights his favorite photographer, furniture designer, and yoga retreat.

1. Alex Prager
I just bought this stunning artwork by Los Angeles-born artist Alex Prager from her series, “Compulsion.” I spotted the diptych “3:14 pm, Pacific Ocean” and “Eye #9 (Passenger Casualties)” when I passed by M+B Gallery. The unnerving look of the eye and the  work’s resemblance to a movie still triggered me! Definitely watch out for her crisp, boldly colored and dramatically lit photography!

2. Ingrid Donat
French furniture designer Ingrid Donat provides an interesting counterpoint to today’s reliance on cool, sleek, minimalist design. Ingrid engraves the bronzes, hand paints and stitches the upholstery, and custom treats the wood for all of her work. She is creating antiques of the future. I see her as modern day Giacometti.

3. Audi Concept
Growing up, The Jetsons was my favorite TV show! The Audi Shark’s futuristic flying concept vehicle is super cool, and really well integrated conceptually. Its streamlined design is inspired by motorcycles and airplanes. The future is here!

4. Donna Karan
A women of power that speaks from her heart passionately is a hard find. Donna Karan is one of my biggest inspirations. Her latest engagement is in Haiti. She’s been helping artisans organize and utilize their skills by developing their potential to create business models that can be properly marketed and distributed throughout the US and Europe. She is a perfect example of how design and philanthropy work together.

5. Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary
Yoga plays a big part in keeping myself balanced and centered. In the middle of this sanctuary lies a cave in which Buddhist monks have mediated for several hundred years.

Remember The Ultimate Workspace Contest we hosted with Intel? Well, part of the prize, besides a new Lenovo IdeaPad U300e Ultrabook laptop, was a “Where I Work” office tour here on Design Milk. I think you’re going to love the space of our lucky winner, Sarah Lederman, author of Chevrons & Stripes, and freelance stylist and interior designer.

When she’s not working, Sarah scours the Internet and the streets for new products, inspirational images, and exciting new adventures. This New York native studied fashion photography and art in Florence, Italy but currently resides in South Beach, Florida (with her fiance Evan and dog Ziggy), soon to be spending semesters at the New York School of Interior Design where she’ll be following her true passion.

We crashed her pad in South Beach and got a tour of her space, discovering that not only is this lady stylish but her dog is something of a local celebrity (we’re totally fan girls!):

What’s your work style?

I’m big on multi-tasking. I have one million tabs and windows open at once and I’m usually sporadically pinning things on Pinterest when I should be doing other more productive things… I’m convinced this helps me stay creative and on my toes, ha.

Do you have a daily routine?

I typically wake up, walk the pup, and then sit down at the computer with my coffee to answer e-mails. From there the day can go in so many different directions. There are days I’m at the computer all day long – thankfully Ziggy gets me out a few times. But on days where I’m working a shoot, literally anything can happen – there’s always an element of mayhem! Of course everything will change when I go back to school this Fall. I usually wind down the day with a healthy dose of pinning, watching favorite TV shows, and spending quality time with my boys (fiancé and dog).

Vase by designer Paige Russell. “When it’s filled with flowers it makes me so incredibly happy!”

Tell me about your current office space.

I’ve always wanted “his and hers” desks, and this was the first apartment that had enough space to allow that. Our office is also half guest room so a lot of the decisions we made in decorating it were intended to keep the areas fairly separate so that our guests didn’t feel like they were smack in the middle of a work space.

In keeping with the light, airy feel of the rest of our apartment, we stuck to the theme of white, lacquered West Elm pieces – my favorite! Though the big pieces are fairly neutral in color, this room is one of the places I let myself get the most colorful/out of my comfort zone with the accessories – a punchy mix of blues, greens, and shades of coral.

I grew up in New York and have lived and worked there my whole life (with the exception of undergrad). My fiancé took a job in Florida so we moved to South Beach about a year ago. There are some real perks to living down here. We spend weekends boating on the bay, exploring the design district, and trying a multitude of great new restaurants. I recently decided to pursue something I’ve always wanted to do, go back to school for Interior Design, so I’ll be back in NYC again come Fall.

I see you have an inspiration board. What’s on it right now?

Currently my inspiration board is tacked with a Rifle Paper Co. greeting card I was recently sent by a friend, my Art Basel tix from this past season, a Chad Kouri print that reads “together we know everything,” some stickers a friend brought me back from Japan, an old photo booth strip, and finally a postcard version of my favorite Richard Phillips painting (called Spectrum).

“His” – Evan’s desk

Cufflinks discovered in a box of heirlooms from Evan’s grandfather

What is the most favorite item in your office and why?

I love the West Elm shelves above each of our desks. Though they may not be the most functional the way we’ve decorated them, they’re a constant rotation of our favorite books, knick-knacks, and pictures – a true reflection of each of our personalities. When I feel like I’m in a creative rut I like to mess around with what sits on them, and though it’s a super simple change I think it can really make the room look and feel different.

What is your favorite tool you use for getting work done, whether it’s styling, blogging?

I got a Wacom tablet about six months ago and I literally can’t imagine life without it now. I don’t know how I got anything done in Photoshop! It’s pretty much become an extension of my arm at this point.

One of Sarah’s own paintings hangs above her bed.

What are some of your favorite programs and apps for work and pleasure, and your daily must-visit websites?

For keeping myself on track, I love the TeuxDeux app and refer to it throughout the day – it feels amazing to see everything crossed off! I have a serious Instagram addiction, I’m always snapping away and keeping tabs on what everyone is up to. I also love Pocketbooth for taking authentic looking photobooth style pics with friends, Draw Something for wasting time, and Cartolina for sending the prettiest texts ever.

The top three programs I have running on my computer all day are Spotify for background tunes, Photoshop for blogging, and always at least ten tabs open on my browser.

Sites I visit daily include Design*Sponge, Pinterest (duh), and those two typically lead me down a never ending Internet rabbit hole. On Mondays I love to check out Sarah of Note To Self’s weekly quote – always the best pick me up for a case of the Mondays!

What can you tell us about a current project you’re working on?

The biggest project I’ve taken on recently is my decision to move away from a lot of the things I had been working on and go back to school full time for Interior Design. Until I officially start over the summer, I’m trying to immerse myself in that world as much as possible – devouring design blogs, leafing through design books, e-mailing and reaching out to any and all established designers, and of course experimenting in my own space as much as possible. I just attended Blogfest and was very excited to mingle with so many of the design figures I admire!

What amazes you about what your technology can do that you would have thought impossible just a few years ago?

I started Chevrons & Stripes about a year ago and I’m more connected to the online community than ever. Blogging and Twitter have led me to make some incredible connections both professionally and personally and I can’t imagine not communicating with these people now that I’m a part of it. The support system other bloggers, readers, etc. provide is invaluable.

In addition, it will never stop baffling me that the world is truly at our fingertips. In my family, everyone always thinks they’re right about something. I’ll never forget a recent dinner where my mom was absolutely convinced that the famous scene in When Harry Met Sally took place at the Second Avenue Diner. I was certain it was Katz’s Deli. We Googled, I was right. What did we do back when that wasn’t an option?!

Tell me more about Ziggy!

I always joke that Ziggy’s good for business – and he is, haha. It’s impossible to stay in a bad mood at our house for too long because he is the funniest dog ever and as loving as they come. Not a day goes by where we don’t get stopped on the street by a complete stranger who needs to know everything about him (we’ve had a handful of people even ask us to take their picture with him)! He’s kind of a celeb in our neighborhood (and on Instagram)…

What would be the one technological advancement that would make your life easier, or enable you to perform your job faster?

It would be pretty awesome if my iPad could run big applications like Photoshop. I hate lugging a heavy computer around and it’s always a pain to bring on trips. Whenever possible I try to travel light and bring only my iPad but since I’m constantly editing new content for the blog, it’s difficult. I have to say, I’m pretty excited to take my new lightweight Lenovo out for a spin…

With support from our partner, Intel, we’re exploring the offices, desks and tools that unleash the creativity and productivity of today’s designers. Intel is committed to improving our lives with fast, light, wireless (and stylish!) technology. Their goal is to develop tools that help us create amazing things. And we think that’s amazing.

I think waxing just got a bit more fun. Wax Revolution in Mexico City was designed by ROW Studio as a way to set a new standard for people’s idea of hair removal and it looks like they knocked it out of the park. The space was originally dark and rundown in a partial basement that was hidden from view on the street.

They opened it up and created a black steel frame structure that makes you want to take a second look.

The reception area is painted a vibrant blue and it continues to pique your interest from the street. One of the first things you notice when you walk in is the enormous black faceted desk that begins at the front window and continues down the hall.

The pièce de résistance is when you round the corner and come upon the brightly colored faceted walls with matching mirrors that create not only volume but the most interesting corridor I’ve ever seen. I’d like to party here after dark.

Photos by Sófocles Hernández.

Italian designer Diego Grandi does a little bit of everything – surface design, interiors, and even exhibition design. Prove di Stampa is an exhibition he designed for the 15th year celebration of SaloneSatellite 2012 and it’s all about a print laboratory.

More about the exhibition:

A print laboratory will be held in a 25 m2 area, a setting made of magnifying lenses, colour gradients and typographic memories. The space is a summary on digital printing experienced through mutant surfaces: colour shades, defined by different white grids, create an installation based on the CMYK system. Laminate, ceramic and wallpaper express their possibility of customization and the opportunities of surface design nowadays.

Photos by Andrea Martiradonna.

We’re hardly slaves to the trends, but when a look as fun as fluoro comes along, it’s hard to resist. Neon fashions bring to mind armfuls of brightly-colored jelly bracelets à la Madonna and her legions of Material Girls from the ’80s, but back then, when it came to decor, mauve was having a moment. Not so right now. For this week’s CMYLK, we chose a dozen neon + bright pieces we’d be happy to have at home.

Clockwise from top left: Hot Pink Thonet Chair, Robinson Wall Clock, Kontextür Neon + Squared Shower Ring, Tom Binns Dot Dash Earrings, Seletti Versailles Fluo I*Mug, Fluoro Sync & Charge Cables, Innit Acapulco Chair, Sagaform Mirror Tealight Holders , Marks Silicone 2012 Diary, VÄNNERNA DRAGKEDJA Duvet Set, La Tete au Cube Fluo Salt & Pepper, Eva Solo Ice Tea Maker

Located in a boutique hotel in Varna, Bulgaria, Graffiti Cafe is a swank spot designed by studio MODE. The same building houses a four-story hotel, along with an art gallery, restaurant, and nightclub, therefore the cafe needed to be a continuation of the hotel’s modern aesthetic.

The designers had to merge the front part of the space being close to the exterior of the building with the back zone by “reducing depth of space while keeping the panorama.” They wanted the overall look to be an Escher-inspired space but had to deal with complex acoustic and ventilation issues, meaning they had to find a way to mix materials throughout. The linear elements that begin on the curvy pillars and continue onto the ceiling are phenomenal and definitely help create the cohesive environment they were looking for.

The geometric floor tiles mimic the three-dimensional wall treatment on the back wall.

Photos by 3inSpirit.

Borja García designed the Llar fireplace collection for Gandia Blasco. He says, “We wanted to work on a product that would transfer concepts more akin to inside a house, like siting round the fire, to the outdoor space and Llar is a response to this idea. It has a purely architectural look, with the product’s proportions and composition conveying the solid feel and presence so typical of the modern trend, in which fire is treated as one of the basic architectural features of the house.”

Dan Black and Martin Blum founded black+blum in 1998 and are based in London, where they work out of an historic building with tons of character, but it wasn’t always like that (think: working out of a caravan). They design, source and market their own range of products, which are now sold in leading design stores all over the world, like the recently-featured Eau Good Water Bottle. We popped into their digs to check out where they come up with their best-selling designs. When we arrived, Martin was not present because he and his wife recently welcomed twins! So, Dan thought it would be fun to create a life-sized cutout of Martin to pose for pictures — these are my kind of guys!

What’s your work style?

We don’t have a formal work style per se and it changes from project to project. Normally one if us comes in one morning and says, “how about designing a ‘water bottle?’ …and this is how a project is kicked off.” It’s that off the cuff and we are keen to keep that way. Sometimes we will have been living with the idea for months and sometimes it’s inspired by a recent trip to an antique market or museum. Don’t get me wrong – the idea is scrutinized and passionately debated! We believe that new ideas should only be put into production if they can really be justified and when we say justified, we mean by improving on the functionality of what is already out there. Being strict with these criteria often makes it hard to find products to work on, but we definitely believe it is our responsibility to do this as designers and that a product will have a better chance of succeeding if it is truly justified. Many ideas fall by the way side, but we have now been working together designing products for over 15 years and the process is always getting better and more refined.

Do you have a daily routine?

Dan: I live a one hour train journey north of London in the open countryside, so my day starts pretty early catching the train. The commute is long, but I love the contrast of living in the countryside and working in London, plus the train gives me a great chance to design and read. I also work one a day week from home which I love as it allows me to do things like taking my son to school and walking my dogs at lunchtime.

Martin: I live near the office, so have a leisurely cycle ride to get to work.

We both get to the office about an hour before everyone else and this gives us a chance to discuss new designs, have a coffee and plan the day ahead.

This is about as much of a daily routine as we have. We do have a weekly routine where we have one day a week out of the office. It is a bit of a discipline to organize this as it is too easy to get locked into the email inbox and routine non design admin, but getting out of the office to take advantage of all of the influences that London has to offer is so useful…and enjoyable. Typically we spend the day visiting small niche shops, cool areas, and new museum exhibitions or even just sitting in a coffee shop sketching. Other routines include everyone in the company going to a Le Pain Quotidian coffee shop for breakfast once a month. They have great big bowls of latte and delicious breads. It is a great way to find out what people you don’t sit next to in the office do outside of office hours and not discuss work things. We also have Konditor & Cook near us, which have amazing cakes, so whenever it is someone’s birthday, it is a great excuse to have tea and cake.

You’re the first team we’ve featured on “Where I Work” – what are some of the pros and cons of working as a design team?

We have been doing group projects together since we studied together at Northumbria University back in 1994 (a staggering 18 years ago!). There may not be a telepathic link between us, but it is pretty close and the advantage of working together this long is that we can communicate new ideas to each other very quickly and with very simple sketches. This definitely makes the process quick and efficient. Hopefully the advantage of the “team” aspect of black+blum is that our designs are always a joint input of both of us and a product will be a culmination of all the good bits …and hopefully none of the bad! The disadvantage might be for outside designers working with us, who might find it initially hard to keep up with the pace of the communication between us.

What is your favorite design tool?

An obvious answer is the notebook and pen, but it really is the perfect initial tool to start quickly communicating and exploring a new design (I think most designers have an unfair advantage when playing Pictionary). We do make a lot of foam board models and also rapid prototypes. For software, we use Solid Works, which is an amazing 3D modeling tool. It has a history facility built in, which allows you to almost go back in time and change the design at an early stage of the building process.

Do you have a favorite item that you’ve designed? What’s your bestseller?

I think we are always a bit in love with the latest design we are working on and different designs will have varying likes for different reasons. Climbing Light was our first design, so obviously this has a great importance for us…especially as it is still being sold today. James the Doorman was the first design that required injection molding tooling, so as “product designers,” this was a big step. It was also the first product to sell in higher volumes and this in turn, gave us the exposure and capital to work on other projects. The Loop Candelabra was an exciting design due to the fact that it was very hard to find a skilled manufacturer who could hand make them. Although the design is minimal and simple in its appeal, it shouldn’t be under appreciated. The lunchbox range and water bottle have all been exciting as they are products that we both actively use on a daily basis, which gives them their own unique appeal. They have also been the best sellers.

Tell me about your current office space, when you moved there and where you were before.

We are now based in the Oxo Tower, which is situated in the heart of London next to the River Thames between the Tate Modern and London Eye. The building was originally constructed in the 19th century as a power station. Today, it has restaurants, flats and two floors of small creative studios for different disciplines such as fashion, graphic, jewelry, furniture and product design. We have been based in the Oxo Tower for twelve years now and it is a fantastic place to have a studio. It is an amazing launch pad for creative companies as everyone knows each other and is happy to share their skills and experiences. You can be a small company, but feel part of a larger group. It is a big change from where we first started in a caravan owned by Martin’s uncle in the middle of a forest. When we first started black+blum, we didn’t have an office space, so the offer of a free caravan was greatly appreciated. There were two small bedrooms and we did have an Internet connection, so it wasn’t completely spartan. But spending a few months in a small old cold caravan up a muddy track in the middle of winter is a good long-term survival test for any business relationship!

The original b+b office!

From the looks of your original office and your current one, it’s clear that your business has significantly grown. Did you experience growing pains? When did you know it was the right time to move to a new space?

We have been steadily growing since we first started. We are now a team of 12 permanent staff and four of these are on the design side (the other eight are involved in the business/administration roles). Unlike designer-makers or design consultants, we are not actually making the products ourselves or designing for other people. We design products, find skilled people to make them and then handle the stocking and selling of these items. However, we outsource as much as possible, especially where there are clear advantages. With warehousing for example, we use third party warehousing, which allows us not to have to worry about growing. For PR, we use experts who have much better experience and resources than anyone we could employ internally (in the US, we use BDE who do an amazing job). Outsourcing allows us to have a small team and stay flexible to design the products we want to, rather than the products our structure allows. It also hopefully allows us to grow without experiencing the growing pains that we might have if we were looking after every aspect of our business. Like the process of design, we are continually looking at the company organization and systems and challenging the structure to see how we can make it better. It is definitely not about size or money, but more about what is the best structure that will give us the freedom to design what we want and be able to enjoy the process along the way. The hope is that we both personally continue to develop the products we really want to and in twenty (or thirty) year’s time, look back on a portfolio of products and be proud of every single one.

At this point, we actually need more space as the current office space is far too cramped. There is a chance that in the very near future the Oxo Tower will be developing a new onsite extension and we will be able to get a much larger space. At the moment, we are holding out for this.

What can you tell us about a current project you’re working on?

Without giving away the actual products, we are working on two products that aim to take advantage of manufacturing skills that still exist in the UK. More and more products are being made overseas and we have set ourselves the brief of finding ideas that can and should be still made in the UK. The UK has an amazing manufacturing heritage that in many sectors have been over looked and certainly not valued. The car industry is a good example where this was realized too late. Most (I think all?) premium UK car brands are now owned by foreign companies. Dan will be speaking about this at the Product Design and Innovation conference in May.

What amazes you about what your technology can do that you would have thought impossible just a few years ago?

3D software and rapid prototyping are now definitely part of our design process and are so much easier to use and more accessible in terms of price. With certain algorithm software, it is possible to experiment with forms and pattern that have never been seen before. With rapid prototyping, it might not be that long (30 years?) before everyone has a rapid prototype machine in their home and designers are just selling the 3D files rather than actual physical products.

It appears that you have lots of tools and things in your office and you mention that you make a lot of foam board models and rapid prototypes. How has the process changed in the 15 years you’ve been designing products together. When do you most often find yourself going to the analog tools?

The design process has changed massively in the last 15 years. 3D design software is so much more intuitive and accessible in terms of price and this has meant that combined with rapid prototyping, it is much quicker to develop new designs. The only negative is that sometimes, designs can look great in the computer and the temptation is to sidestep/shortcut the refining or development time and this can lead to products being produced that are not as good as they should be. You have to be strict with yourself and not rush the development process. Analog tools such as pen and paper are great, but there is no substitute for a physical rig / test model that really gives you a true indication of size, ergonomics, scale and character (things that can be falsified on a computer or sketch).

What is on your computer desktop?

We are currently working on a new tape dispenser and this is a simple 3D computer file for it.

What are these drawings all about?

I am not very disciplined with my sketching and they probably don’t mean much to anyone (including myself sometimes). They are possible shapes for a new fridge water carafe that would use the same binchotan charcoal filter as our water bottle.

Whatcha doing here?

Sawing some copper wire — it’s a prototype for a wire coat hook design that we’re working on.

Do you have a brand of pen or pencil that you favor?

I would love to be disciplined and say that I always use the same pen, but I have a tendency to lose any good quality pens that I have and always end up steeling pens from other people. Maybe not very designer to admit, but I seem to end up consistently using cheap hotel give-away pens. It is particularly strange as I love pens and even once tried to launch a range of silver pens. I approached designers such as Terence Conran and Shin Azumi and had them design a silver pen that they would want to use as their everyday pen to design with. I even had a prototype made up of my own design and do sometimes use it (but am careful not lose it!). Sadly the price of silver went through the roof and I wasn’t able to find a good enough quality factory to make the pens and the venture never made it past the drawing board.

What is this?

This is an early rapid prototype and production version of the new Thermo pot (vacuum food flask) that we are launching later this year. It has a stainless steel spoon which magnetizes to the side of the body and a cork lid. It is great way to carry hot food and we have all been using them in the office.

Is there anything you’re really itching to design or redesign?

Dan: I can’t answer for Martin…he loves cars and is a keen kite surfer, so it might be anything related to these (or maybe a baby product with the arrival of his twin boys). For me, I would love to one day design a watch. We have worked on a watch design, but never took the concept through to production. It would be lovely to work with an established brand that has amazing mechanisms and really push the boundaries. I think Marc Newson has done some amazing watch designs for Ikepod.

Photographs by Bruce Hemming Photography for Design Milk.