How to Think like a Holistic Designer

1. What Holistic Design Means To Us: I'm stuffy and this is Mary of clear Studios. This is the third class and our ongoing series. How to Think Like a Holistic Designer. We wanted to take a more casual one take approach by using Design dialog as the main direction for this class. We will be discussing some various topics. And after each conversation there will be a prompt for you. Integrate that and to take your own kind of dialogue with it. A few of the topics that we will discuss are Sustainable Lifestyle Practices, the healthy Materials Movement, biophilic Living Within our homes, as well as biophilic Living Within our communities. Then we'll wrap a conversation back to us to share with you what Inspires Us, us designers, whether that's an artist, a specific place where a moment of travel. All of these have so many different inspirations and directions of how we carried our own design. We want to inspire you to have that way of critical thinking where you use that Multidisciplinary lens and almost that Jack of many trades aspect of the way that makes us into these multidimensional inspired designers. And looking at things from not just one angle, but approaching it from many angles. We believe that holistic design is for everyone. We feel it's a life skill that everyone has the ability to learn and to bring into their lives. This class is for anyone that enjoys podcast-style discussions regarding design. Where you feel inspired by two people having a roundtable discussion about various topics with an emphasis on critical thinking and a Holistic Design lens. Our world is changing right now, and we feel this is an opportunity to dive into some of these topics that are very relevant to the world that we find ourselves living in. So feel free to make a cup of tea and grab a notebook and come sit with us and let's have a conversation. 2. Topics: Welcome to our class. Thank you so much for joining us as we delve into these various topics of holistic design. The topics that we're going to be discussing in this class are what Holistic Design Means To Us. The Feeling of Belonging, connection to History, biophilic Living Within The Home, biophilic Living Within The Community, and Sustainable Lifestyle Practices. And then we'll get into consumers Have Power, healthy Materials Movement. And then what Inspires Mary and I as designers, whether that's a place, an artist, different locations around the world. Then Tips and Tricks. And having a more jack of many traits approach to this Multidisciplinary lens of design. After each topic will have a prompt that follows. So we encourage you to grab a notebook and write down what comes up during that specific prompt and to Post your favorite one Within the class project tab. We hope that these prompts help you to integrate and engage with the conversation that we're having. We look forward to having you Within our intimate discussion of holistic design. Now we're going to dive into what Holistic Design Means To Us 3. The Feeling of Belonging: So, Stephie, what does the feeling of belonging mean to you? I feel like this is a very expansive question because that question is always changing for me on a personal level. Like growing up, I moved around a lot and through this experience of living in so many different places and so many different homes, I always felt this sense of like I never really belonged until very recently in my life, moving to New York and starting our design practice and really grounding. I feel like the sense of belonging I get when I help others find their sense of belonging. So again, using that idea of space is therapy. I think becoming a designer and having a larger emphasis on holistic design has offered me that space of therapy to continue exploring that sense of belonging in a really both pragmatic and expressive way, which is super exciting. Yeah. What does that mean for you? This larger kind of question of, does that mean it's connected to a specific place and trying to cultivate that sense of home within that sense of belonging within my own being so that wherever I go, there I am and feeling like that internal turn of being in a space of feeling safe, I think, for me, that has a lot to do with belonging and Yeah, it's been a big process of self discovery and also finding that those questions of, like, Well, what do I need to feel safe and seeing that that is something unique for each of us based on our experiences of life, our families, the cultures that we're coming from. But I think belonging is tapping into that. Like, what do we need to feel safe, to feel at home, to feel this shelter and then bringing myself into situations and spaces in which I can connect into that feeling. It's a cool experience to be able to travel to new unique places and you actually feel that sense of home, which is a really interesting way to lean into that that a new environment can evoke this sense of memory and even childlike experience of having that connection of home, which is really amazing. I encourage that for everyone to do something new and find your sense of belonging through new experiences. I feel for me belonging does have a lot to do with relationships and feeling like that there is this supportive group of people around me, friends or family, loved ones, feeling that sense of I'm not alone, feeling like if I do need help with someone that I have someone to reach out to, I feel that's a really key for this topic of belonging. And looping that back to how does that relate to holistic design, I feel that there are more spaces and places, whether it's within our own homes or within a community space where one can go and meet up with people, people that maybe are friends or make a new friend. But having these places that support gathering and coming together and connecting with others, I feel is super important. Yeah, connecting more in a deeper personal way as technology is growing and we are on our phones quite often. I think cultivating that sense of community is totally possible and not using technology as a form to connect less, but if there's someone that you're admiring on various social media platforms, even reaching out to them to collaborate, I think can create these new experiences and deeper connections to that sense of home. Because we have technology at our fingertips and we should really use that as not the main thing that we're doing. And not the only thing that we're doing, but using that as a tool to guide us to just have these deeper connections and mindful connections with people. After this discussion, we prompt you to take out your notebook and write down what it means for you to have that sense of belonging and possibly even a childhood memory that you can tap into that has created that sense of belonging for yourself. Next, we'll get into our connection to history. 4. Connection to History: I wonder what our thoughts are on delving deeper to investigating some of the history of spaces that we Design, or where we live or where we've traveled. Yeah, I feel like that is something over the years we've gotten worn, we're interested in whenever we have a new project or even when we moved into the Brooklyn brownstone of learning about when was this bill, who is it built by? What was going on in the world that moment in time? Yeah. It's almost like putting your detective sat on. You just want to investigate and see and maybe even find a photo that was kind of archiving that moment in time. I think why we're so fascinated with this is because it's all like a layering upon each other and even looking back even deeper into history on when humans started living together, when agriculture started and we evolve from hunter-gatherer and then these towns started and then they started growing into cities. And just this more larger picture on how we ended up being where we are today. Yeah, definitely like as a civilization. And it's interesting to even know like we are these modern people living in, essentially, if you walked on specific streets, they were built since like the turn-of-the-century of 18th century, early 19th century. And so looking at all of these older images of people in front of these brown stones and they're like opening up their car. That is clearly a car from 1920s and 1930s. And the street's kind of look the same, like it's the same brownstone, the same street. But now we're kind of like plucked into this world of modernity in what was built probably over 100 years ago. Yeah, there's a lot better. It's very interesting to see like Marion, I have worked on a few different projects in the city. And particularly one that comes to mind as Joshua haha plan does mexicana in Chinatown in lower Manhattan, but it used to be Irish town right before the Brooklyn Bridge was built. And there's just so much history there. Like we started to uncover all the layers of just what was there and expose the original 1920s ice cream parlor mosaics and the space. Yeah. We find like in this moment in time where we are in a transition of perhaps not needing to consume so much. I feel like connecting to History. And in this example, then we were able to just utilize this flora that was already there. Instead of needing to purchase all of these new materials and create a new floor. And just seizing those opportunities when they're available to us. And taking that moment at the beginning of the project to get curious and to investigate a little bit deeper, can in the end, be kind of the main driving force for the project. Yeah, it definitely was the main story that we wanted to share with that particular project. And a discovery where the floor was just too beautiful and we patched up specific areas and it was a very imperfect, beautiful floor that held the sense of like History. And also you don't really see those floors anymore. For the second and third location, we had to recreate those mosaics. But truly, we were taking different color palettes outside of those specific mosaics, like the, the burn, Tuscan tone and the sages in the mosaics became like the painted walls and the main inspiration for the projects. This connection to History for me also brings up just seeing the different types of architecture in different regions of the world that are very responsive to whatever the bioregion is there. So, for example, like we got to go visit the Earth ships in New Mexico that are all made with earth. And they can build those there because it's a super dry climate that they don't get a lot of rain in versus where we live up here in New York, in the northeast of the US. It's a lot more rain. It's a lot more temperature changes from hot to cold season to season. So you see these more timber frame homes that are insulated and they have the steeper pitched roofs because there's snow loads and just also connecting to History in the sense of how does that relate to the actual place that In, in a more ecological sense of it. Yeah, very interesting to notice that physical environment and what that produces in the way that we shelter and the way that we live. Those are shifts or so beyond. Amazing even for us, it was just such a unique experience of walking into them with the recycled glass bottles. And along with that, with specific regions that we live in, History has sort of given parameters of how we can have these building codes. So down in those specific areas, you can build the structures because they will withstand and maybe different areas. There's a history of earthquakes, hurricanes, different things that maybe we have as a modern society have become more adaptive and into learning how mother nature will be because she will persist and she will, at the end of the day, do what she does in the way that she does things. And so we can only be witnesses of fat and sort of alter the way that we build an honor, the way that she does her thing in the world and on our earth. It makes me think of also this other aspect of connection to History, which is a lot of the indigenous people who were here and still are here on our earth. And how many of these indigenous communities in the way that they build their homes and their structures. They're very tuned into Mother Earth and to what that natural environment is. And even just this different perspective. Like when we were down in Peru and seeing how like in the Incan culture there, they take this approach of really listening to the land. The land is alive. And instead of just coming in and like clearing everything out, It's more actually seen this mountain coming up and maybe there's this area that then provides a foundation to build from. And just, I feel like I'm only starting to learn about the ways in which the indigenous cultures have in various ways around the world attuned to using local resources. Different types of building techniques that are more low tech often, but actually are super functional. And I feel like there's so much to learn. Yeah, it's something that low-tech be coming more high-tech because learning and listening, witnessing. Even we were in Peru, some of the earthquakes that were happening. Earthquakes removed. What was the modern built, but the actual ink and build was like perfectly intact in every possible way. And if we can do anything is still learn from more of those primitive methodologies of the way that they've been doing it for years. Really fine tuning and really learning. I think it's so cool when you walk to these primitive structures and you just see like a simple sundial, Like they already figured out how to tell time and how to connect with the moon cycles. And there's just so much they're ingrained in history that we should always reflect back to. I feel it's an opportunity for everyone to get curious about wherever they live and the indigenous people that were there, and how did they build and how did they approach the world and what was the cosmo vision? And just to get curious, and it's this moment of time where we're acknowledging that are like modern high-tech ways might not be the path forward completely and taking that time to just open and expand our minds. So we encourage you to put on your investigative hats and prompt for this topic is to notice what's around you, where you're living. Can you have the sense of investigation of the history of the home that you're Living. Is there an old archived photo that is put in a local library of yours that you can maybe find who lived there before when it was built, and even the structure of what holds your home together or your current space. Then we will see you for the next topic of Biophilic Living Within The Home. 5. Biophilic Living Within The Home: Biophilic, bio, meaning the love of nature, life. How do you view that within your own personal space? Biophilic, I feel in a very direct sense it does have this aspect of working with plants. Both of us love having plants within our space for multiple reasons. I think the largest one is this beauty aspect that pop of green color. I feel like psychologically it touches a deep place in us that there's life growing and this is a nurturing place for life to flourish. And then plants, they breathe in carbon dioxide and they release oxygen. So I also feel their this amazing filtration system that has been shown to help clean air and just have this flow of the airspace. Yeah, definitely plants as a top thing. I think it's so amazing to be in a space witnessing plants grow and change and thrive as well. I have this like long IV that I put on top of my alter space, like my chimney alter space and it sort of like took on the wall and just started to do its thing and grow up and up and up. And every moment I'd wake up and just see like new leaves grow anything that As such a calming experience of back to the idea of care. Like something that we're taking care of in the space that brings you back to the space and there's essentially life growing in your room. For me, I don't have any animal pets and in a certain way I feel like plants are somewhat of these beings that I'm connected with. And seeing them, as you're saying, grow over time and change and developing a relationship and being able to notice like if a plant is feeling a little sad and then what do I need to do to improve the conditions of this plant? And it is really lovely to have that type of relationship with this living entity, even if it's not like a little dog running around? Yeah. I was on a Zoom call and after like 20 min on that call, a few people asked me like if I was like living in Costa Rica because I have so many of these jungle muster, Monstera and birds of paradise plants behind me and these like snake plants. And I was like No, I'm actually in the city, like right in Brooklyn. And they're like, Oh, I also have the city and it was like a nice moment of like perspective of just sharing to others. Like you can actually create your own jungle, your urban jungle in your environment. Another thing of Biophilic that comes to mind as we talked about checking in with the seasons and having more of that connection to the outside, bringing nature inside and having that sense of care. What are some other things that we've sort of brought into our own personal space that have, that, has that sense of, of Natural Love. I think for me, bringing in these different types of natural textures and forms can be another way to integrate biophilia. Most of our homes that we live in are these rectilinear boxes. And perhaps it's bringing in some sort of sculptural vase that has more organic form or a textile that has this kind of wavy pattern. Bringing in these moments that help break that grid, I think do help us connect with more of a natural environment. Because when we look out into a forest or a field or even a desert, It's all these undulating shapes. We don't often see these super like cubic kind of forms. So thinking about these ways that we bring in through objects, more sculptural types of forms and colors to getting inspired by a pallet of color that might come from maybe this like really dark burnt sienna type of clay color that maybe then is like a terracotta piece and how these types of colors can also connect us back in. Yeah, there's definitely a lot there of using organic cues to setting up your own personal space, ways to connect with Biophilic Celia, Within your personal space is again noticing the outside and the changing of the seasons. And walking down the street and observing the leaves changing on specific trees. And they might be changing at different rates because all trees have different sort of temperature reading. And when winter happens and everything seems like it's almost asleep, things start to bloom and you notice the first like magnolia tree. And it's so beautiful to have those Moments have changed that are happening on the exterior that you start to apply Within your interior space. One example of this recently I went to this place called Manitoba, and inside the house there, the cabinet tree doors were actually reversible. And on one side it was a lighter wood that they said they used for spring and summer and then followed come around. They would flip them around and it was like a darker toned wood, which I thought was a pretty involved example. But another way could be having different curtains. And perhaps in fall, winter, it's a thicker curtain because you're also trying to keep the cold out. Versus in spring summer, perhaps it's something lighter and that she is more shear and just kind of a tunes with the season in that way. Yeah. And that idea of like opening up the windows and really having felt like fresh air come into the house. Yeah, we have I feel like most places you might not consider have four seasons, but even in California, like in Southern California, there's still this area four seasons that happens and recognizing the change of those four seasons, even if it means it's not necessarily snowing or like this dramatic shift of the weather. Like there's still those moments of change even if it's more of a rainy season, dry season type of climate. Again, it's an opportunity for everyone to get curious about their local place and to see what the seasons hold for them. Yeah, it's sort of like if you're changing the clothing that you're wearing during the year, Why not this space? And that's a nice way to just be more flexible without change. And know that when something is placed or when you arrange these in a specific way, it could always be altered and shifted and just, yeah, adaptable plants are so adaptable nature is so adaptable, changing with whatever conditions commits way. And I think that is a big takeaway from biophilia, is how can we adapt and how can we create beauty with whatever we have and finding meaning in the spaces that were in. And finding that love of life that comes from being in a space that feels resonant and connective for myself to be in. And really tapping into that sense of discovery of what that is. I feel like another way that I connect with biophilia in the home is through sound and finding like these different field recordings, whether it's the birds chirping outside like we're hearing here today. Or maybe the sound of ocean waves. And how some of these natural sounds can often just help bring a sense of peace and relaxation into, into our homes. Yeah, absolutely. That reminds me of those Zen gardens that you walk up to and just that sound of like water droplets hitting. It's such a relaxing organic frequency that can bring such a calming effect. And I recommend anyone who has a garden space outside like that could be a really incredible summer to spring project to set up a little pond or an area where you have moving water that does evoke those sounds of nature. I was reading that. It's like why is that so comforting to us that sound like moving water and if we trace it back, It's that that meant life. Like if we were living close to moving freshwater, that meant that we could sustain our lives. So I feel like it's something like deeply programmed within us that, that sound equals like survival and equals life like water is life definitely beautiful. Take on. Integrating these ancient primitive connections to the modern day human and further understanding what brings us more of this I calming environment and space and how we can continue to cultivate that. In this prompt, we encourage you to write down in-home practice that relates to each of the cycles for the season. For example, that could be during the summer, you get into resetting your room for the hot weather, opening up all the windows and redoing your bedsheets. Or during the spring, it could be related to a specific spring cleaning of shifting all of your clothing that you have in the closet from that winter season into the spring. Thank you for listening. For our next topic. We're going to expand this idea of Biophilic Living from the home into our communities. 6. Biophilic Living Within The Community : Biophilic Living Within The Community. We're going to dive deeper into what that means To Us. For me, it has so much to do with the fact that we're all so interconnected. Really know one of us can live independently. So while, yes, it is so important that we cultivate a healthy sense of self and Connection to our own desires in our own needs. This topic of Biophilic Living Within The Community expands that we need each other and we can't live in isolation. And how do we do that? Like, what does that actually look like? Definitely, when you expand yourself from that personal space and Home and project outwards. It's that community that resides around where you're living that offers that sense of belonging and that sense of home. And I do love to just further expand on these ideas of the community garden and different urban parks. Like if you are located in the city, going to these different areas where there is nature and where communities of people go to enjoy nature together. And then you can have more of this connection towards your neighbors, people that live around you, and that day-to-day experience that can enrich your life when you're walking down the street and you know, the person who's walking down on the opposite side of the street and you're just saying hello. I think that really enriches that connection of biophilia and community coming together. Yeah, It makes me think about how in nature everything is working in symbiosis together. And there is acts of service that different parts of the ecosystem are offering to each other. Perhaps this large tree provides shade for this other smaller or to grow. And I think how that can translate into our actual lives is through seeing how we can be of service to others and to our communities. And maybe that looks like volunteering somewhere. Or it could also just look like helping an elderly neighbor do a simple thing that they might have a much harder time doing, makes me think about when we were volunteering with food, not bombs, and got involved with this organization that goes around and gets expired food from supermarkets and then brings it to the park. And a group of volunteers then would help sort it all and distribute it to people in the neighborhood. And is this beautiful experience of people coming together around something so foundational such as food. And the energy was so kind of celebratory and phon, and it was every weekend in the park and it was this like activity that so many of us looked forward to and through giving, giving back and being of service. It's the reciprocity then comes back. And it is, I think we were talking about that law of attraction and sort of what you put out into the world then comes back to you. And this lesson of the interdependence between us all. Definitely a feedback loop. And in so many different cultures, people tend to live much closer together and communities and in family dynamics. And here in particular in the States we live in a more like you. You spend high-school and then you go off to college and then you get your first job. And at that point you live very far away from your family. And I know that other cultures and places all over the world, you actually do stay in the home with their mom and dad. And there's that close Community Network. It's not like that all across the board. Obviously things happen in dynamics change, but on a fundamental level, there's always this act that the younger person in the community will take care of the elder. And I think that even though we as living in these modern societies and in these more smaller community bubbles, There's always a moment for you to become into that role of giving back to various people within your community AND function as someone who can more than anything like step up in a really simple way. It's not really like you have to do These things that are dependent of you every weekend. But if it works for you within your schedule, I feel like it can have a really large impact on that as what we're seeing with you do get the energy of what you receive and this really beautiful feedback loop. Another idea that comes to mind is like when you do have a Community guarding down on the street, it really just creates a more of this positive atmosphere for other people. Like doing a community mural on a wall can also activate this beautification of a neighborhood. And really invoke this level of like there are artists and people who care about the neighborhood which further then impacts how people also start to behave in those specific areas of the neighborhood. Just giving that sense of care again to the community. Yeah, this topic of Beautification, I think, is a real key as many of our built environments are often, maybe not so beautiful. And there is a lot of concrete and asphalt and these really hard surfaces. And perhaps there isn't the possibility of having trees on your street, but this idea of bringing in a colorful murals and perhaps even having members of that community join in and creating it. And having this collaborative, co-creative type of experience can be in and of itself just super connective. I'm definitely noticing this large change in the city that we're moving towards outdoor seating out on the sidewalk. And it just changing the atmosphere of everywhere. Now you're experiencing blocks that you can walk down where people are just enjoying happy hour or just a meal. And having that connection has been really has certainly added like a vibrancy. Even, even for us living in our brand stones, we were able to meet our neighbor Yvonne, who is right next door to us. And we beautified a little plot of land that was write on the sidewalk around a tree and built up these like fences and added our own little sort of beauty, beautification of the sidewalk. I've just planting flowers and That's such a great way to meet neighbors and other people. And you're kind of like actively working. I feel like an hour doing things. That's when you actually run into people that you live next to. Our prompt on this topic of Biophilic Living Within our community is to think about what practices you do in your life, or that you may perhaps want to bring into your life that bring you closer to the people in the neighborhood, in the community around you. And now our next topic, we will touch base on sustainable Lifestyle Practices 7. Consumers Have Power : Consumers Have Power. This is a big topic in Holistic Design, as we are often purchasing many types of different items. And we have a choice. We have a choice who we source things from, and what we buy. And it's amazing to see this movement towards consumers demanding more transparency from companies on what materials they're using, the working conditions of their factories, and environmental impact. I believe that's all coming because consumers are asking that of these companies. It's really incredible to reclaim that Power and not feel helpless, but really to feel empowered. It's an interesting time in our lives definitely to see that. This is a specific example where company trends can be an actual positive thing. That, that pressure can bring actual radical change for people to start to question and look on the side of the list of ingredients. Like when you do read those ingredients, can you actually pronounce half of them? Do they come from a place of something that is closer to the stores? And so again, with our way of critical thinking, that has a lot to do with questioning and being your own investigator. To look deeper, to just see what you can find out on your own that will guide you in that direction of both sustainability and company transparency. And just knowing more, knowing, knowing more of what's going on around you. Yeah. I feel we now it's commonplace that when you get any food item, you really do look at the ingredients. And that same thing is now starting to happen in the design industry and starting to look at all of those different materials and things that are a part of this product. And taking that into consideration. I think technology has also helps that because now information can be more accessible. There's less possibility of companies like hiding things. Now that information is just so rapidly spreading around the world. And this ability for us as consumers to join together, to have conversations and to really demand certain things. Or at least ask for them and hope that that will start to move the needle on what these various companies are providing. Yeah, definitely on a global scale to see that shift. I mean, there's so many different practices that you, as a consumer can do and then see the companies start to gravitate towards a carbon-neutral like nuts, nuts zero impact on the way that they create their product. Companies can start to implement solar panels or more than that. Have more of this ethos of like we are going to use less energy to create whatever good that was in the first place. Maybe companies also choosing. It could be more of the opposite mentality of companies going into direction of going for higher-quality materials, which ultimately as the consumer Means that we are buying less. And in general, the sisterhood of something as a day-to-day consumer is to just in general by things have higher-quality. Because then we're living in a society where we can, like we talked about in our past video, is to continue to reuse and be able to pass down from generation to generation. Like we all have that one relative. That's like I have this one thing that I've been waiting to give to you in this moment, and I've held onto it and I was given it. And I want to do the same for you and that mentality that things could get passed on, that longevity can be lasting as another way for consumers to have that power. This point of quality over quantity is a really big point that we hope you take with you as one of our keys to our approach of holistic design. And our prompt for this lesson is to think about if there's a company that you have engaged more width or less width based on something you've found out about their company ethics. Whether that's how they're treating their employees, environmental impact or another type of thing that you personally care about? How has that impacted how you're engaging and purchasing from certain companies? 8. Sustainable Lifestyle Practices : Sustainable Lifestyle Practices. When I think of this, I think about the three R's. It's reduce, reuse, and recycle. Though there are so many different methodologies to apply those three Rs to your day-to-day Lifestyle. There isn't necessarily one right way. And a large way to look about this is an complete awareness of how your day-to-day actions are affecting others and the planet that we are currently living in. I wonder what are some of the three ways that you practice the Rs? So reduced, right? I think that's a big one that I've been incorporating, especially more recently. Just buying less. And when I do buy something, buying something that is a good quality, that's going to be long-lasting. There has been a shift away from disposable goods and into more of these items that could perhaps become heirloom objects. So reducing what I actually purchase in this context for like my home and getting things that are of good-quality kinda goes into the next one of reuse. And I know both of us love being able to find something, whether it's in a thrift store or even on the street, or even a hand-me-down from a friend. But taking something that was discarded or maybe has ended its life in one way and repurposing it for something else. For example, making a coffee table out of these old wooden spools that sometimes like ship rope would come on there, these beautiful wooden spools, but their main function is to hold this rope. And often those would just then get put into landfill. And through this movement of recycling and upcycling, being able to take that and then go to my local glass shop and have them cut out a nice glass top and then put it on this beautiful would spool. And now there's this super unique coffee table that I have in my space. So getting creative and resourceful with things that are just around. Yeah, definitely the whole antique and vintage direction is the way to go. Anytime I'm traveling, I love to go to antique and vintage stores just to get a sense of the story, what happened in those locations and what you can collect from that. It's so much more interesting to find something that has had a life of its own before, then just filling a space with new things. And it also has the spirit of embodiment, which is really interesting. We love recycling and reusing things for a lot of our projects. And the textiles that we used at Georgia, haha Pontus mexicana. All of the cushions, our vintage rugs actually from Turkey, from a buyer off with Etsy. So things like that. It's connecting with people, purveyors who are all about. Making sure that things don't get wasted, that things don't land in the landfill. Ultimately. There's many different modalities of doing that. And again, like one-way isn't the right way. Clothing is a really large part of a huge waste issue that we're having as a society and culture. And so doing clothing swaps when you get into your closet during that seasonal change on that cycle and you pretty much have that pile of clothing that you don't wear anymore. Maybe you show too few roommates. And after that you do a little mini quoting spot. You can invite a few friends and then you donate that to someone or an institution or non-profit organization that can give that to someone in need. So things like that are really great way of just redefining your role in society to reduce, reuse and recycle. We think a lot about these more closed loop systems where everything stays in the system and what you're saying that the clothes is such a great example of that and how things, even if I'm done with this certain thing, they can have a new life beyond that. Also Thinking beyond our in-home Living experiences, even when you are going out and listening to music, there are incredible organizations that are at the forefront of changing nightlife and mystery. One example that comes to mind is COP zero. He is on a mission to end single-use plastic. And if you think about the times that you go out and you just order a mixed drink or something at the bar and you drink that drink one such just gets thrown out. And so ending that sort of culture of this quick one-off drink that you drink once and you throw away. They do as a organization is they provide hundreds of cups to a specific event. And they had these recollection bins that you put your cut back into. And when you use the cup, you put $1 as or a few dollars as something to hold, hold your deposit. And after that, when you return the cup, you get, you get your deposit back. So I think just changing that experience and even on the cup that just says, we're here to end single-use plastic and cups Within the nightlife. So it does have a huge impact on how we choose to experience our entertainment and going out. Yeah, and it's a very practical example of this type of close-loop system because then at the end of the event they take those cups, they bring them, they've wash them, and then they reuse them for the next event. And it's this beautiful way of being able to have close loop cycles. And another one that comes to mind is bye-bye plastic. One of the main amazing things that they do is connect with different festivals all across the world. And if this festival tends to be like on the beach where there are this, There's wash up pollution from the water which we're seeing more and more increasingly Within our modern life. They start to gather towards doing huge beach clean-ups. And the power numbers is that when you actually gain more people to come together and actually throw it into like a really FUN experience and a party and you blast music. It really just brings up sort of an exciting experience for a lot of people to clean up the beaches and beautified the local community. And another thing that they offer is on artists, contracts and writers, if the artist or DJ is being evolved in the specific event, they can request for no single use plastic being a part of their event. So it's kinda changing the industry from the inside out through different means of impacts on all, all different levels. And you, as a consumer can choose to be more part of these events just because you are more drawn to these green powered experiences. I think we've been inspired by that to also start to try to incorporate that into our design practice. And we're at the beginning of it. But being upfront with our clients about like perhaps for this project, we don't want to try to use no plastic in the project. And or we want to try to use this material that's local and that's abundant and that's regenerative and kind of prompting our clients at the beginning of projects that this is something that we care about and this is something that we would love to bring into this project. And getting that buy-in early on from different stakeholders in the project is something that we're, we're striving towards. And maybe they don't always agree, but we feel like we, as designers can use our voices and can help move the industry in a direction that is more mindful and is taking into consideration impact. Definitely having that conversation is so important. And bringing up, bringing it up in the context that we are actually in an industry where there's so much waste as well. And buildings are always being built, but also spaces are being put up and then demolished and then put back up depending on the client, the US and Alphand and I think developing a strong relationship with the contractor where they actually keep you informed like I'm actually tearing down the specific beam. Do think that this could be of use of a project and having that sort of communication within the growing community of people who have actually so much access to materials. Another place that we love going to is this place called big reuse, where they actually have an incredible archiving and collection of things that just get broken down in different areas all over the city It's so interesting when you like look at their website, they might have a lot of like church pews, beautiful stained glass windows that were just like demolished recently. And they are at the forefront of making sure that that could be Read given to someone who would like to incorporate that in a project. Which most oftentimes it's like the best part of the project when you have this beautiful stained glass window that really holds like magic and History in the space. Yeah, big reuse is such an amazing example. And I think we've also found opportunities when there is a project that has something that is a value, but we might not be using it. We can call them and they'll come and they'll pick it up and they'll salvage it. And being mindful as designers to go that extra step, to make that little bit of extra effort to make sure that these different materials aren't just getting trashed. And it does take a little bit more energy, but both for giving into that system and then receiving back out from it. It's definitely the path forward. And as we definitely talk about being flexible designers. And of course, Mary and I have a vision of what we're seeking Within each project. But maybe someone who is not vision shifts around something that we discover, find, and being not fixed in that way as a really great approach of doing any design. Like you could come across this one found object and it's like, great, this should be actually like what the design calls for. And having that sort of aspect of both a at Sustainable be. It will bring more of this spirit and story to the project. And you're actually honoring sort of like what's happening without being so to like forceful of another maybe design direction that might not be as sustainable as you had imagined it to be in terms of things that you can do in your own homes. In this regard is just thinking about all of the things that you consume. And thinking about those three Rs reduce, do you really need that? And then if you do really need it, Is there something that you may already have that you can reuse for that purpose? And then if not, is there something somewhere else that can be recycled and upcycled for you to use. And just taking that moment in your thought process to go through those different options and perhaps you'll land at, oh, actually, I need to go in like by something new and that's totally fine. Just allowing yourself to become more mindful and more aware and just start to open yourself up to taking that time to think about these things we feel can be kinda starting to shift and opening up to more of a sustainable Lifestyle. This makes me thinking about the kitchen. We spend so much time there to cook and share experiences and nourish ourselves. And within that, setting up a simple closed loop system can be a very effective way. And you can almost see like the, how the energy that you put into it, you can get out of it as well. I'm chopping vegetables where all the off cuts goes to compost. And especially in our neighborhood, we have simple compost pickup that goes directly to a local community, which is super lovely that you know that you are off cuts goes to helping growth of a vegetable in your neighborhood. And simple things that you always use in the kitchen like dish soap and hand soap. You can always buy more gentler version where both of them can be used as the same thing. And a more concentrated version of it where you just add water and it just becomes part of your cycle where you're buying less of those tiny little pumps that you end up like using and then you end up throwing out. So it's like buying more of things in bulk that have maybe a more of a higher concentration that you get to mix within your hone in your, in your own systematic approach of being sustainable and buying less plastic? Yeah, it makes me think about various stores that are popping up on this kind of zero waste model in Brooklyn, there's the package free store, and I think in many co-ops are other stores around the country. You are able to bring in your own jars or other types of containers. And then yeah, Philip, things like soap but also fill up grains and nuts and other flowers and all sorts of things that if you buy them at a traditional grocery store, all come wrapped in plastic and starting to go into this like package free Lifestyle, I think is a really amazing Movement that we're seeing happen. Yeah, it is a really cool way of like that idea of walking through a grocery store and there's like zero brands. It's just that one major brand, a large like a large thing. It just says olive oil. Like you're just dumping or olive oil into a mason jar or whatever. And I feel like changing the way that we consume is definitely, definitely the way to go. Other small tips and simple things that we can do are using reusable shopping bags, perhaps putting a hook right by your entry door. So when you're going out to shopping, it's super easy to just grab this nice canvas tote, bring it with you, put all of your things in it. These types of simple things that you can do that do start to ripple out and have impact. Yeah, it's definitely like a behavioral change. Like how they see like 30 days creates a habit. But I think once you do Like I actually feel naked walking outside without recycled tote bag. Where I'm like, I will walk back blocks to the house to go grab it Just because I'm so like ingrained and being in that cycle. So definitely easy, easy access is always key. Our prompt for this topic is to consider what eco conscious habits do you currently practice in your life? And what are maybe 12 or three additional things based on perhaps something that we brought up that you can integrate. In our next class, tune into Consumers Have Power 9. Healthy Materials Movement: Healthy Materials Movement. This is a growing movement within our industry, as we've talked about, about consumers having the power to question, what are the ingredients listed in the specific Materials be used within our home? There might be various levels of toxicities that you might not realize within the walls, within the carpet, how you're engaging with the space. And especially as, as, as designers, we have more of this closer view as to what these materials are actually doing to us within our Healthy Living cycles. What are some other things that we should be mindful Within The healthy Materials Movement. Like you mentioned, as designers, I feel like we have a certain level of responsibility to be investigating what we're bringing into our homes and into our projects. I recently took a course through Parsons, which highly recommend for anyone interested to dive deeper into this. They've started an entire healthier Materials Lab in the past 20 to 30 years. It's been very much in the zeitgeist of how the built environment impacts the natural environment. And I only feel in the past few recent years, the lens has turned to also focus on how is the built environment impacting human health? How is this actually impacting our well-being? And seeing how there's a lot of materials that are potentially hazardous. And we encourage you to do your own research, to be investigating and using resources that are out there. The healthy Materials Lab. They have a great online database where they list many different types of materials, whether it's carpeting or tile or paint, or all of these things that you might be wanting to use in a redesign of your home. They have vetted these products and done a lot of that research for you. So utilizing these databases that are now coming online as free resources to help source and help find these products that are healthy and are going to bring less toxicity into your home. And again, there's many ways to do it. I get it. Where Living in a space where somebody is, we can control the built environment that we walk into. So it's just a more mindful lens of doing your research and seeing what are some areas that you can start to lead more unhealthy direction. We're living in a time where all United States homes were painted with lead paint. And now we realize that that actually is a toxic material. And so many of the materials that we are currently residing with have in our current day have altered it sort of lens of what lead paint actually is and how that Living, that Living in these specific toxic pains can alter humans as well. So I get it that there's a long research of humans living in these environments and the actual impact that it will make on humans. So there's a heightened, heightened way of connecting to the information that's around you and making a informed decision moving forward. And I feel like it's one reason we really love natural materials, like getting a piece of wood. It's, you know, like that word has come from the forest and if it's not been treated or processed, That's a healthy material. And using natural stones and using things that are less processed often have more likelihood that there isn't anything toxic in them because they're more directly coming from the source. And often those things can be accessible. Perhaps looking at what resources are around you, what is locally abundant. In many places in the world, bamboo is super fast growing and can be affordably obtained. And you can use that for different purposes. So there's many ways to look at it, and it's a movement, it's growing and we're hopeful that it will continue to grow and that we will be living in homes that are healthy and that do really foster a sense of well-being on a very like physical level Yeah, definitely on a molecular level of being able to breathe in a space where it does provide that freshness and less chemical off put that material is. Go into your research and look into these different things. Most places have a measurement of the toxicity that we've talked about. And seeing where you re with that as well. And noticing the different materials that you often come into contact with. And how that actually taking a moment to just see how that makes you feel on a slower level. And then you can have more of this insightful approach to move forward with how you want to be mindful with these Healthy Materials. A final point is thinking about cleaners. Cleaners are actually sometimes some of the most toxic things that we bring into our house. And if we're using them, especially without wearing gloves, our skin is the biggest Oregon and we just absorb all of that right into our skin. So being mindful about choosing a more natural cleaner. And there's so many options out there now. And just bringing that practice of knowing when you're cleaning and if you do perhaps have to use something like bleach, like putting on gloves and just protecting yourself, maybe wearing a mask. There are simple things that you can do. A few things that specifically are high in VOCs, which is a term to get familiar with volatile organic compounds. A lot of different paints omit this. Maybe you've had the experience of painting in a room and then getting a headache afterwards, because it's off-gassing these certain volatile organic compounds or VOC's. So now just look on the labels of many paints. Now you can get either low or zero VOC paints. Also with mattresses or bedding, things that you're going to be like rubbing up against and sleeping closely with. Perhaps consider getting an organic cotton that hasn't been grown with pesticides that can then perhaps irritate your respiratory system mattresses as well. There's various companies now who are making them with intentional Materials. So again, it's this moment of researching and knowing that a lot of these things will likely have a higher price point, but they often will last longer. And thinking about health is wealth and how investing in something that is then going to provide a healthier environment for you to live in long term could be worth it. So our prompt for you in this class is to trace something in your home. Can you be investigative and see where that product actually comes from? And if you do find out that that product has maybe something toxic in it, could you find an alternative product that can bring more Health interior space? So you're pretty much doing that investigation and swapping out something that could be healthier for your environment. For the next topic, we're going to dive into what Inspires Us and get into our inspirations 10. What Inspires Us: Other ways, Mary and I seek inspiration, is looking to iconic designers that I've done amazing works that have impacted the way that we interact with Design. Who are some of the designers that have inspired you the most? Currently at the top of my list, I would say are Charles and Ray names. I really feel super classic connection to the work that they've done in particular and American Design Within the 1940s, 50s and 60s, they've designed furniture that you've definitely sat in. And that's how iconic a lot of their design is. They shifted American culture during a time when we are coming out of World War II. And use a lot of those industrialized processes to use bent veneer plywood and turning them into really comfortable, futuristic, what was at the time very futuristic chairs and furniture. Yeah, I think it designer on that. Same thought, I'm using industrial materials. Who inspires me is Maria pair gay, Who's Romanian born designer, who then moved to France. And she was born in 1930. And her work was really about using stainless steel. That was typically this very industrial material to make these gorgeous furniture objects. And another thing that's so inspiring to me about her is she had this moment in the '60s and '70s of being this kind of revolutionary Designer. And now she's 92 years old as of now in this video is being filmed and she's still active. She released a whole new collection in 2010. And then in 2015, it was like 50 years of her being a Designer. And it's just so inspiring to see, wow, life is so long. And there can be so many iterations throughout a designers process. Definitely, it's very exciting to witness when a designer can move through so many different scales and mediums of their work. For example, even with trials and write games, or a salmon, new Gucci, or some of these iconic people who have done furniture, space, theater, many different modalities of the way that we interact with Art and Design. And they can segue through so many different mediums throughout their career and have an entire sort of showcase of their work over a course of like 2030, 40, and even 50 years. I do highly recommend going to the Osama Noguchi Museum located in Queens. If you are located in New York and are planning a trip, there, there's a really beautiful is N sculpture garden and you can see an entire embodiment of some of his works. Super exciting. Another super inspiring designer to me is Buckminster Fuller, who pioneered the geodesic dome. And what I love about him is he really bridged design with more of this philosophical type of conversation. And I wrote down this one quote that really stuck with me, which was, there is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly. And what I take from that quote is just this ability of transformation and transmutation. And being able to, in his example, take all of these component pieces that just look like sticks. And then through a process of people working together, they triangulate to create this beautiful dome shape. I feel in our practice, we often come into these spaces that feel like they might have no potential. And through a process of using many of our different principles and techniques, we reincarnate them. Yeah, definitely. It's so important to look to these people who have been in the forefront of thinking that in a way of future, like it's very interesting to navigate the minds of these deep thinkers and 40s, 50s and 60s, who've imagined a world Within our current millennial generation. It's almost like write your future experiences of people thinking of these Utopian societies coming together. Another example of this retro future, where these deep thinkers imagined a utopian society of this millennial future and how we will be Living in this futuristic society. Is Arcosanti, it's this actual living community of about 80 people of all walks of life and age. And it's this place located in Arizona, Designed by this Italian American architect. His name is Paulo so Larry. And when you go there, it's the imagination of how societies and communities would be living together. In this systematic approach of you being able to commute super close to where you work. And everyone was a trade or had a dedicated role to the society. And the society was operating again when we talked about in our past topics of a closed loop system. And it is just so amazing to see how these cities and infrastructures laid out. It's beautifully geometric. You're walking through these circle openings of concrete and press concrete and different tonalities of formations. And it is maybe this view of how we could be Living. We're not quite there, but it's cool to see this time capsule of Design being put into place. Yeah, That design of Arcosanti reminds me of another big inspiration of mine. Louis bought Agon, who's Mexican architect and designer. And he plays a lot with color and light and making these environments where landscape blends into the architecture, working with pools and creating these sort of magical spaces. He had a quote that I really liked that was, I think that the ideal space must contain elements of magic, serenity, sorcery, and mystery. And I have the opportunity to go to some of his spaces and feel that feel that sense of there's something here. And I feel like he really was a master at using these big geometric forms combined with color, combined with really paying attention to the sun and how the light was gonna be coming in to create these sort of larger than life types of spaces. It's a felt experience which I feel it's something we get really inspired by when you maybe see an image of a space. But then when you actually go there, it's a totally different experience. Yeah, I really love to use that pictorial lens of walking around live architecture. And you can just imagine like a monolithic wall being built and behind it as like a natural landscape. And that contrast has always been such a deep inspiration of ours. Similar to like James Turrell work where you walk into this absolute meditative space and it's so quiet and serene. And really The Art that you see as the moving sky and the shades and hues of gradients that move. And it really is this moment of like we are so small as these humans living on this planet and the cropping that's happening. The window of what we see is actual nature. And that kind of loops back into our desires of seeking greater connections to nature and biophilia. At it's, at its famous. And maybe that's a common theme of all of these people that we've mentioned, that they are so deeply inspired by nature as well. Also makes me think of more contemporary designer, Julia Watson, who wrote this book called low-tech. And she's really looking at indigenous cultures and how they build and how There's so many things to learn from the natural world. And this pictorial lens that you're mentioning. Oftentimes creating these relics and these thresholds. And how can we do that in a way that connects us into the larger world? She studied some of these bridges where also they use trees and grow the trees together to create bridges. And it's just so fascinating to lean back into the natural world and see how we can work in collaboration with the natural world. I feel like that's something for our generation now that we're evolving into. Yeah, definitely like Storm King vibes is a park located upstate New York where you can go, It's very playful. You can jump on so many different sculptures and have that element of like childlike experience through sculpture. And that experience of play is always a deep sense of inspiration for all of us as well. So our prompt for you is to really think about some of your own inspirations, whether that comes from a place designer or a specific artist. And either print them out and pin them up to your wall, or create a more digital experience where you have a rotating screenshot of them moving around on your desktop so you can get continually inspired. Our next topic, we're going to delve into Multidisciplinary Approach 11. A Multidisciplinary Approach: In this conversation, we're going to dive deeper into our Multidisciplinary Approach to holistic design. Steffi, what's that quote that you really love? It's the jack of all trades, master of none. Better yet then a master one. I love this quote because it's such a reference to embracing or jack of all trades that you are more multidimensional embracing so many aspects of yourself rather than just mans mastering one thing which with an eye within our field of what we do, we're always juggling so many different hats. Do you feel that way? Yeah, definitely. I feel it. It's something inherent as designers that we are considering many different aspects. And as we've shared our specific approach with holistic design, we even try to take a broader lens and really include everything and take this wholeness into account. I think for us that has played out as oftentimes. We're YES, on computers making these specific dimensions, technical drawings. But then we'll also be on-site installing a lighting fixture that we've actually made ourselves with our hands. And being able to bridge these various skills, I feel has been a big asset for us. It seems we're At this moment in time where specialization is being championed. You know, there's a lot of pressure to find your niche and just like Excel in that one direction. And I find that what we're doing is seeing, no, we can actually embrace having all of these different avenues that we explore. And perhaps some of them can be in a more professional way. Some of them can be more of a passion. But embracing that we can have interests in many disciplines. And I think we've found that cross sectional conversation amongst many different industries can often lead to more creative problem-solving. I feel like we're in this really lucky industry of learning new things every day. And having that knowledge-based approach where if we don't know something, it's out there for us to seek out. We are always interacting with so many different professionals and people who are super talented and create it what they do and asking the right questions so that we can start to integrate that vocabulary and just continue on to that process of distilling a lot of information. And honestly what we do is just putting it altogether in a way where it all makes sense within the narrative of our projects. The story that it fits with the client's vision, and all of these different aspects of the way we design is truly learning a new trade and understanding what that trade can offer for us and not project. And To be honest, there's so much knowledge out there you can really look on online just to seek many different things that technical abilities that you can maybe learn on the spot. And if there may be different questions that you can ask to help guide you in the right direction. You're really using that Multidisciplinary Approach of both using things with your hands, using a little bit of that critical thinking that all comes into play and formulating all that together for you to essentially become a designer. I feel like that is the designers role is to learn and to distill and to just really we've all of those narratives together into one well, well-rounded, holistic project. Yeah, taking into account personal impact, collective impact, ecological impact. There's so many different spheres that we've really started to expand our capacity to encompass and be responsive to. We also love to integrate some of our own personal pleasures as well. I mean, more than just designing. We both loved music. We both love so many different, multitude of things that inspire us, that start to get infused and bringing a little bit more of that personality. I think this is such an important thing to do so that it creates a dynamic project. And there's multi-dimensionality Within out. And ultimately it just becomes a reflection of yourself that we are not just these one dimensional beings just working on in front of the computer, like we said earlier, like we're really out there and we might also want to infuse different things as we grow and evolve and change as humans. We hope that this inspires you to embrace your multi-dimensionality within your own dean. Knowing that specifically for holistic design, you have the capabilities like Steffi sharing. There's so many different angles that can be taken and likely you already have some knowledge. We encourage you to embrace that. Embrace that you can pursue many different creative path. So in this prompt, we would love for you to write down three things that are the jack of many trades. Three things that are dynamically different approaches of what interests you and see how they can all influence each other and overlap each other to actually create a holistic vision. This brings us to our final tool in our next class, which are our pro tips and Tricks 12. Tips & Tricks: So tips and tricks where at the final topic, where we get to share with you some of our simple methodologies of tips and tricks that we've picked up over the years. What is something that you'd like to share of your own Tips and Tricks. So first off, I think one thing I've noticed that we do when we first enter into space or have a new project, is to really consciously go through the entrance of the space and keep your vision really wide. Really taking in the full expanse of the space and taking in what you notice, What would maybe be a good place for focal point. What may be is really like jumping out, that's not working. And it's something I come back to also as maybe I'm spending more time and space to actually physically walk out of the space and then come back in through that entry and see what that experience is like. Often when yourself or someone coming into your space interests in that first moment, that first entry impression can leave a lasting note. So that's one thing that I noticed we do a lot to get that fresh perspective. Yeah, Definitely not walk through. My tip is to look under things and behind things. That is where you get so much information of how things are being put together. Anytime I see a table, anytime I go up to like a bar, I love to look underneath it just to see how things are constructed. Because when you start to understand how different combinations of materiality is come together and how things are constructed. It actually helps guide you as a Designer. And again, with that sort of like critical thinking, It's like you're coming up to this thing. How is it made? And kinda like breaking things down into Materials. That's a really good one. Another tip that I have is if you are struggling on finding your style or finding how you want to make a space feel cohesive. You're feeling a little bit lost. One thing that we come back to is a monochrome palette of exploring one specific color and getting many different objects or pieces that are going to make up that space in that color range. They can vary in texture and quality. And then once you have this monochrome palette, than choosing something that's really special to you. Whether that is a piece of our, or a special rug or something that maybe breaks out of that color palette and gives some other variation within the space. Especially with color. I love to reference existing painting. And by that I mean, look into something else to use inspiration as your interior space. Like sometimes when you see Salvador Dali painting or some of these other surrealist or timeless pain painters. There's already these combination palettes that are happening there that you know, just a complimentary in that they work. And so when you draw some of those color tones out of those paintings to use within your space. It gives you this guideline of parameter, which leads me to, my other tip is being really great. I'm using references. Know where your creative inspirations come from. So you can use that as a form of communication tool and vocabulary. So you can start to kind of showcase and describe more of your space. Because we do design things and think that they are unique ideas which they are a lot of times because there are our own combination of things coming together. But most often when we design, it's a reference to other existing things that have been surrounded around us that inspire us. And so I think honoring that aspect that we are referencing things continuously and you can continue to use that as your dialogue. Another trick that I have that I want to share is around how to create a moody type of environment in your space. One of my favorite ways to do this is Hopefully you have a plant now because you're inspired by this Biophilic aspect of design. And if you have one of these more jangly plants like monstera, getting a simple hardware store clam flight, and clamping it underneath the light and uploading the plant. It can create these super beautiful patterns of natural form coming through the leaves and creating this up lighting can make a really moody environment that in a flip of a switch, you can turn your overhead lights off. Turn this light on, and now you have this transformed space. Yeah, I love that playing with the natural environment and creating shadows and illuminating it. Another tip is within our field, don't ever underestimate the power of recommendation and referrals. We always make sure that every project we embark on, we make sure that the relationship is positive one, even if the project doesn't even turnout, Even if they don't even choose us as the Designer, we make sure that that relationship, that meeting went as well as it could. So they could recommend us for some of their other projects that they potentially further down the line. So much of our own embarking within our own career has been just this beautiful form of verbal recommendation that has really been such a strong contribute towards our studio. So always make sure that you're coming in there with a positive mindset, that you are remembered and that you can say things that can be a attribute, positive attribute to the project, and that can be remembered later on. In that same vein, one tip is, if you are going to be bringing another person into a project, really making sure that you either have a relationship with that person or you know, someone who's worked with that person. Because we've definitely had the experience of bringing someone in that we didn't really know and then it didn't go so well. That was definitely a learning lesson of making sure to also vet other people that you might be recommending for a specific part of your project. Yeah, there's definitely a lot there with interpersonal skills all coming together. And again, with, with Mary and I coming into these different dynamics. It really is so helpful for us to come with a common sense of this open-mindedness to allow for this natural cooperation to happen. Because so many personalities come into play. And so I think juggling that is also another tip and trick that we've developed over the years is to just really, really make sure that our dynamic can be something of an adhesive, like a glue that holds the entire project together. And as a final trick, if you are working, say with a family member or a roommate or even a client. This aspect of newly including them in the conversation and having at some moments, even then, Feeling like their ideas are being incorporated and included. And that's been something we say. It's like a Jedi mind trick sometimes like, even if it is our idea, how can we perhaps have it seemed like the client somewhat, it's their idea to and having this buy-in from everyone early on in the project and throughout the process, we found is super helpful. And ultimately it's a collaborative process. And ideas we feel are often the best when they do take into consideration many different viewpoints. So really, that's a tip and trick of including an having conversation. Just allowing this co-creation to unfold. Definitely. We're so excited to be sharing our own Tips and Tricks. I'm sure over the years, we'll just have more that will be Within our toolkit that we'd love to continue to share with you. Our final prompt for you is to write down a tip or trick that Mary and I have shared that has really resonated with you. With that, we encourage you to also write down your own tip and trick that you can share to someone else. 13. Conclusion: You made it through all of our topics. We got to discuss a wide range of things that we thought would be a grave podcast-style of this really fluid open communication. Where Mary and I are having a Movement of speaking on different aspects of our design process and things that Inspires. We hope that this has brought up a lot for you and is inspiring you to get curious, do your research, find your inspiration and authenticity? We hope that you participated in answering the prompts that were at the end of each topic. And for the class project, we would love it if you take the one that resonated with you the most and put it into the class project tab. We really hope through all of these prompts, you start putting on your thinking hat and start thinking like a holistic designer. Until next time. Bye