Entries by Leslie

seek knowledge

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash Know-it-alls don’t know it all. They’re just more uncomfortable more of the time because they want their peers to believe that they do know it all. They’ve created a self imposed conundrum…they can’t learn new things because they already know it all. So when they don’t know something they must find a […]

deafspace

(edited June 4, 2017) Deaf is a culture. Deafness is not seen in the deaf community as a disability but rather as a difference. It is not necessarily something to overcome as much as it is something to become part of. Deaf culture is rich in social behavior, tradition, values and history and just like […]

what does restaurant design look like?

People eat out for two reasons: the food and the experience. Sometimes one takes precedence over the other, but for a restaurant to truly succeed, both must be deliberately addressed. Last month I traveled with my daughter for a couple of weeks. We ate out….a lot. By chance we ate in 3 restaurants all owned […]

everybody eats

ZeroFoodprint believes that restaurants and diners can lead the fight against climate change. And why not? Everybody eats. And most of us eat out at least some of the time. food has a carbon footprint Food production has a carbon footprint: from growing the food to finishing the food to transporting the food. And it […]

haters gonna…..design

Good design stirs emotion and elicits reaction. Think about how you feel when you walk into a cathedral…is that powerful awe? Or when you visit a library and find yourself whispering. Or you enter a bustling restaurant and you light up, ready to chat up the person on the bar stool next to you. When you […]

who speaks for you?

Every two years you have the privilege and responsibility of voting. In between votes, you have people who speak for you. In Washington you have two members of the Senate who speak for you and one member of the House of Representatives. Here’s how to find them. Then call them, email them, send them letters […]

trying not to be a conspiracy theorist

Conspiracy theorists during the Obama administration were crazy making. So I’m trying to not be one of them now. But it’s hard. The new administration is doing crazy things, unprecedented things, scary things. Yonatan Zunger is much smarter than me and much more educated in the ways of politics and government. He sheds light on […]

there is hope

Amidst the crazy, we all need some hope. Elliott Cohen, while not painting a picture of sunshine and rainbows, offers a picture that is not despairing. Read his story here. There is nothing great about the America that Trump thinks he is going to make; but in the end, it is the greatness of America […]

do something, don’t do everything

The last week has been exhausting and overwhelming. With the onslaught of attacks on our civil liberties and ascension to power by people many of us find frightening, it’s hard to keep our eyes on the ball. Or even to know which ball is ‘the’ ball. And I believe that this is a deliberate ruse to […]

interior design is not about flowers

If you could see me now you’d see the droop in my shoulders. It wasn’t the first time someone demeaned what I have been doing with my professional life for the last 25 years. She’s a friend and she really didn’t mean to. We were talking about credentials and continuing education required in various professions. […]

a gentle look at codes

Oakland is Everywhere It’s been a tough week here in Northern California. 36 people died in a fire during a party at a local warehouse. Family and friends are reeling and the artist community is in great pain. This fire occurred in a warehouse that was illegally converted to studio and living space. And the […]

after the election: design

Do you want to talk politics? Me neither. But I do want to talk about what we, as designers and architects, can do as we move forward into this new and shifted world. How will we protect the environment that may not be top of the new administration’s list of priorities? What kinds of projects […]