An inspiring podcast on everything you need to know about color!
Stay tuned for our next podcast with Mexican designer Fernando Laposse live November 26!
The Smell of Wool with Alicia Keshishian
Alicia will bring us along her journey as a rug designer and artist, she will explain the process of designing a handmade-to-order carpets by closely observing her customer and how her designs are translated into beautiful natural rugs in Nepal. We will discuss the difficulties of keeping creative juices flow in current times and what her point of view on color trends are.
Alicia is an award-winning designer with more than 40 years of professional experience as an art director, graphic designer, surface designer, illustrator, and color consultant. She holds a BFA in Design/Illustration from CCAC and was an artist-in-residence at The Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina. She currently produces a line of custom, handmade-to-order carpets and is a popular speaker, presenter and teacher on design and color. Alicia has owned and operated her own textile business as well as designed for various industries and corporations such as Papyrus, Bloomingdale’s, CBS Publications, New York Magazine, Parenting Magazine, Health/Hippocrates Magazine, Working Woman Magazine, Premiere Magazine, Image Magazine, RCA Records, American Craft Council. Her true loves have always been color and texture. Alicia comes from a long line of accomplished artists and her emergence as a rug maker is thanks to family: her Armenian-born grandfather, uncles and cousin are renowned Oriental rug authorities and collectors and that is why Carpets and color have been part of Alicia’s life as long as she can remember: the smell of the wool, the touch of the fibers, the variety of patterns all are in her DNA.
Color Escapism with Rana Khadra
Rana shares insights on the differences but also the similarities of color use and color trends in the Middle East compared to the European region, how color is energy in its form and how we are all influenced by color throughout our childhood. During our conversation we also discussed the intriguing pull many have for her native region, the colors of the city she grew up in and where she finds color inspiration in these difficult times.
As head of the creative department, Rana is the brain behind creating enchanting colors and the discerning eye when it comes to forecasting and spotting trends for Jotun. With her eclectic experience in advertising, marketing and product management, she has spearheaded product innovations while successfully launching new products and color collections across the Middle East, Africa and India. She is a certified Color Trainer by NCS, Sweden and a member of the Color Marketing Group. Rana has conducted many masterclass in color for interior designers and architects across the region. Her infectious passion indeed for color is reflected in the hues of her vibrant personality. She has a thing for beautiful doors and walls and a longing for longitudes as she often travels the world to fill her shelves with hidden curios and stories. Rana is currently residing in Dubai.
“Excellent series about color. It’s a complex topic and Judith approaches it from a variety of angles with her guests. Always entertaining and insightful. I look forward to listening to each episode and learning something new about color and the visionaries in the color world.”
— Review Apple Podcast