Design is the new food

"Design is the new food, " said Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan at November 11th's R.Home for the Holidays. After greeting the audience, and thanking LaDiff "as I hear they are called" (swoon!), Maxwell explained his statement: years ago, no one talked about food as 'cuisine'. Now, women, men, even kids talk about the garlic infused marinade, what body of water your oysters lived in, or the local farm that supplied your greens. What was once simply food on the table has now become a major topic of conversation for dinner tables, kitchens, and water coolers everywhere.

This is the future for 'design', too, says Maxwell. He believes that 10 years from now, we'll all know the names of designers the way we know the names of chefs on the Food Network today.

Maxwell's statement was part of a speech that captivated an audience of about 250, gathered in LaDiff's low-lit parking-garage-now-banquet-hall. Before taking questions and signing his book, Apartment Therapy's Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces, Maxwell told us how his business, blog, and website, Apartment Therapy, came to be.

A former elementary school teacher, Maxwell talked about how he had noticed that children from 'beautiful homes' - homes where the inhabitants showed they cared about the surroundings - did better in school. They appreciated art, music, language more.

Maxwell called creating a room as a "recipe with ingredients" that requires "careful curation." Maxwell noted that most Americans are collectors not editors when it comes to their "stuff." It is when we learn how to edit, move, subtract, change the space around us that the "stuff" becomes more meaningful.

Maxwell quoted occasionally from Terence Conran, the English born design guru, known for his Conran Shop, London restaurant designs, and many books on the subject. He is also an obvious idol of Maxwell's (and of ours). In the preface to The House Book, Conran wrote, "Having a warm home that looks good and that you and your family and friends enjoy must be one of the most worthwhile things in life."

For Maxwell and his team, Apartment Therapy is a community of idea sharing and inspiration. Last Thursday, he shared those ideas with Richmond, Richmond Magazine, and LaDiff.

Thanks, Maxwell.
Come again soon!


***pictures by Melissa Martin Molitor***