Conversations

Acclaimed composer Michael Giacchino shared his perspective on how music is an integral part of storytelling. Michael played several clips from his award wining scores to movies like “Up” and “Ratatouille” – sharing his approach to identifying key emotional elements in the screenplay and expressing them with music. Often drawing from his own life experiences, he told the audience of emotionally resonant moments in his past and how they’ve become a source of inspiration. Michael also spoke of his collaboration with J.J. Abrams and of the joy he finds in working with his closest friends. Karten Design’s guesthouse turned into a mini-theater as the audience enjoyed a firsthand look at how some of America’s favorite films came to life.

The Business of Transience was the first Conversations event in the format of a panel discussion. Karten Design invited the owners of Los Angeles’ most prominent pop-ups, including CoolHaus, Green Truck, NomNom and Royal/T, to join us and share their stories with moderator Alissa Walker, noted Los Angeles-based writer. Pop-up businesses achieve success by being temporary, hard to find and transient– qualities that seem to fly in the face of traditional business logic. Yet since 2008, businesses such as food trucks and pop-up shops have emerged by the hundreds and, despite a recession, grown revenue at a rate most brick and mortar establishments would envy. Our panelists shared strategies on how they’ve made this business model work for them, with each business having a unique and personal approach. After the event, guests enjoyed gourmet ice cream sandwiches from the CoolHaus truck that popped up shop in our parking lot.

Gregg Buchbinder, Chairman and CEO of Emeco, sat in the hot seat to discuss how he transformed Emeco from a government-contracted chair manufacturer to a leading developer of stylish pieces for the design community. Highlights included Gregg’s gruff impersonation of Frank Gehry and videos about the unique manufacturing process-the “77 Steps” behind each chair and Gregg’s design collaboration with the late Ettore Sottsass on his final masterpiece, the Nine-O. Gregg brought the conversation to life, giving his audience the chance to sit in some of Emeco’s most famous chairs, including the Nine-O (“My daughter calls it the Hug Chair,” Gregg said), the Hudson by Phillippe Starck and the original Navy 1006.

Eames Demetrios, artist, filmmaker and author, lead us on a tour through his body of work. From early films such as “901: After 45 Years of Working,” which eloquently captures the spirit of the Eames Office in its last days, to the recent “A Gathering of Elephants,” a stop-motion animated film starring 15 Eames Plywood Elephants, much of Demetrios’ work pays homage to his legendary grandparents, Charles and Ray Eames. Read More

Sharing his passion for good food and good design, Hans Röckenwagner took his audience to the intersection of food, business, creativity and craft. As guests nibbled on pretzel rolls and citrus pound cakes from the Röckenwagner Bakery, they got an exclusive look at the rare collectibles and creative handmade pieces used in Hans’ lavish, 10-course Ultimate Dinners. From these expressions of culinary and design creativity to favorite recipes and restaurant design, Hans toured guests through the highlights of his 22-year career as a chef and restaurateur.