Marla Gutzwiller celebrated 30 years of design excellence with Epstein Design Partners, Inc. on Wednesday, June 30, 2010. To celebrate this momentous day, the Epstein Design crew gathered at Chinato and enjoyed a tasting menu lunch prepared by Zack Bruell just for the occasion.
As a designer, partner, instructor and art director – Marla’s love and enthusiasm of design remains a constant inspiration. Drawing from her rich experience and knowledge – one cannot help but be influenced by Marla’s approach to design, enjoying the research and the exploration of possibilities any particular design project can take. Epstein Design congratulates our good friend and colleague, and look forward to many more years of collaboration!
So I spent the [snow] day at the Capitol Theatre in Gordon Square attending Cleveland’s first independently run TED event, TEDxCLE. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design. It was a diverse panel of thinkers and doers in the Cleveland area that ranged from medical, bio-fuels, culinary, entrepreneurial, fashion and transportation. You can see all of the panelists on the TEDxCLE website. The thing that tied all of these things together is not just geography, but the fact they all started with a vision and persevered to make their dreams happen. With their visions, they are also creating a better community. Whether it is a neighborhood shop or fashion designing with textiles made in the region and throughout the US, these talented panelist were great to hear their thoughts, their stories and how they made it or are making it happen.
Our friend, Danielle DeBoe, owner of Room Service and creator of Made in the 216 had a great speech. It was all about her life, her path and how she finally came to realize instead of having a great idea and waiting for someone else to make it happen, she made it happen herself. She also spoke about how being a shop owner, you are not just a businessperson, you are part of the community. Her “dinner for strangers” idea sounds excellent and I cannot wait to attend.
We were recently turned onto the HBO Original Series, “How To Make It In America“. After hearing Sean Bilovecky from Wrath Arcane speak, the plot of the series seems pretty close to their story. They continue to grow and this Fall will have a women’s line.
The entire event was inspiring and while there was no formal Q&A at the show, the panelists were all at Stone Mad afterward and were glad to participate in discussions with the attendees.
Long story short, it is great to see these success stories in the Cleveland area, but these people are not satisfied with their accomplishments. They continue to seek growth, innovation for the betterment of the city, state, nation and world. I can’t wait to see what great things these people come up with next, better yet, they have inspired me to do something great as well.
Friday night was the AIGA Cleveland Design Competition ceremony at the Arts Collinwood gallery. The exhibit was a small selection of fine works by local Graphic Design firms. Epstein Design Partners was recognized with four pieces in the show.
Esteemed judges Jim Ales (Monterey Bay Aquarium), Barbara deWilde (Knopf Publishers), and Jeffrey Keyton (MTV) selected this year’s AIGA Cleveland Design Competition winners from over 300 print and interactive design pieces submitted by local professionals and students.
There were many nice pieces in the show by many local design firms, we are honored to be in such great company in the Cleveland Design Community.
