Today’s special guest is the chair-man, Jonathan Olivares of Jonathan Olivares Design Research

“JODR is an office dedicated to industrial design, design related research and exhibition design, and was founded by Jonathan Olivares in 2006. The combination of these activities gives the office a multilateral approach towards each project.

The office designs furniture for Danese Milano and Knoll, both leaders in the furniture field. In her article on JODR for Kaleidoscope quarterly on contemporary art and culture, Leah Whitman-Salkin wrote of Olivares: “Aesthetically, his works seldom resort to fanfare, privileging use-value and tenderness over showmanship. Olivares produces objects that ask to be used rather than observed. His slow-and-steady style, combined with his personal resolve, produces humble results worth looking out for.” In 2011, Smith, JODR’s first product for Danese Milano, won the Compasso d’Oro, Italy most prestigious design award given to products.