Founder and President of ThinkLab, Amanda Schneider, grew up outside of Chicago, inspired by a blend of engineering and design. Now a self-described “designer by degree, journalist by accident, and researcher by choice” at the helm of ThinkLab, she examines the ecosystem of the design world, unearthing and synthesizing the social and cultural shifts and drivers that impact the interiors industry. Together with her team, she offers insights and context that can empower better decision-making while also bridging the communication gap between creatives and the business sector. A keynote speaker (catch her recent TEDx talk) and the host of the podcast Design Nerds Anonymous, Amanda shares her wisdom on topics like communication strategies, storytelling, and the future of work.

Interior designer and lifestyle expert Kerrie Kelly is known for her distinctive California-inspired design philosophy. She got her start at Ralph Lauren Home and then moved to Del Webb Corporation where she was a boots-on-the-ground high-volume designer of homes, before founding her multi-faceted design studio, Kerrie Kelly Design Lab, in 1995. A graduate of both design and business school, she blends both of these skill sets in her work as an interior designer, trendspotter, and brand partner. She’s driven by a commitment to bringing thoughtful design into everyday life, which for Kerrie means blending beauty with functionality and translating that through a palette of luxurious and organic materiality.

Co-founders of House of Rolison, Amanda Leigh and Taylor Hahn, grew up on opposite coasts but were both self-described angsty teens. Both had a deep love for art and architecture, choosing different professional paths before they met online and their fates intertwined. Their first date turned into a road trip and then quarantine-based cohabitation. Since starting House of Rolison, they’ve renovated a number of forgotten old homes into warm, elegant, modern beauties. Their complementary strengths and deep reverence for their crafts and trades crew, ensures that each new project has room for magic and a whole lot of soul.

Lionel Ohayon was born in Canada to a family spanning Morocco, Israel, and Spain. This multi-cultural upbringing armed him with the ability to synthesize different inputs and understand complex topics from an early age, and an innate appreciation of hospitality. He founded ICRAVE as a design-build startup in 2002, and several ground-breaking projects later, is now leading the charge in reinventing hospitality experiences like the immersive and otherworldly Las Vegas Sphere, and the anxiety-reducing Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

This is the story of how design is making the world a better place, one street at a time, in the most impoverished gang ravaged neighborhoods in El Salvador. Designer Roberto Juárez, co-founder of Lero Studio in San Salvador, discusses how he is helping 10- to 15-year-old at-risk children to embrace design rather than gang membership.

Born and raised in Chicago IL, Kara Mann was steeped in an environment of creativity, elegance, and resourcefulness. An entrepreneur at heart, Kara would sell CDs to fund projects and lie about her age to work restaurant shifts. Now she runs her own studio and has racked up clients like Virgil Abloh, Goop and several luxury hotels. She’s just launched a collection with CB2 and a line of home essentials called Kept. The Wall Street Journal aptly calls her a “spark plug in the world of design.”

Interior architect Jamie Bush grew up on a Long Island farm with machines, animals and free rein to explore. With farmers and eccentric creatives as his scrappy role models, he was always encouraged to make things, and to make his own way. After high school he ventured to New Orleans to find himself, come out, and study architecture. Now, having migrated further west to Los Angeles, he’s made a name designing organic modernist interiors for some of the most historically significant homes in the US.

Interior designer and star of Netflix’s Queer Eye, Bobby Berk grew up in the rural south, feeling like an outsider. Before coming out as gay, he struggled with anger, depression and tension with his religious family. After running away from home and coming out, he made a break for Denver, and then NYC. Always designing opportunities for himself, he found his way to e-tailing, then retailing and the Bobby Berk Home brand was born. Oh! He used to be the singer of a Christian rock band called His Voice.

Design*Sponge founder Grace Bonney grew up knowing she wasn’t straight but not knowing what to do with that. Her love of Riot Grrrl music and angry collages informed her creative identity and after studying art and journalism in college, it all melted together in the creation of Design*Sponge. After 15 years and a lot of success, she’s just announced that she plans to shutter this year and she’s sending it out in a blaze of experimentation and celebration. We can’t wait to see what’s next!

Interior designer and TV personality Lauren Makk grew up in the south, fluffing other people’s pillows, painting murals on train cars under cover of darkness, and rolling with her car crew Ill-usion. As a little girl, Julia Sugarbaker on TV’s Designing Women was Lauren’s career role model. Years later, she is also a designer on TV! She’s made her mark on Trading Spaces, FABLife, and Home Made Simple. She’s building an empire, leaving a legacy, and dreaming of giving the White House a “Makk-over.”