In this rapid-fire Q&A series, Go Design Go is grilling design leaders on everything from their idea of happiness to their favorite design motto. In this interview, Place Textiles President Kristie Strasen shares what historical design period she would most like to visit, among other interesting facts.
Your chief characteristic? Tenacity.
Your favorite design motto? Don’t compromise; remain true to your vision.
What makes a house a home? The colors, textures and personal mementos of a life well-lived.
What is your most treasured possession? A wooden chest my grandfather gave my grandmother when homesteading in Montana in 1915.
If not yourself, who would you be? Grace Kelly—gorgeous and with great taste.
Your design hero? Mies van der Rohe—a brilliant architect and furniture designer.
Your favorite author/poet? Graham Greene for an amazing body of work.
Your favorite season? Summer—I love the colors and pace.
Your favorite furniture piece/designer? Nearly anything designed by Alvar Aalto.
A natural talent you’d like to be gifted with? The ability to draw well.
What is your present design state of mind? Energized and inspired.
Your favorite virtue? Generosity and honesty—I really need both!
Your idea of happiness? A beautiful room with an open view to the sea—filled with light and literary classics.
What was your favorite journey/trip? A journey across Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan in the ‘70s, when travel there was still possible. It changed my life.
If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be? To enjoy exercise.
What do you consider your greatest achievement in design? The textile collection I have created for Place.
What one goal do you hope to accomplish this year? To see and honor old friends in far-flung places.
How is design evolving? The ready access to all types of information provides the ability to share ideas and enjoy the cross pollination that occurs when wide ranging visual information comes together. Individual designers and small companies like Place can reach a broad international audience. Sharing ideas and preferences through platforms like Pinterest and Instagram and the zillion interesting blogs out there makes design a very exciting place to be right now.
What decorative item would you save first if your house caught fire? A piece of Inuit sculpture that resides on my mantle.
What historical design period would you most like to visit? The period of the Bauhaus when furniture design, architecture and woven textiles were all on a trajectory of inspiration.
Kristie Strasen formed her consulting firm in 1986 and has been engaged in countless color and design projects ever since. She is highly respected for her ability to work across multiple disciplines and her design expertise is identified with a strong sense of color logic. Her training as a hand weaver instills Kristie with a keen understanding of the architecture of the woven fabric and has contributed to her success in textile design.
Now designing under her own label, Place Textiles, Kristie has integrated her considerable experience into a vision. Place embodies her keen sense of color and literally weaves it into a collection of impressive textures.
Place Textiles products are available in the Pollack showroom in the DDB, Suite 1722; and the David Sutherland showroom at DCOTA, Suite C450; and the DCH, Suite 170.