WGBH Radio; The Callie Crossley Show

I'm counting cross like this is the Kelly Crossley Show. Today we'll meet designers who are changing the way Boston looks on the inside. Tonya Nyad was born in India and raised in Boston. After graduating from school she tended bar for years until she got her big break as a co-host on a TV design show. Since then the TV gigs have been nonstop. Despite her small screen successes design is an affordable do it yourself approach. Her advice is clean it painted keep it simple. From there we shift gears with the steampunk sensibility known largely as a literary sub genre where Victorian England meets the industrial revolution. I think Jules Verne and his locomotive of the future the steampunk acetic has made its way into the home. We'll talk to designer Bruce Rosenbaum who salvaging Victorian era antiques by turning them into high tech designs. Up next Boston interiors. First the news. From NPR News in Washington I'm Lakshmi saying President Obama

is pressing Congress to strengthen federal supervision of oil markets and toughen penalties on energy speculators who unfairly try to get the upper hand. We can't afford a situation where speculators artificially manipulate markets by buying up oil creating the perception of a shortage and driving prices higher only to flip the oil for a quick profit. President Obama says speculators are partly to blame for higher gasoline prices again but Republican critics blame the increase on the administration's energy policies including limitations on oil drilling. Lawmakers have been grilling witnesses today from the General Services Administration this a second day about wasteful spending of taxpayer money including at a 2010 conference in Las Vegas questioning by a House panel went beyond the eight hundred twenty three thousand dollars paid for that conference. Lawmakers are also asking about trips to the South Pacific and Napa Valley wine country. March

housing starts are down nearly 6 percent from February but NPR's Jim Howard reports applications for building permits hit a three and a half year high. A warmer winter meant that contractors were able to get a jump on this year's construction season lifting housing starts to artificial highs in January and February. That may have helped push the March number down to a seasonally adjusted 600 54000. But Hugh Johnson of Hugh Johnson advisors says there may be better news in the months to come due to the increase in building permits issued in March. When we get to the month of May we should see stronger housing starts numbers better numbers not great numbers but better numbers. The Commerce Department says building permits rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of seven hundred forty seven thousand for the first time since September of 2008. Jim Howard NPR News Washington. The space shuttle Discovery NASA's oldest made its final flight just hours ago hitched aboard a jumbo jet discovery departed Florida this morning for its new home at a Smithsonian museum but not before making the rounds in the skies above the nation's

capital in style D.C. resident Hartman Schauble and his wife are among thousands of spectators who waited for hours to get a glimpse of the iconic spacecraft he says. Witnessing history with his two kids was a big deal. I remember being in third grade watching the original shuttle take off. We watched on a black and white TV in a classroom in Cleveland Ohio and now bringing these guys down to see it on its last flight and saw a lot of emotions really just incredible emotions. Historic indeed the shuttle will be on exhibit at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum an X in Northern Virginia latest numbers from Wall Street Dow Jones industrial average up 196 points more than 1 1/2 percent at thirteen thousand one hundred eighty Nasdaq up nearly 2 percent at three thousand forty three and the S&P 500 also up one and a half percent. This is NPR. Good afternoon from the WGBH radio newsroom in Boston I'm Christina Quinn with the local stories we're following the debate on whether to allow a casino to Foxborough has hit a new low approach a

senior resident has been charged on charges he told his neighbor an anti casino selectman Mark Sullivan. But he's a dead man unless he changes his position. Michael Biscardi is due in court today and authorities have upgraded charges against a New Bedford man accused of killing another man in a dispute that started over a spilled drink at an underground dance party. The Bristol just attorney's office says Jose carry on now faces a murder charge in the March 17th death of Melvin Pina. Rhode Island election officials are working to get free voter identification cards to voters as the state's presidential primary nears. Secretary of State Ralph Mullis and his staffers handed out I.D. cards to about two dozen residents at the Charles gate apartments today in Providence. The April 24th primary will be the first statewide election in which voters will be asked to show identification. Lawmakers passed the requirement last year. Former Rhode Island U.S. Representative Patrick Kennedy and his wife Amy Pettigrew have left the hospital for home with the newest addition to the family. Kennedy and Peggy go left to promote a New Jersey Medical Center this morning with Owen Patrick Kennedy who was born on Sunday at 5:30

p.m. weighing six pounds 15 ounces. Patrick Kennedy the son of late Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts married Pettigrew in July. In sports the Red Sox take on the Texas Rangers tonight with Jon Lester on the mound and the Celtics are in New York to play the Knicks. The weather forecast for the rest of the afternoon mostly sunny with highs in the lower 80s tonight partly cloudy in the evening then clearing cooler and windy with lows in the mid 40s right now it's 83 degrees in Boston 79 in wester and 81 in Providence. Support for NPR comes from the George Lucas Educational Foundation creator of edge to be a source for what works in education. Learn more edgy topia dot org. This program is made possible thanks to you. And the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Benjamin Zander performing Mahler symphony number seven. April twenty six twenty eighth and Twenty ninth. You can find tickets online by visiting Boston fill dot org. Good afternoon I'm Kelly Crossley. Today we're talking about design meeting people who are changing the way Boston and places beyond look. I'm joined by Tanya

Nyad the Boston based interior designer who can be seen on HD TVs. House Hunters on vacation and the Food Network's Restaurant Impossible. Tanya Nyad thank you for joining us. They yell I'm so excited to be here today and I'm glad to have you. I followed your work for some time but I was stunned to learn that you lived in Boston. Yeah. Most of the designers of people you see on TV they're always out on the West Coast. I think once you are east coast you always stay true to your roots. So it is great. Well we have to let people know how you got to where you are in. You went to school here went to get your masters at the Boston architectural college for interior design but the little piece of your resume that I'm fascinated by is that you tended bar for many years. Yeah. Help us understand how this all came together. So we're you know you look back and you think you realize that everything that you've done sort of served a purpose to get you where you are. And I really believe bartending was a huge part of it for me. It was one of those things I just always wanted to make money while I was in

school so I bartended I met tons of great people and great friends along the way and I make a mean cocktail. I was Boston's best bartender back in 1970. But you know I made some great contacts and I think it really helped with my personality and being more outgoing and just being able to strike up a conversation just like you do with you know everyone you meet. So it's helped when you go to the bus an architectural college. I didn't even realize that you could go for interior design I assume and you just go if you were an architect and we should say that you have architects in your family. There's one right. Did you come to school with that kind of sensibility already. No you know I didn't. I come from a very strict Indian upbringing. You know I think that the typical standard when I was growing up was either going to be a doctor or a lawyer or some type of engineer. But I really wanted to be an architect just like my dad.

And he sort of talked me out of it he kind of you know would say well you know you go to school for seven or eight years and once you're done working as an architect it's very difficult to make that money back and you know he had his concerns about. About my going into architecture. So I ended up doing my undergrad degree in business marketing at UMass Lowell which is random but it helped. I'm not complaining about it I kind of took an opposite path where I did the business part of it first and I actually think it's helped me tremendously. Now marketing my television career and making me more business savvy when it comes to the decisions that I make. But yeah business sorry being at the BSE was awesome. It was so great. So if you're in an environment even if you're studying interior design but architecture is a framework and you have it both personally and now in school. How does that develop your design aesthetic if you will how does it shape your your the way you look at things as you design. What from the architecture. Yes I don't know if architecture has some influence on you both from growing up around it and then in school there.

Oh sure it absolutely does and because my father is an architect growing up he would always point out certain things certain buildings he was always driving with his head like doing it like a 180 while he was driving looking at buildings and explaining things to us. We grew up so it does shape my design. But what really shapes my design process are the people I'm designing for. It's so important to me as an interior designer to really understand how a person uses their space. You know what what is their day to day. I need to know everything you know I feel like sometimes their therapist when I'm sitting down with them but I really need to know the details the ins and outs of how they live their life. And even in commercial design with restaurant design which I'm doing quite a bit of now it's understanding the demographics of the restaurant owners what they want to convey how they want their clients to feel so it's really the psychology of people that inspires me and motivates me to design. And I know you're working on a book about how how design actually effects people or impacts people you know actually that is something that's just been a

lot of thinking in the work so yeah I have been wanting to do that I've been working on it for quite some time so you know we'll see eventually down the road. Yeah there's I was really fascinated by an article I read in an Oprah magazine one time it was about neural architecture and I thought it was so interesting because it was about how architecture actually affects your brain. So it's not in a way that some people kind of mistake and say Are you talking about funk shway. No it's it's like the neuroscience of how architecture of affects your brain. What angles do and colors do and. I just thought that was really interesting. You know if you could design your house to make sure that every day you wake up feeling awesome you know doing happy how great would that be. And does design do the same thing and how would you define your design style if you had to write a sentence about it. Tanya's design style is interesting. If I'm speaking about my personal design style because I try not to put too much of my own personal style into other people's lives. Like I said before it's very shaped by that.

My personal design style is is fairly modern a bit of that mid-century modern style. I like it to be modern yet comfortable. I have a very masculine taste very neutral masculine colors I love to work with industrial materials concrete steel like that and I do. I think people would ever know that about me watching my show you know I went on there is a magazine that did a house tour with you of your condo and I saw how clean lines and how minimal it is was just a little bit of color I mean very minimal color very minimal color it's kind of surprising yeah. And are you surprised. Yes I actually was. Because having seen your work you seem to be able to almost be a chameleon working with the various people that you work with and go into and into their space and really just dealing with what they have here. One of the things that are attracted me about your design from watching you is that most of the shows you worked on early on were very minimal or no budget.

So it's really about using what was there. Yeah. You know I joke around some days and I say if somebody gave me a hundred thousand dollars and said Here design my house I wouldn't even know what to do with it. Although I'm sure I could figure out quickly. But having no money and it's the same way I'm both designed to sell which is what most people know me from. And also Restaurant Impossible were given a very limited budget. But what's so wonderful about that is that you really learn. How to make something from nothing and you learn how to get creative. And my goal is to not create something that looks like it cost that amount. I want to use that money to make it look like it was expensive and that it's high and that it can last in your house. So that's always the challenge you know. And what's great is it's given me the opportunity to show these things on Rachael Ray or the talk and I've had great opportunities going on these talk shows sharing my design ideas because they're very user friendly very user friendly to the point of I don't know that I've seen you on something where there was how you seem to be able to mix

that little bit of high end with a lot of low in. Yeah I was noticing on that article about the house tour that you said your resources are Crate and Barrel these are places that we've the rest of us could get easily access and that I'm glad you brought that up because you know one of the articles about my home I really wanted everyone to know hey look. I practice what I preach. I have hand-me-down chairs that I recovered in my dining room. I have a coffee table from IKEA. We redid our kitchen and I try to mix things that are high end and low and so I have beautiful Caesar stone countertops but I have IKEA cabinets on my my eyelids I'm not afraid of it looks good it works for me. How do you know I'm fascinated with people who have this kind of aesthetic creativity. So when you into a room do you are you instantly like redesigning it or will or are moving things around in your mind. I do that more with restaurants than I do with people's homes because I have a very strong appreciation for people's effort. So I never will

criticize the look of someone's home. I can see where I like to see that someone put effort in. The only time I would ever criticize is if there was absolutely no effort done you know yeah and even that I'm not a very critical person. But you know I I kind of walk into a place and if someone asks me for recommendations sure I'll give them a recommendation but I really I can appreciate what people try to do for their homes. How did you develop your eye because I'm told that growing up your room was not let's just say design instead. My mom is a very good it was a big match. Clothes everywhere that I was a huge story and Duran fan I had Duran Duran posters if I love on everyone but you could never play and is my point. You know so I don't develop. I mean I know you go to school for training but you but your eye is your eye and that's that's something that's an individual to you.

I've always been extremely artistic and creative. I'm a dude i'm doodling right now I have like this paper and pen in front of me I'm a doodler. I wanted to be a fashion designer when I was growing up so at a very very young age I was drawing a lot like you see on Project Runway when they're drawing the models with their clothes on in these bright colors so I think that they all sort of have a similar base whether your hair dresser or a fashion designer or an interior designer or a graphic designer. We all kind of pull from an inspiration. You know it's use of color and balance and symmetry and you know for some people they're lucky in that it just comes to them and other people have to learn it. But either way you know you want to pull it all together and it makes you happy that's all that matters. Well much more to talk about including whether or not Tonya has a Boston design sensibility. We're talking about design and my guest is a Boston based interior designer Tanya Nyack. And you're listening to the Calla Crossley Show on eighty nine point seven. WGBH Boston Public Radio.

This program is on WGBH. Thanks to you and Thomas Moser cabinetmakers handcrafted in Maine by men and women dedicated to crafting furniture that celebrates Woods natural beauty. You can visit their backpay show room at 19 Arlington Street or at

Thomas Moser dot com. And Tanglewood the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra celebrating its seventy fifth anniversary season June 22nd through Aug. 26. Tickets on sale now at 8 8 8 2 6 6 12 hundred and Tanglewood dot org and Lydia celebrates America. Lydia cordially invite viewers to be her plus one on this cross-country matrimonial Odyssey. Lydia celebrates America weddings. Something borrowed something new. Tuesday at 8:00 on WGBH two. Pakistanis are deeply religious and venerate honor above all that makes it harder to deal with tough subjects like sexual abuse or incest. It's a very difficult topic to talk about something very hot for me and I'm explaining Novus right now. The U.N. says about a third of Pakistan's kids have suffered sexual abuse. That story next time on the world coming up at 3:00 here on eighty nine point seven WGBH. What did Romeo and Juliet really shop like more than four centuries ago. Become a

WGBH sustainer and everything you hear deny the facts and refuse the name will sound a little bit. Different. Be still my Haven bought us. That's because sustainers break their support down into monthly installments that automatically when you use it the amount and every month your support helps eighty nine point seven stay connected and we do so on our fundraising become a sustainer online at WGBH dot org. Great question. That's a great question and that's a great question. It's a great question. Rick great question on FRESH AIR. You'll hear unexpected questions and unexpected answers this afternoon at 2:00 here on a 9.7 WGBH. Welcome back to the Calla Crossley Show. If you're just tuning in we're talking about design this hour talking to designers who are changing the way Boston looks on the inside. I'm speaking with Tanya Nyack of Tonya Nyack designs. She can be seen on HD TVs House Hunters on vacation and the Food Network's Restaurant Impossible.

So Tony one of the things I always ask creative people who are grew up in Boston I grew up in Boston is whether or not the Boston sensibility what however you define it influences your work. It has to to some degree right this is where I'm from I was raised here. So yeah I think so I think being a part of the city we were so lucky to be in a place that's so diverse there's so much culture here. We have the city we have the suburbs we have the water we have everything here so it definitely influences my design aesthetic so I feel just blessed that I'm able to be around so much inspiration you know. And I'm also like that I travel quite a bit too so that inspires it quite a bit as well. Well that was the other thing since you're one of your shows now is going to have you traveling quite a bit. It seems to me and I'm not the expert which is why I'm asking you that there is more of a global appreciation for interior design now both by the people who do it so just yourself and then people who who are the clients who are looking for that is is that just something I'm sensing.

I think that starting back probably let's say 10 or 12 years ago we started getting this this frenzy over these design shows. You know it was Trading Spaces first on TLC and then we have HGTV and people started to realize hey I can do this myself. And then we had stores that came around like Ikea's and home goods you know of the world in targets you know that helped us make it more accessible and easy for us to design our houses so people have become a lot more savvy to it now. So yeah I think it's a lot more approachable and easy to do. So what's your process you walk into a room. You hired to do so. And how do you begin to think about how to pull it together for any one venue whether it be a restaurant or a personal space. You know first I always look for what the problem is. Why am I there. So there's obviously there's a reason I'm there what's the problem. Is the house not working for you functionally aesthetically. You know what's the issue or restaurant wise what's the problem that will usually get me kickstarted off and get me going in the right direction

then. After meeting the person whether it's the restaurant owners or the home owners I really try to get a feel for their personal a statics get a feel for their personalities what it is that they want to convey in their home to other people. How do you do that do people usually have stuff pulled and they say this is what I like it to look like or or do you just gather from what you're seeing there already. I always like to meet them in their space because to me whether there is a hutch that's there I can get a feel for whether they're eclectic they're collectors they like modern They like this they like that some people's houses don't really depict the style that they want in which case I say to them before we me get four or five different design magazines and start tearing pages out. Just go on a frenzy grab a Sharpie marker circle whether it's the light fixture in that photo or the cabinets in this photo or the rug over here whatever it is starts circling and tearing because once you go through your images again you won't remember what it was on the page necessarily so that the sharpie is a really important

part of that process. It's really helpful because it not only helps me understand what they want. If you told me that you like Mediterranean design that could mean so many different things. If I have a visual of what what you like it will help give me that better understanding of what you're talking about. So they do that but it also triggers their brain for new ideas and new looks that maybe they hadn't thought of before. So that's a really huge step. So what's the biggest mistake people make. You know I think the biggest mistake people make is designing something that's really not for them designing copying a show room because they think it looks pretty but it doesn't really work for them. I'm just such a firm believer and I think you can probably gather that from our conversation of really designing your space for you don't even worry about what other people are going to say if they you know a lot of times people ask someone for their opinion. I'm going to paint my room this color. Do you like it what do you think about this color What do you think about. Don't worry about it do you like it. That's the most important question if you like

it then make it work. And I can tell you if we do I have time to let you know you want to get me started to forget it. I would never shut up. My husband will tell you. A good little tip when it comes to picking a paint color and I think this is going to be reverse what most people think you should do. I learned this accidentally while I was doing design to sell because we were going so fast so fast. I would pick my pink color Believe it or not. Last I would buy my accessories. I would buy the carpet the bedding the art whatever it was I put it all together and then I'd get the paint back and find the color that worked with everything else. It's the biggest thing in the room. The color but it should probably be the last thing because otherwise you pick that color you're going have a harder time finding the accessories that you want to work with it and then you know you might find something on sale and you can work your color out afterwards. If you have the luxury to do so that makes sense because then also if you've picked the color first then

you may feel forced to make everything fit to the rollers. I don't think happens a lot of time. I love reading that you in fact have made a design mistake in your own space so that we don't feel so bad the rest of us who are out here who don't do it. I mean I think that's you know it's something that you share. Great to be in the hot seat here yeah you know what. I'll play my husband for this one. If you're listening it's your fault Bryan. Basically we put these beautiful new floors into our space. Gorgeous dark like Mocha color floors. And so we were we have a very open floor plan and I decided the way I was going to create areas in my house was to have customized carpets which is another really useful tip for anyone who can't find the carpet that they're looking for just get a custom cut to the size you need at any place they'll find it for you whatever. So we want to get them cut. But my husband said I'm such a terrible life OK I'm going to throw in with us.

Actually both of our fault I should have known better. So. He said well let's show off the floor as we just did all this work they're so beautiful Let's show off the floors and not do the carpets to the right size like will make them a little bit smaller. And so we did that. So if as we're falling off the dining chairs when we pull them out we're coming in and it actually made the room look smaller in each of the areas look smaller. The bigger your carpet is the bigger your room is going to feel. And so anyone out there who is brand new hardwood floors and you're trying to figure out whether or not you want to cover them or keep them open. Trust me when I tell you make sure you get your carpet to fit so that when you pull your dining chair out it's not going to fall off the carpet you have enough space there and that your your couch is on it completely not half on half off. So we had to redo it. Well I'm just happy to know that you can. I mean yeah but I did. What gives you the most creative satisfaction on the job. Whenever you finish it that's such an easy one for me to answer.

It's gone to a whole new level now that I'm doing this restaurant show but I can tell you that every time I do a make over. We're lucky enough in the TV design world to have reveals I'm doing quote marks Arabia reveals where unfortunately most interior designers don't get that opportunity because the homeowners are living there while the process is happening slowly. When I get to do a reveal it's all telling to know that you've affected their lives to some degree you know and that's just homes that's fine. A Restaurant Impossible. You know we have $10000 we have a 24 hour timeframe to redo these people's lives or their their livelihood is what I want to do and yeah their lives you know and they're so invested in these restaurants they're they're hurting badly financially for us to be able to go in and do that. It brings tears to my eyes every single time we do the reveal because you can feel it and all that blood sweat and tears of working around the clock and not sleeping and you the chaos and the frenzy and Robert Irvine yelling at us all to hurry up. It's worth it because you

see the impact it has on their lives. That is to me. Hands down no question about it. Why. I love my job. And that's why we love you and I'm so happy to have this conversation with you and have revealed to us exactly your process and the fact that you're here from Boston and we can claim you. Thank you so much. Hey I really enjoyed talking to you. So I'm caught. I'm Kelli Crossley and we've been talking about design this hour we'll continue to do so and I've been speaking with Boston based design a Tanya. Visit our website WGBH dot org slash Calla Crossley to find links to time his designs. Coming up we continue the design conversation with Bruce Rosen Bohm. He's bringing the steam punk simps ability into the home. This is WGBH Boston Public Radio. The.

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Welcome back to the Calla Crossley Show. We're talking about design this hour. Joining me in the studio is Bruce Rosenbaum based in Sharon Massachusetts he's been salvaging Victorian era antiques and turning them into high tech design. He turned this hobby known as steampunk ing into a business. Bruce Rosenbaum thank you for joining us. It's my pleasure to be here thanks for inviting me. So we have to describe and define steampunk What is it. Go steampunk. It's actually relatively hard to define because it can mean a lot of different things to different people. But my definition is. It's sort of a what if re-imagination if the Victorian period or the industrial age happened at the same time as our modern or computer age what would have been produced an invention as innovations designed gadgetry. Now when you're better known for you're wearing some jewelry so that you can

do it in jewelry and fashion exactly. It was first kicked off in literature as I understand right as a matter fact I have to say that I remember hearing the word and assuming it meant it was synonymous with graphic novels I'm not sure that's correct but. I somehow got that stuck in my mind and I didn't know that it had to do with actual or actual furniture an antiquing and all of that. Well it's has morphed into so many different genres and categories and it did start out in literature. It was kind of a reversal of cyberpunk in the 1980s they were writing about what technology would be like in the future. In this one author decided to look back and give the what if. If the technology they had modern technology during the Victorian period and came up with that term steampunk so described. I know there was one piece of furniture or an appliance that sort of really got your attention and got you into it. And describe how you steampunk it. How do you begin

the process of steampunk. Sure you will. It can go a couple of different routes. Sometimes you find a piece of furniture that is totally inspirational and from there. Are trying to come up with creative ways to repurpose it to give it new life. A lot of these objects that we find that are from the hundreds really 100s they are no longer relevant. Their purpose went out quite a while ago. So I found a Victorian pump organ and no one wants to use these pump organs anymore because it's too much work and a lot of times they're you know the bellows goes and they're hard to repair. And I saw a Victorian computer command station. So I made I made a fully operating modern computer workstation from this Victorian pump organ and from there that was it for you. I was hooked Well you know it's it's funny

because when I was a. I was a magician as a kid and I've always loved history I've loved architecture and my wife and I have been in teaching and salvaging for years and you know I was a fan of the Wild West. I was you know always wanting the latest gadgets and technology and all of a sudden you know when I found steampunk actually steampunk found me. It had everything. So I fell in love right from the beginning. So OK so today you walk out of here and you're going to you're thinking about doing another piece. What materials where do you go how do you put it all together. Right so if I'm working with a client a lot of times when I want to do is I want to be relevant and I want to tie in the history and actually personal history of my clients So for instance I had a patent attorney from Boston in the Prudential Center

come to me and he had some criteria his father was a woodworker and he was a patent attorney and he wanted a computer workstation that basically would show off you know what he does and he wanted a an antique piece of equipment or machinery is part of what what he did. And he also had a personal item he had a conference table top. That was his uncle's that when he was a kid. Growing up he would be playing. He played underneath his uncle's table so he had all these things going in so I ended up finding in a woodworking shop in Maine in Scarborough Maine. It was a complete time capsule it was. It was a shop from that was found in the late 1800s. They had all of the machinery and the tools and the equipment sitting there. I had been shuttered some years ago so I ended up finding a 1870 bandsaw a seven foot bandsaw

with two 36 inch steel spoke wood rim wheels. I didn't have the blade on it anymore but it was a piece of sculpture. And you know that I was saying well how am I going to get this thousand pound checks out of this workshop and into the Prudential Center. So. So after you know talking with my client and getting permission from the Pru to bring us and we went to go about with the creative design of repurchasing this in a way where we were able to bring together his conference table in all of his. He had four monitors at the time and lots of computer equipment and phones and all this technology and we were able to put it together for him. And you know you used the word sculpture and I have to say that that's what it looks like to me. The pieces look very sculptural you know it's functional sculpture. That's what it is and I really look at it as functional art because part of the joy of what we're doing is we're giving new purpose new life to these objects and it's

there not museum pieces where you know you're coming in to kind of look at and say oh that's nice what it did. We are now bringing these things back to life and giving them new purpose and new function. So you're able to interact with these pieces because that's you know my Victorian pump organ computer workstation. I'm in front of you know eight hours a day. And it's inspiring. This is my guest Bruce Rosenbaum He's based in Sharon Massachusetts. And according to his website he's a sting punk artist designer guru and evangelist I think. Well my mother would also want me to be a steampunk rabbi. We're all working on that. So you know it's a pretty relatively young aesthetic and we're talking about the 80s it's not that old right now you described a situation with a patent attorney where he had a vision for how it would fit into his space yes. But it's so distinctive in its look at seems to me. Are there other people who just say make something and fit it and who are the people who are most interested in having these pieces in their homes.

You know I think it's people who appreciate. Craftsmanship of people who look back in history and look back at how things are made and really find joy in when people made things and had pride in craftsmanship. And so I'm finding a lot of people who love older homes period homes Victorian homes. But we're also you know working with people who want to add some character to a to a modern home and. And then bring in some unique you know custom pieces what we do also is very unique. When we produce one of these pieces there's nothing else like it you know in the world so I think people who want to be different and want to be able to. You know remember the history but preserving history but wanting their cake and eat it too. You know have some functionality and enjoy their modern conveniences. Those are the folks that we that we like to work with.

So how big is this trend now. Because as as I've said it in the 80s not that long right. You are overwhelmed it seems to me by looking at your website and all the places where your your work is now displayed. And use with a lot of requests for people who want it. But there are other people doing this as well obviously. Yes it's been incredible. I would say when we've been doing this for a few years now just in the last six months we've had calls from major art galleries from major museums mill owners mill building owners and restaurants and hotels I'm actually working now with a historic hotel on an takut and they want to steampunk the lobby and that is so exciting for me. Now what you have now let's stop there how would you steampunk a law. It's a good question. First of all you start out you know what what makes you get famous and what is it. Whaling right. And so so I did we did a lot of

history about whaling and so I can't get into too much detail because it's sort of in the beginning but. What's involved is a mechanical steampunk whale. Wow. So and part of what we're doing to the community likes to do the what if scenario so we're able to kind of look back at history and then try to improve on it it's kind of an alternate history. So we're coming up with stories and it's a perfect kind of way to teach children about history and to introduce them into science technology engineering and math. And because what happens it's kind of I call it the Trojan Horse of learning history you have these you have these objects and items that people are looking about and saying you know what is that. Well you know what what is you know what what's making that up. And then kids start to ask questions and then you know the conversation can start. So it's

been wonderful I've been working with museums and other organizations where we're really using steampunk as a way to teach kids history art and technology steam and punk. Yeah. How did that come. I'm just I'm still back to how it all came together. Me with your OK so at the end I was talking about cyberpunk right punk was about technology in the future. Steampunk was technology what it what if they had technology in the past. And so we were looking back at the steam age. He was looking back in the steam age and you know steam was the reason really for the industrial revolution it is powered basically everything. So that's the kind of the period that we're going back to we're looking at the punk part. I think I'm more a little bit more steam than punk although they didn't call me a punk growing up. But. The punk is really more about just kind of going against the rules and. And so I think it's kind of a it's funny because when I was doing. We were

we bought our house and Sharon and you know we came up with this static that we were going to basically create functional art in bring infused modern technology in these into these period objects. We had no idea what Steampunk was at the time then. Then we had some friends come through until this. Hey your steampunk likes the watch. That sounds weird and wonderful doesn't it. It's kind of an interesting term. So. So for me though it's been a little bit of a challenge because steampunk can can you know for a certain group of people they can you know punk rock like what's going on there. And I'm feeling that I'm the bridge between kind of the core steampunk community which are younger that love this is static. Can't necessarily afford what we do and bridging it to folks who also love what we do in terms of incorporating the old and the new and want to put this in their homes they you know they want to put their this in their businesses. And so I'm trying to you know make it

more kind of mainstream in terms of giving people the comfort level that you know this is something not just kind of fantastical objects but something that you can live and work with every day. So what shapes speaking of aesthetic what shaped your particular aesthetic and steampunk because this interview is quite individual as you look at various designers. Yes. I put a high value on functionality and I have to have some rules in terms of when I'm sitting packing in one. One of the rules is that I don't modify the piece in a way where it can't be reversed because I mean a lot of these items on objects that I'm getting are in really bad disrepair they were destined for the dust heap of history and bringing these objects back to life restoring them and giving giving them new purpose. But I also want to be empathetic to the object and at some point in a hundred

years if someone wants to restore it back to its original form they can all the bits and pieces are there. Maybe they need to be a little bit rearranged and and we don't. We also don't steampunk valued antiques because we might be crazy but we're not stupid. OK because you know if there's if it's a rare piece it has a lot of value. You know we we don't. All right so you're not partnering with the antiques road show people actually one of my very good stay you're not going to believe this but one of my very good steampunk FRIENDS IS GARY SULLIVAN He is the Antiques Road Show appraiser for Grandfather clocks and he's a steampunk. Yeah. Fun fact yes and we actually made a steampunk grandfather clock. Oh OK well good to know. Yeah. So. When did you how did you make the steampunk pen that you're wearing this is jewelry now as opposed to a piece of furniture and you know where did you find it where did you find the pieces to pull it all together

this is not my piece on the artist here. It's actually a wonderful artist in Vermont. All propeller spin doctor Mark Elliott. And he what he does is he takes new and old materials and he makes it functional so I have a steampunk kind of airship derivable here yeah. And it's got nine moving parts the propellers spin the writers go. And it's you know this this piece of jewelry just kind of what when when people see it you know they have to talk about it. Yeah it is it's just incredible just the look and what it does and I think again you know with steampunk design you know you're talking you know more kind of in the you know the object design in interior design rooms and homes. But there is so much creativity and people who do fashion design as my wife does. And steampunk you know jewelry designers you have people who are

incredible accessory gadget designers. And that's the great thing about Steampunk is that it's if you take pride in what you do and you do it yourself people really hold that in high regard. And it's designed this you can steampunk anything basically because it's basically just the you know again function sculptural functional art and in blending the best of two worlds. How would you steampunk they had phones you're wearing them. OK good question. Well you know what I've seen I've seen people take it like World War 2 pilot fell and had phones and. And then put some some gadgetry on there you can go two ways to it steampunk. I have a hundred cast iron stove in my

house in my kitchen. It was it's a gorgeous again sculptural stove. It was wood burning and of course no one wants the wood burning you know cooking stove now. So we totally modernized it. We put in an electric cooktop and all that. So there we were able to actually take an older piece and then modernize it. But in other instances you can also go the other way you can take something modern like our refrigerator which is an Amana refrigerator and then make it look simple make it look like it's coming from a different period. Why do you think a steampunk is resonating so much now. Yeah well I think there's a couple of trends going on. With the way that the economy has been and people are are nostalgic for a period where they felt more a little bit more in control of of

what's what's been going on within the society. One thing is the use of technology for most of us. You know we have iPhones we have high pads we really don't know how they work. We have a general sense but it's mostly black box. The whole is static and you probably saw this and if you saw the movie Hugo. I didn't but I was thinking of it as your talk yeah. The whole idea of gears and levers and you know mechanical nature it that gives people a real sense on how things work because you can visualize it you can see it you can see that this gear turns that here that turns that lever almost like a Rube Goldberg type of contraption. And psychologically I think it helps people feel like they they understand how the world works. When you can actually see how things work versus you know the circuit chip. So I think that's you know kind of being a style chicken wanting to go back to a period

where where we could understand better. The other thing too is you know the whole idea of planned obsolescence and things you know kind of coming and going very quickly. We want to make our mark we want to have permanence and steampunk is able to do that because we're preserving these things and we want them to last you know forever. And the green movement you know there's a whole push to reuse recycle and that's what Steampunk is in its purest form. You know we re purposing these these old objects and giving them new life. And how much of it do you suppose it has to do with just a refocus on home. You know when you're stretched by the economy and you're going to spend more time at home presumably because you can't be out and about I wonder that with my first guest as well you know there's so many design shows now and people are responding to that. And here we have a situation where as you say you're repurchasing in the green movement is coming together with that.

But there's also the the context of people refocusing on home. Yeah. Nothing right. Yes. Nothing Yeah exactly right yeah. So and absolutely we see that in ourselves too I mean my wife and I I mean we like like to travel but you know because we work out of our home we want to have it. We want to have a surroundings where it's beautiful and we enjoy being there. And so we said we've spent a lot of time you know our resources to to make our home beautiful. And again it's the sort of thing where we didn't set out to do to do this we didn't set out to make a steampunk house. But once we kind of hit on this idea of a re purposing and being sympathetic to that our house was built in 1901 so we're kind of bringing in you know antiques and salvage. During that time period. And and you're absolutely right people are wanting to. Spend whatever little money they have on items and objects for their home.

As I was discussing with my first guest Tanya Nyack I'm always interested when people are based in New England and Boston about whether they bring to their design. In your case and New England sensibility to it so is there some difference and if I saw your work other than the individuality is there some regional perhaps influence that might be different from somebody in California I think so. I think so because I mean you have to remember that you know the first planned industrial city in is in New England it's low low Massachusetts in a lot of machinery and a lot of you know during during that period was made here right in Massachusetts. And so all the stuff that we use to repurpose is here somewhere. And I talk to people in California and I actually know a lot of steampunk artists in Oregon and they have a hard time finding stuff a lot of the lot of the objects out there are more kind of firearm related implements. Interesting yeah. So when you see more steampunk design kind of

incorporating that. But but it's so wonderful to be here right in the middle of of it all because you know we have the history we have the objects. One of the most incredible places to find a lot of the stew is Brimfield which is empty and you go to you know get me dry Yeah. We're there. You know my wife and I are there. You know it's goes for seven days and we're there for most of the days you know long long days but it's incredible what you can find there. And there's so many good antiques there I mean and you are you tell me you're not messing up the good stuff. All right you know a lot a lot of times we'll find something. You know it's funny because I go through there and it's like ninety nine point nine nine percent of the stuff I'm not really interested in but it's that point all one percent that I have to have it's got like an incredible steam punk vibe. And so you know I end up getting getting a lot of objects that way.

So you have some of your work displayed and audio concepts and then you've been featured in a few television shows like TLC. What kind of response do you get when your work is put out there I guess in a in a broader context and people know about it. I'm curious. Right. Well. When I when we did the kind of the reveal for the that Steampunk computer workstation for the patent attorney in Boston all the other patent attorneys or kind of coming in and checking out and at first it was it was a little bit difficult for me to kind of gauge response but all of a sudden once they understood what this was people were just totally awestruck. And one thing what one guy came in and I can no I can't say this on the radio but he said Holy F word. OK. And so I know you know you get you get someone at a guttural level that way. And and his and my client has been telling me that he's just been getting such wonderful feedback from you know from fellow employees and and clients so that really that's really exciting. Yes and we just had

we just did a show a steampunk show we were the focus of Kraft Boston which is a major arts and crafts show here. It was a milestone for us because you know it's normally just normal kind of you know arts and crafts furniture jewelry clothing. This was very different for them. And it we got an incredible reception with people coming through. A lot of people having that hadn't heard of steampunk before and kind of got a really good dose of you know what what's what Steampunk is in the design world. And then we also just did a header opening at audio concepts. Great. Home Theater show room right in Boston and we made the Jules Verne room which was a steampunk home theater room and we repurposed fireplace mantle Victorian member frames Shafton police systems gears and the whole room down to a leather floor and photo painted walls. It's an incredible kind of way to show how steam punk can you know

be you know be in your home and work really well with modern technology. So here's the question is this here to stay steampunk or is it a gated fad right. Well I mean people ask me that all the time and you know it's been around since the 80s and I'd like to look at it steampunk really in the broader way a broader concept in terms of the mashing of time periods and combining and synthesizing them and producing something new and creative. So. Looking back at the Victorian period industrial age death might shift. You know we might see people are starting now to kind of play with with deco punk. Oh you know. So I think as we move forward in time our kind of look back might change in terms of the time period that we would be mashing up with. So I think Steampunk is here to stay because it's it's it's the best of two worlds and you're constantly innovating and creating. So I think

that that will continue. What brings you the most creative satisfaction from doing this work. Well I do. I actually I think I've rewired my brain in a way because I look at objects now in a totally different way where I look at and say you know I understand what it was made to do and what it was but what can it be. That is very liberating and also in your life you know not just objects but to wit the way to go to think and to live your life always wanting to constantly improve. Thank you very much Bruce Rosenbaum. Thank you. We've been talking about design this hour and I've been speaking with steampunk designer Bruce Rosenbaum the founder of modern design. You can learn more about his work and designs on our website WGBH dot org slash Calla Crossley. You can also follow us on Twitter or become a fan of the Calla Crossley Show on Facebook. Today's program was engineered by Alan Mathis produced by

Chelsea murders. Will Rose live and Abbey Ruzicka. We are a production of WGBH Boston Public Radio.