When we came across this  photo of designer Lisa Sherry’s house in the September/October issue of Lonny,  we knew it was Dream Board-worthy.  The vintage Triad Table Lamp in gold leaf, next to the white tufted chair and casual side tables, has just the right dose of flair. In fact, it reminds us of this chandelier by Corbett Lighting, launched this fall. We want.

Designer Lisa Sherry's House with vintage Triad Table Lamp in gold leaf

Muse chandelier by Corbett Lighting

online marketing wizard

Any resemblance of our Christopher Robin to the A.A. Milne character of Christopher Robin and Pooh should be put to rest right now. The only thing these two Robin’s have in common is that they might both be fanciful figments of our imagination. Our Chris Robin is DRS’ Online Marketing Manager, a role in which he continues to grow and thrive. He works closely with our Social Media team to give voice to our clients in the online world. And what a voice. Witty, irreverent, wry, droll – Chris never fails to send the perfect retort to in-house correspondence when needed. In the world of public relations, where every day and every minute counts when performing for your clients – a well-placed bon mot from Chris sometimes is just what the Doctor ordered.

Working with our clients Facebook, Twitter and blog accounts, Chris spends much of his day researching trends in the industry and developing stories around our clients’ products to showcase them in the their best light. This doesn’t mean it’s all super-serious; there is much about the home design industry that is quite amusing.

Chris’ take on the industry is both irreverent and respectful – he understands the passion and enthusiasm people have for these beautiful products and he is able to articulate that passion while carefully maintaining each client brand ‘voice.’ That’s why he’s so good at his job: being able to educate, enlighten and amuse people is a skill not many can claim.

How did he come about this skill set? It’s really hard to say. Chris is very private. In fact, when asked to provide some background material for this profile – he reluctantly told us the following: his family (he has a sister) grew up in the Los Angeles area. He attended school at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where he majored in English. Chris does make use of his English degree – not only writing tweets, but teaching writing to children at a non-profit organization. Chris will also admit that he does picture himself always writing in one form or another, and while it may not always be in the form of 140 characters, he is enjoying working with new forms of media and he’s interested in watching the industry grow and develop and he’d like to remain a part of it.

When asked about hobbies, or activities he likes to do outside of work — here, verbatim – is how he answered:

As for talents/hobbies, in the past few years I’ve spontaneously attempted to reach an intermediate level (aiming high!) for the following skills: how to play guitar, how to cook, drink mixology, and how to speak another language (French or Spanish.)

Random things I would like to be able to do: operate a stick shift, whistle, blow a bubble of gum (mouth stuff in general), dunk a basketball, be comfortable with growing a beard, incorporate Latin and/or French idioms into my everyday vocabulary to make myself sound sophisticated, learn that card trick where you magically pull the card from behind the person’s ear, craft something out of wood, and be able to navigate my way around Los Angeles without having to use Google Maps (good luck with that Chris!)

And that, ladies and gentlemen….is Chris Robin. In a nutshell. Sort of.

Raj Balu

Writers, by nature, are a dynamic species. They possess qualities in combination that seem superhuman: intelligence, humor, insight, speed, accuracy, empathy and laser-focused creativity, all while in the midst of chaos. They also possess translation skills to match anyone at the United Nations; because a great copywriter listens, translates and distills what others say and turns it into poetry.

We count ourselves lucky to have one of these rare birds in our midsts. Meet Raj Balu: In-house copywriter and copy editor extraordinaire. When not deeply absorbing product information from numerous sources, Raj can be seen methodically working at his computer – composing advertising copy, press releases, product descriptions, blog posts, backgrounders, profiles and any other on-the-spot content that is produced daily for our clients.

It is safe to say that on any given day Raj’s creative output meets and exceeds anyone’s standards. How does he do it? Are writers born or bred? Is it nature or nurture? Perhaps he’s fueled by his intake green tea – or perhaps it’s something deeper – we like to think that his love of writing is bred-in-the-bone.

Raj has honed his skill in every medium; he’s written fiction, non-fiction and screenplays – the latter for the Discovery Channel where his work was produced for the screen. When asked about writing for home design or public relations, he had this to say: “All writing, be it fiction or non-fiction, creative or technical, boils down to crafting a specific message. Writing for PR requires you to craft a highly specific and concise message in order to grab and keep audience attention. It is a unique challenge of the field and also what makes working in it so interesting.”

We had to probe a bit more: what would bring a guy, college educated in the midwest, out to California? Sun, sand and screenwriting, according to Raj. And a love of travel. When not pouring over projects at DRS, or working on various freelance projects, Raj is on the road. For a day or even months at a time – in fact, Raj was stranded in southern Thailand back in 2008 when protestors for the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) took over the Bangkok Airport. Never one to panic, Raj stayed calm and has no doubt used that experience in some piece of writing somewhere! He credits his calm demeanor with having a ’Master’s Degree’ in life; along with his B.A degree and certificates from UCLA Extension.

We are quite happy that Raj’s travels have brought him to DRS, and we hope this rare bird continues to enlighten and enliven our lives. Warm and engaging, Raj’s personality is a perfect fit for DRS. Happy to know you, Mr. Balu.

Can anyone really predict a trend? We can spot them, but predicting them is a bit like catching a snowflake – the moment it lands, it melts away, or lands on an existing pile of snow to which anyone can then safely say, “It’s definitely trending towards snow.” We don’t like to make pronouncements of absolute certainty, but we do pride ourselves on being astute observers of design.

Here’s what we’re talking about:

- Material Maturation and Morphing – Avatar comes to A + D
- After Stainless Steel – A resurgence comes to life
- Slim down and get healthy – Flooring products, that is
- Luxury and Green – and really mean it this time
- New Buzz words to impress your friends with
- Intelligent Design – Not that kind… the useful stuff like Smart Products for your home
- Lighting – not a burn out; just a new efficient way to guide our way
- Color de jour for 2010 – check please
- Something Old is something Good; even hipper meaning to “recycling”
- Look afar but look close to home too – Made in USA is making a comeback and designers love it

Want to read the whole scoop? Check out our newest Research + Trends article posted on our site: DRS and Associates.com

On April 27, 2009, The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) launched LEED v3. LEED 2009 does not reinvent the wheel in terms of what exists in the market, but it reorganizes existing commercial and institutional rating systems and offers several important advancements. The flexibility of the LEED structure is key – allowing it to evolve, build upon new technologies in building science while prioritizing energy efficiency and CO2 emission reductions.

So you may ask how has it evolved and how does that effect the kitchen and bath industry? As you are well aware, products do not earn LEED certification points, but projects do – the very projects you want to get your products into. Therefore, supplying your client base with green products that conserve water, are composed of low-emitting materials, recycled content, or certified wood will all likely serve as big selling points in 2009.

Here’s a Breakdown:

With LEED v3, credits will now have different weightings depending on their ability to impact different environmental and human health concerns. LEED now awards more points for strategies that will have greater positive impacts on energy efficiency and CO2 reductions. Each credit was evaluated against a list of 13 environmental impact categories, including climate change, indoor environmental quality, resource depletion and water intake, among many others. The impact categories were prioritized, and credits were assigned a value based on how they contributed to mitigating each impact. The result revealed each credit’s portion of the big picture, giving the most value to credits that have the highest potential for making the biggest change. The credits are all intact; they are just worth different amounts. As a result, LEED 2009 will operate on a 100-point scale. The rating categories include: New Construction, Core and Shell, Schools, Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance, and Commercial Interiors.

What Applies to You:

Water Efficiency Credit Category: There is no better time than now to promote your water-efficient, low-flow fixtures and your relationship with organizations like WaterSense. The buzz phrase is: How low can you go?
Fixtures that Promote Water Conservation:
REDUCE BY 30 – 2 points
REDUCE BY 35- 3 points
REDUCE BY 40% – 4 points

Material and Resources Credit Category: If you manufacture products out of recycled content, make use of wood that is FSC certified or manufacture products that are made from rapidly renewable materials, they can make for a LEED certified project.
Certified Wood: 1 point
Recycled Content:
10% of Content: 1 point
20% of Content: 2 points
Rapidly Renewable Materials: 1 point

Indoor Environmental Quality Credit Category: Eco-friendly, non off gassing paints, finishes and sealants equal LEED points.
Low-Emitting Materials:
Sealants: 1 point
Paints: 1 point
Composite Wood: 1 point.