• Who is Maggie Jo Sanderson?

- Maggie is a young female furniture designer which is rare in the furniture design community, she loves surprising people with her level of skill attention to detail. She graduated from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design with a Major in the Interior Architectural Design program and a Minor in the Furniture build program. She is passionate about furniture design she aspires to someday own her own furniture design studio. Making high-end furniture pieces is her specialty she likes to create uniquely crafted furniture pieces that are custom to her clients needs. 

• Is any of your work in public spaces in Milwaukee?

- Sold a piece conversation chair piece also in the gallery photo type showed it Hand made for the people she’s looked up to charlie rake
- collector commissioned her for the chair

• What made you decide that furniture is your passion?

- always knew she would be good at something but after building her first piece desk being in the wood shop

• What is your favorite piece you worked on for a client?

- walnut writing desk prototype is at MIAD wood shop news mag
- changed it structurally  got her foot in the door first career piece
- personally driving it out there to the client

• What is your favorite piece that you created for yourself?

- never made a piece for herself
- it would be cool to own a piece for her self

• How has MIAD influenced your work?

- concept of making things -artistic approach
- giving her the tools and facilities
- no restrictions creative freedom

• Is the Milwaukee area receptive to the work you create/MOWA?

- until you get into a career you don’t realize how small Milwaukee is
- so small and a little competitive but willing to help each other out
- not that many clients in Milwaukee she would like to have more 

• How do you get requests for commissions?

- would like to be more active on social media
- word of mouth everything has come from another
- enter into more shows

• Do you try to stay involved with student work at MIAD?

- more so just people she knew when she was involved
- she would like to be more involved

• What opportunities do you see for MIAD students looking to get into the furniture business?

- yeah its hard its not the most straight forward
- trying to keep a list of things that would have been important
- if you’re the right person with the right mindset

• What are your goals for the future?

- design is her passion
- owning business is her purpose
- has an LLC  Maggie Jo Design

• whats life like after grad?

- slow start have to make
- projects were coming in when she graduating

• where do you want to be?

- having her own business

• pros and cons of your field?

- pros: own business be in control of career and schedule direct impact on her work materiality and how they are going to be made sustainability worth it because you get to do something you like
- cons: hit or miss theater your a success no stability

• what do you want people to get out of your work?

- trying hard to find high end residential so far people have trust in her design
-22 and she has people working for her this surprises people
​

• what message do you want to put out to the Milwaukee community

- she's doing this on her own
- she will have her furniture company someday 

• Who is Donovan?

Donovan Hill is a 2019 Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design graduate. He studied in the Interior Architectural Design program and minored in the Furniture program. He currently is an employee at the Good Lands Studios in Milwaukee creating furniture pieces for clients. He continues to work on his architectural work and is hoping to get a job as an Interior Designer in the near future.

• How long have you been creating Art?

Donovan Has been creating art since before he can remember. As a kid growing up he was put into special education because he would get into trouble for not paying attention in class. He saw the art room as a safe haven for him it was a place where he could express himself. Whenever he would as to leave the classroom he would gravitate to the art room. 

• When did you find your passion?

Originally after high school Donovan didn't think that school was for him. Having been in special education throughout his entire school career he felt that he wouldn't achieve success in academics. He was encouraged to take a look at MIAD because of his ability to draw. When he first came to MIAD he fell in love the the industrial design program. As a freshman at MIAD he later attended the shelter project at Catalano square and discovered the Interior architectural design program and felt that this is where he belonged because there was more room for artistic freedom.       

• What art mediums do you use?

Donovan Works with Revit, CAD, and Sketch Up to create his Interior Design Projects but his work comes to life when he draws. He loves putting his pencil to paper and creating with his hands. Being able to work with his hands was what really drove his work in the wood lab. He creates a lot of personal work tables cutting boards and even a bench.

• What's your favorite project that you've worked on?

Right now he's working on a commission to make a custom center council for a car. He's has created this design out of walnut wood it has sharp sleek edges and features a false bottom to put more valuable belongings. 

• What inspires you to create?

  Donovan really likes modern architecture, furniture, and interior design. He wants to create sleek designs that are true to the nature of the material. He's passionate about creating innovative custom designs. 

• What artists inspire you?

 John Michel Basquiat(Fine Artist), Keith Haring(Fine Artist), These two artist influenced Donovan's drawing style he liked how the artists approached their works are very lose and stylistic. Everything is very abstract but clear in what the artist is trying to depict. John Pawson (interior designer), and Max Bill(Industrial designer), influenced Donovan's Interior design and furniture pieces he likes the simplicity and minimalism of these designers they are very clean but they also account for the space they reside in. These designers look at the whole picture and design for the space around them. Donovan likes to take a similar approach to his design work taking into account the landscape, light, direction, and meaning behind the piece.  

• How did you become interested in Interior architecture/ Furniture? 

Passion for Furniture- When Donovan was 14 his Mom was into thrifting, she and Donovan would go to re-sale stores like good will and St. Vincent De Paul and pick out furniture that they liked that could be fixed up. They would take it to a friend Mr. Calvin and he would would re-upholster and completely redesign the furniture.  He showed Donovan his wood shop and all the tools he had and this was something that inspired him to create pieces of his own.
Passion for Interior design- When he was 10 when his parents got a divorce and him his mom and his siblings down sized to a two bedroom apartment with a den. His mother adapted the apartment into a 7 person home. He learned an appreciation for how to work with space and interiors.  

• When did you realize you found your passion?

  Sophomore year when he took his first furniture class. 

• How do you view the evolution of the custom furniture? is there more people who appreciate this craft?

  More people are recognizing that the craft that goes into these pieces is worth the price tag. People want to be cheap and buy furniture that's on sale. In the long run these custom furniture pieces are a long lasting and a better investment. 

• Where do you see your self in the future? 

Donovan hopes in the near future to start working in the Interior design field. He'll continue to create custom furniture pieces, but he wants to focus on getting his license to practice Interior Design. 

​Q & A with Ben Husnick owner of Good Land Studio 

Is any of your work in public spaces in Milwaukee?

• Yes, the Day Chairs that him and Arthur Talayko created are at the Rice N Roll Bistro in the East Village of Milwaukee.  

What made you decide that furniture is your passion?

• He was enrolled in the IAD program at MIAD and got into furniture as his minor but he quickly realized that he was passionate about the work he was creating.

How has MIAD influenced your work?

• MIAD helped him to find a collective of people with similar interests and hone his craft. 

Is the Milwaukee area receptive to the work your shop generates?

• Yes it's just a matter of getting  the work in front of them.

How do you get requests for commissions?

• Most of the commissions are though word of mouth. He is currently helping other MIAD graduates to fill commissions of there own as well.

Do you have advertising that you create?

• They mostly use Instagram, Website, and Facebook but they don't have much upkeep on them.    

Do you try to stay involved with student work at MIAD?

• Yes, he is currently applying to work at MIAD as an instructor in the wood lab. He is passionate about helping other students get there start in furniture.

What opportunities do you see for MIAD students looking to get into the furniture business?

• There's a risk because you don't see the money that quickly but it's rewarding doing something you love.

What are your goals for the future?

• He hopes to continue to grow his business and teach MIAD students about the craftsmanship that goes into the work. 

Todd is a Multimedia artist and MIAD graduate he uses Print, Water color, Ink, and Videography. He got his BFA in painting and drawing from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. He recently came into our Writing class to talk about his personal experiences with writing. He told us that after taking writing classes at MIAD he didn’t revisit writing until 20 years later. He was motivated by a friend to pick up writing again and now for the past two years he’s been writing more and more. 

We started off our meeting with Tod by asking him what influences his writing style. He said he starts with an inspiration usually it's something that may be overlooked by others that captures his attention. He asks himself why would other people want to go see the art galleries he writes about. This reminded me of what we are trying to do as a class finding artistic influences in the community that maybe overlooked. I'm specifically interested in MIAD Graduates furniture pieces that are being commissioned and getting them attention. 

Tod said he doesn’t really start with an outline and it comes out of his artistic sensibilities. He jots down notes and its a two week process. He keeps a dry erase board by the kitchen sink and lets the ideas flow naturally while his mind is quiet. He says allowing your mind to explore in a state of relaxation helps the ideas come easily. He recommends being present and meditation do yoga This gave me some ides as to how I would like to approach my article. 

Tod explained how the art he makes influences what he writes about. He said in art and writing they are both a deep investigation. His fine art is normally produced in series allowing him to investigate his process. The same is true for his writing style he went to the show 8 times before knowing that he was going to write about it. He decided to explore writing about it to gain a deeper understanding of how the work was curated and the meaning behind the pieces. The 9th time he went through the gallery he went through to make sure hit every point he was trying to make. 

I really Enjoyed having Tod come in to speak with us it helped me gain a lot of insight into how I would like to approach my article. I hope to use some of his approaches to writing myself. It was really cool hearing Tod speak about the connection between his writing and his fine art. I would like to pursue this with my own work as well I think that this would benefit the way that I think and speak about my work. I found that I have a similar writing experience to Tod's. I really enjoy writing but I don't do much of it anymore outside of my course work and now this class is influencing me to jot down my thoughts and pick up a pen when I can. I hope to do more personal writing in the near future. 

For our writing class we will be writing an article for On Milwaukee. I want to write about MIAD graduates who are Furniture makers in the Milwaukee community. The Audience that I am trying to reach is people in the Milwaukee community with an interest in Art and design, and MIAD alumni and students. 

I hope that people will see what opportunities are out there for MIAD graduates. I want people to get excited about the design work thats coming out of their city. I hope that people will gain a sense of appreciation for the craftsmanship that goes into making these furniture pieces. I think that people will be interested in supporting local artists. I want people engage with the work thats in the community and learn about the work that goes into creating these pieces. 

I have been working with some peers of mine who have started their careers in the custom furniture industry. Writing about the opportunities that have opened up to them since graduating because of their passion for design I will draw parallels between how their work effects the community and vice versa. Their work is going out into the Milwaukee area and it may be something that the community connects with without even knowing. Furniture pieces that range from a simple café chair that the public sits in everyday to a curated permeant collection of the Wisconsin Art Museum. 

Donovan- He is currently working for a design studio in Milwaukee creating commissioned furniture pieces. He is passionate about modern furniture and he creates designs that are sleek and elegant. I would like to interview him about his personal work and commissioned work. 

Maggie- She is currently working on commissioned furniture pieces in Milwaukee. She took home best in show from the wood working fair for her modern school desk. I would like to interview her about her work and where she sees her work going the the future. 

Ben- I would like to interview him about his studio. He's currently the owner of his own wood shop in Milwaukee he works with and hires MIAD alumni. 

Greg- He taught interiors at UWM and works with students in the community to pursue design careers. He owns his a wood shop in Milwaukee and I would like to interview him about the students he works with in the Milwaukee community. 

​

Todd is a Multimedia artist and MIAD graduate he uses Print, Water color, Ink, and Videography. He got his BFA in painting and drawing from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. When exploring Todd’s website I found that he had done a very nice job of documenting his work and sharing its relevance in the Milwaukee community. One of his works that I found to be very important to his work is his experience as the Pfister residency artist while he was there this gave him a chance to continue the shadow series he was working on. the public unknowingly was involved as they would dine in the café he would pain their silhouettes. His website has a great archive of his work he could freshen up the layout to draw more attention to his work. I found some of the text hard to read and the background distracting at times. I liked his attention to organization I could easily find what I was looking for and this made it easy to learn about his work. I think his website could do a better job of setting the tone for his work his work seams to set a mood and connection to the great outdoors I think his website could showcase his pieces so they don't get lost on the brown background. ​

Another artist that I decided to look at was James he is a pilot who has logged over twelve thousand hours flying, considers the sky as his studio, material and canvas. He works directly with light and space to create artworks that engage viewers with the limits and wonder of human perception. His most significant work has its own tab on his page Roden Crater. In 1977 James began a monumental project at Roden Crater, an extinct volcano in northern Arizona. James has sculpted the dimensions of the crater bowl and cut a series of chambers, tunnels and apertures within the volcano that heighten our sense of the heavens and earth. He says his pieces have no subject that the light is what makes the pieces of work you can see that reflected in this webpage. Nothing distracts or takes away from the light when you glide your cursor over the images it gives a brief description of the piece you're looking at and once you click on the page it shows nothing but the work itself their is nothing competing for your eyes attention. James Turell is also inspired by nature and I think that his website does a wonderful job of capturing the emotion behind his pieces of work. This is a great example of a webpage that is well organized and reflects the artist vision. ​

On Milwaukee: Dining, Bars & Clubs, Music, Movies & TV, Sports, Arts & Entertainment, Marketplace, Kids & Family, Living, Milwaukee Buzz, Travel & Visitors, Events, Weather, News and much more. This appeals to millennials and young families in the community. They have family friendly events as well as articles that may cater to a younger crowd. I think that an article about MIAD alumni work would fit into their content and would spark interest with their target audience.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is more cut and dry. They seam to have a lot more reporting then entertainment media. Their articles mainly cover weather, national news, sports, and community infrastructure.

Shepherd Express seems like it's geared more towards millennials. They have fresh graphics that are new and easy to read. They have tabs at the top of the page designated for Sports, LGBTQ, Hemp, Food and Music and many more. The site seams to have more of a communal voice they talk about controversial things going on in the city.

Urban Milwaukee seams like a great place to get information about how the city is developing. They also have a variety of suggestions for popular restaurants and bars, entertainment and local artists. Their website seams like it could use a little bit of a refresher it’s a little hard to navigate and distracting to read through. ​

Milwaukee Magazine is sophisticated and well done. The article images capture the eye and its easy to scroll through the pages and not get lost. The images are high quality and show the focus of the article without having to even read the headline. The layout of the articles are also concise and clean. They’ve done a nice job of pulling together the overall image of the city by showcasing community events and cultures.

Marquette Wire run by the University it's very dry the images are low quality and the articles are not a fun read. It's interesting to know whats going on at the University and to hear what the students are thinking. However it seams as though there may not be a lot of room for creative freedom. 

Architectural Digest has a variety of subjects that cover designs that are trending to how to grow your business. The websites layout is simplistic and easy to go through. The images are high quality and nicely formatted. The website is a good resource for designers to get knowledge on up and coming design techniques as well as how to work with your clients and address issues. I think that this could benefit my writing as I start the interviewing process.


Dezeen is an architectural magazine that showcases designers work from around the world that’s innovative and new. They have a range of articles they cover from innovative furniture designs to how technology is impacting architecture. This website will help me to think about the ways in which the Milwaukee designers are creating innovative works.


These articles have helped me to think about what formatting styles I like to read through. Usually I prefer clean layout and high quality visuals. I want to make sure my blog reflects the design qualities I found to be easy to look through. I hope that like the other local news sources that captured the heart of the Milwaukee community, I can do the same through my article. I want to convey the MIAD communities relationship to the Milwaukee design community and shed light on how the alumni are able to make a difference with their design work. ​

​    My name is Laura Shea I studied Interior Architectural Design at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. Since I was in grade school I have said that I am going to become an interior designer someday. Now that I have finished my studies I have started my exploration into the design field. I also minored in Graphic Design and Marketing I enjoy the creative freedom that comes with design work and learning about a brand. My focus is not limited to architectural design I also enjoy creating using watercolor paintings and making furniture in my free time.

Writing about my work has helped me to convey the meaning behind the projects to clients. For every design that I have created I’ve taken the time to speak with the clients in order to create a narrative for the space. I have also used writing as a personal outlet, I enjoy reading and writing poetry. Poetry helps me to clear my mind and express myself. For the article we are writing I want to convey a story that the Milwaukee artist in our community are trying to tell through their work and how the community has influenced their work.

I have been considering interviewing MIAD graduates that are working in the Milwaukee community. One of my good friends is currently working as a furniture maker for a small business in Milwaukee that was founded my MIAD alums. I think that this is a great opportunity to see the impact that the MIAD community is having on the Milwaukee area. I want to show the craftsmanship and intricate design work that goes into the custom furniture pieces and the designers relationship and passion behind the work they’re creating.

What opportunities are out there for graduates?
How is the community supporting local designers?
How can we showcase local work?
What makes the designers passionate about what they do?
Once a piece is completed is it hard to see it go?