Caroline Linder (left) and Lisa Smith in their Chicago studio
This is the sixth profile in our series on American design entrepreneurs, looking at how they got where they are, what they do all day, and what advice they have for other designers running their own businesses. Read last week’s profile here.
Chicago may be infused with major architecture, but like many cities in the U.S., the manufacture of small-scale design objects can be a rarity. Which is why, in 2011, Caroline Linder and Lisa Smith formed ODLCO. Their company’s tagline is “small batch design brand,” which describes their approach of working with independent designers and regional manufacturers to produce small runs of household products. “We wanted to contribute to design in Chicago by actually producing products,” Smith says.
Linder, 34, and Smith, 30, have known each other since 2006. Both attended the Art Institute of Chicago, and later they formed the Small Object Design League, a loose affiliation of designers in Chicago who staged exhibitions. Soon, though, Linder and Smith realized that exhibitions weren’t enough. “We had designers showcasing prototypes, and in a lot of ways it felt like a dead end,” Smith says. “Exhibition work is great for artists but not for designers, because you need people to buy your products in order to see if the they are successful. We are always interested in engaging with the general public, not just with other designers, and production is the ultimate way to do that.”
So Smith and Linder transformed the business into ODLCO (short for Object Design League Company), which now has three main components. First, they seek out compelling products from designers and work to match the product with the right kind of manufacturer. Second, they sell these and other products; in June, Smith and Linder opened a physical retail store in the front of the West Loop warehouse where they work. “We also sell things that we haven’t made but that are a good fit with our brand,” Smith says. “We want to bring new customers in through retail.”
Above and below: ODLCO’s new retail store in Chicago’s West Loop
     |
Post a Comment