Movers and Shapers

Kevin Derrick, M.O.N.A.
1536 North American Street, 215-232-6183

A recent Drexel University interior design graduate, Derrick is a marketer/Web guru/events planner for Bahdeebahdu; a design blogger; and also co-founder of M.O.N.A. — short for “Made on North American” — an interior and industrial design collective in South Kensington. A conglomeration of craftspeople, artists, retailers and interior designers — including R.J. Thornburg from Bahdeebahdu — M.O.N.A. is debuting in October with a room in DogHaus, a designer showcase benefiting the SPCA. In the future, Derrick says, the group will offer services ranging from product design to interior design to furniture restoration. “We won’t necessarily be limited to North American Street,” Derrick says. “The idea is for M.O.N.A. to be more of a stamp of approval for ideas and designs.”

Best known for: Blogging for DesignPhiladelphia, found at Designphiladelphia.wordpress.org.

What he’s doing this year: Co-organizing a series of events in the 1400 and 1500 blocks of North American Street that starts with an open house at the Crane Arts Building; continues with Warren Muller’s book-signing at Bahdeebahdu; and ends with a M.O.N.A. launch party and concert at 1536 North American Street. “We’re trying to draw people to North American Street, to show them what’s happening here,” says Derrick. North American Street Design District, October 19th, 3 to 9 p.m. 1400 to 1536 North American Street.