Cool & Collected: Lisa S. Roberts

Lisa S. Roberts
PROFESSION: Designer turned author
NEIGHBORHOOD: Society Hill
COLLECTION: Modern design objects

In her book Antiques of the Future (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2006), author Lisa S. Roberts offers a colorful, playful tutorial on design icons of the past 25 years. In her historic townhouse, she does the same. Karim Rashid’s Oh-Chair perks up her office. Gaetano Pesce’s Up 5 chair enlivens her son’s room, and six Jasper Morrison Air-Chiars surround her conference table. Roberts insists each object has eminent, everyday function-ability. “I integrate each piece,” she says. “I make them part of an overall low-key environment.”

Spork
“One thing I love is the spork, a cross between a spoon and a fork. You take it when you’re traveling or put it in your kid’s lunchbox. I love the name, too.”

Garbo trash can
“I love attainable design — the Voss water bottle, the Method dish soap bottle by Karim Rashid, the $12 Garbo trash can, the X-Band rubber bands called ‘humble masterpieces’ in MoMA’s online store.”

Pop-up book
“I believe in pop-up books, particularly ones by Robert Sabuda, which frequently sell for under $30. I also have The Dwindling Party by Edward Gorey: It’s probably selling now for five times the price I paid for it.”

Oxo Good Grips Swivel Peeler
“This is my all-time favorite product. It represents democratic design. It’s based on universal design — it was designed for people with disabilities — and it’s so attractive.”

Vermelha Chair
“Chairs are historically used as decorative elements in an environment. Where you might place a sculpture in your home, that’s where I put this chair. It’s on a stair landing off to the side of a grandfather clock. The Campana brothers went around to carpet factories and metal shops in Brazil to find the discarded, low-tech materials that they use in very sophisticated construction.”

iMac G3
“The iMac G3 changed the way we think about computers. You can take something that’s purely functional and, through design, you can transform the whole industry, transform the way people view computers. Suddenly, people were choosing colors to fit their personalities.”

Lisa S. Roberts
PROFESSION: Designer turned author
NEIGHBORHOOD: Society Hill
COLLECTION: Modern design objects

In her book Antiques of the Future (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2006), author Lisa S. Roberts offers a colorful, playful tutorial on design icons of the past 25 years. In her historic townhouse, she does the same. Karim Rashid’s Oh-Chair perks up her office. Gaetano Pesce’s Up 5 chair enlivens her son’s room, and six Jasper Morrison Air-Chiars surround her conference table. Roberts insists each object has eminent, everyday function-ability. “I integrate each piece,” she says. “I make them part of an overall low-key environment.”

Spork
“One thing I love is the spork, a cross between a spoon and a fork. You take it when you’re traveling or put it in your kid’s lunchbox. I love the name, too.”

Garbo trash can
“I love attainable design — the Voss water bottle, the Method dish soap bottle by Karim Rashid, the $12 Garbo trash can, the X-Band rubber bands called ‘humble masterpieces’ in MoMA’s online store.”

Pop-up book
“I believe in pop-up books, particularly ones by Robert Sabuda, which frequently sell for under $30. I also have The Dwindling Party by Edward Gorey: It’s probably selling now for five times the price I paid for it.”

Oxo Good Grips Swivel Peeler
“This is my all-time favorite product. It represents democratic design. It’s based on universal design — it was designed for people with disabilities — and it’s so attractive.”

Vermelha Chair
“Chairs are historically used as decorative elements in an environment. Where you might place a sculpture in your home, that’s where I put this chair. It’s on a stair landing off to the side of a grandfather clock. The Campana brothers went around to carpet factories and metal shops in Brazil to find the discarded, low-tech materials that they use in very sophisticated construction.”

iMac G3
“The iMac G3 changed the way we think about computers. You can take something that’s purely functional and, through design, you can transform the whole industry, transform the way people view computers. Suddenly, people were choosing colors to fit their personalities.”