Clever with Amy Devers

Legendary visual artist Cey Adams grew up in NYC immersed in the excitement and danger of graffiti, embellishing buildings and tagging “Cey City” on subway cars. From there, he began selling in galle…

Lettering artist Lauren Hom was a super shy and studious child. Her crafty mother would make snacks with her initials cut out of cheese slices. In her teenage years, her first love led to slipping gr…

Lighting Designer John Sorensen-Jolink grew up in Portland, filling his days with soccer, youth symphony, horseback riding, and taking cabs between schools to train for a future as a pro dancer. Afte…

Josh Rubin and Evan Orensten fell in love at first sight when they met in the office of Razorfish in the 90’s. But before then, Josh grew up straddling Miami and Vermont, where he gained experience n…

For this extra special episode, we’re taking a practical look at the modern leadership methods and values that support a thriving culture and new vision of prosperity. We’re joined by four exceptiona…

For our very special 200th episode, we’re joined by world-renowned architect and designer Patricia Urquiola. While she’s now known internationally, growing up in Spain as the middle child she was oft…

Julian Lennon’s adventurous spirit sprung from a semi-nomadic youth in the English countryside where he spent his days as a farm hand and climbing trees. He navigated the tricky world of being John L…

Sound Designer Dallas Taylor picked up the trumpet in grade school and a whole new world opened up. After a debilitating chapter, he needed to find a new way to translate his love of sound into a pro…

Illustrator Yuko Shimizu was born in Tokyo, Japan and began drawing from an early age. As a preteen, her family moved from Japan to the US, a huge culture shock that included learning an entirely new…

Designer and 2x4 co-founder Georgianna Stout lived in Paris before the bumpy transition to the US for elementary school. Unhappy at school, she graduated early and tried on Parsons for fashion design…

Designer Bryan Costello grew up in an idyllic small town in North Carolina, obsessed with soccer. A self-described “hopeless romantic” he found school a bore and felt that life really began once he l…

Bradley L. Bowers spent his youth hanging in the basement with Grandma Dorothy while she upholstered furniture. Always outspoken, in High School he found that only the art teachers embraced his quest…

Interior designer and star of Netflix’s Queer Eye, Bobby Berk grew up in the rural south, feeling like an outsider. Before coming out as gay, he struggled with anger, depression and tension with his …

Germane Barnes knew he’d be an architect at age 6, before he even knew what that meant.

Growing up playing basketball, he honed skills he now deftly deploys in his creative practice.

After a tumultuous…

Graphic designer Paula Scher grew up drawing pictures to escape a turbulent home life. Later, rebelling against suburban existence, she ventured to art school and became a hippie, and then art direct…

Designer, artist, author and influencer Justina Blakeney, spent her youth teaching art to abused/neglected teenage girls at a residential treatment program run by her parents, where she witnessed the…

On this Clever Extra, we peek under the surface of the most defining patterns of the last century. Formica is a decorative laminate so ubiquitous its patterns have come to serve as a record of histor…

Airbnb Co-Founder & CEO, Brian Chesky, grew up playing hockey and asking Santa for poorly designed toys so he could redesign them. A self-described “peculiar” kid obsessed with art, no one pegged him…

OK, first of all, we know the question you're asking: why are we talking to Terry Crews on a design podcast? We first spotted him on the scene during this year's Milan Design Week and then again in N…

Brooklyn-based podcaster Avery Trufelman has radio in her DNA. Her parents met while working at WNYC, so from birth she was nurtured with love and appreciation for radio. As a teenager, Avery took to…