The stylish little books in our new Compact Design Portfolio series put great classic and contemporary design within everyone's grasp. Launching with four leading designers of the twentieth century--Richard Sapper, Michael Graves, Eileen Gray, and Jean Prouve--these exciting new books defy the idea that design is inaccessible. Each book contains an introductory essay addressing the designer's life and work, penned by a distinguished design writer with real knowledge of and fresh enthusiasm for the designer at hand. Subsequent pages dynamically illustrate numerous key works in photographs and sketches--from Sapper's famous Tizio lamp to Graves's Target line, Prouve's pioneering metal furniture to Gray's Rioli desk. This series will extend into future seasons with more titles featuring an eclectic mix of international design heroes. In an irresistible small format packed with images and useful information, the Compact Design Portfolio books are affordable enough to collect the entire series. At long last, here's the perfect introduction to the influential designers who changed the face of contemporary design.
I was born in London and raised there and in New York City. Two parents of two nationalities on two continents -- you get the idea. Naturally, I escaped (recurrently) to France.... Paris, to be exact. Which is the actual subject of my latest book, Paris Was Ours, a collection of memoirs of the city, many of them commissioned by me and published for the first time, by some amazing writers from all over the world.
As for background, I'm an author and journalist who relishes writing non-fiction for numerous reasons, the main one being that I like / love the challenge of describing things as accurately as I can -- trying to make sense of it all -- while writing in a way that (I hope) people want to read. I always, always learn along the way. I've written for a lot of publications, Vogue, Architectural Digest, The Daily Beast, and The New York Times among them, and I've bounced around a bit in the world. My hopes for the future? Exactly that: More articles, more books, more travel. I'll keep you posted....
(So will Twitter! Look for me there at @penrowl)
