Detroit Make it Here | New forms, new ideas: Q&A with Scott Klinker

Though he has a number of titles — designer, inventor, entrepreneur and educator — Scott Klinker says it's no contest if he had to pick one: Designer. “The other hats I wear are the by-products of design.”

Klinker, head of the graduate 3D design program at Cranbrook Academy of Art since 2001, also runs Scott Klinker Product Design, based on the school's campus. The business develops product designs and patents for licensing of contract furniture, household goods and toys.

While his Web site features a number of his designs — including his Edge Desk made for laptop users, Quilt Acoustic Tiles for absorbing sound, and Swarovski Speakers skinned with a fishnet of Swarovski crystals — perhaps the most successful invention is the Spaceframe Builders Kit, a large-scale construction toy for kids. Klinker says it was made from a new material, with a new manufacturing process for a new product category. “It was not a derivative of prior ideas,” he said.

It certainly captured the attention of Fortune magazine, which included it in its top 25 products of 2004. Two years later, Newsweek included Klinker in its annual “Design Dozen,” the best new designers of 2006.

His latest endeavor? A contemporary furniture collection called Mix Modern that he created with Michigan-based retailer Art Van. The collection, which has been two years in the making, is set to launch in January and will include nearly 30 new products, from sofas and bedrooms to dining rooms and offices, priced for the middle market — somewhere between Ikea and Design Within Reach, he says.

It's a way to bring modern design to a larger audience, says Klinker, 44.

“Together, I think we'll be able to attract more design-focused customers to their stores. I also like working with a local company, knowing that our products will serve the local economy.”

Klinker, who grew up in Philadelphia, didn't develop a love for design from his parents. His father was an electrical engineer and his mother was a nurse.

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