Weekly Highlights
Highlight from this weeks articles, conversations and creative inspirations from Rosie Lee and our community. Opening the lid on topics, news and inspirations that affect our thinking and our work.
Celebrating our 25th birthday this month while keeping busy shooting for the London 10K, managing new client projects, and preparing for the Easter weekend.
We enjoyed conversations with longtime collaborators John Tree and Charlie Dark MBE, and recording with Ché Morales (Creative Director of the Online Gallery). Issue 13 has just landed (see below), and we've completed Issue 14 for Chicago. In our discussion, Ché shared insights about the OG's beginnings, hustling, and the incredible contributors to the latest issue from Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Nick Cave & Bob Faust, the Digs and Obama Presidential Center.
For the full Rosie Lee story, check out Mark's detailed company history below.
Unorthodox Blend
Article: UBA090 - Bookspiration - Midlife: A Philosophical Guide
The latest book on Russell’s recommended list is “Midlife - a philosophical guide” by Kieran Setiya. It moves away from the clichés of a Midlife Crisis, and looks at this phase of life as a crossroads, an opportunity - certainly not a moment to see failure by foolishly striving for a perfection that cannot be attained.
Midlife is a chance for recalibration rather than crisis - the value is in the journey itself. Have a read of Russells take on this book, and maybe you’ll pick up a copy of the book too.
Conversations
UBC030 John Tree
John Tree is a London-based product and furniture designer whose work blends industrial precision with refined simplicity. With a background that includes roles at Sony and Jasper Morrison's studio, he has now established his own practice, creating crafted yet industrial designs that emphasise longevity and essential function.
We have known John for many years (Mark in particular has known John for most of his working life) so in this conversation, we took the opportunity to reflect on early collaborations and their shared experiences from Tokyo. We discuss how the design world, and our roles within it, has evolved over time along with culture and technology. We delve into the challenges of transitioning from creative experimentation to running a business and how personal relationships influence professional growth.
John offers insights into balancing client expectations with design integrity, the emotional resonance of well-executed design, and the complexities of creative independence. Our discussion spans topics from cultural differences to the fine balance of storytelling vs simply great design.
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Our careers have intersected with John in various ways, and so it was a pleasure to sit down and reflect - not only on our shared history but also on the current state of the design industry. John's clarity, calmness and curiosity continue to inspire, and we're excited to share that energy in this episode.
Rosie Lee News
The OG Edition 13
Rosie Lee Creative
The OG Magazine Edition 13 was launched at Art Basel in Miami, with a celebration of the artists and contributors involved. Since its inception, we have been designing the layout for The OG, and this time, we also feature as a contributor alongside some incredible artists.
Inspirations
A house in the sky
In perhaps the most dramatic spatial intervention, legendary designer Philippe Starck has completed Maison Heler, a surreal hotel in Metz, France, featuring a traditional 19th-century Lorrain-style house perched atop a nine-story contemporary monolith.
Met Museum Partners with BAND-AID
The Metropolitan Museum of Art and BAND-AID Brand have created an unexpected partnership launching April 6th that transforms adhesive bandages into miniature art galleries.
Chair of Virtue
Before setting up the glorious online magazine Chair of Virtue, Adam Maryniak moved from Kraków to London to study product design – finding himself on a straight path to becoming an industrial designer. The creative trained as a fabricator for window installations, then moved into the world of set design, making scenery and props for all sorts.
If you have any inspirations that you’d like featured on UB, then please share them with us.
News from our friends
Checkered Future: Frequency Manifest
Hidden in a darkened room at Milan's Triennale museum, designer Willo Perron created an immersive installation for Vans that translated sound into physical movement and light.
"Checkered Future: Frequency Manifest" invited visitors to lie beneath a ceiling grid of suspended mirrors, mimicking Vans' iconic checkerboard pattern, which pulsated in rhythm with Tim Hecker's atmospheric soundtrack. As the mirrors moved up and down, beams of light shifted in intensity, creating a physical manifestation of sound waves.
"I was thinking, 'How is sound attached to design?'" Perron explained. "What's the sound of design, and what's the sound of architecture? That's the whole principle – to understand what sound looked like."
The mirrors responded directly to audio frequencies – sinking lower during bass notes and rising with higher tones, creating an emotional journey that Perron described as going "from something super gleeful to something kind of scary, very, very quickly."
This installation formed part of Vans' broader presence at Milan Design Week, alongside a DJ set by the unstoppable Björk and celebrating the redesign of their classic Old Skool
The 2025 Forbes Entrepreneurial CMO 50
With global uncertainty at near-record levels, today's marketing leaders face extraordinary challenges. The entrepreneurial CMO thrives by balancing disruption with preservation of what works.
Our longtime friend and collaborator on some of our most iconic work, Drieke Leenknegt exemplifies this approach at Vans. Inheriting a globally iconic brand facing declining revenue, she understood that "marketing isn't about incremental change—it's about transformation."
Read more about her and the other leaders on the list
25 Years of Making Things Up
This month marks our 25th Birthday - quarter of a century of Making Things Up - quite the achievement! Mark has gone to town in sharing the journey of how it all began and how we got here - from working in the basement of a hairdressers to working with some of the world's biggest brands.
Our core spirit has been the same since day one - pushing boundaries, thinking in an unorthodox way, leading with storytelling.
You’ll need a brew and a biscuit for this one, but have a read of our potted history and kick off our birthday celebrations with us, and a big thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey.
Work with us
Getting ready for the Easter break, but our calendars remain open for future bookings. We're excited to meet new people, solve problems, rant about industry trends, or share our 25 years of insights with anyone interested.
Don't be shy – hit the button to connect with us.