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KELSEY KEITH



Writing
For Curbed, sent a weekly newsletter sharing design observations, intel, advice, and shopping recommendations. Spun a Charles Moore obsession into a 13,000-word oral history of the Sea Ranch, California’s most bucolic planned community that has more than a smidgen of narrative drama (Part I, Part II). Reported a piece on Herman Miller and the business of American manufacturing. Documented architect Brent Allen Buck’s meticulous Prospect Heights brownstone renovation and tracked a first-time remodel in Ridgewood, prices and all.

For Dwell, wrote about homes in the US and abroad, including a  modern dogtrot in Tennessee, artist Jill Magid’s Greenpoint rowhouse, and the now-recognizable  “floating” farmhouse in upstate New York. Interviewed a lot of talented people, frequently of the octogenarian variety: Yrjö Kukkapuro, Finnish furniture legend; Sheila Hicks, weaving great; Jack Lenor Larsen, textile giant; Lucia de Respinis, industrial design professor and George Nelson associate; her Pratt classmate and furniture designer Charles Pollock (also wrote his obit for Artforum).

Editing
At Curbed, published and edited some of the best writers in the biz, including but not limited to: Alexandra Lange, Roxane Gay, Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Karrie Jacobs, Jami Attenberg, Ian Volner, Kyle Chayka, Kate Wagner, Nate Berg, Marissa Meltzer, Ann Friedman, Ashley Fetters, Susan Orlean, and Jennifer Swann. Also ran feature packages exploring singular streets in ten cities around the United States and comparing/contrasting urban policy, education, transportation, and immigration in The United States of Texas and California. 

Ran Dwell’s front-of-book for four years—encompassing news, profiles, trend forecasts, market pages—and pitched, assigned, and edited features like an architecture critic’s take on Barbie, a spotlight of women designers (Susan Kare, Natasha Jen, and Neri Oxman), and service-oriented packages on small-space living and knockoffs vs. authentic design.  

Programming
Put together a live taping of podcast Nice Try! at the 92nd Street Y. Moderated scores of panels for the likes of SXSW, ICFF, and the Architecture Film Festival. Planned and executed the City Modern series—a week of design talks, home tours, plus a printed magazine—in NYC in partnership with Design Hunting and New York magazine. Organized and moderated scores of architect and designer talks for the annual Dwell on Design conference in Los Angeles.

Styling
Studio and on-location shoots for everything from barware, bathrooms, bedding, and building materials to candelabra, tabletop, timepieces, and upholstery fabric. For Curbed, produced a bunch of e-comm-oriented shopping guides, including a spring apartment glow-up, holiday gift guides, and a wedding registry (shot in designer Ellen Van Dusen’s kitchen).