Hospitality Design - September 2012 - 166

Wave
of
the
Future
2012
Ave Bradley
Vice President, Design
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants
San Francisco
When I was young I
wanted to be an artist
and I always had a
passion for travel and
archaeology, so if I
could have combined
those interests in
some way that would
have been it—and I
guess that now I’ve
actually been able to
do that.
I grew up in Green
Bay, Wisconsin,
taking a summer
vacation every year
with my family;
they were the
classic road trips to
all the American
monuments that
lasted a week. We’d
drive for ten or twelve
hours a day to get to
the next highlight
and all I cared about
was get ing to the
hotel, ordering room
service, and spending
as much time as I
could in the pool.
Psychology is what
I found interesting
to study. I took a
very winding path
to get into design; it’s
not one that I could
ever advise younger
professionals to follow
today because it was
truly a lot of luck and
good timing that led to
this place.
My fi rst job was as
a sales associate
for Pot ery Barn.
Although the
position itself was
far from ideal it was
certainly perfect for
Current and Recently Completed Projects
Hotel Triton, San Francisco (rooms only)
Hotel Palomar Phoenix
Surfcomber, South Beach
Hotel La Jolla, California
Hotel Monaco Philadelphia
Grand Cayman Island
166
September 2012 hospitalitydesign.com
me in that it started
me on a path that
I could have never
predicted or scripted
for myself in my
wildest imagination.
This eventually led
to a position as a
furniture buyer in
the merchandising
offi ce, working closely
with the product
design and visual
merchandising teams.
My big break came
when two of my
mentors from the
retail industry gave
me a chance in
hospitality by inviting
me to join them on
the design team for W
Hotels. Get ing their
vote of confi dence
and being given a
chance to work on
a brand that didn’t
exist, being part of
the development of it,
and able to infl uence
every aspect of it from
design to uniforms to
graphics to music to
retail and even OS&E
was an unbelievable
opportunity.
Aſt er W, I spent about
fi ve years on my own
with a consulting
business called
Fishnet Holdings,
where I worked on
diff erent types of
hospitality projects
before being recruited
by Kimpton—an
invitation I turned
down for two years
before fi nally agreeing
to come back to a
more conventional
work life.
To work through all
of the hardships
of a long-term project
and see it come
together successfully
is beautiful.
I’m a modernist
for sure, and the
Southern California
style of indoor/
outdoor living and
walls of glass is
5
where I’m most
comfortable. My
perfect house would
be Philip Johnson’s
Glass House. My
work life is fi lled with
stimulation, so when I
get home I don’t want
to be faced with any of
that—no clut er, just
serenity.
My guilty pleasures
are ordering in dinner
virtually every night,
handbags and shoes,
and nice hotel stays.
Hotels I love—the
Nam Hai near Hoi
An, Soho Beach
House in Miami, the
Bulgari Resort in Bali,
21c in Louisville, and
Crosby Street Hotel
and the Surrey in
New York.
The list of designers
who I’m dying to work
with is very long, but
at the top I would say
Jean-Michel Gathy,
Jaya Ibrahim, and
Martin Brudnizki. I
also love looking for
young, undiscovered
talent and giving
someone a chance to
start their career. It’s
good for our brand
and great for young
designers.
I want my tombstone
to read, ‘How you do
anything is how you
do everything.’
http://www.hospitalitydesign.com
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