An Interview with Daniel Grabowski

Daniel Grabowski from Grand Rapids, Michigan is another of our 38th Design Competition winners! We’re incredibly thrilled that, after many years, Daniel finally decided to submit his design. Daniel has spent the last 35 years designing furnishings for major businesses and owns his own design firm, dog.studio, based in Michigan. Inspired by the sense of accomplishment when completing a project, the Exclamation Wall Hook serves as the pièce de résistance to any project.

What is your background in design? What led you to our Annual Design Competition?

I've been working in design for over 35 years here in Grand Rapids, mostly in contract office furniture. And I came to find out about the competition years and years ago, probably 25, 26 years ago. I remember some of the winners very specifically and spec them into a future project. And every year, I see the entries, and I say, I'm going to enter, I'm going to enter, and I never do.



Tell us about your design. What was the inspiration behind it?

I had two designs I wanted to submit. One was a tall coat hook, and the other one was a single little dot. And I was going to do that in several sizes. And the inspiration came to me as I was working up one of them that I should put them together because it really captures that feeling when you're finishing a project and you get to put the final little detail on. The exclamation point seemed like the perfect thing to submit for this competition.



What was the process like, and can you explain your approach? How did you envision the concept-to-part pipeline, and how did you execute it?

My process is pretty straightforward. I like to dive right into 3D CAD sketches and go right to the 3D printer. So, this one, I did several prints, several iterations of it, to try to get the size and the scale right. The attachment was a little different. So, there's two different attachment methods, one for the dot and one for the bar. But when you put them together, you won't see any hardware or any screw holes or anything



What would your advice be for someone looking to submit but is hesitant about the process?

My advice would be to go ahead and enter. I've said it year after year when I see the winners. I should have done it. I should have done it. And I found out that this was really a painless process. In fact, I just dedicated time for each design for the two designs that I submitted. And I just gave myself a block of time and challenged myself to get them done. So, it really doesn't take that much time if you put the effort in.

A major congratulations are due to Daniel for his ingenious design. We’re eager to add this attention-grabbing coat hook to our collection. View Daniel’s full interview here