Team DNA
The People
At your service: a diverse collection of creators of branded environments. We are ever-enrolled students of human nature. We read everything from Wallpaper to the Wall Street Journal. And we are very, very familiar with deadlines. Click on our photos and take a look at our bios. We think you’ll find not just interesting people but
genuine partners.
James Adams
Wow factor:
In addition to sporting a lot of black clothing, James has a couple decades’ worth of experience heading up design projects for major international brands. One of which you may now be wearing, sipping or sitting upon.
What you’d learn on a road trip with him:
He will actually stop and ask for directions.
Favorite store:
Salumi’s at lunch. It’s a 300sf eatery run by the family of famous chef Mario Batali. The food is great but what I really love is watching the line snake out the door with people waiting 2 hours for a sandwich. A sight to warm any retailer’s heart.
Free time:
No such thing. Remodeling the latest run down cabin or refurbishing a 100 year old Brunswick pool table. No idle hands here.
Coolest thing I’ve seen in the last 3 months:
Interactive ad for Travelers Insurance at the Minneapolis Airport. Picture an image of an umbrella, as you walk by the image breaks apart as it were leaves in a breeze, then returns to the original form of the iconic red umbrella. The tag “strong enough to withstand anything” makes it go from just techy cool to business smart.
Tyler Cartier
Wow factor:
A former boxing instructor, it took us a while to corner him. Then we couldn't shut him up. He re-branded the Space Needle, wrote a marketing campaign for Visa, and came up with a great caption for a New Yorker cartoon.
After he finishes his third latte of the morning you'd learn:
He's smart enough to have dined in a foursome with Bill Gates on numerous occasions, foolish enough to get stuck with the check.
Favorite store:
Verite. Purveyors of mountainous cupcakes and attitude. If it weren’t for the library tables, free wi-fi and refills, plus great art on the walls, he’d probably only go there 8 times a month.
Favorite pastime:
Collecting old typewriters, pre-1990 laptop computers and royalties from ribald limericks he sells on the Internet.
Coolest thing I’ve seen in the last 3 months:
The StemGem from Chef’n. This nifty, new strawberry huller I named was recently featured on The Today Show and Cooking Light.
Kerry Burg
Wow factor:
Speaks both left and right brain fluently. And translates. She’s been in the graphic design business since the 70’s, yeah, before disco. Her client list is often mistaken for the Pacific Northwest’s list of Who’s Who.
After you shared a fish taco with her you’d know that:
She has a freakish fascination with Great White Sharks. Has never taken a vacation during the Discovery Channel’s "Shark Week".
Her perfect lunch hour:
Shopping - she’s an apex consumer, an über shopper, an unashamed fan of retail therapy. She doesn’t always buy...hey; it’s all about the experience.
Favorite store:
Sesame and Lilies. What a fantastic concept full of one of-a-kind fabrics, furniture, antiques, seashells, and a luxurious sense of beach cottage style. I took one look around and said “I’ve found my tribe!”
Coolest thing I’ve seen in the last 3 months:
My niece’s wedding at the Novelty Hill–Januik winery – it was modern design at its best. A spare, elegant setting, floating gardenias and white parasols, an amazing array of friends and family, all mixed together with a dash of vintage wine.