The Monday Media Diet with Kelsey Keith
On Scope of Work, Ursula Parrott, and Worn
Kelsey Keith (KK) is the brand creative director for Herman Miller. She previously edited design and architecture publications, including Curbed and Dwell. We’re excited to have her with us today. -Colin (CJN)
Tell us about yourself.
By day, I am the brand creative director for Herman Miller, a role which entails words and pictures in every format: campaign, exhibition, magazine, store, showroom, product launch. I made the switch from media at the tail end of 2020—previously, I edited design- and architecture-focused publications. Five years as EIC of Curbed when it was still a vertical at Vox Media, four years as a deputy at Dwell magazine, earlier stints for blogs, lots of freelance. I still write: I publish a monthly newsletter on Substack, I’ve worked on two design books for Phaidon (here and here), and I’m—hold me to this, please!—slowly working on turning an old oral history project into another book.
Describe your media diet.
I subscribe to the following, which represents a mix of work and personal interest, often overlapping: AD Pro; Wall Street Journal, most often Off Duty; New York Times Sunday edition in print; the New Yorker; New York magazine (which arrives over a week late in my California mailbox, so I’ve usually read the bangers online in advance); Puck, New York Review of Architecture; Dwell, which has gotten SO good again; Metropolis; PIN-UP; Architect’s Newspaper; Bloomberg Business Week. I think Scope of Work is doing something incredibly interesting (“writing about the physical world,” often in the realm of manufacturing, engineering, and production) as is The New Consumer, my friend Dan’s consultancy/branding venture. I don’t read any of these daily, but Defector, Dirt, and Byline all embody the old-timey spirit of bloggy journalism, which, hats off. Last but not least, our excellent local paper—and not just because my husband works there.
I get all the email newsletters you’d expect. I will say that “Substack” is starting to feel like shorthand for “dizzying number of people self-publishing superficial thoughts all too frequently.” But there are a few I’ll mention here that are amazing: I love FOR_SCALE so much that I’ve gotten David Michon, the author, to write for Herman Miller. I am very stoked to be receiving regular dispatches—deep thoughts on attiring oneself!—from Susan Orlean. Christene Barberich’s unmatched vintage-hunting skills are inspiring. And Josh Itiola, because I always enjoy how he unpacks aspects of design.
As for podcasts: I have produced one, and listened to a lot. The best ones take you down a rabbithole (Articles of Interest, Stiffed, Wilder), exhaustively cover a beat (Eyewitness Beauty, Print is Dead), or make you feel something in your cold heart (Heavyweight). That said, I’m not obsessed with any specific podcast at the moment and am open to recs!
What’s the last great book you read?
This might be Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott, mostly due to the fact it was written in the 1920s and completely demolished my understanding of what culture was like 100 years ago. The introduction is by Alissa Bennett, a writer with a singular mind: extremely witty and slightly feral, just like this book.
I also can’t stop thinking about Wellness by Nathan Hill. I personally haven’t read any narrative fiction that humanizes the story of platforms and the algorithm in the way this book does. It also packs in threads about open marriage, sociology versus psychology… That sounds chaotic—and yes, it’s over 600 pages long—but somehow it’s effective.
On the precise opposite end of the spectrum: The English Understand Wool, a short and eviscerating novella by Helen DeWitt.
What are you reading now?
Worn: A History of Clothing (as an antidote to the onslaught of fashion/creator content)
Monkey Grip by Helen Garner (her first book, recently reissued)
Hope by Andrew Ridker (family novel rec’d by my friend Lauren Mechling)
Exhibit A: Exhibitions That Transformed Architecture 1948-2000
What’s your reading strategy when you pick up a print copy of your favorite publication?
That depends. If I’m reading for more generalized information + inspiration (The Last Straw Journal, Mother Tongue, Tools), I usually pick it up when time allows and methodically work my way through from the beginning. If you’ve ever worked in magazines, you know the sequence of stories from front-of-book to the feature well is critical. That is kind of an idealized state right now—given that I have two small kids, a job, and side projects—so typically I’m inhaling one-off articles. I can’t resist bylines by Patrick Radden Keefe, Camille Okhio, Alex Jung, Jonah Weiner, Julie Lasky, Diana Budds, Molly Fischer, Molly Young, Lauren Oyler.
Who should everyone be reading that they’re not?
Stephanie Madewell is a writer and editor based in Ohio who edits an indie mag and writes a blog and a newsletter about books. She is formidably intelligent, and everything (fantasy outfits included) feels smarter under her critical eye.
Also Fred Nicolaus, who is underutilized at Business of Home, but he’s one of the savviest journalists attuned to that overlap (business, home goods).
What is the best non-famous app you love on your phone?
Libby, with 100% endorsement. Probably the only decent thing Amazon has done is allow library downloads on the Kindle, and I take full advantage.
Plane or train?
I have PTSD from a two-year-long period of riding Amtrak’s northeast corridor, so, not that. In my experience, trains demand being “available” and “working on the go,” whereas on a plane you’re pretty inaccessible and can take a nap. I do work on planes, but let’s be honest, I’m counting on that Wifi not functioning.
What is one place everyone should visit?
The extraordinary Maison de Verre in Paris, one of only four houses designed by French architect Pierre Chareau. It is a masterpiece whose “status as a cult object is enhanced by the house’s relative inaccessibility” [NYT]. Hard to get into, but the payoff is nonpareil.
Tell us the story of a rabbit hole you fell deep into.
So many! But here’s one related to Maison de Verre. A friend recently queried me about Quonset huts, and while there is much to dig into on the subject, one potential avenue is a home-slash-studio for the artist Robert Motherwell on Long Island… which happens to have been designed in 1947 by Pierre Chareau using a surplus, prefab Quonset hut. Of course, in grand Hamptons tradition, it was torn down in place of some hideous mansion. That’s actually another rabbithole: Google “Bunshaft Martha Stewart Georgica Pond” and you’ll see what I mean. (KK)
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Thanks for reading,
Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN)
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