Robin Wilson (eco-designer)

Last updated
Robin Wilson
Robin Wilson.jpg
Portrait photo of Wilson
Born (1969-09-26) September 26, 1969 (age 55)
Austin, Texas, United States
NationalityAmerican
Education University of Texas at Austin (BA)
New York University (MS)
Occupation(s)Designer, Lifestyle Brand, Author, Interior Designer
EmployerClean Design Home
Known forEntrepreneur, Author, Clean Design
TitleChairman, CEO, Founder
Spousedivorced
Childrendaughter
Website Clean Design Home

Robin Wilson (born September 26, 1969) is an American entrepreneur, author, interior designer, and thought leader on Clean Design, as a wellness and sustainability advocate. Inc magazine selected Robin Wilson for the Female Founders 100 [1] (October 2020), its 3rd annual global list of leading women entrepreneurs. She is the founder of a lifestyle brand that relaunched as CLEAN DESIGN HOME at Macy's [2] in 2021, and later BELK, Wayfair and every branch of the military. As the creative director of the licensing division, she has partnered with retailers and generated over $85 million in branded wholesale revenue from textiles, furniture and cabinetry since 2010.

Contents

Wilson’s design work emphasizes the Clean Design protocol discussed in her second book, 'Clean Design: Wellness for Your Lifestyle' [3] (Greenleaf, 2015). Her first book was 'Kennedy Green House: Designing an Eco-Friendly Home from the Foundation to the Furniture' [4] (Greenleaf, 2010), with the foreword written by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

She has partnered with Joe Torre " [5] to help domestic violence survivors. Her firm created Project Lilac which provides lilac sheet sets to safe houses identified by the Safe at Home Foundation led by Joe Torre. In 2023, this Project Lilac initiative won a Silver Anthem Award in the category Humanitarian Action & Services-Corporate Social Responsibility-Community Engagement (For Profit). [6]

She has built a brand that guides consumers 'from the foundation to the furniture' and has allowed her to partner with leading brands to reach consumers by integrating eco-friendly design, hypoallergenic products and sustainability. Clients in design and spokesperson projects have included Panasonic USA, the White House Fellows office, and the Lake Nona Laureate Park development. In addition, she has worked on showhouses, and for both residential, developer and commercial clients. She is an unpaid ambassador to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America and she has served the community through leadership on the Board of Directors for the Sustainable Furnishings Council (2012-2015); Do Something Board of Directors (2003-2005); Boston Symphony Orchestra Board of Overseers (1995-2004); and YWCA Board of Directors in New York/Austin/Boston (1988-1999).

Early life and career

Robin Wilson's parents were middle-class workers. Her father drove for Kerrville Bus Company (acquired by Coach USA) on long-distance routes. Her mother worked for state government in multiple agencies. Her family focused on education. Robin was diagnosed as pan-allergic at a young age, and was sickly. Her parents found a holistic pediatrician who focused on 'raising strong children, not children on strong medicine' and he guided her parents to organic food cooperatives in Austin (Wheatsville, Whole Foods) and was an advocate of exercise, healthy diet and indoor air quality management. As her health improved, she took notes and ultimately developed her ethos based on these practices.

Wilson was born in Austin, Texas, and attended public schools in Austin. After graduating from S. F. Austin High School, she entered the University of Texas at Austin in 1987 and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree. While in college, she worked at the Lower Colorado River Authority and became immersed in environmental issues from energy efficiency to water conservation. She joined Mercer Management Consulting in Boston. In 1997, she moved to New York City while working for Heidrick & Struggles, a company that went public in 1999 which gave her a windfall to matriculate with a master's degree at New York University, with a degree in Real Estate Finance.

She was deeply affected by the death of her only sibling, her brother, a US Army soldier who died in 1993 in a motorcycle accident and to manage her grief, she created a bucket list, which has resulted in many adventures.

Career achievements

In 2024, she was named a Distinguished Alumnus by the New York University-SPS School and delivered the convocation to the graduate students at Radio City Music Hall. [7] A few months later, she was named to the Tisch Center Hospitality Innovation Hub list. [8]

She founded her firm in 2000 and rebranded it to the eponymous Robin Wilson Home in 2006. As an early advocate for clean construction method, she insists that work teams use low-VOC paints in both residential and commercial spaces to limit the wheezes and sneezes. [9]

Wilson has done work for President Clinton's Harlem office, the Good Housekeeping Showhouse, [10] the private residence of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., White House Fellows organization, and in 2014, she completed the EcoBungalow-LA [11] project to rebuild a home for a family who lost everything in a fire.

Wilson was the first woman to license her name to eco-friendly kitchen cabinetry through Holiday Kitchens (licensed from 2008-2017), [12] made in the USA in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, and sold at over 400 independent dealers nationwide.

She is considered an expert [13] on Clean Design, healthy homes and asthma/allergy friendly information. In June 2011, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America announced that she would serve as an ambassador. [14]

Her furniture line, Nest Home by Robin Wilson, premiered at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in May 2013 in New York City. [15]

In 2020, she rebranded her product line to CLEAN DESIGN HOME which is trademarked and is sold online and at stores including Macy's, [16] BELK, and sold globally to all branches of the military through their online commissary system. Products sold include bed textiles, bath towels, candles, cleaners and other categories.

Wilson is a paid speaker on the topics of entrepreneurship, brand building and Clean Design and is represented by All American Speakers. [17] Plus, she is a blogger on the Huffington Post, [18] where she has written about eco-healthy issues.

She had a well-read byline in the Washington Post regarding healthy living in an article about wellness living with allergies. [19]

Robin Wilson has been recognized by the Library of Congress/History Makers project and her oral history has been catalogued. [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamie Durie</span> Australian television presenter (born 1970)

Jamie Paul Durie is an Australian horticulturalist and landscape designer, furniture designer, television host, television producer, and author of eleven books on landscape architecture, garden design and lifestyle. He is the founder and director of a design company PATIO Landscape Architecture and Durie Design and also is a 2008 Gold Medal winner at Britain's prestigious Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Chelsea Flower Show in Chelsea, London for Australian Garden and designed by Durie. As of 2018, Durie has hosted more than 50 design shows around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia</span> American media and merchandising company

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. (MSLO) is an American diversified media and merchandising company founded by Martha Stewart in 1997 and owned by Marquee Brands LLC since April 2019. It is organized into four business segments: publishing, Internet, broadcasting media platforms, and merchandising product lines. MSLO's business holdings include a variety of print publications, television and radio programming, and e-commerce websites.

Housekeeping is the management and routine support activities of running and maintaining an organized physical institution occupied or used by people, like a house, ship, hospital or factory, such as cleaning, tidying/organizing, cooking, shopping, and bill payment. These tasks may be performed by members of the household, or by persons hired for the purpose. This is a more broad role than a cleaner, who is focused only on the cleaning aspect. The term is also used to refer to the money allocated for such use. By extension, it may also refer to an office or a corporation, as well as the maintenance of computer storage systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Endust</span>

Endust is an American brand of dusting aid produced by Nakoma Products. A dusting aid is sprayed on a dustcloth or dustmop, rather than directly on the furniture.

De'Longhi S.p.A. is an Italian small appliance manufacturer based in Treviso, Italy.

Green cleaning refers to using cleaning methods and products with environmentally friendly ingredients and procedures which are designed to preserve human health and environmental quality. Green cleaning techniques and products avoid the use of products which contain toxic chemicals, some of which emit volatile organic compounds causing respiratory, dermatological and other conditions. Green cleaning can also describe the way residential and industrial cleaning products are manufactured, packaged and distributed. If the manufacturing process is environmentally friendly and the products are biodegradable, then the term "green" or "eco-friendly" may apply.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacquelyn Ottman</span> American branding consultant (born 1955)

Jacquelyn A. Ottman is a New York City-based consultant specializing in sustainability strategy, green marketing, and eco-innovation. She is the author or co-author of four books on green marketing, including The New Rules of Green Marketing: Strategies, Tools, and Inspiration for Sustainable Branding. She has advised Fortune 500 companies, including GE, Johnson & Johnson, and Procter & Gamble, along with the United States Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star Label She blogs at GreenMarketing.com and at WeHateToWaste.com.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eco hotel</span> An environmentally sustainable hotel

An eco hotel, or a green hotel, is an environmentally sustainable hotel or accommodation that has made important environmental improvements to its structure in order to minimize its impact on the natural environment. The basic definition of an eco-friendly hotel is an environmentally responsible lodging that follows the practices of green living. These hotels have to be certified green by an independent third-party or by the state they are located in. Traditionally, these hotels were mostly presented as ecolodges because of their location, often in jungles, and their design inspired by the use of traditional building methods applied by local craftsmen in countries such as Costa Rica and Indonesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable flooring</span>

Sustainable flooring is produced from sustainable materials that reduces demands on ecosystems during its life-cycle. This includes harvest, production, use and disposal. It is thought that sustainable flooring creates safer and healthier buildings and guarantees a future for traditional producers of renewable resources that many communities depend on. Several initiatives have led the charge to bring awareness of sustainable flooring as well as healthy buildings. Below are examples of available, though sometimes less well-known, eco-friendly flooring options. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America recommends those with allergies to dust or other particulates choose flooring with smooth surfaces – such as hardwood, vinyl, linoleum tile or slate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trane</span> Subsidiary manufacturer of HVAC systems

Trane is a manufacturer of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, along with building management systems and controls. The company is a subsidiary of Trane Technologies, a company focused on manufacturing HVAC and refrigeration systems. Trane employs more than 29,000 people at 104 manufacturing locations in 28 countries, and has annual sales of more than US$8 billion.

Ecologic Brands Inc. is a United States company that specializes in creating eco-friendly packaging for consumer products. The products are made from sustainable materials and are designed to be recyclable or compostable. The company also provides branding and marketing services to help companies promote their environmentally conscious products.

Asthma Canada, formerly the Asthma Society of Canada, is a non-profit charity dedicated to enhancing the quality of life and health for people living with asthma and associated allergies. It has a threefold focus on education, research, and advocacy, to continue improving lives for all those with asthma. Asthma Canada represents over 3.8 million Canadians living with asthma, along with their caregivers and all others impacted by asthma, and also provides resources for people suffering from allergies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alliance for Consumer Education</span>

The Alliance for Consumer Education (ACE) is a 501(c)(3), non-profit foundation based in Washington, D.C., dedicated to advancing community health and well-being.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madonna fashion brands</span>

American entertainer Madonna has produced five fashion brands, beginning with a clothing range for fashion store H&M in March 2007. She later created an enterprise, MG Icon LLC, a joint venture with her manager Guy Oseary and Iconix Brand Group which produces her lifestyle brands Material Girl and Truth or Dare by Madonna. She also collaborated with Dolce & Gabbana on a range of sunglasses which marked the first co-branded collaboration that the design duo has ever undertaken.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annie B. Bond</span> American writer

Annie B. Bond is an American sustainable living advocate and author from Rhinebeck, New York.

LYFE Kitchen is an American fast-casual restaurant chain operating in Illinois. The company's name is an acronym that stands for "Love Your Food Everyday". LYFE promises functional, locally sourced foods and does not use artificial ingredients. They strive to use 100% biodegradable, compostable, recyclable packaging.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GoodPop</span> American confectionery

GoodPop is an American Certified B Corporation and a producer of all natural and organic ice pops, frozen desserts and sparkling juices, headquartered in Austin, Texas. The company was founded in 2009 by then University of Texas student Daniel Goetz.

Charlotte Moss is an American interior designer, author, and philanthropist. Since launching her career in 1985, she has received numerous honors, including the New York School of Interior Design’s Centennial Medal, Elle Décor Vision Award, and the Timeless Design Award from the Royal Oak Foundation. Charlotte is named one of Elle Décor’s Grand Masters Top Designers. She lectures widely on the arts of living, has authored 11 books, and writes for several magazines.

Louisa Shafia is an American chef and cookbook author. Her 2009 cookbook Lucid Food focuses on local and sustainable eating. The New Persian Kitchen (2013) features traditional Persian dishes as well as reinterpretations.

Martina Chukwuma-Ezike is the founder and CEO of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation, Scotland’s only dedicated asthma charity. In 2021, she was elected as the Rector of the University of Aberdeen, the first black person to hold the position. She was installed as Rector in 2022.

References

  1. ↑ "INC magazine Female Founders 100". Inc. magazine.
  2. ↑ "CLEAN DESIGN HOME x Martex brand page". Macys.
  3. ↑ "Clean Design: Wellness for Your Lifestyle". Greenleaf.com. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
  4. ↑ Kennedy Green House: Designing an Eco-Healthy Home from the Foundation to the Furniture. Greenleaf.com. 2010. ISBN   978-1608320301.
  5. ↑ "Safe at Home: Joe Torre partners with designer". CBS News. 18 March 2022.
  6. ↑ "Project Lilac wins Silver Anthem Award". Anthem Awards.
  7. ↑ "Lifestyle Brand Trailblazer: Robin Wilson selected for NYU Distinguished Alumnus". 24 April 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  8. ↑ "Mentors: NYU Tisch Center of Hospitality Innovation Incubator Hub". 1 September 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
  9. ↑ Semple, Erin (April 2009). "How Suffering from Allergies Inspired a Successful Eco-Friendly Business" (PDF). Reader's Digest . Rd.com. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
  10. ↑ Allen, Jennifer (August 2008). "Tour 'Good Housekeepings Newest Green House". Good Housekeeping . Retrieved 2014-11-14.
  11. ↑ Preiser, Amy (2014-02-01). "Rebuilding after a Fire - EcoBungalow". ElleDecor. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
  12. ↑ "Newsroom: Holiday Kitchens Announces the Launch of New Website". Holiday Kitchens. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
  13. ↑ "Interior Designer Robin Wilson gives asthma friendly tips for the home". Allergy Standards Limited. 30 October 2009. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
  14. ↑ "Design Expert Robin Wilson Named an AAFA "Ambassador"" (Press release). Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
  15. ↑ "Healthy Space Design with Robin Wilson". Conscious Connection. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
  16. ↑ "CLEAN DESIGN HOME". Macys. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  17. ↑ "Biography of Robin Wilson". All American Speakers. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 2017-08-10.
  18. ↑ "Robin Wilson". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
  19. ↑ "To Prevent Allergic Reactions, you might try washing bed pillows and microwaving fruit". Washington Post. 4 Nov 2013. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
  20. ↑ "BusinessMakers: Robin Wilson". The HistoryMakers. 26 April 2010. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.