Kenn Busch
Material IQ Webinar: Restyle, Resurface, Restore — Specifying Architectural Film for Commercial Interiors
This AIA-certified CEU is made possible by AMBTRA, Inc. and Altyno Architectural Finishes. It focuses on how architectural film lets designers restyle, resurface and restore existing commercial interiors in place, keeping sound cabinetry, walls, doors and fixtures out of the waste stream.
The best way to protect the environment? Understand the inherited wealth of the land
Best way to honor nature is to use furnishings designed to last Before about 1880 in the United States, people would travel to a photographer’s studio to have their “likeness” taken. A new genre of photography developed around 1880 as photographers could bring mobile cameras with them. The result was entire families standing outside their … Read more
Ancestral furniture designers, craftsmanship, and the nearly extinct wood you’ve probably never seen or heard of
Before Henry Ford, there were furniture makers moving through an early precursor to the assembly line. See how one famous furniture designer was almost forgotten to history.
America didn’t invent the wood house, but we did do a lot after the invention of the nail
English colonists were constrained in every building supply but wood. And America’s history with it has shaped our housing style, choice, and aesthetics for 250 years.
Material Leaders at IWF 2026
Four Material Leaders sit down for short interviews about the work they and their colleagues are doing across the industry.
Material IQ Episode 005: “Specifying Fire Retardant Veneer Core Plywood for Interior Use (CFP 2026-1)”
In this episode of Material IQ, host Kenn Busch sits down with Alicia Powell of Columbia Forest Products to unpack the first domestically manufactured, third-party certified Class A fire retardant veneer core plywood.
Material IQ Episode 004: A History of Decorative Laminate
Formica’s brand historian Renee Hightree Darrington joins the Material IQ Podcast for a rare deep dive into the company’s century-long design legacy — from its 1913 origins as an electrical insulator to the birth of mid-century modern icons like the “Skylark” boomerang pattern and Raymond Loewy’s postwar pastels. Along the way: the real story behind matte finishes, Color-Core, and how paper (not plastic) built an industry — plus an unexpected sustainability angle tying Formica’s history to forest health and carbon storage.
Milan Design Week and the Salone del Mobile international furniture fair, 21-26 April
Milan Design Week 2026 is set to be the world’s leading design event. The entire city becomes a global stage for over thousands of events, products, exhibitors, and more.
