ER: What do you do?
RG: bricks+matter gets hired by retailers and malls when they really want to learn how to integrate digital and technology into their company and stores to change their relationships with shoppers. We reinvent. We drive innovation. We’re all about productive disruption. We usually end up helping retailers create new lines of business or new products from our work. I’m the nutty professor of the group - I dream up the "pile of crazy”
LF: And I’m the straight man of the group - I take the “pile of crazy” that comes out of my biz partner’s ahem…head… and make it work.
ER: Why East Room?
RG: I used to live in New York City and have an irrational, insatiable “thing” for it….it’s kinda sad really. The East Room reminded me of a mashup of my old Soho office, Soho House, The Ace Hotel and WeWork. It was an immediate irrational need to be here and they were nice enough to put up with me.
LF: Vespa parking everywhere ;-)…. More seriously…awesome space with the right kind of funky vibe, great location and not a single fluorescent light in sight. AND the patio.
ER: What are three things you need to do your job?
LF: Did I mention the Patio? Some solitude, good tech and great coffee.
RG: Coffee, sarcasm and aggression - oh…and a nice patio outside my office
ER: Do you feel like a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior in your field?
LF: Collectively, my partner and I are launching our 4th startup - all of them very different, so it really depends on the day
RG: I feel like the nutty football team mascot running half naked down the field
you can check out Rob and Laurie's work here. You can find out more about East Room here.
As told to: Olivia Seally / Photos by: Michael Rousseau