Rob Forbes is an American designer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of the furniture company Design Within Reach,"Modern furniture for middle America", SF Gate and of the bicycle retailer Public Bikes (stylized "PUBLIC")."Public, from Rob Forbes (interview)". Sarah Rich, Dwell, February 5, 2010
Early life and education
Forbes grew up in Pasadena and Laguna Beach, California.Los Angeles Times "Rob Forbes' ruthless vision" Los Angeles Times, March 23, 2006|Janet Eastman He studied aesthetics at UC Santa Cruz and received a Masters of Fine Arts in ceramics from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University.ArtWeek.LA
Career
Forbes received a National Endowment for the Arts grant, and spent his early career as a potter and exhibiting artist; he also taught at Philadelphia College of Art. After earning his MBA at Stanford University, Forbes worked as a marketer at Williams Sonoma, Smith & Hawken, and the Nature Company."A Catalogue Comes to Town". By Deborah K. Dietsch, The Washington Post, June 3, 2004
Design Within Reach
In 1999 Forbes founded the company Design Within Reach, which marketed European modern furnishings to American buyers."The rise and fall of Design Within Reach", Fast Company. Products were shipped directly to the buyer through catalogue and online ordering. After rapid initial growth, Design Within Reach became a public company in 2004. Shortly thereafter Forbes left the company; by 2009 it was in financial difficulty, delisted from the stock exchange and was sold to hedge fund Glenhill Capital Management."Herman Miller Acquires Design Within Reach, Aims To Become A Lifestyle Brand". Fast Company
Public Bikes
In 2010 Forbes founded Public Bikes, an online bike retailer."Public Bikes' founder has eye for art". San Francisco Chronicle. Daniela ProvinceSeptember 14, 2012 The company designs and sells European-style bicycles aimed at urban cyclists."Bike style shifts gears". SF Gate, Sarah Adler April 22, 2012"Great European cities inspire bikes for S.F.". SF Gate, Leilani Marie Labong April 18, 2010
Other art and design work Forbes opened an art studio in San Francisco. In 2011, he curated an exhibit of pottery and ceramics at Frank Lloyd Gallery in Santa Monica."Art review: 'Rob Forbes Selects' at Frank Lloyd" Culture Monster, August 19, 2011
Forbes writes and lectures on visual thinking and modern design. He presented a TED Talk, "Ways of Seeing" in 2006, and has also spoken at AGFA SF. Forbes has written a book called See For Yourself, released in May 2015. He created and contributes to DWR Design Notes, a monthly newsletter on modernism and design.
Publications See For Yourself by Rob Forbes. Design Research: The Store That Brought Modern Living to American Homes, 2010 by Jane Thompson and Alexandra Lange, foreword by Rob Forbes. How to See, 2nd edition by George Nelson, foreword by Rob Forbes. Bent Ply by Dung Ngo, Eric Pfeiffer, a book about the story of plywood in Modernist furniture design, foreword by Rob Forbes. Heath Ceramics, a book about the history of the ceramics company by Amos Klausner, contributor Rob Forbes.
References
External links Studio Forbes PUBLIC Bikes Design Within Reach DWR Design Notes