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Thursday, May 17, 2012

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"Better Half" Series: Aaron Coles, the Man Behind Design*Sponge

Design SpongeThis is the third in our "Better Half" series featuring The Inside Source writer Lexi Green's interviews with the husbands of some the most beloved female design bloggers on the web. In every case, these guys don't just give back rubs and bake cookies; rather, they are instrumental to success of their wives' wildly popular and gorgeously laid-out design sites.

Case in point: Bob Cho serves as a sounding board for his wife, Joy, and even writes a regular column for her blog, Oh Joy! Tait Larson oversees the technical side of Style Me Pretty, his wife, Abby's, wedding-focused site boasting 8.5 million unique monthly readers. And Aaron Coles, who we talked to this week, not only runs ad sales for Design*Sponge, his wife, Grace Bonney's, interior design blog (or shall we say bible?), but he also encouraged her to launch the site in the first place. (Cue thank you's from Design*Sponge fans the world over.) Read on for more.—The Editors

Design Sponge

When it comes to inspiring stories of turning your passion into a full-time job, Grace Bonney's smash hit interior website, Design*Sponge is enough to make us contemplate an exit strategy from our day job. (If only we had her keen eye and boundless creativity.)

In August of 2004, while working at a PR company, Brooklyn-based Grace Bonney launched her design-focused website as a means to showcase her writing talent and her eye for design. The idea—one suggested by her then-boyfriend, Aaron Coles—was that she would be able to use her design website as a portfolio to land a coveted editorial position at a design magazine.

Six years, a roster of contributing writers, and over a hundred thousand daily readers later, Grace Bonney has turned her resume-builder into one of the most popular home design blog destinations on the web. The New York Times has declared her site to be a “Martha Stewart for the Millennials” and several others have pronounced her the “Queen of Blogging.”

And the boyfriend? Well, as we have learned over the course of writing our our Better Half series, behind many fabulous female design blogger, there is a partner in crime helping steer the ship. And when it comes to the Design*Sponge blog, Aaron Coles, who has now been upgraded to husband status, runs the advertising side of the business. He also writes an annual Christmas gift guide to help all the Design*Sponge gals know what to get their guys for the holidays.

We talked with Aaron Coles about what it's like behind the scenes at Design*Sponge, the best perk of being the “better half” to a famous interior design blogger, and his other love—poker.

The Inside Source: Hi Aaron, it is great to meet you! Could you tell us a little bit about how you and Grace Bonney met?

Aaron Coles: Here’s the great thing about how Grace and I met, in 2003: It involved Friendster. Remember Friendster? We met during that weird window of time before Facebook, when Friendster was kind of a cool online destination. But what really happened is that Grace and I met through a mutual friend. Grace saw my profile on Friendster and asked about me…

 

Then Inside Source: And then you two met in person via Friendster?

Aaron Coles:   Well, actually Grace and this mutual friend were a part of a group of girls who liked to go to Phish concerts together. Yes, that’s right. The idea was that a whole bunch of these girls and the two of us would meet for drinks. But the night-of all of the girls, besides Grace, bailed out. It was just so silly and obvious. So, I called Grace and asked her if she wanted to meet up and the rest is history.

 

The Inside Source: Could you tell us how Design*Sponge blog started in 2004.

Aaron Coles:  At the time, I was working for Rock the Vote and I knew that good political bloggers were getting swept up for magazine jobs. Grace was working in PR and really wanted to get her foot in the door writing for a design magazine. She was obsessed with design in our local Brooklyn. You have to remember; when she started it was a really unique time. Brooklyn design was going through a renaissance and no one was really talking about it yet.  Over brunch one day, I said “Man, you should write a blog.” She launched it very soon after and wrote about the design she loved happening in Brooklyn and in the design-world-at large. Soon her blog became a go-to design destination. 

Design*Sponge

The Inside Source: Do you consider yourself a design person?

Aaron Coles:: I would say I’m not, but Grace would say I definitely have an aesthetic. I am more into gadgets, toys, computers and TVs.

 

The Inside Source: Well, those are some very cool glasses you are wearing. (Aaron was wearing a pair of retro-chic thick rimmed glasses when we met.) You picked that design element out!

Aaron Coles: : I did. I couldn’t tell you the overall look I am wearing. This, to me, is dressed up. Normally, I wear a hoodie and t-shirt and jeans.

 

The Inside Source: Back to the Design*Sponge online site. You left your full-time job in digital marketing recently to help out Grace run the design blog. Could you tell us a little bit about that?

Aaron Coles: Well, I have been handling the ad sales side of the site for years. I left my job this past June to focus not only on running ad sales for Design*Sponge, but also to work focus on my work with the poker education company, World Poker Tour Boot Camp. I am very into poker. I am helping them to bring their live seminars to the web. I love being a part of two things I really care about. It makes all the work not feel like two jobs!

 

The Inside Source: OK, so you say you’re not a design. But, you work for a top design blog during the day. You must have a favorite Design*Sponge column.

Aaron Coles: I like when Grace writes longer posts. I like when she analyzes something inside out—like a trend, a movement, or something personal. I also like the “Living in” column—our writer always picks really cool movies. And of course, I also like the monthly “Behind the Bar” column.

 

Design Sponge - posterThe Inside Source: Has there ever been a design item that Grace has written about and you’ve thought, ‘We got to get that!’

Aaron Coles: She once featured a giant typography poster. It’s huge. I thought it was really great and told her I think she should get it. Now, it is in our home! (See the poster at left. Photo credit: Patrick Cline of Lonny magazine)

 

The Inside Source: And you write a gift guide every Christmas filled with lots of tech goodies and men’s design items. Do you ever get any of the items you suggest?

Aaron Coles: All the time! My mom insists on buying me something off of it every year, even though I never ask her to. She got me a pair of gadget gloves, which I didn’t think I would want for me. But, they are amazing!

 

The Inside Source: Alright, so what’s the best perk of being the “Better Half” to a well-known design blogger?

Aaron Coles: Good question! Grace is writing a book that is coming out in the fall. One of the things she does in the book is tour through some pretty cool people’s homes. She covered the lead singer of the New Pornographers' home, AC Newman. When the New Pornographers played recently in New York, we got to sit in their section. That was amazing.

 

The Inside Source: What has been your favorite part of watching Grace’s Bonney's journey?

Aaron Coles: I mean, the whole thing has been amazing. It’s really been the coolest thing in the world and I love watching it happen. She is writing about all the design stuff she used to talk to me about. She has grown so much as a person. She’s now managing a whole business. She has a whole team of writers. It’s just incredible.

 

The Inside Source: Where do you see Design*Sponge blog going in the next few years?

Aaron Coles: I just hope it goes wherever Grace wants. I am here to help Grace run the best website she can run. I just hope that whatever she wants to do she can do, whether that is TV, or starting a product line, whatever it may be. All I care about that she is happy and enjoying the challenges ahead.

 

The Inside Source: How do you use eBay online auctions?

Aaron Coles: I used to buy a lot of music items on eBay. Now I am really into gadget stuff. If I wanted to get a great set of headphones or software, I would go to eBay.

When we spoke to Coles, he and Grace were in the process of moving to a new apartment. He helped us pick out a few items he could see bringing into his new space, along with a few gifts he could see getting for Grace.

Roll over items for details
Gibson 1962 Reissue Standard Les Paul
(buy it now price, $1,374.99)
New Marshall Tube Guitar Combo Amp
(buy it now price, $749.99)
Vintage Black Bracelet Cameo
(buy it now price, $96)
Vintage Metal Filigree Chair
(buy it now price, $400)
New 96" Poker Table
(buy it now price, $224.99)
Microsoft Xbox 360 + Kinect
(buy it now price, $323.99)
Bose QuietComfort Headphones
(current bid, $168.50)

1. Gibson 1962 Reissue Standard Les Paul : "Grace and I both play guitar. She has gotten more interested in playing music. She’s even taken up the Mandolin! Grace would pick this cool electric guitar."

2. New Marshall Tube Guitar Combo Amp: "We would also need an extra amp for our two guitars in the apartment!"

3. Vintage Black Bracelet Cameo: Aaron Coles once bought Grace Bonney a pair of vintage lava stone cameo earrings. We think this black cameo bracelet would make a nice addition to her vintage collection.

4. Microsoft Xbox 360 + Kinect: Coles would love to score a new Xbox.

5. Garden Propane Outdoor Stainless Steel Patio Heater: Aaron Coles and Grace Bonney's new apartment has a very large patio. Coles would like to bring in an outdoor space heater for the winter months.

6. The Clash, Hamburg, Germany, 1980, Poster: Coles is a huge music fan. He tells us he would love to get a vintage Clash poster.

7. Vintage Pair of 1960’s Outdoor Mesh Chairs:  We could see these chairs on Grace and Aaron's patio.

8. New 96" Poker Table: Aaron Coles likes this poker table very much.

9. Ornate Art Deco Sterling Silver & Onyx Cocktail Ring: Perhaps a ring to go along with the cameo bracelet?

10. Bose QuietComfort Headphones: Aaron could see bringing these gadgets into his collection.

11. Vintage Metal Filigree Chair: Another outdoor furniture option—this one a touch more ornate.

 

 

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d44fef18-e3ca-4123-b910-2adfa11e1cb6 Thu, 7 Apr 2011 11:39:46 PDT Thu, 7 Apr 2011 11:39:46 PDT
Kristan
comment-post

He's definitely a guy's guy, huh? Hehe. Well I think that provides a nice balance to Grace and all the artsy design stuff. I love d*s and always have. Very cool to see the "better half" who helps with everything. :)

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