Breed presents . . . The Podcast with Kuchar Swara

Back in 2021, we interviewed the CEO and Creative Director of the Pellicano Hotel Group, Marie-Louise Sciò, for the print version of Breed Presents. It was clear we could only skim the surface of what we would like to have asked Marie-Louise. So when we started the podcast, she was at the top of our list. Marie-Louise grew up around La Posta Vecchia, in a beautiful setting overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea, and around the grounds of Hotel Il Pellicano, sited high above Porto Ercole in Tuscany. Both hotels were owned by her father, Roberto. Marie-Louise studied design and architecture at Rhode Island School of Design before working with interior designer, Massimo Zompa, in Rome. After overseeing the rebuilding of Il Pellicano, Marie-Louise took over her father’s hotel portfolio in 2011 and has been running them ever since, adding the equally impressive Mezzatorre on the island of Ischia in 2019. She also launched lifestyle website, ISSIMO, offering the best of Italian design, fashion, and food, carefully selected by Marie-Louise herself.  Host Olivia Triggs of Breed sits down with Marie-Louise to talk about living in Rome, a new hotel project, and how she uses her creativity. Image credit: Stephen Ringer

This edition of Breed presents . . . The Podcast is a conversation with creative director, editor, and design consultant Tony Chambers.  Tony Chambers is perhaps best known as the longest-serving Editor-in-Chief of Wallpaper*. He joined the magazine as Creative Director in 2003, was appointed Editor-in-Chief in 2007, and Brand and Content Director in 2017. He transformed Wallpaper* into a global brand with pocket City Guides, a website, a creative agency, a retail platform, and an interior design service. After studying at Central Saint Martins, Tony started his career as Art Editor at The Sunday Times Magazine. From there he moved on to become Art Director at British GQ, where he was voted PPA Art Director of the Year twice in 1998 and 2001.  Nowadays, Tony is the founder of creative agency TC & Friends. He also started the design and ideas platform OTOMOTO with artist Ryan Gander, he’s co-chairman of Fortune Magazine’s Brainstorm Design, and he sits on the board of trustees of the Barbican Arts Centre. Host Olivia Triggs of Breed sits down with Tony to talk about his career, his proudest moments at Wallpaper*, and the inspiration behind TC & Friends. 

Rafael Oliveira is the Creative Director at Tracksmith, a Boston-based maker of performance running gear. He works in Porto, Portugal from his home — a former car parts warehouse that he helped transform into his dream house.  At age 30, he discovered a love for running, and he didn’t approach his new-found passion with an occasional jog. He got into interval training, track running, and endurance training, and soon got his marathon time down to under two hours and 30 minutes. Throughout Rafa’s training journey, he became particular about his running gear and found Tracksmith. And he liked Tracksmith not only because the clothing was effective but also because of the way the brand presented itself. Rafa was so enamored that he got in touch with the company's founder, Matt Taylor. They hit it off, and in 2016 Rafa took over as Tracksmith's Creative Director.  Host Olivia Triggs of Breed London chats with Rafa about his home city of Porto, how he got into design, and what it's like to combine two of his passions — design and running — at work.

Hugo Rifkind is a journalist and broadcaster, including as a presenter on Times Radio. He’s also the author of Rabbits, a new novel set in an all-boys boarding school that steps into the darker undercurrents of that environment. It’s been described by crime writer Val McDermid as "Saltburn, but with kilts." Host Olivia Triggs chats with Hugo about his creative process on Rabbits, constructing fictional characters, as well as personal experiences that influenced the book.

Breed London is a creative agency for visual artists. We represent a small roster of diverse creative talent. Included on that roster is photographer and filmmaker Cat Garcia. Cat uses images to tell stories without pretension. She likes shooting in black and white and using natural light. Her work is stripped back, simple and real.  When she works with moving image, she’s often accompanied by her husband, Carlos Garcia, who provides evocative soundtracks to her visuals. Carlos is a professional songwriter and musician, and he joins Cat in conversation with Breed. In all her work, Cat tells intimate, positive stories, focusing in on the little details of life to provide that genuine sense of empathy. In recent years, she's worked with Tate Britain, Soho House, MATCHESFASHION.com, Leica, Hole & Corner, MR PORTER, and the V&A, among many others. Cat has made films for Make Hauser & Wirth, Frescobol Carioca, and Sunspel with David Shrigley. Special thanks to Hauser & Wirth and Sunspel for giving us permission to use the music Carlos created for them.  

Today's episode features someone we’re already familiar with — Quentin Jones. The daughter of architects, Quentin studied Philosophy at Cambridge, before taking an M.A. in Illustration at Central Saint Martins. Straight out of college, she began building a career as an artist, photographer, and filmmaker, taking in clients like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Vogue.  We’ve been working with Quentin at Breed since 2018, and the main focus of our chat is on our area of interest – her art. Though we also touch on her creative heritage, her love affair with fashion, the difference between living and working in New York vs. London, and more.

Matthew Freud is probably best known as the founder and guiding light of PR agency Freud Communications. He’s also an Oscar and BAFTA winner for his role as producer of the animated short film The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse. But what Breed London’s Olivia Triggs really wanted to talk to him about was his carefully curated and incredibly diverse art collection, including works by Banksy, Damien Hirst, and Keith Haring, as well as objects like an Enigma coding machine, a piece of Concorde, and dinosaur bones. We also found out about his new hotel/cultural retreat: Bull – A Coaching Inn.

Art director and graphic designer, David McKendrick, is the founder of David McKendrick Studio and biannual creative magazine Paperboy. Earlier in his career, he worked for Wallpaper* and Esquire magazines and set up creative agency B.A.M., working with clients like White Cube, Christie’s, and The Times.  Breed London’s Olivia Triggs talks to David about his career in design, his love for magazines, and what he intends to do next. 

Graphic designer Michael Bierut has been a partner at design consultancy Pentagram since 1990. He's behind the logo for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, the brand refresh of Mastercard, and many other projects. He’s also a commentator, writer, and lecturer on design and co-founder of the online journal Design Observer.  Breed London’s Olivia Triggs talks to Michael about how he fell in love with design and New York City. And we hear about the types of design projects that excite him today.

This edition of Breed presents… The Podcast sees us in conversation with Kuchar Swara. Kuchar is the Creative Director of the Telegraph Media Group, where he leads a design team across branding, editorial design, marketing, and whatever else is thrown at them.  Originally from Iran, Kuchar arrived in London as a boy in the 1990s, going on to study typography at the London College of Printing. He started to attract attention while at Winkreative after working on the redesign for Italian art and architecture magazine Case da Abitare. magCulture’s Jeremy Leslie, who we’ve talked to previously for Breed presents, described his work as "an almost idealised version of early Modernist graphic design." Working under Tyler Brûlé — the man behind Wallpaper* and Monocle — seems to have had an influence on Kuchar, as he co-founded the biannual men’s style magazine Port in 2011.  As if that wasn't enough, Kuchar wanted to translate his graphic design skills into a 3D format. So, he started British watch company, Sekford, where his ability to fit things together in intricate detail was put to the test. The company name is inspired by Sekforde Street in Clerkenwell, where many British watches were once made. Kuchar has won awards from D&AD, the Society of Publication Designers, the Society of News Design, and the Type Directors Club. And he occasionally judges on international design panels.