Our Pioneer in San Francisco, USA: Lotte van Velzen

Meet Lotte van Velzen, this week’s Pioneer, currently living in San Francisco. Previously Creative Director at WeWork, leading Interior Design for the US and Canada region, she is about to embark on her new role at Rivian, a new American electric car brand. In the role she will lead FF&E (Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment) and Styling as part of their in-house design team focused on the physical touchpoints of the brand.

Through our Pioneers series, in collaboration with Nils Adriaans, we catch up with members of the Dutch Creative Community living abroad and ask them to send back personal ‘messages in a bottle’ about life away from the Netherlands.

How did you end up in San Francisco? What drove you?

I ended up in San Francisco due to a job transferring me here, I was Creative Director at WeWork. Prior to SF I was living in NYC working for the same company and the opportunity to lead the west coast team came up so I took it with both hands. The larger question of how I ended up in the US is due to my partner in life being from here. He and I met in Amsterdam and we ended up moving to New York to start a new adventure together. As much as I love NYC, the city has an infectious energy, I was ready for a change to a more balanced lifestyle. San Francisco is the perfect spot for me right now, it reminds me a bit of Europe and is surrounded by the most gorgeous nature I take advantage of every weekend.

What makes you feel at home?

Especially this year during the pandemic when we all spend the majority of our time at home, I grew more attached to my living space. Additionally, we had bought a home just before the shutdowns and had our first kid. So you can say 2020 was extra domestic :)

I love this nook in our house by the bay window, it’s very typical in the architecture here. I made the tile bench (quarantine project) and found a vintage folding chair from Takeshi Nii, a Japanese furniture designer, in a local store.

What stands out the most there (professionally)?

San Francisco is quite a special hub when it comes to innovation. You of course have the Tech giants of the world right here, but the smaller companies are even more interesting. The dynamic of start-up culture and people’s eagerness to foster new ideas makes for an inspiring professional environment.

During my time in the states my career has evolved from working for smaller design agencies to being part of larger, hyper growth companies focusing on design at scale. I am most interested in contributing to the design thinking process and setting a strong creative vision that supports larger business goals.

What is your Random Pic(k) Of The Week?

As I am about to jump into a new role at this company, my pick of the week is Rivian. They are a new American electric vehicle brand that are about to have their first cars come off the assembly line. With the push to phase out gas-powered cars (it was so refreshing to hear the climate goals of the current US administration) it is wonderful to see how quickly this segment is innovating. I am excited to be part of a business that truly has sustainability at the core of their design values.

Who’s the best/most outstanding creative over there?

There are so many interesting people doing outstanding work here – a couple of names that come to mind:

Eny Lee Parker - a young emerging Georgia based furniture designer, her main medium is clay and has a playful, organic style- inspiring work.

Perron Roettinger - I visited their LA, Silverlake studio recently. They do the concert/spatial design for musicians like Drake and Jay-Z amongst other interesting multidisciplinary work.

The Arrivals - Plugging my husband here; when we moved out from Amsterdam to New York he started The Arrivals; a direct to consumer outerwear brand.

What ‘souvenir’ would/will you bring home?

As far as my personal experience goes; I love that the sky's the limit in the States - people celebrate individuality and are very eager to help each other out. This culture of opportunity is tangible in everything from design, to art, cuisine, music, etc. I think it makes for a very great canvas to do great work, I would gladly deliver a dash of this mentality to my design peers back in the Netherlands.