What drew you to interior design?
My father worked for Mead Paper, so as a girl I had a limitless stack of blank paper at my disposal. I also had a kindergarten teacher who predicted I would be creative and rewarded all my work. Through this reinforcement, I developed a lens of being able to visualize. When it came time for college, I applied to the interior design program, allowing me to bring artistic value to a blank piece of paper.

How did that translate into working for retail?
My five-year program at the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP) had a cooperative education program that allowed us to experience various industries while we were still in school. The world of retail design had high energy, creative spaces, fast-paced projects and every day you’re surrounded by a world of design talent.

Why are materials so important?
Branding products used within a space have always been desirable.  2-D; 3-D; dye sublimation on glass, metal, wood, and organic or manmade materials are technologies that allow us to take ordinary products and make them ownable. 

How do you choose materials for projects?
The secret is using materials appropriately.  Know what products you’re bringing to the table, understand them and celebrate them as you create with them.

How do you celebrate them?
“Design is the appropriate combination of materials in order to solve a problem,” is one of my favorite quotes by Charles Eames. Knowing what materials can do whether they provide scale, texture, color or a pattern to meet the conceptual intent is important. But knowing how they evoke an emotional response when they interact and complete the design makes them special. The celebration comes when the combination works.

Printing advancements have changed a lot for retail in recent years. What are your thoughts on 3-D printing technology?
3-D printing is amazing technology that has just begun to touch the future of many industries, including the military, automotive and NASA. There are artisans experimenting with 3-D printers, developing new materials such as sand-like products, plastics and molten stainless steel – printed in mid-air. Soon we’ll be able to create and print furniture, hardware, lighting and even architecture.

What three objects are always on your desk at work?
Anyone who knows me knows that three items would never be an option.  Let’s put it this way, I prefer a lot of energy at my fingertips all the time.  I see it as organized chaos!

What one-time Lori Kolthoff fashion mistake was most embarrassing?
In the 1980s, I could do big hair like nobody’s business. I look back at pictures and realize I held on to that [style] a little too long!