Julia Haney Montanez is a writer, curator, designer, design fair producer, and the co-founder of the tech-based platform, The Design Release -- the ultimate source for discovering global design events, news, and industry jobs. For the past six years, she has been the Editor-at-Large for the Architectural Digest Design Show, focusing on the popular Made section, dedicated to burgeoning designers. Julia typically splits her time between NYC and abroad, visiting various galleries, designers and art fairs; however, the past year she has been living and exploring Washington, D.C. Here is her guide to our nation’s capital. 

Where are you from and where do you live now?  I spent my early years in London, Toronto, and then Washington DC suburbs. For about 13 years I lived in NYC and then moved back to DC to regroup before moving to Europe, and got caught there for this covid-year.

What did you study?  I have an undergraduate degree in finance, which I used briefly in 2008/2009 during the peak recession. Losing my job during this time helped direct me towards a career in design.

What was your first memory of design?  My first memory of design was visting my mother’s friend in London and seeing her incredible collection of art and design in her apartment. She had two Ubald Klug Terrazza sofas, produced by De Sede, and it was something I had never seen before, and showed me that design could be art.

When did you know you wanted to work in design as a career?  While I was recession-unemployed and strolling aimlessly through NYC, and saw a window display for the Domino book in the Barnes and Noble in Columbus Circle. I bought the book and spent the next few months finding discarded furniture and fixing it up for fun. Later I went to Paris on a trip basically paid for by my severance package, and discovered Les Arts Décoratifs museum in Paris, and discovered the hard-to-reach section with the chairs displayed by era. That was it for me - I had no idea chairs were so iconic and represented so much in terms of art and history. I planned to move to Los Angeles soo after to reinvent myself as an interior designer. 

Who are some of your favorite artists, designers, and architects?  Favorite artists are Raoul Dufy, another discovery in Paris, at the Palais de Tokyo. Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas, who I discovered in Athens, especially his paintings of ourdoor architecture and plants.I am so attracted to illustrative art, beautiful and colorful with a childish quality. I also love minimalist art of the 60s, large scale yet impactful, like the works of Dan Flavin and Sol Lewitt. Favorite designers are Kwok Hoi Chan, whose work of course I discovered at Les Arts Deco, and looks like an impossibility brought to life. Amazing that someone’s mind can produce such incredible works.  My favorite architect is Louis Kahn, an easy answer because his work is perfect in my eyes. 

Who or what inspires you? Absolutely travel. Both my parents were big travelers, and met on an airplane on the way to Mallorca. I was brought along on their trips at a very young age, and physically dragged to museums by my art-loving mother. I live to travel, to experience new cultures, try new food, and learn new languages. That’s why I love Europe so much, because so much unique culture exists at such close proximity.

Do you have a favorite design movement or style?  My style usually changes and adapts to what I am currently working on. In terms of interior design, at this moment I love neo-classic design, because I love when rooms are designed from top to bottom, without any surface left untouched. In terms of furniture design, the 20s and the 60s were such great eras, both due to advances in industry - such a the innovative use of stretch fabrics and foam in the designs of the 60s, namely by Pierre Paulin, whose work I collect.

How did you come up with the idea of The Design Release (with Leo Lei of Leibal)? I was working as a curator for the independent design section of a large trade show (the Architectural Digest Design Show). I felt that I needed to expand my horizons and visit other trade shows to discover unique talent. As I started seeing other fairs, namely in Toronto and Milan, I started seeing that the most fun designs were not at the major trade shows, but at smaller exhibitions and independent fairs. After a talk with a friend, we lamented that there wasn’t anywhere to truly find all the events in one place, so I decided to take it upon myself to create a global design calendar. 

I had someone design a website but I was ultimately unhappy with the design - but frankly the level of sophistication I was looking for was not attainable unless I could make an enormous investment. I sent this web designer’s work to a group of friends, and the only one who told me to scrap it completely, and that they would help, would be my first co-founder Leo Lei, a journalist and furniture exporter for his store and blog Leibal. Leo was so invested that I asked him to be my partner, and then we brought on Zack Koller, an insanely talented coder and developer, who really believed in the idea as well. With Leo and Zack’s brilliant minds, we have taken this humble calendar idea and created a design-industry platform that shows you what is happening in design all over the world, as well as a design-industry news feed (the first one), and a works-on-view platform that brings the focus from exhibitions to the individual works on view, to support purchasing via the galleries and presenting exhibitions, and during covid, we pivoted to design PR which has been the fastest-growing segment of our business. 

What are some of your favorite global fairs or events and why?   I will always have a special place in my heart for DesignTO, Toronto’s annual design festival. They were one of the first teams we met with to introduce TDR to, and they welcomed us with open arms. The team is so wonderful and hardworking, and I admire how much of a democratic event DesignTO is, how anyone walking down the street in Toronto can see that there is a focus on design, for instance, at a local hair salon they will have student works in the windows. It’s like that all over the city, and makes design feel accessible and exciting.

What have been some rewarding aspects of your career? It has been so rewarding seeing my early exhibitors from AD Show grow into globally-known studios, with partnerships with massive brands. But truly what is so rewarding for me is hearing positive feedback from our PR team at TDR and knowing that we are all working together.

What are your favorite cities for design?  Paris for the museums and the city’s aesthetic without a doubt! 

Where do you dream of traveling next?  Vienna

What do you love about D.C.? When I am in D.C., I live at the Watergate Building by Italian architect Luigi Moretti, one of D.C.'s finest examples of modern architecture, although one with an infamous past. Although it is famous due to the scandal, is one of the most underrated buildings in DC! I think the reputation is that only old people live there (true) but young people of DC are missing out on one of the most beautiful and inspiring building in the area. I love the location - a quick ten-minute walk along the Potomac River to the Georgetown shops and waterfront. Another favorite place in D.C. is the Cosmos Club. It’s very old school, and was traditionally a member’s club for astronomers and scientists, and then expanded to the literati of DC. 

@interiordecline

Text: Veronica H. Speck