Tibor Kalman

in 1987 i had bought an m&co. wristwatch at moma (the "10-one-4" model). i loved it. it was beautiful. it was cool. and it was clever (on the back is engraved, "waste not a moment").

but it kept breaking.

i was working just a few blocks away from m&co.'s office -- so i walked over to complain.

i walked into m&co.'s office and it was like walking into what i would imagined howard roark's office would have looked like.

that's when i met him. big, dorky, adorable -- and i soon found out -- brilliant!

tibor and i hit it off right away. we spent that afternoon looking at and talking about all the amazing projects he and his staff worked on (talking heads album covers, florent restaurant, the m&co. paperweights, watches, interview magazine, maira kalman's children's books...the holiday gifts!).

within a couple of weeks after that meeting i quit my job and went to work for tibor.

we worked on the redevelopment of nyc’s times square. the launch of benetton’s “colors” magazine, opening titles for “silence of the lambs”, on-air promotions for mtv, matchbooks for restaurant florent, a bunch of projects for david byrne...we were one of the hottest (and most controversal) design studios in new york.

i miss his humor, brilliance, energy, and enthusiasm. and, to this day, whenever i start a project, i think..."what would tibor do?".