Ceramicist, author, entrepreneur, photographer and public speaker Rob Forbes is likely best known for founding Design Within Reach, but his accolades expand beyond this accomplishment. He grew up a son of Southern California academics and attended boarding schools in Northern California. His first professional life was as a ceramicist. After a year riddled with tragedy, he took a year off in pursuit of researching how to make design accessible - which lead to the founding of Design Within Reach. A wild (and unexpected) success, the next few years were a blur that instilled in Rob a confidence to continue to push the envelope and invest in change - including a variety of start ups, a micro-farm, and using the tools of design to create long-lasting impact. 

Ceramicist, author, entrepreneur, photographer and public speaker Rob Forbes is likely best known for founding Design Within Reach, but his accolades expand beyond this accomplishment. He grew up a son of Southern California academics and attended boarding schools in Northern California. His first professional life was as a ceramicist. After a year riddled with tragedy, he took a year off in pursuit of researching how to make design accessible - which lead to the founding of Design Within Reach. A wild (and unexpected) success, the next few years were a blur that instilled in Rob a confidence to continue to push the envelope and invest in change - including a variety of start ups, a micro-farm, and using the tools of design to create long-lasting impact.