EVENTS

Design Dialogues No. 36

Designer and cofounder of Exhibition A, Cynthia Rowley, and founder and CEO of CORE real estate group Shaun Osher joined Surface Media's editorial director, Spencer Bailey, to examine the future of retail, technology, design—and of living in New York City.

Designer and cofounder of Exhibition A, Cynthia Rowley, and founder and CEO of CORE real estate group Shaun Osher joined Surface Media's editorial director, Spencer Bailey, to examine the future of retail, technology, design—and of living in New York City.

On Wednesday, June 28, designer and cofounder of, Exhibition A, Cynthia Rowley, and founder and CEO of CORE real estate group joined Surface magazine’s editor-in-chief, Spencer Bailey, for Design Dialogues No. 36. Inside the Annabelle Selldorf–designed 42 Crosby in New York City, more than 75 guests gathered, including Pari Ehsan, Buxton Midyette, Jilly Hendrix, and Andy Cohen (of Atlas Capital Group), for a discussion that examined the future of retail, technology, design—and of living in New York City.

Design Dialogues No. 36 9
SLIDESHOW
Design Dialogues No. 36
Design Dialogues No. 36

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 28: Andy Cohen, Marc Lotenberg, Cynthia Rowley, Shaun Osher and Spencer Bailey attend Surface Magazine presents Design Dialogues No. 37 featuring Cynthia Rowley and Shaun Osher on June 28, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Surface Media)
Design Dialogues No. 36

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 28: Atmosphere at Surface Magazine presents Design Dialogues No. 37 featuring Cynthia Rowley and Shaun Osher on June 28, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Surface Media)
Design Dialogues No. 36

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 28: Spencer Bailey, Cynthia Rowley and Shaun Osher attend Surface Magazine presents Design Dialogues No. 37 featuring Cynthia Rowley and Shaun Osher on June 28, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Surface Media)
Design Dialogues No. 36

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 28: Jackie Renton and Andy Cohen attend Surface Magazine presents Design Dialogues No. 37 featuring Cynthia Rowley and Shaun Osher on June 28, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Surface Media)
Design Dialogues No. 36

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 28: Pari Ehsan (R) attends Surface Magazine presents Design Dialogues No. 37 featuring Cynthia Rowley and Shaun Osher on June 28, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Surface Media)
Design Dialogues No. 36

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 28: Buxton Midyette (L) attends Surface Magazine presents Design Dialogues No. 37 featuring Cynthia Rowley and Shaun Osher on June 28, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Surface Media)
Design Dialogues No. 36

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 28: Spencer Bailey, Cynthia Rowley and Shaun Osher attend Surface Magazine presents Design Dialogues No. 37 featuring Cynthia Rowley and Shaun Osher on June 28, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Surface Media)
Design Dialogues No. 36

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 28: Atmosphere at Surface Magazine presents Design Dialogues No. 37 featuring Cynthia Rowley and Shaun Osher on June 28, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Surface Media)
Design Dialogues No. 36

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 28: Atmosphere at Surface Magazine presents Design Dialogues No. 37 featuring Cynthia Rowley and Shaun Osher on June 28, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Surface Media)

(Photos: Craig Barritt for Getty Images)

“I didn’t really have the money to pay for it,” said Rowley of her first apartment in New York, “but I could justify it because it was for work and I had a youth-hostel idea, where you could come and stay with me if you worked and helped make clothes.”

“We’ve seen people through divorces and catastrophes,” Shaun Osher observed. “There’s never a dull moment in real estate. And I’ve always said, buying real estate is a completely irrational act.”

Rowley ended the evening of cocktails and snacks with a clever tip for those trying to make it in New York: “If all else fails deny, defy, and sugar coat.“

(Video: John Murphy for Getty)

All Stories