Meet Brad Reed Nelson | Artist, designer maker, entrepreneur, and employer.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brad Reed Nelson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brad Reed, as a parent, what do you feel is the most meaningful thing you’ve done for them?
My wife and I prioritized time with our daughter over financial success. By us working less for the first five years of our daughter’s life, we created a bond and trust that has only grown through time. We just took our daughter to the first semester of college, she chose to go to the East Coast where we both grew up. She’s at Hamilton College, thriving.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
As I said before, I’m an artist, and a maker. I’m also a product, designer and interior designer and see no reason for creativity to limit the scale or the medium. I think what separates me individually is that I have an inventors mind with an artistic aesthetic. I
Devour information and materials and amalgamate them into a new visual vocabulary. I believe at the moment I’m most excited about a new body of work. I began a little over a year ago that incorporates Steel, plexiglass, saturated color. The work is about packaging, natural resources, luxury goods, and mankind endless devouring of them all. The one thing I know I’ve learned along the way is to trust yourself. I’m a little vulgar in my sense of humor and I’ve always said if you don’t believe your bullshit then why should anyone else. You’ll never know if your ideas are bullshit until you create them. My brand believes that I live in a magical world and magical things happen to me.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well, it will depend on what season it is if it’s summer will experience the outdoors in one way and if it’s winter, we’ll experience him in another. Because it’s winter at this point, we’ll discuss that. Thursday evening I met five close friends who I hold in high regard at the base of sunlight mountain resort in Glenwood Springs we put on our skis and and our skins and proceeded to walk uphill. We got to the top we went inside a hut. We’re 20 other people awaited us, maybe they weren’t our friends when we walked in, but they were our friends when we walked out. As we left that evening, we ran into 11 people on Fat bikes who had ridden to the top of the hill. One of my favorite sayings is bad ideas or nothing with out follow through.
Now I’m gonna list things I love to do in this valley with good friends. Go to Tacaw. eat at West bound and drink their beer. Grab lunch at Jaffa hang out and Carbondale meet your friends at Mountain Hart had to Pepinos throw down some slices. Get your ass up and head over to El Dorado.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’ve had many different kinds of mentors in my life. I’ve had mentors in my field, the field of studio furniture making.
Gail Fredell, Gary Knox Bennett, Brent Skidmore, Sam Maloof and a few others. Then I’ve had community mentors.
People who have invest in me, people who have helped me stay in the Roaring Fork Valley, and people who have helped me thrive as a business person. Caleb Edelman, Lloyd schermer and Isa and Daniel Catto Shaw.

Website: Board by design.com

Instagram: Boardbydesign

Image Credits
Ann Brumby