Meet Rick Griffith | Design director, founder and partner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rick Griffith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rick, what do you attribute your success to?
Longevity, we have been doing the same thing very differently since 1999, Every permutation of the project called MATTER has been informed by all the things we have learned along the way, our emotional and business intelligence as well as our deep caring for this place keep us grounded. We have had the time to keep our focus and still adapt to the way Denver has changed and stay inspired by our community. The brand has become a beacon synonymous with our delightfully intersectional community, with our intellectual activism, and a niche slice of independent Denver entrepreneur culture.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As an artist, I’m mostly interested in collage. Sound, video, paper, words.
At my best I’m inventing things from what’s hanging around.

I enjoy making ideas rational, and making rational ideas into philosophies, actions, projects and repeatable events.
This is largely me operating as a designer. I’m not sure I need the separation of designer/artist but it feels useful when we think of my utility. As a designer i’m maintaining 8 printing presses, coding web pages, making playlists, designing books, and exploring all media. As an artist—I’m interested in intersections, mixing, and remixing.

I’m most proud of the recent speaking engagement on design ethics I gave at the MoMA in New York.

I’ve never felt it was easy, it still isn’t, I’m also in full acknowledgement of everyone trying to making it work at a multitude of levels and methods. I’ve just focused and come out the other side in good shape. Staying flexible and having multiple income streams is critical.

I’m not a brand i’m a person, I don’t have a different DJ name, or pseudonym, but I love naming things. And I like to stretch myself out across a lot of projects. Some are more sustainable than others.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I can think of nothing more interesting than just being in our compound on Market Street, printing, writing and making things. Yes we would leave but I am already hosting people her in a few weeks and it’s a pretty home cooked itinerary, for coffee it’s Crema, and Portside, for and evening outing it’s wednesday night at Meadowlark for anything else it’s Pon Pon to stay local or Sputnik for a corn-dog and a shot. We like hosting people and take the cooking pretty seriously.

Don’t get me wrong, we will hangout out in the bookstore and invite others to hang with us. But, besides the Still Museum, and MCA, are are quite self sufficient in Denver. and For the outdoors it Rocky Mountain National Park (Estes Park) and Lyons CO. and whatever trouble we get in down there….

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Dr. Vincent Harding was my mentor, my first design book was written by a Hungarian artist Gyorgy Kepes, My late wife Jessica Wurtzel inspired my beginnings, my current partner in all things makes me feel fortunate to be doing this work. Our kids —are all so brilliant— they make me want to earn their respect and praise. The Denver community for keeping us busy and for providing us with awesome collaborations.

Website: https://shopatmatter.com

Instagram: rickgriffith

Linkedin: Nah

Twitter: Nah

Facebook: Nah

Yelp: Nah