i really dig this stuff
Clay Robinson is an unusual blend of artist, architectural designer, entrepreneur and businessperson who is equally fluent in the languages and skills of both the left- and right-brain. He is a natural design thinker*, highly adept in what the June 2008 Harvard Business Review identified as the five core aptitudes innate to design thinkers: Empathy, Integrative Thinking, Optimism, Experimentalism and Collaboration.
Clay’s current business focus revolves around fullcityblock LLC (http://www.fullcityblock.com/), a residential real estate sales and development firm in the central Houston area. Robinson focuses on human scale design with a nod to eco-conscious buyers interested in responsible land use, who hold need-based square footage beliefs, expect reasonable price points and finely architected and luxurious spaces. Fullcityblock LLC also maintains a partner relationship with illuminati Labs, of Denver, CO (https://www.illuminatilabs.com/) selling “in building cellular enhancement systems” to all manner of commercial real estate owners, developers and operators.
Among his creative enterprises, Robinson is founder of Fullcityblock StudioWorks in Houston, Texas, a design studio producing high-end custom lighting for both the residential and commercial markets since 1994. Robinson is known for his unique handcrafted and custom welded sculptural forms that transform lighting fixtures into gracious art pieces with sophistication and humor. He collaborates directly with clients and designers to create custom installations for homes and commercial spaces that reflect the character of the client and the surrounding environment. His work has been featured in newspapers, magazines, galleries, and exhibited at the ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) in New York City.
Robinson’s business background includes 10+ years as the Chief Operating Officer of houstonoffice, a commercial real estate management company owning and operating co-working office centers in the Houston market. In that capacity, Robinson was responsible for strategic planning, all budget forecasting and management, oversight of facility operations and staff, client and landlord relations, and management of multiple build-out projects from design inception through project completion. He is well versed in multi-million dollar competitive lease negotiations, space acquisition, architectural planning and contractor management.
His multi-faceted 30-year career also includes extensive startup experience in the retail and hospitality industries. He has held positions in management, design and visual merchandising with leading national retail powerhouses such as Crate & Barrel and Urban Outfitters.
In addition to his formal study of architecture, art history and sculpture Clay is a devotee of the old-world apprenticeship approach to learning, having apprenticed with a master guitar maker in Boston, a fine artist and sculptor in Chicago as well as multiple architects and interior designers. Robinson is a hobbyist photographer and multi-media artist in his own right who studied at the University of New Mexico School of Architecture, Boston Architectural College, the Glassell School of Art, Houston, the Museum School Boston and has participated in group shows in several regional galleries. He has augmented his inherent passion for art, architecture and design with domestic and international travel to numerous art fairs, design studios, galleries and museums. He closely follows trends in design, architecture and the contemporary arts and is always knowledgeable about both established and emerging artists, architects, designers and gallery owners from Marfa, Texas to New York, London and Amsterdam. He is an avid collector of contemporary art, motorcycle enthusiast, frequenter of Memorial Park running trail (where he mostly walks), travel junkie and immensely proud dad to his thirteen year old daughter, Corbin Parc.
* The “discipline that uses the designer’s sensibility and methods to match people’s needs with what is technologically feasible and what a viable business strategy can convert into customer value and market opportunity.” Source: Tim Brown, Founder and CEO, IDEO
Clay’s current business focus revolves around fullcityblock LLC (http://www.fullcityblock.com/), a residential real estate sales and development firm in the central Houston area. Robinson focuses on human scale design with a nod to eco-conscious buyers interested in responsible land use, who hold need-based square footage beliefs, expect reasonable price points and finely architected and luxurious spaces. Fullcityblock LLC also maintains a partner relationship with illuminati Labs, of Denver, CO (https://www.illuminatilabs.com/) selling “in building cellular enhancement systems” to all manner of commercial real estate owners, developers and operators.
Among his creative enterprises, Robinson is founder of Fullcityblock StudioWorks in Houston, Texas, a design studio producing high-end custom lighting for both the residential and commercial markets since 1994. Robinson is known for his unique handcrafted and custom welded sculptural forms that transform lighting fixtures into gracious art pieces with sophistication and humor. He collaborates directly with clients and designers to create custom installations for homes and commercial spaces that reflect the character of the client and the surrounding environment. His work has been featured in newspapers, magazines, galleries, and exhibited at the ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) in New York City.
Robinson’s business background includes 10+ years as the Chief Operating Officer of houstonoffice, a commercial real estate management company owning and operating co-working office centers in the Houston market. In that capacity, Robinson was responsible for strategic planning, all budget forecasting and management, oversight of facility operations and staff, client and landlord relations, and management of multiple build-out projects from design inception through project completion. He is well versed in multi-million dollar competitive lease negotiations, space acquisition, architectural planning and contractor management.
His multi-faceted 30-year career also includes extensive startup experience in the retail and hospitality industries. He has held positions in management, design and visual merchandising with leading national retail powerhouses such as Crate & Barrel and Urban Outfitters.
In addition to his formal study of architecture, art history and sculpture Clay is a devotee of the old-world apprenticeship approach to learning, having apprenticed with a master guitar maker in Boston, a fine artist and sculptor in Chicago as well as multiple architects and interior designers. Robinson is a hobbyist photographer and multi-media artist in his own right who studied at the University of New Mexico School of Architecture, Boston Architectural College, the Glassell School of Art, Houston, the Museum School Boston and has participated in group shows in several regional galleries. He has augmented his inherent passion for art, architecture and design with domestic and international travel to numerous art fairs, design studios, galleries and museums. He closely follows trends in design, architecture and the contemporary arts and is always knowledgeable about both established and emerging artists, architects, designers and gallery owners from Marfa, Texas to New York, London and Amsterdam. He is an avid collector of contemporary art, motorcycle enthusiast, frequenter of Memorial Park running trail (where he mostly walks), travel junkie and immensely proud dad to his thirteen year old daughter, Corbin Parc.
* The “discipline that uses the designer’s sensibility and methods to match people’s needs with what is technologically feasible and what a viable business strategy can convert into customer value and market opportunity.” Source: Tim Brown, Founder and CEO, IDEO
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call or text me any time: 713.851.4254