Jillian Ahern

Have you ever gotten lost on purpose?

Yes! I love going to older cities (especially with organic winding streets) and using traditional urban cues to navigate. Recognizing the complex wayfinding concepts originally used to design civic centers is such an amazing way to be fully present in an unfamiliar place and explore some beautiful spaces you’d probably miss otherwise.

What do you listen to while working toward a deadline?

Usually a solid queue of funny podcasts so I can at least laugh a little bit while plugging away.

What grinds your gears?

Bad spelling and grammar!

Where would you take a month-long road trip?

I’d definitely head back to some of my favorite Italian cities! I’d spend a short amount of time in each – including Rome, Tivoli, Montepulciano, Siena, Perugia, Bologna & Verona (probably also getting lost on purpose).

What's your Kryptonite?

It’s a tie between online shopping, making meals too complex & overwatering my plants.

In a parallel universe, what is your profession?

In another life, I’d own and operate a restaurant. The concept of being able to design the space AND produce a full menu is something I can only bring to life through hosting parties, so it would be so cool to scale that upwards.