Today, we chat with Andy Cruz, one of the founders of House Industries, a homegrown type foundry and manufacturer of design objects.

Born the son of a hot rodder, Andy spent his early years skating the mean streets of Elsmere, Delaware, and hassling the French Paper samples department for Charles Anderson posters. After graduating from Delcastle Vocational and Technical High School with “shop” certification in Commercial Art, he opted to skip art school and started working as a full-time designer at a local firm. Apart from his obvious artistic talents, Andy had a knack for subtle persuasion that he would later use to talk Rich into quitting a cushy, well-paying marketing job to start Brand Design Co. As the art director and creative nerve center of House Industries, Andy uses his calm, quiet demeanor to cajole frustrated House artists/designers into making something perfect by redoing it “one more time.” If he’s not collecting furniture, toys or other junk that will somehow turn into a House Industries product, he’s spending time with his ladies: wife Stephanie and daughters, Ava and Mia.

I find it really interesting that over the past decade, House Industries has developed your two tandem initiatives—the development of original typefaces both of your own design as well as polishing up golden oldies, while at the same time releasing tons of actual physical objects that span houseware, cycling goods, and toys. What was the reasoning behind this split of the digital and the physical?

You make it sound like we actually had a plan.

Candidly, I just wanted objects in my house that suited me. Why not make your own cutting board, ceramics or textiles instead of buying someone else’s? It’s not that hard. Having a little perspective, our object development mirrors our digital type development; we’ve always wanted to make tools that we would use ourselves instead of chasing the market. Not sure if that’s a sound business approach, but seems to keep us inspired.

If your hand was forced and you had to release a new issue of House Magazine, yet you guys were given the power to interview folks from beyond the grave, who would you feature?

Jiddu Krishnamurti

You guys have made a really impressive splash in the Japanese market with your collaborations with assorted brands like Muji and Hermann Miller—are you happy with how everything has been going?

Most of our favorite projects are a result of collaborating with the Japanese. We’ve had the good fortune to develop relationships that went beyond a quick graphic to support a Tokyo trend into creating something meaningful for everyone involved.

What is next for you guys?

Grinding on the next House book and a big House Industries museum show that will happen when the book is released, but I’ll get yelled at if I leak more details on that gig.

Do you have any advice for graphic designers who are interested in becoming entrepreneurs?

That the fun design part is just one ingredient in the recipe. There’s an underbelly to the business of that entrepreneur thing that a lot of good designers are allergic to. Don’t be afraid to bring in folks who can do things better than you.

If you were invited to DJ a small club where there is no preset style of music—literally anything goes, what kind of setlist would you put together?

Current set list includes select numbers by:

• The Cramps
• Antonio Carlos Jobim
• The Orwells
• Eric B & Rakim
• The Mattson 2
• Ghost

Sounds good—thank you, Andy!

And that, dear readers, wraps up this edition of “Huh?”! More soon!!Sportswear free shipping | Nike Air Force 1’07 Essential blanche et or femme – Chaussures Baskets femme – Gov