Clever with Amy Devers

Ep. 221: Blu Dot’s John Christakos on Combining Artistic Vision and Business Acumen


Listen Later

John Christakos, co-founder and CEO of Blu Dot, grew up taking road trips with his father to textile mills, skipping school in favor of real-world experiences. He went on to double major in economics and studio art, a combination of creativity and business which proved itself invaluable later in life. After a life-changing year traveling the world with his closest friends, John eventually co-founded Blu Dot alongside them in 1997. In the decades since, under John’s leadership, Blu Dot has grown into an overwhelming success with a dynamic retail presence (online and IRL), prestigious design awards, a devoted following, and a reputation for responding to their customers and world events, with empathy, curiosity, and humanity.


Special thanks to our sponsor: Wix Studio:

Web designers, Wix Studio lets you deliver your vision with less friction. Built for agencies and enterprises, you get total creative control over every last pixel, with no-code animations, tons of AI tools, reusable design assets, and advanced layout tools. 

Check out Wix Studio for your next project: https://www.wix.com/studio.


Head to cleverpodcast.com for a transcript (with links!) of this episode, images, resources, and over 200+ more episodes! 


Please help us out by completing a short LISTENER SURVEY


Subscribe to our free substack for updates, bonus content, and new episode alerts.


Please say Hi on social! X, Instagram, Linkedin and Facebook - @CleverPodcast, @amydevers


If you enjoy Clever we could use your support! Please consider leaving a review, making a donation, becoming a sponsor, or introducing us to your friends! We love and appreciate you!


Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Clever with Amy DeversBy Amy Devers

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

464 ratings


More shows like Clever with Amy Devers

View all
Design Matters with Debbie Millman by Design Matters Media

Design Matters with Debbie Millman

1,227 Listeners

99% Invisible by Roman Mars

99% Invisible

26,114 Listeners

Monocle on Design by Monocle

Monocle on Design

68 Listeners

Creative Pep Talk by Andy J. Pizza

Creative Pep Talk

1,964 Listeners

Hyperallergic by Hyperallergic

Hyperallergic

143 Listeners

Creative Confidence Podcast by IDEO U

Creative Confidence Podcast

124 Listeners

Design Better by The Curiosity Department, LLC

Design Better

325 Listeners

Business of Home Podcast by Business of Home, Dennis Scully

Business of Home Podcast

380 Listeners

I Like Your Work: Conversations with Artists by Erika b Hess

I Like Your Work: Conversations with Artists

225 Listeners

Time Sensitive by The Slowdown

Time Sensitive

145 Listeners

The Art Angle by Artnet News

The Art Angle

322 Listeners

Homing In by Matt Gibberd and The Modern House

Homing In

75 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

14,859 Listeners

The Grand Tourist with Dan Rubinstein by Dan Rubinstein

The Grand Tourist with Dan Rubinstein

246 Listeners

Ideas of Order by California Closets and SURROUND Podcast Network

Ideas of Order

121 Listeners