A Conversation with Bradford Shellhammer

Bradford Shellhammer is the Chief Marketing Officer & Chief Product Officer at 1stDibs, and oversees all major customer experiences for the company, including product development and design on the 1stdibs website and app, all marketing channels including communications, paid, organic, social, editorial, and brand, in addition to customer support and logistics. As a new member of our Honorary Committee, Bradford joined us for a rapid-fire round of questions on his favorite art and design spaces, upcoming exhibitions on his must-see list, and more.

Art + Design

Favorites 

If you could add one museum piece to your personal collection, what would it be?

Drowning Girl by Roy Lichtenstein. If only the MoMA would lend it to me.

Which design era or movement most inspires you right now?

1970s NYC: Halston, Liza, Warhol. It was just so over the top.

Who is an emerging artist or designer you think everyone should know?

I am designing a home upstate right now and I recently discovered the designer Nick Spain. He did a home near mine and this one room, where he used the same windowpane fabric on the walls and sofas, I keep dreaming about.

What’s a piece in your collection that always sparks conversation?

I have 1/30 of the entire 6-print portfolio of Warhol's Sex Parts. They're not for the faint of heart.

If you could collaborate with any artist or designer, living or dead, who would it be?

Oh, oddly I would choose the singer Morrissey. Maybe write a song together?

What’s your favorite space you’ve ever visited for its design or art alone?

The Girard Wing of the Museum of International Folk Art makes me ecstatic.

Lifestyle

What’s the first piece of art or design you ever purchased?

As a preteen I was obsessed with Ikea, and still am, so that's the answer. My first pieces of big boy art was in 2011 when, via the Warhol Foundation, I purchased, I think, 8 original Warhol prints.

What’s your ideal weekend in New York City?

Being upstate! :)

Which design-related Instagram accounts or newsletters are your must-follows?

Hand's down: I can't afford this but maybe she can. Whoever runs that Insta is my hero!

What’s your go-to source for discovering new makers and artists

Instagram. Etsy. And 1stDibs, obviously.

If you weren’t in your current profession, what would you be doing?

Singing with Morrissey.

Plugs

What’s a project from the past year that pushed you creatively?

I am in the middle of building my retirement compound. There will be 4 total buildings, and this year we finished 3. I have learned so much (I have never built a home before, and there was nothing here, no water, electric, septic, etc.) and this has been a crash course lesson on construction, patience, and nature.

Which upcoming exhibition is on your must-see list?

The Cooper Hewitt's upcoming "Art of Noise" will be bringing together my two loves: design and music, and I cannot wait!

What’s next on your own creative or collecting horizon?

I am working on the next phase of my house, Kings Ridge, and I never stop collecting, it's always on, in my DNA.

Where can people see your work next?

Every day in the 1stDibs app. :)