Q+A: Meet Katie Rogers, Our Fearless Designer

• What kind of items do you design for Neuman’s Kitchen?

I mainly design trays for passed hors d’oeuvres and stationary displays. The majority of the time, I’m creating a tray to compliment specific hors d’oeuvres.

• Who are the clients you typically designing for?

Corporate, private and social events always have a need for a design component. A lot of the time, I have more creative freedom when I’m designing for a social event with a fun theme. We recently created a custom stationary display for BizBash’s CEO and Founder, David Adler. One of my favorite pieces at that event was a contemporary ring display that had white lighting illuminating through each tier.

• Where do you draw inspiration from when you’re creating concepts?

It’s completely situational. Passing trays always coincide with the item that’s being served. My inspiration is collaborative with the visions of our Executive Chef, from small hors d’oeuvres to large interactive stations. His passion for food is in line with my love for design, which makes for an amazing working environment. Our chef recently put a new spin on our signature mini lobster rolls, altering the size and presentation, and we worked together to design a tray that was functional and unique. Our inspiration as a company is something that comes easy since Paul is an artist himself – he’s definitely the brains behind the brand.

• How much time does it require to design and build a passing tray? Are they always custom?

Typically my design process can take anywhere from a couple of minutes to multiple hours, I like to draw inspiration from the food itself whether that be something as simple as color or origin of the food.  Building a passing tray, once we have the design drawn out takes x amount of hours depending on the intricacy of the tray.  I would love to customize all of our passing trays, but my mindset is always to be sustainable and try to repurpose our inventory, when it makes sense.

• Is there an average cost per prop?

There really isn’t an average cost that I can associate with a prop. It’s dependent upon the time spent on designing and fabricating, and which material it’s made out of.

• If you could meet a designer or artist, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Frank Lloyd Wright – Why? Because I have a similar aesthetic, and he seems like a cool guy. Even though we’re from different generations, I’m very inspired by everything that man has ever touched especially his design, Falling Water. I actually unintentionally designed a tray that’s pretty similar to the layers of that project.

“Frank Lloyd Wright, Falling Water“