Conscious Design Podcast™

How are AI and fractional leadership reshaping the future of work? 🚀 Host Ian Peterman sits down with Execnow founders Kahlil Dumas & Colin Smith to explore how they’re disrupting executive search, solving culture challenges in startups, and redefining leadership in 2025.

💬 Do you believe AI will actually fix hiring, or just make the problems worse? Let us know below!

💡 What You’ll Learn:

• Why traditional executive s...

From Hollywood TV sets to replacing 656M plastics — Host Ian Peterman sits down with Repurpose Co-Founder & CEO Lauren Gropper to reveal how she built the nation’s leading compostable tableware brand, disrupted single-use plastics, and made eco-friendly living affordable and easy for millions.

💬 Question for you: What’s the single-use plastic item you’d most like to replace in your home? Comment below — we’d love to hear your i...

She walked away from two decades of luxury bag design to build carbon-negative, vegan bags that actually make a difference. Meet Alona Komsky, co-founder of AKKONIQ, the minimalist bag brand that’s reshaping sustainable fashion with innovation, function, and style.

In this episode of the Conscious Design Podcast, host Ian Peterman explores how Alona turned her frustration with fast fashion and greenwashing into a mission: design...

What happens when used crayons become tools for healing? The Crayon Initiative has transformed over 500,000 pounds of wax into hospital-safe art supplies, bringing creativity, comfort, and color to children in medical care across the U.S.

In this episode of the Conscious Design Podcast, host Ian Peterman speaks with Bryan Ware, the founder behind this purpose-driven nonprofit. What began as a simple question at a restaurant beca...

Discover how Modern Mill is transforming the future of building materials with ACRE, a stunning, low-maintenance, sustainable alternative to wood.

CEO Chris Guimond joins host Ian Peterman on the Conscious Design Podcast to reveal how upcycled rice hulls are helping create hurricane- and fire-resistant materials that outperform traditional wood in durability, ease of use, and sustainability.

If you're a homeowner, builder, architect,...

Your Makeup Might Be Hurting the Planet. Here’s How One Brand Is Fixing It.The beauty industry creates billions of pieces of waste every year, most of which never get recycled. But what if your makeup could be completely zero waste, refillable, and designed to last for decades?

In this episode, host Ian Peterman sits down with Chris Tarling, founder of Izzy Zero Waste Beauty, to reveal how his brand is building the world’s first...

Couldn’t find a safe sunscreen during pregnancy? That’s how Mama Sol was born, an award-winning, sustainable skincare brand changing the way people think about SPF. Discover how Arielle Moody, a beauty industry veteran, co-founded Mama Sol to create pregnancy-safe, non-toxic, luxurious sunscreen that people actually love to wear.

In this episode of the Conscious Design Podcast, Arielle joins host Ian Peterman to share how Mama S...

🚀 Want to SKYROCKET your career and leadership skills even without a STEM degree?

In this episode of the Conscious Design Podcast, Ian Peterman sits down with Shelli Brunswick, COO of Space Foundation and global expert in space technology and inclusive innovation.Discover how lessons from the space industry can inspire your personal growth, career success, and leadership — no matter your background!

🔥 Here’s what you’ll le...

Are we finally saying goodbye to foam earplugs? 

In this episode of the Conscious Design Podcast, Lauryn Menard, Co-founder and CEO of GOB, joins host Ian Peterman to reveal how her team created the world’s first home-compostable, biology-engineered earplug—made from mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms. 🍄👂

Lauryn shares her journey from working with global brands like Herman Miller and Target to building a regenerativ...

Expanding to the Middle East or North Africa? One legal misstep could cost your entire business.

Watch before making your move,  this could save you millions.

In this must-watch episode of the Conscious Design Podcast, host Ian Peterman sits down with Haidy Hazem, senior legal consultant at One World Intellectual Property (OWIP) — one of the most respected IP law firms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

If you'...

In this episode of the Conscious Design Podcast, host Ian Peterman sits down with internationally renowned architect Kevin Kennon to explore how architecture must evolve—merging sustainable design, AI-driven innovation, and emotional impact to shape a better world.

Kevin shares powerful stories, fresh insights, and bold ideas that challenge how we think about design—from how natural disasters influenced his early life to pioneering ...

How much food is your family wasting—and how much money with it?The average household throws out hundreds of pounds of food and over $4,000 every year. Why? Poor planning. Overbuying. Forgotten leftovers.

In this episode of the Conscious Design Podcast, Ian Peterman sits down with Janet Irizarry, founder of My Mindful Kitchen and creator of the MMK Method, to talk about real-world solutions to food waste, saving money, and raisi...

Discover how the furniture industry is being transformed from wasteful and disposable to modular, circular, and tech-powered. In this episode of the Conscious Design Podcast, Ewelina Pankowska, founder of Zucchini and Reforest Design, shares how her team is using AI, robotics, blockchain, and circular manufacturing systems to help eliminate global furniture waste.

Ewelina dives into the power of bamboo and hemp wood, the growing cri...

Welcome to another episode of the Conscious Design Podcast! In this powerful episode, host Ian Peterman talks with Michael Klepacz, founder of Natural Materials Unlimited (NMU), a pioneer in eco-friendly textiles, tree-free paper products, and sustainable manufacturing based in Poland.

Discover how Michael transitioned from a background in aircraft mechanics and project management to creating a globally recognized sustainable brand....

In this episode of the Conscious Design Podcast, host Ian Peterman speaks with Julia Marsh, CEO and co-founder of Sway, a groundbreaking materials startup using seaweed-based bioplastics to replace single-use plastic packaging. Discover how Sway is replacing traditional plastic with home-compostable packaging, why seaweed is the future of sustainable materials, and how regenerative design can fight plastic pollution.

𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗯�...

Did you know your tires could reduce carbon emissions by up to 82%? 

In this episode of the Conscious Design Podcast, host Ian Peterman sits down with Friedemann Ohse, brand designer at reTyre, to explore how sustainable materials, smart tire technology, and circular economy principles are transforming the tire industry.

About  Friedemann Ohse and reTyre

Friedemann Ohse is a brand designer at reTyre in Norway. reTyre is mass-p...

In this episode of the Conscious Design Podcast, Ian Peterman interviews Ravi Sawhney, founder and CEO of RKS Design, a global human-centered design firm. Ravi shares his journey in industrial design, the development of his Psycho-Aesthetics® methodology, and how emotional durability and sustainable materials are shaping the future of innovation in product design.

They discuss Ravi's groundbreaking work on electric guitars, ...

Are you wasting valuable metals without knowing it?

Precious metals like platinum and palladium from end-of-life catalytic converters are often discarded — but Regenx Tech is changing that with a sustainable, eco-friendly recovery solution.

In this episode of the Conscious Design Podcast, Don Weatherbee, CEO of Regenx Tech Corp, joins host Ian Peterman to share how their innovative cleantech process is revolutionizing preciou...

You’re Walking on a Climate Solution and You Don’t Even Know It!

This carbon-negative flooring innovation is revolutionizing the way we design spaces and you won’t believe how it works! Discover Interface’s bold solution that’s redefining sustainable design. In this episode, Ian Peterman sits down with Mikhail Davis from Interface to reveal how they’ve created carbon-negative flooring that’s transforming businesses and building a gr...