User:Sally Widdowson/Rob Forbes

Rob Forbes (born 1951) is an artist, design advocate and business entrepreneur, who founded Design Within Reach in 1998 and PUBLIC Bikes in 2009.

Background
Forbes graduated with a BA in Aesthetics from the University of California at Santa Cruz (1974), an MFA from Alfred University (1979) and an MBA from Stanford University (1985). His professional career includes teaching positions at the Cleveland Institute of Art and the Philadelphia College of Art, and retail management for Williams-Sonoma, London-based Selfridges, The Nature Company, and Smith & Hawken prior to founding Design Within Reach.

Professional Notes
Forbes has served on the following Boards and Councils: Aspen Design Conference, Public Architecture, Dwell Magazine, California College of the Arts, SFJAZZ, San Francisco Mayors Council on Greening, SFMOMA Architecture & Design Accessions Committee, Creative Growth, National Mayors Institute on City Design, Russell Wright Design Center, ICFF, San Francisco Bike Coalition, Design Within Reach, and PUBLIC Bikes.

Forbes has been profiled or covered in: Art Info, 7 x 7, New York Times, T Design Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Dwell, Vanity Fair, Wired, Acquire, Time Magazine, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Dallas Morning News,  Miami Herald, Graphis Magazine,  FORTUNE Small Business, Surface Magazine, Newsweek,  Business Week, New Yorker, ELLE Decor.

Awards
Forbes has won an Individual Artist Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Russel Wright Award, the Metropolitan Home Design 100 – Revolutionary Retailer, and Bon Appétit Tastemaker of the Year (2007).

Publications
Editor of Studio Forbes Newsletter and Blog, Editor of DWR Design Notes (1999-2007), Editor of revision of How to See, by George Nelson, Contributor: Ngo and Pfeiffer Book: Bent Ply, Maeda's Laws of Simplicity.