As I begin my serious solo journey outside of Robert Geller, it is easy to get caught up in the idea of the wunderkind, especially in this day of the internet where golden child stories spread faster than wildfire.

Last week, during a particularly difficult work session I decided to look up many of the people I admire, curious as to when their “big” jump off into solo careers took place. When they started their own brands, released their first hit albums or shows.

Here’s what I found…

Rick Owens - 33
Ann Demeulemeester - 27
Dries Van Noten - 28
Helmut Lang - 30
Oprah - 32
Donna Karan - 37
Yohji Yamamoto - 38
Rei Kawakubo - 31
Robert Geller - 31
Raf Simons - 27
Martin Margiela - 32
Haider Ackermann - 30
Tom Ford - 29
Kanye West - 27
Jay Z - 27

Please note, this does not mean that they came out of nowhere. The years leading up to their solo start has everything to do with their successes on their own.

It’s easy to feel like you’re behind when you read about the success of a 20 year old with a $100 million dollar valued company. But for every one wunderkind business, there are 1,000 much older creators doing equally brilliant things.

Never too late.

I used to think like a lot of the people I know. What’s the point in buying nice gym clothes when it’s just going to get sweaty? Being in the design business, I realized how wrong this actually is. How many times have you avoided going to an event or even a bar because you had nothing to wear? Why do we have to resort to old college shirts and ragged oversized mesh shorts to exercise? Feeling like a badass in some awesome gear makes me want to run to the gym with a 50lb weight vest on.

I’ve been Crossfitting for 8 months now, taking it much more seriously in the last month. So when I heard Reebok was sponsoring the Crossfit games and created an apparel line to coincide with the new deal, I was curious.

Really?

Why the bro-overlapping high schooler with an illegal copy of Photoshop prints? Not to mention the LL Bean style catalog photos. This does not make me feel like a badass.

I just wonder, is anyone over at Reebok paying attention to what Nike is doing? Do they have an internet connection over there?

Let’s just say I spent my dollars at Niketown today.

Design is not just about functionality (Nike’s Dri-fit fabrication, in my opinion, is hands down the best of the bunch), it’s also about the vision, your message. Nike makes me want to be active. Reebok’s vision makes me want to grab a Mountain Dew and play Modern Warfare.

I wonder if the people that designed the stove in my kitchen have ever really used a stove.

The problem: The knobs, placement and function.

If you notice the white dots, the knobs aren’t placed in any particular order. Looking at the diagrams, the outside knob on the left controls the lower left burner while the outside knob on the right controls the top right burner.

A simple solution would be to arrange the knobs in a square formation.

Even more frustrating are the knobs functions itself. Logically, one would think that off is after the lowest settings, but it goes from OFF to Light, then from 6 (high) to 1 (low).

There have been several occasions where I’ve left a burner on low for hours thinking I had shut it off.

I’m guessing you need a high level of gas to light the pilot, but why not have OFF after 1 and require the user to turn the knob fully to light the burner?

The thing about great design, aesthetics, function, usability, is that it works so flawlessly you never notice it.

The burners get hot and the oven maintains an even temperature, so I’m sure the designers of this stove thought their job was done. But this stove is like a car that runs with a nonadjustable seat pushed too close to the wheel, it’s an uncomfortable ride.