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From the archives, May 1, 2018: President and Creative Director of Bernhardt Design, Jerry Helling, grew up on a ranch in a remote town with 11 people in his graduating class before venturing to USC and a potential career in Hollywood. A personal epiphany combined with serendipity rerouted him into the furniture business, resulting in a long and distinguished career as a keen mentor of talent, a champion of originality, a risk-taking, needle-moving industry voice, and a major benefactor of international design. Plus, he’s really nice!

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The launch of “The Creatives” with actor Terry Crews, singer Tift Merritt and Airbnb founder Joe Gebbia

What’s Jerry been up to since 2018?

This year marks Bernhardt Design’s 23rd and final year sponsoring its interdisciplinary design studio with ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California, a partnership that has been especially meaningful to the company over the years. It also marks 10 years of collaboration with Terry Crews, who will be launching another product with Bernhardt Design at NeoCon 2026 in Chicago, and to be previewed at ICFF in NYC this May, 17-19.

Jerry was named a “Top 20 influencer: the brightest bosses in the business” by Wallpaper in 2022. Long-time Clever listeners will be very familiar with many of the astounding talents that Jerry has championed and worked with to develop iconic pieces and collections for Bernhardt Design. Remember these episodes? Click the images to learn more about their work with Jerry and Bernhardt Design.

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