Design Compendium is a family-run business. It just so happens that none of us are actually related… yet. Our forefathers, Lou Mahr and Godfrey Rayner met over 25 years ago in the only way that NYC allows –pure happenstance. Boarding the same bus on a snowy winter day, the bus crashed (of course) and Lou found himself thrown onto Godfrey’s feet. Design Compendium was born. Born in New York, raised in Brooklyn, DC is now proudly a second generation company as partners Jared Lairmore and Carson Peterson , work closely with Godfrey and Lou to lead our blended family into the next chapter of Design Compendium history.

A lot of people ask about our name – but mostly about how to spell it.   A compendium is a collection of essential works. We consider ourselves a collection of essential people. To each other and to our clients — we expect and accept middle of the night phone calls from both. Design is all around us. We live it, we breath it, we talk about it endlessly on the weekends (when not dominating Brooklyn’s kickball leagues with our back-to-back championships).

Our projects range from storyboards to store windows, from fixtures to flagships and our people have the diversity to match. Industrial designers, graphic artists, photographers, woodworkers, welders and interior designers (not to mention the history, pharmacy and english majors hanging around) – we are a true compendium of designers, dreamers, artists and builders.