One of the biggest influences was my Junior year spent abroad. I was a suburban kid and the combination of an urban space, a foreign land, and the high-tech world of Japan seemed exactly like a version of the future. While I flew there with dreams of Kurosawa's samurai, the tea ceremony, and bonsai, I returned with an appreciation for vast cultural differences, the plasticity of the future, the cult of gadget, and a love of quality.

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Thanks to Andrew Liptak!