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Ideas that don’t die in conversation are refined further

It’s the final week of the Olympics, and like all mornings, the day begins early in the Los Feliz home of Corey Lynn Calter and her husband, Glenn Kaino. Calter, a designer who runs her eponymous label, is looking after their two little ones (Sadie Jane, who’s 3 and a half, and Stella Rose, who is 2 months shy of blowing out her first birthday candle).
Unbeknownst to her husband, an artist, Calter’s been dreaming about another man. Not just any guy, but an athletic specimen whose mere mention merits an onslaught of words that blends art school anatomy class with teenage crushin’ from any fan of the male form.
But Calter’s dream about swimmer Michael Phelps isn’t about his Grecian torso — in her subconscious he’s working in her shipping department. And she can’t even remember if he’s in his high-tech race suit or proper clothes as he loads boxes.
But listening to her talk about it, there’s nothing sexual or lascivious about it. Nope, it’s one of professional hazards of two creative types being in a relationship: their minds never turn off and they never leave the work at the office or studio.
And Glenn doesn’t seem the least bit jealous when he hears this story. The artist, who was born in Los Angeles in 1972, teases his wife instead. Playfulness is a primary character trait for the man whose work was described by The New York Times as “shrewdly nonsensical.” The publication also commented that the Japanese-American artist likes to “toy” with “functional absurdity” in his work that sometimes veers towards Rube Goldberg territory.
Kaino’s love of playfulness and functionality made him the perfect candidate for a large commission from the city of Pittsburgh, which wanted a sculpture to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the city. Kaino’s piece will reflect both himself and Steel City, as it will be a 20-foot-tall, Transformers-like robot built with scaled-down versions of the city’s bridges.
And on this morning, like most, he kisses his wife goodbye, and leaves their house, which is decorated in a whimsical and dramatic way, or, as Calter likes to say, “Dorothy Draper meets Tony Duquette,” and heads to his office in Beverly Hills, the home of a company, dubbed Uber.com, which he cofounded. The Web site enables amateurs the ability to build professional-looking blogs, photo galleries and even Web sites. He’ll give Uber.com his attention for a few hours before working on the commissioned project.
Back at home, Calter juggles child duty (Kaino typically handles the evening shift) with a few conference calls. That afternoon she’ll get back to work on next spring’s line, which has an artist-on-vacation vibe and is filled with hand-painted silks, interesting dying techniques and bright colors.
Not afraid to mix masculine pieces with femme pieces, her other upcoming lines include girly tops matched with men’s trousers and suspenders adorned with tiny prints designed for, in Calter’s own words, “the girl who likes to go out on a limb and be experimental, fun, and do something others are not doing.”
As a child, she was always within seeing distance of a sewing machine, as her mother is an interior designer and her maternal grandfather was a tailor who was so insistent on clothing fitting correctly that if he didn’t like the way the fabric fell across her young self, he would hem or alter it for her on the spot.
Calter was always what she calls a “finicky dresser.” But finding clothes in the store was never an issue because her mother made everything for her, including Halloween costumes. She was probably the only 10-year-old in Philadelphia to rock a complete Dolly Parton outfit, fake boobs and all, on Halloween.
After high school, she went to New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, stuck around Manhattan to work on costumes for the Joffrey Ballet’s performances, as well as Broadway shows like Phantom of the Opera and Guys and Dolls, and even created pieces for the urban-punk mecca House of Field.
After a quick stop in Northern California, where she worked for the San Francisco Opera, she also started her first business (she made high-end, B, C, or D “cuppeth runneth over” corsets), then she moved south to Los Angeles.
She also met Kano. When they first started dating they shared a studio. One wall was full of sketches for upcoming fashion lines, and the other had drawings of various sculptures in process. Pretty soon, they would meet in the middle and begin their first collaboration: a silk screening project, which turned out to be a “fun disaster,” says Kaino. Yet this collaboration has improved with time and continues to this day; the pair always makes new fabrics for every season.
Calter was really curious about Kaino’s approach to the arts, because she had always been very hands-on, and he was more conceptual in beginning his work. But anyone who has a conversation with the husband and wife team quickly discovers that they’re very interdependent, often deferring to the other and asking each other for clarification on a matter.
That said, they’re cut from different bolts. Kaino speaks quickly, is rational and logical, while maintaining a sense of play, whereas Calter will often chase down a question and find her answer in the process. Their chosen fields also present different challenges.
“The difference between the fashion business and the art business is that fashion is made to be cyclical and to be very current, and art is made to be archival,” said Kaino, who emphasized that his wife is incredibly prolific and creates great, cutting-edge and current designs, while his work has to withstand the test of time.
They also serve as each other’s soundboards, and even if they dislike an idea, they’re gentle with the criticism. Ideas that don’t die in conversation are refined further. “We both have veto power,” says Kaino. “But having that trust allows the wack ideas to come out.”
Even within a healthy relationship, they sometimes become competitive or jealous over the other’s success. But all that subsides when they think about what the next level of success means: more days spent poolside.
“I want to see him succeed, and he wants me to succeed,” says Calter. “Because both of us are so desperately trying to retire,” she adds, and her husband laughs.

Coreylynncalter.com

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