Meet Jaime Salm | Designer & Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jaime Salm and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jaime, what inspires you?
As an artist and designer I find inspiration in almost everything. That is the essence of a creative process, being open to everything happening around you and filtering the the best of it or what moves you. I would say this is probably the most consistent aspect of my life. The ability to look around and find inspiration or “silver linings” in any moment.

What should our readers know about your business?
I am the Design Director of FutureTogether and the Creative Director of MIO. These two business are linked to my passion for sustainable design and social impact. FutureTogether is a design studio that focuses on sustainable product design, placemaking and strategy. We help organizations move towards their social and environmental goals through design. We have worked on projects at every scale, from cosmetic brushes for ecoTools and accessories for S’well bottle to playscapes for the City of Camden and large scale art for Comcast. We are most proud of our focus on sustainability and social impact. When we complete a project we know that it is always the start of something bigger. The projects help us guide and educate communities and people inside organizations on how to broaden the impact, how to change culture and transform our economy from the inside of these organizations.

MIO is a sustainable furnishings company. We make and sell innovative designs for creative work and living spaces. Our most popular products are our modular room dividers, acoustic wall and ceiling panels and our furniture. We are pioneers and have been focused on sustainability since 2003. I started this company right out of college. Today our products can be found at some of the most design forward companies in the world, including Apple, Google and Nike. Our products are also in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We have always been ahead of the curve, inventing categories and bringing new materials into the fold.

Building these two triple bottom line businesses has not been easy. I have experienced economic downturns, the pandemic, supply challenges and countless moments that have required me to dig deep inside to find the source of all the joy, inspiration and vision to keep moving forward. In the end it comes back to a bigger purpose. I truly believe that I can make a difference in the world through what I do. It is a balancing act and it is challenging, but I love the creative process and discovering new things every day about myself and the world.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would start by picking my best friend up at the airport and driving them straight to the beach. I like Haulover Park because it is beautiful and quiet. Alternatively we could go to the beach around 75th street, this way we could go get some food at Taquiza. I especially like their popotes with guac. I would definitely pick a day to walk around Miami Beach and visit the Wolfsonian and walk down to Lincoln Road. Maybe get a drink or a bite at Cortadito. I would then do drinks or dinner at Lucali. I would take my friend to visit Rich Medina’s temple Dante’s for good music and cocktails and if the friend is staying longer would visit Eagle Room at Broken Shaker for good measure. Paddle boarding would take up a nice afternoon or a day trip sailing around the beautiful waters of Miami.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Our success is the result of of many people and organizations aligning with our ideas and values. From our customers to our suppliers. At every stage of our business there have been people and organizations that made a difference. At the very beginning I would say I owe my success to to my older brother who is my business partner and our parents who were supportive from the start.  Our early clients included people inside big organizations like Anthropologie, Target, Bloomberg and Paris Presents who understood the value of sustainable design. As our business matured the folks at B Corp helped us focus our impact vision. Now that our studio is in Miami we have found amazing like-minded friends and collaborators through the Florida for Good network. We can feel the momentum growing in the city towards a regenerative economy. After all this city is ground zero for potential social and environmental impacts of climate change.

Website: www.letsfuturetogether.com www.mioculture.com

Instagram: @mioculture

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaimesalm/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mioculture

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/mioculture

Image Credits
Karen Harmelin or MIO & FutureTogether