I’m Alison,
a design historian.

I study design in the United States from the late nineteenth century to present day. In my research I ask, what can objects and images tell us about gender and class?

I’m especially interested in how products were made, how the people involved learned their skills, how the work was organized, and how the end results were portrayed in the media. These interests have led me to topics ranging from bottle making to nylon tights to Life magazine. My current focus is design in Los Angeles during the early twentieth century.