Our team consists of designers, crafts people, liaisons and interpreters.

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Sinclair Smith

Program Director

Sinclair is an industrial designer, a founding faculty member of SVA's MFA in Products of Design and Director of the SVA Visible Futures Lab. His studio, Sinclair Smith & Co., has provided product and interior design services for clients including Disney, This American Life, DKNY, Staple Design, Amex, BMW and Samsung. He holds a BFA in film production from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a masters of industrial design from Pratt Institute.

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Mizuho Kato

Program Liaison

Mizuho is a freelance publicist with experience in PR for professional sports associations, including Japan Professional Football League and major Japanese television stations such as TV Asahi. She currently specializes in promoting and reviving local craft traditions and economies and creating local movements that regain civic pride. Mizuho serves as a board member for an intellectual property law firm, allowing her to protect the IP of traditional craftspeople and expand their scope of business.

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Manako Tamura

Instructor

Having spent half of her life in Japan and the other in the US, Manako is a bilingual and bi-cultural designer. She brings her personal experience in multicultural upbringing and her background in anthropology to her design work. After receiving her BA in anthropology from Reed College, Manako worked in supply chain management for a major Japanese chemical company Toray Industries, and in marketing for an Italian furniture manufacturer Kartell. She holds an MFA in Products of Design from School of Visual Arts, and is currently based in New York City.