Kenneth Loechner

>> Who: Kenneth Loechner
Wife: Erin Loechner, Design for Mankind




>> When I met Erin...
We've been together for six years. We actually met filming a documentary project in college. I was the director; she was a writer.

“After convincing her I wasn't an asshole, she helped me cook dinner one night...”

After convincing her I wasn't an asshole, she helped me cook dinner one night (operative word is "helped", as Erin would be the first to tell you she doesn't cook) and we burnt everything because we were so engrossed in conversation. She's so wonderful to talk to... truly. I moved to Los Angeles a few months after that dinner and we experienced the joys of long distance relationships (being sarcastic here) for two years. We got married in her parent's church one October morning, she flew out to L.A. to live with me, and the rest is history!



I've shot a documentary in Kenya.

I have a brain tumor that doesn't affect anything, but was supposed to kill me a couple years ago.

I LOVE to mix my juices. "You got a little apple juice? Throw it in. You got a little pomegranate juice? Make it happen"

I can change the brakes on your car, then come inside and sew the hem on your dress.

I won an Emmy in 2005.


1. What would you say are the three most important things that you do to support Erin in her creative/blogging endeavors?

a) I'm her web designer...so when she released the new (now older) design, we were working hand in hand for several weeks. I hope I was supporting and not trying to take over!

b) I cook nearly every meal...that HAS to be supportive!

c) I do my best to verbally communicate my support...like, "You're doing that wrong...but it's not the worst you've ever done." Ha Ha. Kidding.

2. Living with someone who works long and irregular hours can be tough... from missed dinners to not being able to do simple things like relaxing or watching your favorite shows together as often as you'd like... How do you stop the craziness from impacting your relationship? Can you please offer some survival tips for those in similar situations?

“Be thankful your spouse is his/her own asshole.”

Ha! When you figure it out...let me know. However, I'm also a workaholic, so I can understand her desire to keep going. The thing is that, it's soooooo much nicer to say, "Hey slow down a little bit and relax..." rather than, "I know your boss is an #sshole, just quit!" [Especially because Erin refuses to quit ANYTHING].

So my, nearly, prophetic words of wisdom are, "Be thankful your spouse is his/her own asshole." ....I know, I'm a total deep thinker.

3. Could you give us a sense of what it's like living with a blogger who works from home? Please describe what typically happens once you come home from work [door opens]...

"Who the f#ck is that?!?!?!" (we both work from home) :) But I will say, it's tough being romantic or having that wave of, "Oh, I missed you all day." Because generally she's within spitting distance...which also isn't that romantic to think about. So huh....maybe it's just me that's not romantic.

4. What was the strangest thing you've done to support Erin in what she does?

“I threw her giant coffee outside into the woods...”

Ha ha ha... She won't see it this way, buuuuuuuuut. Erin doesn't do well emotionally when she has a lot of caffeine in her system (sugar makes her cry... seriously). But on the flip side, she isn't quite as motivated during busy times, when she doesn't have a coffee. So to prove a point that I thought she should eat more vegetables and nutritious foods to increase her energy... I threw her giant coffee outside into the woods. I mean the whole damn thing. There's never been a better image of Starbucks going green. ....Words can't describe the fury I faced after my, written for the streets of NY, protest.

5. What is the easiest and hardest thing about being Erin's other half?

“The hardest is, keeping my mouth shut when I would handle something differently.”

The easiest is, she loves what she does! It's hard to describe to someone how hard it can make things when your spouse is in a job that he/she hates...but I've seen the "hating work" option, and definitely enjoy the "loving work" option.

The hardest is, keeping my mouth shut when I would handle something differently. For instance, if someone is, CLEARLY, creatively stealing something from her, I want her to call the person out and tell them to f#ck off while they're trying to figure out something new THEY can do. Erin always comes back with the perfect argument; "I really want to be a bigger person than that." Which is true, if you want to be an authority, or at least respected in your field, you shouldn't spend time defending yourself against the little guy. .......Even though I think they deserve a strongly worded letter.

6. Please choose one of your personal favorite project (or post) that Erin has been involved in and briefly explain why it's your favorite.

Oh man, there are honestly a ton...but I would have to say her Dialogue video series. She always tells me an idea of something she wants to do (for instance, her inspiration e-zines that after several issues became another idea: Mankind Mag. That project sounded like a stretch for every month...but part of me always knew she could get it started). But THEN Erin comes up with the Dialogue video series and explains it to me just like this, "You know what I'm gonna do?... I'm going to get artists from around the world to answer questions on camera and send them to me every week so I can help other artists that might be struggling and need some help... Do you think you could edit them for me?" Part of me thought, "Every week?!?!? Never gonna happen." The other part of me thought who am I to say, "Hon, I think that's a fuzz too ambitious." Two weeks later we're receiving trial videos from an artist on her house boat in Amsterdam. One more week went by and we had Dialogue Episode #1 cut and posted on the blog. I worked as an Editor in Hollywood for about 5 years...and to get a ball rolling that fast and in the right direction was nothing short of impressive.

Thanks Kenneth!!