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Amy Devers

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Amy Devers
Amy Devers in London filming Designer People.
Born
Amy Devers

(1971-07-02) July 2, 1971 (age 53)
Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States
Occupation(s)TV host and design expert
Known forAmerican furniture designer and television personality.

Amy Devers (born July 2, 1971) is an American furniture designer, carpenter, television personality and design blogger.[1] She currently is the host (with Alan Luxmore) and design expert on A&E's Fix This Yard, the host of Victory Garden’s edibleFEAST on PBS, and a design and carpentry expert on OWN’s Home Made Simple.[2][3][4] In the past she has hosted design oriented programs such as Freeform Furniture on DIY, Designer People on Ovation, and was a carpenter on TLC’s Trading Spaces.[5][6][7][8]

Early life and education

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Devers grew up in Ypsilanti, Michigan, where she attended Ypsilanti High School. She graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York with a two-year degree in fashion buying and merchandising before deciding to pursue furniture design.[4] She studied furniture design at San Diego State University and graduated with a BA in 1997.[9] After a spell working as a machine shop foreman, Devers attended graduate school at Rhode Island School of Design, where she earned her MFA in Furniture Design in 2001.[10]

Career

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Television

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Devers began her television career in 2003 as a home-improvement expert on the DIY Network series DIY to the Rescue, which she co-hosted with Karl Champley.[11][12][13] The series ran for 9 seasons and included specials at the Grand Ole Opry[14] and a post-Hurricane Katrina rebuild special in collaboration with Dr. Phil.[15]

She hosted Freeform Furniture on DIY, a series which featured Devers demonstrating how to build her original modern furniture designs using diverse materials and techniques.[16] In 2007, she hosted DIY's interactive series, Blog Cabin.[17][18] In 2008 she joined the cast of TLC’s Trading Spaces as a carpenter.[7] In 2009 Ovation premiered a second season of Designer People with Devers as the new host.[19]

In 2010 A&E launched Fix This Yard, a landscape makeover series, with Alan Luxmore and Devers as co-hosts and design experts.[20][21] She makes regular appearances as a design and carpentry expert on OWN's Home Made Simple.[4][22] On PBS, Devers is the host of Victory Garden’s edibleFEAST, a documentary series that highlights local and sustainable food stories.[23]

Podcast

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Devers hosts a podcast titled Clever with Jamie Derringer of Design Milk in which they interview designers and artists about their life and work.[24] Clever hosted a live podcast and conversation series as part of WantedDesign Manhattan in 2019.[25]

Art and Design

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She runs a design and build studio out of Los Angeles called Amy Devers Art/Design.[9] In 2012 she participated alongside Tanya Aguiñiga in Natalie Chanin's chair restoration project as a part of MakeShift conference.[26]

Author

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As an author, Devers has served as an advice columnist for ReadyMade Magazine and Modern Ink Magazine.[27][28][29] She is the co-author of DIY to the Rescue 50 Home Improvement Projects published by Lark Books in 2006.[30] This book is a compilation of projects from the hit DIY TV series with step-by-step instructions and photos.

Educator

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Devers is faculty in the Furniture Design department at the Rhode Island School of Design.[31]

References

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  1. ^ Dahl, Timothy (11 May 2013). "Amy Devers - Artist, Designer, TV Host". Charles & Hudson. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  2. ^ Geraghty, Coleen L. (September 20, 2011). "Green With Envy Amy Devers, '97, a diva of home and yard decor, wields a mean power saw". San Diego State University Newscenter. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  3. ^ "Victory Garden presents edibleFEAST: Episode 1". www.ediblefeast.com. edible FEAST. Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c Elliott, Krystal (October 8, 2013). "Ypsilanti: Native Amy Devers appears on OWN remodeling program". www.heritage.com. Ypsilanti Courier. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  5. ^ "Devers Makes Design Entertaining". www.risd.edu. Rhode Island School of Design. October 25, 2010. Archived from the original on 2014-08-09. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  6. ^ "Amy Devers". www.imdb.com. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  7. ^ a b "Paige Davis Back on Trading Spaces!". okmagazine.com. OK Magazine. January 25, 2008. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  8. ^ Whitman, Christine (2013-10-17). "Furniture designer is no lazy girl". The Daily Aztec. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  9. ^ a b Codices, Alumni (October 16, 2013). "Amy Devers: How to Craft a Career". www.thedailyaztec.com. The Daily Aztec. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  10. ^ Latour, Francie (2011). "Doing It Differently in a DIY World". RISD XYZ Rhode Island School of Design's Alumni Magazine (Spring/Summer 2011): 14–21. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  11. ^ "Ypsilanti native rescues do-it-yourself-disasters". Ludington Daily News. November 15, 2003. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  12. ^ Grimes, William (July 20, 2008). "If I Had a Hammer, I Wouldn't Watch TV". The New York Times. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  13. ^ Hanashiro, Robert (October 13, 2004). "Sexy TV carpenters". USA Today. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  14. ^ "DIY to the Rescue: Grand Ole Opry Special". www.imdb.com. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  15. ^ Stampone, David (November 30, 2006). "Of SoftLightes and Limelight". San Diego Reader. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  16. ^ "Freeform Furniture". diynetwork.com. DIY Network. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  17. ^ "Amy Devers bio". www.diynetwork.com. DIY Network. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  18. ^ "Blog Cabin is the groundbreaking multimedia experience based on a very simple idea: You Design It, We Build It, You Could Win It!". DIY Network. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
  19. ^ Brzoznowski, Kristin. "Ovation in Co-Pro Deal for More Designer People". worldscreen.com. World Screen. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  20. ^ Gorman, Bill. "A&E's "Fix This Yard" and "Sell This House" Premiere April 3". tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. Archived from the original on February 16, 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  21. ^ "Fix This Yard". www.aetv.com. A&E Networks. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  22. ^ "Home Made Simple". www.oprah.com. OWN TV. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  23. ^ "New Series – Victory Garden's Edible Feast". www.kcpt.org. KCPT. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  24. ^ Kirby, Nathalie (2019-12-20). "11 Design Podcasts to Listen to As You Tackle Home Projects". House Beautiful. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  25. ^ "Join the Conversation Series at WantedDesign 2019". Design Milk. 2019-05-08. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  26. ^ Wagner, Andrew (2012-05-23). "Pull Up a Chair, Then Fix It". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  27. ^ "Hands On with Amy Devers | ReadyMade Magazine". Amy Devers. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
  28. ^ "ReadyMade Magazine Archives". Amy Devers. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
  29. ^ "Lifestyled...To New Beginnings | Modern Ink Magazine". Amy Devers. 2012-03-29. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
  30. ^ "DIY to the Rescue 50 Home Improvement Projects". Amy Devers. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
  31. ^ "Amy Devers | Faculty | Furniture Design | RISD". www.risd.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
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