Design Patriot is a collaboration of husband and wife team Ruth and Michael Storc. Los Angeles residents, both Ruth and Michael have made careers out of a love for good design. Ruth is a budget-minded interior designer, a painter, and a mother. For years Ruth worked off-camera on a variety of shows for HGTV. Michael is a graphic designer, an artist, and a father. He currently works in the graphics department of Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Together, they are treasure hunters and sell at the Rose Bowl Swap Meet. (Check out this other labor of love, Wall Bangers.)
Design Patriot was Michael's brainchild. One day, while looking online for an Amish wagon to bring to swap-meets, Michael realized something was missing. There was no database of American-made products that were also well-designed. Seeing this as a real lack, they set about finding such items and letting people know about them. The rest is history.
