“I wouldn’t have started a furniture company,” says Natalie Hartkopf, chair and co-owner of furniture manufacturer Hightower. "I fell into this." More like her father threw her into it! Some 20 years ago, he asked her to bring a chair to a design firm for review. Simple enough, right? Oh, no, it was not. Turns out, the task was actually for Natalie to do a full library presentation with materials to touch and feel (plus treats for participants)! “Needless to say, I was thrown in the deep end,” Natalie recalls. But, it turns out, she could swim.

Soon, she moved to New York to open Hightower’s first showroom and do sales for the company, which her father ultimately turned over to her and her sister. After working her way up—taking on nearly every role in the business, she says—Natalie now leads the certified Women-Owned Business Enterprise and certified B Corp with sustainability, social health, and equity at the forefront.

And she’s taking that mission industry-wide. Newly appointed to the IIDA International Board of Directors and the BIFMA Board of Directors as a 2026–2027 inductee, Natalie plans to use her leadership positions to “connect the dots” between designers and manufacturers to “make sure we’re all moving in the same direction.”

“There’s so much positive intent across the industry,” she says. “What I want to help unlock is the infrastructure to act on it.”

This busy entrepreneur made time to chat with us about good design, stale trends, taking pleasure in the little things, and potentially perfecting her French.

What does “good design” mean to you?

From a product design perspective, good design solves a problem in an elegant way to continually evolve and improve the spaces we live and work in.

What design "trend" do you hope never comes back?

There was a time when it felt design was driven by “Instagrammable moments.” You could tell it was for the photo and not for the humans experiencing the space, so it may have lacked comfort, warmth, or ease to look great for social media. I think we’re ok moving past that.

What’s something you’ve always wanted to learn but haven’t gotten around to?

I have always been fascinated by polyglots. I’m improving my French but definitely dream of speaking multiple languages well.

What’s been the miracle in the mundane for you lately?

I am really savoring the walk home from dropping off my kids at school. We live in a new city, so I grab a coffee and wander home. I’m still in awe all the time as I walk around.

What's your favorite city in the world for its design?

Copenhagen. The vibes of 3 Days of Design speak for themselves. I just read an article about Denmark’s ability to perfectly democratize design, and I love that perspective.