Meet The Team
Mitch Newman
Managing Partner
Mitch Newman’s path to founding Habitar Design is anything but ordinary. After earning his medical degree from the University of Chicago and becoming a Board-Certified Family Practitioner, Mitch decided to take a different route—one guided by his creative passions.
He spent years exploring the world, skiing behind the Iron Curtain, sleeping under the stars in Italian vineyards, and studying in Germany at the University of Tuebingen. Mitch supported himself during these adventures by designing and selling T-shirts, one of which is now part of a city museum collection. His creative endeavors didn’t stop there—he published his first short story in The Egyptian Times and served as Artistic Director of Chicago’s Thirsty Theater.
Eventually, Mitch’s love for building drew him back to his roots. His father, a real estate developer since 1962, inspired Mitch to take up the family trade. In 1999, he built his first three-flat, and by 2005, he launched Habitar Design with Kapan Shipman, combining his love for creativity and construction into a thriving design business.
Mitch Newman
Managing Partner
Mitch Newman’s path to founding Habitar Design is anything but ordinary. After earning his medical degree from the University of Chicago and becoming a Board-Certified Family Practitioner, Mitch decided to take a different route—one guided by his creative passions.
He spent years exploring the world, skiing behind the Iron Curtain, sleeping under the stars in Italian vineyards, and studying in Germany at the University of Tuebingen. Mitch supported himself during these adventures by designing and selling T-shirts, one of which is now part of a city museum collection. His creative endeavors didn’t stop there—he published his first short story in The Egyptian Times and served as Artistic Director of Chicago’s Thirsty Theater.
Eventually, Mitch’s love for building drew him back to his roots. His father, a real estate developer since 1962, inspired Mitch to take up the family trade. In 1999, he built his first three-flat, and by 2005, he launched Habitar Design with Kapan Shipman, combining his love for creativity and construction into a thriving design business.
Kanya Phev
Managing Partner
With a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from the University of California, Davis, Kanya spent her early years managing a design studio in Venice Beach, California. Her love of the cold spurred a spontaneous move to Chicago, which in turn, began her journey at Habitar Design and Stratagem Construction, starting as an assistant project manager to eventually learning the entirety of the business. Now based in NYC, she hopes to continue being able to call a new city home every few years, or maybe even a new country. When she’s not at the computer, you can find her in the kitchen testing new recipes.