Welcome to today's episode! We are delighted to have Karen Mooney, Taryn Schwartz, and Caroline McDonald with us on the show today. They are the three women responsible for the designer program at Ballard Designs and they are also behind the Ballard Designs' podcast, How To Decorate. Today they will be sharing their experience of interviewing celebrity interior designers for the podcast and also some of what goes on behind the scenes with the celebrity designers. Listen in today to find out what it really takes, and what really happens, when you get the opportunity, and then make the commitment to being a celebrity designer for a company as large as Ballard Designs.

Karen, Taryn, and Caroline are the hosts of the Ballard Designs' How To Decorate podcast. And their goal is to help you to unleash your 'inner decorator'. Outside of the podcast, they work in different departments at Ballard Designs. Karen has a background in graphic design and she's the senior vice-president of Brand management. Taryn is an industrial designer in the Product Design department. And Caroline manages content marketing, specifically the blog How To Decorate, and also art producing digital marketing photography. Listen in today to find out more.

Show highlights:

• Why they prefer doing their interviews in-person.
• How the relationship between Ballard Designs and their celebrity designers works.
• Why Ballard Designs chose to work with Suzanne Kasler, Bunny Williams, and Miles Redd.
• Making their celebrity designs affordable to their customers.
• The level of creative involvement of the talented celebrity designers.
• What it really takes to become selected as a celebrity designer.
• Why it takes what it does to become selected as a celebrity designer.
• Why it really takes such a lot of work to be a celebrity designer!
• Finding the right kind of vendor.
• Why a long-term business relationship is actually a lot like a marriage.
• Bringing Suzanne onboard.
• Then bringing Bunny and Miles onboard.
• The way that the designers earn their money.
• The way that people respond to Miles' dramatic pieces.
• Using inspiration to grab the imagination of the customer.
• Ways of making tried-and-trusted products look fresh again.
• Some ways that designers could get to become the celebrity designers.
• Doors always open as a result of relationships- so be nice!

Big name designers discussed on today's show:

Bunny Williams, Miles Redd and Suzanne Kasler

You can find the How To Decorate podcast on iTunes.

Note: This show will also be on video on Luann's Youtube channel.

Links:

Ballard Designs

How To Decorate

Instagram: Ballard Designs

Facebook: Ballard Designs