Starting your own firm can be a nervous experience, but the creative freedom it offers can be well worth it. Joining the show this week is an interior designer who draws inspiration from his 25 years of design experience around the globe. After working with multiple internationally renowned design firms he is now on the journey of running his own studio. Welcome to the show, Founder & Creative Director of Pierre & Co Design Studio, Pierre Josselin!

Pierre and Dan sit down to discuss Pierre’s motivations for starting a business, what excites him most about the design process, and the importance of having strong relationships with others in the industry. 

Takeaways: 

• Hospitality is a shared passion. Those in the industry have an exciting passion for the work they do. It is a people driven industry with a strong sense of togetherness that is focused on creating relationships. 
• To create great designs, you need to cover every aspect of the project, and understand what it takes to get to the finish line. Avoiding unnecessary handoffs of work results in a higher quality and more consistent project that is completed in less time. 
• As a designer, it’s important to understand how your answers affect the rest of the process. A timely response to a client’s question not only results in a happier client, but a faster project. A delayed answer delays further steps of the project.
• The best coworkers you can have are ones that challenge you, but who you can also challenge. Great ideas are not born in a vacuum, and fostering a space that allows for collaboration and feedback will open your eyes to new designs. 
• While going out on your own and starting your own firm can be daunting, it offers many benefits. As you have full control over the intricacies, you have full creative freedom, and the ability to complete work at a faster pace. 
• In the design process, it is important to implement efficiencies wherever you can. Even by getting all the relevant parties in one room for the drawing process and doing instant revisions can shave weeks off of a project. 

Quote of the Show:

• “The most successful colleagues you work with are the ones which challenge you, but you challenge as well.” - Pierre Josselin

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pierre-josselin-527b555a/ 
• Website: https://pierreandco.com/ 

Shout Outs:

• 04:07 - Taniya Nayak: https://taniyanayak.com/ 
• 06:21 - Small Giants: https://a.co/d/af9MB4P 
• 08:33 - Fairmont Flame Towers: https://www.fairmont.com/baku/
• 17:11 - HBA: https://www.hba.com/ 
• 18:51 - Alex Kravetz: https://alexkravetzdesign.com/ 
• 19:07 - Inga Oelschlager: https://www.linkedin.com/in/inga-oelschlager-73640878/ 
• 19:08 - Sayeli Uysal Ayaydin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sayeliu/ 
• 19:09 - Peter Balistrieri: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-balistrieri-44a99aa/ 
• 27:00 - Fairmont Banff Springs: https://www.fairmont.com/banff-springs/ 
• 27:49 - Fairmont Washington DC: https://www.fairmont.com/washington/ 
• 29:22 - The Orient Express
• 33:11 - Tishman Speyer: https://www.tishmanspeyer.com/ 

Ways to Tune In: 

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPX
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386
• Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1s
• Amazon Music: ​​https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8c904932-90fa-41c3-813e-1cb8f3c42419