Forge – the new name for the combined Emerald Expo-Questex venture – is barely a few weeks old, but CEO Paul Miller is already doing the rounds to check out portions of the new and much-expanded portfolio. That included a stop at CEDIA Expo in Denver, where we had the chance to sit down with Miller.

The conversation gave us the opportunity to learn about his approach to the event space, the future plans for CEDIA Expo, how trade shows have evolved, and much more.

Jason Ehrlich, business development manager of room acoustics in the home market at Kinetics Noise Control, sits down with us for a conversation about why acoustics deserve a much earlier place in the design process.

Ehrlich breaks down how room shape, materials, seating, speaker placement, reflections, and noise control all influence the final listening experience, whether in a dedicated home theater, listening room, podcast space, or commercial environment. The conversation also touches on CEDIA’s RP32 and RP22 guidelines, the limits of room correction software, why “just adding panels” can sometimes make a room worse, and how integrators can better communicate the value of acoustics to clients, designers, architects, and builders.

In this episode of the Connected Design Podcast, we sit down with Bret Jacob, senior business development manager at Phoenix Marketing Group, to discuss how the company is helping bridge the gap between integrators and the design-build community. Bret shares his path through retail audio, military service, integration, manufacturing, and now business development at Phoenix, where he leads Phoenix Design Build Services.

The conversation explores why integrators need to be brought into projects earlier, how builders and designers can better understand technology’s role in luxury homes, and the tools Phoenix is building to support those relationships, from co-branded marketing assets to project spotlights and design-center resources. Bret also discusses his work reviving the NAHB Custom Builder Technology Working Group and why educating builders on the right technology questions is essential to moving the industry forward.

Jason Bourg, owner of Bourg Builders + Design in North Central Arkansas, sits down to discuss how technology has become a natural part of his custom homebuilding process.

Bourg shares his path from medicine to construction, how his lifelong interest in building shaped his company, and why home automation has become central to the way he thinks about custom homes. The conversation also explores his relationship with Brad’s Home Entertainment, the value of bringing an integrator into the process early, and how builders can use technology to improve security, convenience, aesthetics, and the overall client experience.

Bourg’s perspective offers a practical look at what collaboration can make possible when technology is treated as part of the home from the beginning.

Mitch Klein joins the Connected Design Podcast to reflect on more than three decades in the custom integration industry and his long-running work with CEDIA. He shares stories from the association’s early days, the evolution of smart home technology, and the effort to build stronger bridges between integrators, architects, builders, and designers.

The conversation also looks ahead at what’s next for the channel, from AI and cybersecurity education to standards, government affairs, and the continued importance of industry advocacy. Klein offers a candid perspective on where the industry has been, how far it has come, and what integrators need to keep in focus as the connected home continues to evolve.

The touchscreen has taken a few shots lately, as design and technology conversations swing back toward buttons, switches, and voice control. But for Crestron's Giles Sutton and Michael Short, the question is not whether one interface wins. The real story is how the right mix of touch, tactile control, voice, sensing, and automation makes a connected home easier to live in.

On this episode of the Connected Design Podcast, Sutton and Short join Editor in Chief Rob Stott to discuss why the touchscreen remains an important part of the professional smart home, where tactile controls are the better answer, and why design-build conversations should focus less on screen count and more on the user experience each interface is meant to support.

For Jeremy Rasti, the path into custom integration started long before Crescendo Automation Audio Video opened its doors in Baton Rouge. It began with music always playing at home and the simple wonder of distributing video from one room to another.

On this episode of the Connected Design Podcast, Rasti talks about building Crescendo from a two-person startup into a maturing integration firm, expanding from AV into lighting design, shades, and networking, and using peer groups and training to keep the business moving forward. The conversation also turns to a recent viral delivery incident that underscored a more durable business lesson: the client experience depends on the integrator's willingness to protect the trust that exists between a business and its clients.

Warranty programs have their own connotations that they carry. But, traditionally, they're seen as single-product programs that are there in the event of a product failure to protect the consumer. For custom integrators, who install products in myriad rooms and across a variety of categories and price points, the idea of attaching a warranty to all those products would be impossible. That's where SureBright's new offering comes in.

VP of Strategic Partnerships Keith Kranepool joins the Connected Design Podcast to discuss whole-system warranty protection, recurring revenue opportunities, AI-powered proposal workflows, and why project-level coverage can help integrators strengthen client relationships.

German luxury brand Loewe has big plans for their expansion here in the U.S. North America General Manager Jeff Costello joins the Connected Design Podcast to discuss the brand's methodical launch, which starts with their design-forward lineup TV lineup. We also get into Loewe's Cabasse acquisition and how that'll impact their home entertainment story, and the opportunity for integrators serving premium clients.

From a chance meeting in Las Vegas to a podcast together just a few short days later—Chris Oram and our Editor-in-Chief Rob Stott had a great deal to dive into on this episode. Chris is in the midst of a unique journey helping the Audio Advice team open its sixth showroom, and first this far West as the brand enters Las Vegas. As the General Manager of the location, he's got his hands full planning and executing the build-out, while also introducing the brand to a new crop of clients.