The Chaise Lounge Podcast

High Point Spring Market 2017 Show #4

High Point Spring Market 2017 Show #3

High Point Spring Market 2017 Show #2

High Point Spring Market 2017 Show #1

Today in The Lounge we have a special treat. Nick has just returned from High Point Spring Market where he conducted TWELVE separate interviews. Also, we've mixed it up a bit: instead of interviewing interior designers, in this series, Nick talks to different manufacturers, furniture designers, magazine editors and more, all of which he met and spoke with at the Market.

Meet Waynette Goodson and Exterior Design Magazine

Progressive Business Media is the parent company of Furniture Today, Home Accents Today, Gifts and Decorative Accessories, Kids Today, Casual Living and lastly, Exterior Design - of which Nick and Waynette are going to talk about today. Waynette is Editor-in-Chief of both Casual Living and Exterior Design.

Newly launched magazine, Exterior Design, is the first outdoor design magazine of its kind and it will continue quarterly. Exterior Design aims to shine a light on the fact that 'Outdoor' is now in. Waynette tells us, "The outdoor category has arrived and now more than ever, outdoor manufacturers want to work directly for Designers." Waynette and her team's goal was to create a platform for designers to see what's new in outdoor design in one concise place. Designers no longer have to go searching for outdoor furnishings, products and manufacturers dropped 'here and there' in other design magazines. While big designer names are important in the magazine she also is looking for this platform to serve as an engine for emerging designers to get published.

Waynette explains that the outdoor category is growing, it's no longer just a seasonal business. Designing outdoors adds additional footage to a home and with new fire and heating components, it has also become more geographically diverse. The most interesting and unique part of it all is that the furnishing must stand up to all the elements. Nick and Waynette point out that these days you can't even tell that pieces are weather-proof with how beautifully the materials have advanced and products are designed! Waynette also looks to showcase the celebration of color in outdoor design as exteriors are no longer confined to neutral, beige, or chocolate brown tones.

How do I get published in Exterior Design?

Since Exterior Design is so new Waynette is on the prowl for new content! But what is she looking for? Luckily Waynette breaks it down for us. She's looking for creativity, new ideas, and your own point of view. She wants a geographic and global span of content. Waynette doesn't want to put too many parameters on it though Exterior Design can morph and grow to its true potential. But if you do send in your work, high-resolution pictures open the door to design community- here is your chance to get published and show what you're doing! So your photos should be large format and high "magazine-quality ready."

Reach out to Waynette at [email protected].

Attach high-resolution pictures or send a Dropbox, introduce yourself, tell about your project, where it is, when you did it, the manufacturers you used, your fabric choices, your inspiration, and more. Don't forget before and after pictures if you have them. Listen to the show to find out more about how to send in your work!

Meet Rick Janisheck of Handley Drive with Codarus

Rick is the Creative Director of Handley Drives- and designs the product - decorative accessories. The inspiration behind Handley Drive was a gap between import quality products and super high decor. Rick and Handley Drive aim to build a high-quality aspirational but attainable line where every piece is uniquely designed from top to bottom. Their product mix is always changing, it's not aimed to be trendy but instead timeless, and not fashionable but instead stylish. Rick describes the product as "cleaned up classics," they match the classical scale and proportion but their cleaned up and p...

Angela Harris and Trio Environments

On this episode of The Chaise Lounge, Nick chats with Angela Harris of Trio Environments. Angela shares her journey from business to design, the story of starting her own company, and how she manages that company.

Getting to know Angela Harris

Trio Environments is located in Denver, where Angela grew up. She loves handbags, long skirts, enjoys Chardonnay and vacations in the Bahamas. Angela is married and has a 4-year-old son. She and her family live in a suburb of Denver on the edge of the mountains, where they enjoy a great view.

How Angela got into design

Without realizing it, Angela started in the industry as a child when she designed and decorated a tree house her dad built. Even in college, she didn’t put two and two together, instead, following the path “she was supposed to.” She ended up with a business degree in marketing and management. She later obtained a master's degree in sustainable design and is grateful for this path, which allowed for a good left and right brain balance in her work.

After school, Angela worked in marketing at an engineering firm. One day she woke up and decided it wasn’t for her. She left her position and took a job at a furniture store.  Angela worked for the summer and then started in the store’s design program, where she fell in love with furniture and textiles. Angela then went back to school for a two-year design program and opened her own business with $500 in her pocket.

What the business looks like today

Trio Environments employs seventeen individuals, which includes a director of sales and marketing, design directors, a procurement team, three design teams with design associates, and interns. Angela grew up in a family business and inherited her business instincts from her grandfather.

Her first hire was a former associate from the furniture store, to help in an administrative capacity. Angela loves the people aspect of the business and mentioned that relationships are most important. When seeking new employees, Angela makes sure individuals fit into the company culture and align with their core values of communication, consistency, and creativity.

Trio Environments takes on projects that include builder / developer work, high-end residential, multi-family, and hospitality, and Angela loves it all, as long as they are creative and have fun.

Marketing

Carrie, Director of Sales and Marketing, joined the conversation to share about the company’s involvement in the community as well as the re-branding of the company. The team is also involved with industry associations and has developed relationships within the real estate market. Other methods of business development and marketing include creating and putting out video content, doing photo shoots, participating in conferences, leading speaking engagements, and being activities on social media.

After seventeen years of business, Angela and Trio Environments hit the tipping point and became an“overnight successes.” The company survived the economic downturn and is now taking on work outside of Colorado. Angela and her team continue to position themselves as a boutique design firm and don’t rely on mainstream design. Projects are treated as one-off, unique, and custom. They handle 75-100 projects at a time.

Angela recommends to be fearless and take care of the people around you. She advises against putting all of your eggs in one basket, as she learned from having 80% of her business with one client. She said she would never do that again, but she learned and grew from it.

Learn more about Angela Harris and Trio Environments at their website or feel free to call directly - 303-663-1285.

Upcoming Events

ICFF - May 21 - 24

NeoCon - June 12 - 14

PCBC - June 26 - 28

BD West: Boutique Hotel Design Conference

Today in the Lounge is a BIG show. Nick traveled to LA for all things hospitality and design, the BD West conference. He had the chance to interview Christian Schnyder, a very accomplished hospitality designer based in LA, Deborah Herman, founder and president of Fabric Innovations, who was showcasing at the conference, and the conference head honcho, Michelle Finn.

Checking in with Michelle Finn

Michelle Finn works for the Hospitality Media Group, which owns BD West. The company hosts two trade fairs every year - BDNY and BD West - in addition to three forum events that connect buyers and sellers with unique interests like skiing, wine, and craft beer. Hospitality Media Group also puts together the largest hospitality matchmaking event.

Learn more about Hospitality Media Group and their events, please visit the Boutique Design website.

Getting to know Deborah Herman

Deborah Herman is the president and founder of Fabric Innovations. She loves to travel to new destinations. Deborah’s favorite room in her home is the library, where she has a memory of every book that she’s read.

In the past, draperies and bedding in Las Vegas hotels would last for 10+ years, but these days, Deborah tell us that properties are switching over to all white bedding. She has contracts with them and works on only hospitality projects. Deborah also provides quilted blankets to Delta Airlines.

Deborah builds her business through personal connections, sales calls, and working hard. She was recently recognized as an enterprising woman of the year and gives speeches on the do’s and don’ts of business.

To learn more about Fabric Innovations, please visit FabricInnovations.com.

Christian Schnyder of Belaco Design

Christian Schnyder owns Belaco Design, which he shares with us, is named from a made up language. The firm works on 75% hospitality projects, including hotels and restaurants. Christian Schnyder is from Switzerland. His favorite room in his house is the living room, as it represents who he is.

How Christian got into design

Christian is a trained architect, but when he came to the U.S, he needed a job to sponsor his Visa immediately. Christian ended up taking a job in interior design and never looked back. As a project manager, he oversaw renovations and new construction in restaurants. This position helped Christian understand the business side of design, but at some point, he became disinterested in managing and wanted to get back to design. He took a job with K&A Design for eight years and became a principal designer before starting his own firm.

What the business looks like today

Belaco Design employs a design director, three designers in FF&E, and designer in architecture. Christian says that the industry is a family and competitors are your friends. As a business owner, Christian enjoys wearing different hats. He tells us that there is no time you completely have off. He can never not think about the business, as he loves it and always wants to do more.

Christian and his team do some residential work, but mostly hospitality. Residential allows for more materials and detail that you can’t do in hospitality. Also, Christian mentioned the anxiety surrounding spending people’s money in residential and that decision making in hospitality is much different. In addition, residential design is more rewarding than hospitality as you get to see people’s reactions and contribution to someone’s life.

Christian has not had to put a lot into marketing and PR yet. The team is fortunate that their hotels are opening up and they have good marketing people to help. He does tell us that

Belaco Design sends out email updates and that he likes to keep in touch with contacts.

Phyllis on Branding and Michele Hofherr on Previously Owned by a Gay Man

On this episode of The Chaise Lounge, Nick chats with industry partner Phyllis Harbinger about branding and email messaging and Michele Hofherr about her business around curating unique items and the story behind the name: Previously Owned by a Gay Man.

Checking in with Phyllis on Branding

Phyllis recommends consistent messaging across all platforms, even down to your email signature. An email signature is the block at the bottom of your emails that often includes contact information, social icon links, and your company logo. Phyllis also mentioned that including your photo can help people feel like they already know you.

Phyllis also cited that 72% of consumers want to hear from you via email rather than any other method of communication. So, how much is too much in your signature? If you are telling an entire story, including product information, or have irrelevant quotes, you may want to consider simplifying the content.

Beyond your email signature, there are other branding components to consider, like your actual email address and logo design. As far as the email address goes, using “@gmail.com,” “@yahoo.com,” etc is a mistake, rather, use your company name. This not only supports your brand but makes you look more professional. A well-designed logo can make all of the difference as well. Phyllis and Nick recommend services like Hatchwise and 99Designs.

These are both cost effective ways to have a third party skilled designer create a logo for you.

Phyllis recommends finding creative and useful ways to use your logo too. She added her logo to a tote bag to give clients to keep their samples in. The pair also discusses handmade and personalized gifts for clients, and always keeping colors, logos, and fonts consistent. In closing, take a look at the brands you know, love, and trust. What can you learn from them?

Send Phyllis an email to get in touch and learn more!

Getting to know Michele Hofherr and Previously Owned by a Gay Man

Michele Hofherr is a straight woman married to a straight man. She loves black handbags, Montecito, CA, and red wine. She isn’t a private person, so nothing is off limits; she even admits to loving guilty pleasure, binge-worthy TV.

What's with the name?

Previously Owned by a Gay Man is a peer to peer marketplace that curates furniture through individuals. Michele and her team curate unique items and individually list them on their website. These items don’t have to be owned by a gay man. It’s about the essence of a gay man, not the literal interpretation.

The name came from the true origin of the idea as it articulates what inspired them. Michele’s gay friends would move constantly and would always have extra items. These items were given away for free far too often to people who didn’t fully appreciate them. While Ebay and Craigslist fill a niche, those avenues can be overwhelming.

What the business looks like today

The business has been up and running for three years. Michele runs the front end. She’s the creative idea person. Her business partner, Lindsay runs the back end, with a focus on technology. Lindsay has never been into design personally.

There are now at least 1000 items listed on the site. The goal is to remain very curated and not too large. Michele wants to prevent the overwhelming feeling that other marketplace sites possess. She wants to have a revolving door of great stuff.

As mentioned prior, Previously Owned by a Gay Man is a peer to peer marketplace. Individuals list their own items and warehouse them, while Previously Owned by a Gay Man facilitates shipping, which is paid for by the buyer. Geoffrey De Sousa, Chief Curator, is a design aficionado with an objective point of...

Out of the box...the Candelaria way!

On this episode of The Chaise Lounge, Nick chats with Mark and Isabel Candelaria of Candelaria Design and Earth and Images, respectively. They discuss running their businesses separately, working together, and how they push the envelope by incorporating technology on a regular basis.

Getting to know Mark & Isabel Candelaria

Currently residing in Scottsdale, Arizona, Mark is an architect and Isabel is an interior designer. They met on Facebook through friends of friends and the rest is history. They both love to travel, especially to Italy for the food, architecture, and people.

How did they both get into design?

Mark studied at the University of Colorado, Boulder, then transferred to Arizona State University. While in school, he started working for a professor as a draftsman and quickly became a partner in the firm. Rather than graduating from school, Mark was able to get the experience he needed to pass the qualification exams. He has worked in the field ever since.

Isabel was first hired as a visual merchandiser at a retailer, then she moved over into selling customer furniture and cabinetry. Later on, her mentor, a wholesaler to the design trade, decided to sell her business and Isabel bought it. Isabel was able to go back to school for interior design and soon started working on her own projects.

What the business looks like today

Candelaria Design, a residential architecture firm, employs sixteen individuals. Their projects are all over the place including Montauk, Oregon, and San Antonio. As it turns out, the founder of HGTV lives in a home that Mark designer. This sparked the conversation that led Mark to the team designing the 2017 HGTV Smart Home in Scottsdale, Arizona, which includes the latest and greatest in technology.

Isabel is the lead designer in her firm, with two junior designers who also act as project managers. She also employs an office manager who keeps things running. This allows the designer's mental freedom to focus on projects. Earth and Images focus primarily on residential design projects but also has a small showing of retail space in the studio too.

Both Mark and Isabel enjoy utilizing technology to work on projects that aren’t local. Tools like Skype, FaceTime, and GoToMeeting provide productive and efficient experiences for contractors and clients.

In addition, Mark and Isabel also employ very collaborative design processes. It can be risky or scary to be this exposed, but they don’t worry about that. Each time is different and Mark even says that they often land on something incredible that he wouldn’t have come up with on his own. The process forces you to give your client their house, rather than one you designed in a vacuum for them.

Marketing

Candelaria Design and Earth and Images take part in many types of marketing from community involvement, social media, blogging, and even trips to Italy and Spain! These trips started in 2000 and are open to anyone. Mark mentioned that travel is the greatest resource for a designer. He and Isabel have compiled a database of photos from travels which they find inspiration in for projects once they return. Traveling with others in the industry also allows for deep relationships and bonds to be formed. They find that the competition cannot compete with their authenticity.

Mark and Isabel are also involved with The Design Network, which showcases unique ways they use architecture and interior design. Facebook brings in clients more directly for Mark and Isabel. As a visual platform, they are able to show time lapse design videos or aerial shots from a job site captured by a drone. They love the immediacy and cost effective nature of the platform. Isabel mentions that when she does meet with a client for the first time, they already feel like they know her because of ...

Gillian Rose: Color Science

Today in The Lounge, we are joined by Gillian Rose, a Canadian transplant whose New York-based interior design and color science consultancy draws on over two decades of professional design experience, emanating from her formal training from Parsons School of Design.

Getting to know Gillian Rose

Gillian is calling into The Lounge from Canada. She is a cat person and loves beach vacations. Gillian likes to wear scarves in order to make a statement with color. She enjoys having personal connections with people, and if she weren’t an interior designer, Gillian would likely work in jewelry as there are six generations of jewelers in her family.

How did Gillian get into design?

Growing up, Gillian’s step parent was an interior designer. This made her always aware of design and form. Gillian ended up studying business at The New School. At the time, she was interested in photography and enrolled in a class at Parsons. She fell in love with art school and landed in interior design.

After Gillian graduated, she decided that she wanted to work for John Saladino. Through many resume submissions and points of contact, she ultimately received an internship. From there she moved on to a full-time position with Jay Spectre. Gillian always researched who she wanted to learn from and went for it. She did whatever it took to get an interview.

At this time, the economy was rocky but the corporate world was more stable. Gillian applied seven times to Kohn Pederson Fox until she finally was accepted. She said that this was an era where big business was booming and budgets didn’t exist. Though, Gillian worked in hospitality, which was less stable. She never had a big desire to own her own firm, but there came a point in her career when she could do what the heads of the company could do and decided it was time to start her own business in 1997.

Gillian’s first client was a new construction project referred by an architectural firm. She worked with architects to create the layout and flow and joined forces with her client to create the right decor. Gillian found that there wasn’t much difference between the level of responsibility she took on as a business owner and as an employee, however, her relationship with the client was more of a partnership.

What the business looks like today

There are two sides to Gillian’s business: design and color. Frankly, the design side designs and manages projects and the color side aids in creating new colors for all kinds of clients, both commercial and residential.

Gillian and her team started focusing on color after 9/11. Clients weren’t looking for interior design. Instead, people needed healing and soothing, so Gillian educated on color to help her clients make selections. Color can really make or break an environment. Gillian explains how our brains react to and remember specific colors, why introverts and extroverts like different colors, and how corporate offices might not want to paint their walls the same colors as their logos. Gillian made choosing a color less intimidating by putting paint in nail polish bottles.

It was a slow start, but The Science of Color is thriving now. Gillian fields speaking engagements, press, and even calls from branding companies. She said that we think of color as an object, but it’s often bigger than we are.

Learn more at The Science of Color and Gillian Rose.

Upcoming Events

High Point Spring Market - April 22 - 26

HD Expo - May 3 - 5

Las Vegas Market - July 30 - Aug 1

BDNY 2017 - Nov 12 - 13

Wrap Up

If you would like to hear more episodes, please visit us on iTunes or on our website at TheChaiseLoungePodcast.com.  Lastly, find The Chaise Lounge on Instagram,

122 - BIG Podcast: Marketing, business, and hospitality for interior design.

On this episode of The Chaise Lounge, Nick chats with Krista Coupar of Coupar Consulting. Krista chats about how her business supports the design industry through business, marketing, and fulfillment. Nick also checks in with Mary Alice Palmer from HKS Hospitality on her experience of heading up a new division in a large firm.

Getting to know Krista Coupar

Krista Coupar is calling into The Lounge from San Francisco, CA. She loves shoes, even if they are painful, they are worth it. Krista finds inspiration in Paris and London but prefers Hawaii as a getaway. She also loves anything bubbly, including prosecco and champagne.

How did Krista get into design?

Krista is trained in interior design, but her current business is not design. She actually started in the family business of silk trading and fabric importing, then started her own business. Krista loves the design industry but always gravitated towards business side. She is fascinated by how the business works, how people work together, and getting projects from beginning to end.

Kendall Wilkinson hired Krista to run the business side of her company with a team of consultants to help. Krista compared this experience to a real life design MBA. She found that there was not enough time in the day to serve clients and run the business and that she needed to delegate tasks.

What the business looks like today

Coupar Consulting is a larger umbrella that consists of Coupar Communications and Studio Coupar. Coupar Communications offers branding, PR, marketing, content management, web design, and social media. Krista mentioned that most designers have a website, but many are outdated, i.e. not updated in the last two years. This side of the business consists of nine employees.

Studio Coupar takes care of technical design and fulfillment. Designers have the vision and sell the dream. Studio Coupar executes the fulfillment, installation, styling, and photography of the project. Studio Coupar employs nine individuals. Krista mentioned that while some clients utilize both sides of the business, there are also plenty that just needs assistance on one side.

Krista opened her business in 2014. She still finds that designers don’t value their time enough and underestimate the time to complete a project. Krista still learns on a daily basis and loves working with her team and clients. She still doesn’t like paperwork.

Learn more at Coupar Consulting, Facebook, and Instagram.

Getting to know Mary Alice Palmer

Mary Alice Palmer from HKS Hospitality is calling in from Fort Worth, Texas. She prefers phone calls to texts since there is less room for misinterpretation. Mary Alice also enjoys contemporary art, ice cream, boots, and tequila.

How did Mary Alice get into design?

As a child, Mary Alice built houses, furniture, and clothing for her Barbies. She even drew out floor plans. Mary Alice started in advertising in college but was picky about what to advertise for. She became interested in architecture and ended up at Parsons.

Mary Alice started working with John Saladino in residential design. While she enjoyed her time there, Mary Alice wanted to explore other avenues of design and started working in the art department of a feature film. She ended up moving to Los Angeles and worked in independent film production. Mary Alice likes set design because it's about creating an atmosphere and representing a mood and experience, similar to hospitality by an experience or vision for a guest.

What the business looks like today

Six years ago, Mary Alice was asked to head up a new division for hospitality interiors within HKS. With 78 years of hospitality and architecture experience, the company wanted to diversify their offering with interiors.