The Chaise Lounge Podcast

Sometimes it feels like the list of things that can just tear through a business is neverending. Right now we're feeling the effects of one in particular - and while we've have all gone through plenty, our guest this episode has been through something that, literally, tore through her business. Not many can say that.

Please welcome Mel Bean of Mel Bean Interiors. Mel joins Nick on The Chaise Lounge to talk about her unique journey to interior design. A pre-med major who found her passion in design ("this is where I should be"), Mel gained her knowledge through college internships and no small amount of hard work. She's inspired by nature, a practiced team builder, and has a thing or two to say about one of our favorite subjects: digital marketing.

Most importantly, she celebrates when we all try to help each other out as a community of peers. Sharing our experiences and our lessons. After all, a rising tide lifts all boats.

I do think that, in some cases, there is this competitive "guard your paper", "don't share experiences" - and I just don't think that benefits our profession as a whole. I just think that we can support each other as people. As designers.

interior designer Mel Bean

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Chaise Lounge Updates

We just wrapped our latest season of Coast to Coast Design, with Garrison Hullinger and new co-host Lisa Davenport! Give it a listen to learn about just how many ways there are to run a design business.

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High Point Market | June 12-14

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If you would like to hear more episodes, please visit us on iTunes, Spotify or your favorite podcasting app! We'd love it if you post a review, you may even hear your review read live on our next podcast. Also, find The Chaise Lounge on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. With that said, keep dreaming big, and keep designing a great design business. See ya!

This week’s episode goes all over the place, as Nick is joined by Anthony Carrino, man of many talents. A developer and designer who’s had several shows on HGTV (Kitchen Cousins, et al.), a digital series for Ellen (The Build Up), and his own YouTube series (TheBuild.tv) – Anthony’s also been rolling up his sleeves and picking up his own paintbrush lately, something you can see for yourself on that YouTube series we just mentioned.

His story on getting into television, why he moved away from television (pay attention), and how to build a brand and market yourself through video and storytelling – well, there couldn’t be a better time to talk about exactly that. Plus some lessons learned during the process.

Also - something about the importance of good quality audio? Being in podcasts, we couldn't agree more.

You wanna be able to deliver on your quality and you're only as good as your last project. So I tend to do less work and just be methodical about it, so that I can deliver each and every time.

interior designer and developer Anthony Carrino of HGTV and TheBuild.tv

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Chaise Lounge Updates

We just wrapped on our most recent season of Coast to Coast Design, with Garrison Hullinger and new co-host Lisa Davenport! Give it a listen to learn about just how many ways there are to run a design business. 

Our Events Page

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See what our sponsors can do for you.

Upcoming Markets

High Point Market | October 17-21

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Wrap Up

If you would like to hear more episodes, please visit us on iTunes, Spotify or your favorite podcasting app! We'd love it if you post a review, you may even hear your review read live on our next podcast. Also, find The Chaise Lounge on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. With that said, keep dreaming big, and keep designing a great design business. See ya!

And now for something completely different.

On this episode, we have not one - not two - but five guests joining our beloved Nick May on The Chaise Lounge! What better time than this critical, extremely present moment, to connect as a community and talk about how the crisis is affecting each and every one of us, professionally and personally. Our assembled panel does not only that, but also shares their insights for how they've learned to navigate these trying times, and pivot where necessary.

All with a unanimous, enthusiastic sense of optimism.

So who do we have? None other than iMay Media's own Garrison Hullinger (Coast to Coast Podcast / Garrison Hullinger Interior Design), Courtney Pisarik (Ink Public Relations), John McClain (John McClain Design), Sara Barney (BANDD Design), and - an incredible recent guest on this season of the show - Megan Winters (Megan Winters Design).

Lots of discussion about dedicating more attention to specific projects, learning to work remotely, managing teams in crisis - and Nick's run-in with the cops!

I don't want any client having to wonder. I sent an email immediately out to clients ... letting them know that maybe we don't know all the answers right now ... but we are monitoring it daily. We are monitoring your project ... and we are going to stay in communication with you.

interior designer John McClain

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Chaise Lounge Updates

A new season of Coast to Coast Design is live, with Garrison Hullinger and new co-host Lisa Davenport! Give it a listen to learn about just how many ways there are to run a design business.

Our Events Page

Resources

See what our sponsors can do for you.

Upcoming Markets

High Point Market | October 17-21

More About Our Sponsors

Wrap Up

If you would like to hear more episodes, please visit us on iTunes, Spotify or your favorite podcasting app! We'd love it if you post a review, you may even hear your review read live on our next podcast. Also, find The Chaise Lounge on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. With that said, keep dreaming big, and keep designing a great design business. See ya!

Commercial interior design and residential interior design, two different beasts with at least two different approaches. Tackling more than one takes courage and finesse, as this week's guest Nicola Manganello can attest. Nicola heads Nicola's Home, and joins Nick on The Chaise Lounge to tell us her story - one that seems destined to have always led to a life in professional design - and her latest ambition.

The daughter of a restaurateur (a whole other kind of entrepreneurial crazy), Nicola would often peek through the windows of houses on her way to and from school as a kid. She never had a chance.

Learn more about Nicola Manganello and Nicola's Home at NicolasHome.com and follow @nicolashome on Instagram.

In about two years, we doubled in size. It just happened fast ... if you don’t do it right, it can be very painful. So, we’re recalibrating.

residential and commercial interior designer Nicola Manganello

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Chaise Lounge Updates

A new season of Coast to Coast Design is live, with Garrison Hullinger and new co-host Lisa Davenport! Give it a listen to learn about just how many ways there are to run a design business.

Our Events Page

Resources

See what our sponsors can do for you.

Upcoming Markets

HDExpo | Cancelled for 2020 season

ICFF | Cancelled for 2020 season

High Point Market | October 17-21

More About Our Sponsors

Wrap Up

If you would like to hear more episodes, please visit us on iTunes, Spotify or your favorite podcasting app! We'd love it if you post a review, you may even hear your review read live on our next podcast. Also, find The Chaise Lounge on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. With that said, keep dreaming big, and keep designing a great design business. See ya!

Isn't partnership great? Having someone to help carry the load, someone who always knows what you're going through. To complement your strengths and weaknesses. Someone who has your back? On today's episode of The Chaise Lounge, Nick sits down with Andrea Martoccia and Richard Fava of Motivo Home (serving south and central Florida).

A married couple with three children, Andrea and Richard bring a delightful energy to the show - and tell us all about how they met, live, work together, and got started in design. Even better, they're regular Chaise Lounge listeners and surprise even Nick with their knowledge of his own life and trivia. Guess he'll have to change things up a little to keep them on their toes!

Learn more about Andrea Martoccia, Richard Fava and their company Motivo Home Design at MotivoHome.com and follow @motivohome on Instagram.

We have learned to really shut down and give each section and element of our life the right time and the right focus. We can’t be around our children talking about work - where we're doing ourselves a disservice and we're hurting the kids. So we have learned over time to better at that.

designer Richard Fava (with Andrea Martoccia) of Motive Home Design

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Chaise Lounge Updates

A new season of Coast to Coast Design is live, with Garrison Hullinger and new co-host Lisa Davenport! Give it a listen to learn about just how many ways there are to run a design business.

Our Events Page

Resources

See what our sponsors can do for you.

Upcoming Markets

HDExpo | Cancelled for 2020 season

ICFF | Cancelled for 2020 season

High Point Market | October 17-21 (Updated)

More About Our Sponsors

Wrap Up

If you would like to hear more episodes, please visit us on iTunes, Spotify or your favorite podcasting app! We'd love it if you post a review, you may even hear your review read live on our next podcast. Also, find The Chaise Lounge on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. With that said, keep dreaming big, and keep designing a great design business. See ya!

Nick May, our host and tour guide through the world of the business of design, has drawn a hard line in the sand. The Chaise Lounge is a place of rest. Of respite. While we recognize that our friends, and our peers, and the world at large are all going through a time of heightened challenge and stress - this is a place to come together and talk about our shared passion. Insights and challenges both creative and professional.We're thrilled to welcome Matthew Quinn to the show this week. A kitchen and bath expert,  published author of his own book series "Quintessential Kitchens", and the owner of Design Galleria in Atlanta, Matthew's path to design is one we've never quite heard before. It really goes to show how important (and possible) it is to make a change and go your own way. Groomed to be a doctor and armed with a degree in chemistry from the University of Florida, Matthew worked hard to find his true calling. Then he worked even harder to make it his own. You have to hear this one.Learn more about Matthew Quinn and Design Galleria at Matthew-Quinn.com and Design-Galleria.net. Be sure to follow @designgalleriakitchenandbath on Instagram also!

The last few weeks - during this whole virus situation when everyone's on lockdown - the amount of emails and texts I'm getting from clients saying "I've never, ever spent this much time in my kitchen. My entire family's in this room and it's just working like a workhorse ... we loved it before, we love it even more now".

Kitchen and Bath Designer, and "Quintessential Kitchens" Author Matthew Quinn

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Chaise Lounge Updates

Our latest season of Coast to Coast Design continues, with Garrison Hullinger and new co-host Lisa Davenport! Give it a listen to learn about just how many ways there are to run a design business. 

Our Events Page

Resources

See what our sponsors can do for you.

Upcoming Markets

HDExpo | Cancelled for 2020 seasonICFF | Cancelled for 2020 seasonHigh Point Market | June 12-14

More About Our Sponsors

Wrap Up

If you would like to hear more episodes, please visit us on iTunes, Spotify or your favorite podcasting app! We'd love it if you post a review, you may even hear your review read live on our next podcast. Also, find The Chaise Lounge on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. With that said, keep dreaming big, and keep designing a great design business. See ya!

We're always excited to introduce our guests, but have to admit that today's guest shines a light into corners we don't always explore in detail. That's right, in this episode of The Chaise Lounge we have none other than Kevin Kolanowski joining your host Nick May. Kevin is the founder of Fuse Lighting, a luxury lighting company that's equal parts a solution to an under-served space - and an excuse to let loose with myriad materials and dynamic design. Their fixtures really are something.

Originally from Chicago but never feeling particularly traditional, Kevin initially made his way out to California in 1985 - thinking "the west coast was a little more avant-garde". He talks about his time as an interior designer and his eventual transition to lighting manufacture, and then gives us a healthy education on the materials he uses in his fixtures. And, as always, Nick manages to mix in some fun potpourri questions.

Learn more about Kevin Kolanowski and Fuse Lighting at FuseLighting.com and follow @fuselighting on Instagram.

I think the answer is the same for every single designer. I think it’s travel. I think its

nature ... you never know where it

comes from ... it just comes from the air.

Fuse Lighting founder Kevin Kolanowski

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Chaise Lounge Updates

A new season of Coast to Coast Design is live, with Garrison Hullinger and new co-host Lisa Davenport! Give it a listen to learn about just how many ways there are to run a design business.

Our Events Page

Resources

See what our sponsors can do for you.

Upcoming Markets

HDExpo | Cancelled for 2020 season

ICFF | Cancelled for 2020 season

High Point Market | June 12-14

More About Our Sponsors

Wrap Up

If you would like to hear more episodes, please visit us on iTunes, Spotify or your favorite podcasting app! We'd love it if you post a review, you may even hear your review read live on our next podcast. Also, find The Chaise Lounge on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. With that said, keep dreaming big, and keep designing a great design business. See ya!

As often happens when two business-minded creatives (or is that creative-minded entrepreneurs) get together to talk shop, you get a conversation chock-full-of unparalleled professional insights. Joining Nick May on this episode of The Chaise Lounge is Marie Flanigan of Marie Flanigan Interiors (MFI). With an MBA from the University of Houston, Marie brings a keen sense of marketing to her work (winning her first big client from a GoogleAd), which always piques Nick's interest!In addition to her incredible and distinguished designs seen in homes and commercial spaces alike, Marie has also appeared as lead designer for #TeamJonathan on a season 5 episode of HGTV's" Brother vs. Brother". As a creative, a professional, a mother, and an all-around unique human person - Marie and MFI believe that "homes should reflect the people who live, work, and play within". A sentiment that rings especially true right now, as we all spend more and more time at home.Learn more about Marie Flanigan and Marie Flanigan Interiors at MarieFlanigan.com and follow @marieflaniganinteriors on Instagram.

Everybody has so much creative potential and I think if you just ... get stuck in what everybody else is doing without ever ... taking a step back on what truly makes you

happy and what inspires you - I think there’s so many possibilities out there that sometimes

people don’t see.

Houston-based interior designer Marie Flanigan

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Chaise Lounge Updates

A new season of Coast to Coast Design is live, with Garrison Hullinger and new co-host Lisa Davenport! Give it a listen to learn about just how many ways there are to run a design business. 

Our Events Page

Resources

See what our sponsors can do for you.

Upcoming Markets

HDExpo | Cancelled for 2020 seasonICFF | Cancelled for 2020 seasonHigh Point Market | June 12-14

More About Our Sponsors

Wrap Up

If you would like to hear more episodes, please visit us on iTunes, Spotify or your favorite podcasting app! We'd love it if you post a review, you may even hear your review read live on our next podcast. Also, find The Chaise Lounge on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. With that said, keep dreaming big, and keep designing a great design business. See ya!

This week we have another episode from the "before" time, as well as an installment in our Guest Series. Nick May invited Stacy Garcia of Stacy Garcia Inc. onto The Chaise Lounge to bring her unique, creative voice and interview a guest of her own. Stacy's guest is none other than Deborah Lloyd Forrest, President and Founder of ForrestPerkins (a distinguished design studio of global architecture firm Perkins Eastman) and longtime hospitality designer.Stacy and Deborah's conversation covers a variety of topics, ranging from: how to define luxury, the importance of originality, and getting involved in the design process as early as possible. They also stress the importance of giving back to the design community, mentoring and getting involved with education and investing in the next generation of design professionals whenever possible.We couldn't agree more.Learn more about Stacy Garcia and Stacy Garcia, Inc. at MeganWinters.com and follow @stacygarciainc on Instagram.Learn more about Deborah Lloyd Forrest and Forrest Perkins at ForrestPerkins.com and follow @forrestperkins_design on Instagram.

"I would rather lose a project by telling somebody what is actually possible than get a project and have everybody disappointed - because it can't be accomplished in the time or for the money that the owner thought [they] wanted to spend."

Deborah Lloyd Forrest, President and Founder of ForrestPerkins design studio

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Chaise Lounge Updates

A new season of Coast to Coast Design is live, with Garrison Hullinger and new co-host Lisa Davenport! Give it a listen to learn about just how many ways there are to run a design business. 

Our Events Page

Resources

See what our sponsors can do for you.

Upcoming Markets

HDExpo | Cancelled for 2020 seasonICFF | Cancelled for 2020 seasonHigh Point Market | June 12-14

More About Our Sponsors

Wrap Up

If you would like to hear more episodes, please visit us on iTunes, Spotify or your favorite podcasting app! We'd love it if you post a review, you may even hear your review read live on our next podcast. Also, find The Chaise Lounge on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. With that said, keep dreaming big, and keep designing a great design business. See ya!

Recorded way, way back in a simpler time of January 2020, Nick May spoke with Chicago-based interior designer Megan Winters of Megan Winters Design. A firm believer in getting things done, and finding a solution for every problem - Megan came to the world of design by way of numbers (with an MBA from the University of Chicago) and printing, growing the high-end firm she founded into a "global packaging powerhouse".In a time where things are uncertain, and we're worried about ourselves and our loved ones, Megan's response to her own cancer diagnosis ("I'm not dying") serves as a powerful reminder that we can choose how to meet each day. For this, she recommends prioritizing her life before interior design, and a balanced and passionate approach to work that brings you joy.Learn more about Megan Winters and Megan Winters Design at MeganWinters.com and follow @meganwintersdesign on Instagram

My commitment to my clients is I can figure it out. I will find a solution for anything. I will not bring you problems. I will bring you solutions. I will not guarantee that stuff

won’t happen because of course it will... ‘Here’s some options... on how to resolve the situation’

Chicago-based Interior Designer Megan Winters

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Chaise Lounge Updates

A new season of Coast to Coast Design is live, with Garrison Hullinger and new co-host Lisa Davenport! Give it a listen to learn about just how many ways there are to run a design business. 

Our Events Page

Resources

See what our sponsors can do for you.

Upcoming Markets

HDExpo | Cancelled for 2020 seasonICFF | Cancelled for 2020 seasonHigh Point Market | June 12-14

More About Our Sponsors

Wrap Up

If you would like to hear more episodes, please visit us on iTunes, Spotify or your favorite podcasting app! We'd love it if you post a review, you may even hear your review read live on our next podcast. Also, find The Chaise Lounge on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. With that said, keep dreaming big, and keep designing a great design business. See ya!