Can you believe it's been a whole year of podcasting already? Crazy! As a new podcaster, 2023 has been a fun and surprising journey. For instance, my kiddos now call this podcast, "mama’s show" and my hairstylist mentioned she “digs the sound of my voice.” It’s a little startling to know so many folks are listening, both inside and outside our industry. Even though I’m still adjusting to this new reality, I’ve loved strengthening old connections and making new friends through this podcast journey.

Looking ahead into 2024, I hope to bring more leadership perspectives to the table and chat about topics that impact the life of a dealer designer, like the role of incentives, career advancement, work-life balance, and so much more.

I hope you enjoy this episode and take time this holiday season and unplug. Thank you for joining me on this journey and I look forward to sharing more with you in the new year, so stay tuned!

The Design Pop is an Imagine a Place Production (presented by OFS)

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Recorded LIVE from the CET Experience, Alexandra sits down with Julia Machado, Director of Design at Price Modern. Together, they explore Julia's transformative journey from a production designer to a leader in management. Their discussion delves into  the evolution of her leadership skills, the criticality of maintaining work-life balance, and the art of empowering teams while fostering specialization. A significant part of their conversation revolves around the industry's ambiguous career paths and how professionals can proactively navigate and advance their design careers. Julia shares her valuable insights, providing perspectives from both an individual contributor and a managerial standpoint, offering a comprehensive view of the potential trajectories of a design career within a dealer organization.

And make sure to stay tuned for the last few minutes of today's episode, as we look ahead to our next episode, in which we'll need your help learning more about "incentives" for dealer designers. 

The Design Pop is an Imagine a Place Production (presented by OFS)

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CET Experience is Configura's annual user community conference. This year, CETx was in Scottsdale, Arizona and The Design Pop Podcast was lucky enough to get to speak to, interview, and mingle with the attendees of this incredible event. In fact, we were excited to get some time with a very special guest, Stefan Persson, Chief Executive Officer at Configura (maker of CET Commercial Interiors software). 

In this episode, Stefan walks us through his unique path to Configura and the exciting new changes coming to the CET program, such as integrating AI, updating the user interface, and releasing other new exciting features. Tune in to hear his insights on Configura's origins, values, and exciting plans ahead.

The Design Pop is an Imagine a Place Production (presented by OFS)

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While at AIA’s Women's Leadership Summit, there were references to the fact that women were leaving the profession between graduating and becoming licensed.  When I asked where they were going, a common response was: Interior Design and UX.

Kari Anderson has spent 3 decades in the industry, mostly at dealerships, and has always been fascinated by technology. I met her as an early adopter of CET in 2009. In 2018, she made a shift and was re-educated as a UX designer. This episode explores her journey personally and professionally as she applied her existing interior design experience to a new function of design.

Kari Anderson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/uxandkari/

UX&Kari: https://uxandkari.com/

Techbox Collective: https://techboxcollective.com/

Where are the women?

https://www.acsa-arch.org/resource/where-are-the-women-measuring-progress-on-gender-in-architecture-2/

The Design Pop is an Imagine a Place Production

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In today's episode, we're going deep into a surprisingly hot topic in the world of the dealer designer. Should the reins of ancillary decisions be in the hands of designers, salespeople, a specialist, A&D, manufacturer’s rep… all of them? To help break down this debate, we welcome two very special guests, Jodi Sorenson (Director of Furniture Design at AGILE INTERIORS) and Abby Leopold (Principal at CH411). We discuss how ancillary has become more complex, the differences between specification & selection, and explore ideas on how dealerships can enhance the ancillary process as the demand for ancillary grows.

Plus, we glean findings from a survey put out by The Design POP, revealing how dealerships approach ancillary, with some eye-opening feedback. Join us for a comprehensive look into the evolving realm of ancillary furniture and how this topic just might make or break your dealer design team.

The Design Pop is an Imagine a Place Production

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In today's episode, Alexandra interviews Ellen Gerovac, VP of Design at BSI-Milwaukee and Mother of 4 children. Together, they discuss their experiences becoming parents while building design careers, including overcoming early misconceptions about motherhood in the industry. 

Ellen shares advice on setting boundaries between work and home life, being creative about managing workload, and involving kids in your design passion. Alexandra and Ellen offer clear advice for managing your mental health as a Mom, emphasizing clear communication, asking for help when needed, and maintaining balance during stressful seasons of life. 

As you'll hear, this conversation aims to empower designers to advocate for their needs while bringing their best selves to their families and their work.

Looking to make a change? The independent designer registry is a way to help you market your skills, in a field you love, to those who need your design expertise.  

The Design Pop is an Imagine a Place Production

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Today, we chat with Josh Collins, Design Director at Atmosphere Commercial Interiors. In this episode, we discover how Josh's experience working in A&D and data analysis led him to prioritize design and embrace the challenges of the dealership industry, realizing the immense potential for dealer designers to make a lasting impact on the world of work environments.

We also explore the transformative effects of the pandemic on redefining work and consider how dealer designers can shape the future, leaving their mark on the universe of design.

The Design Pop is an Imagine a Place Production

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In Part 2 of our designer stress series, I team up with esteemed communication coach and AlwaysStrategic founder, Rob Langejans, as we explore the findings from our Dealer Designer Stress Assessment. With his extensive expertise in Architecture, Engineering & Construction, and Contract Furniture, he brings a wealth of knowledge to the conversation.

Tune in as we go further on the topic of managing stress, enhancing workplace satisfaction, and improving communication techniques. 

The Design Pop is an Imagine a Place Production

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Let's talk stress. In this episode, we're taking a deep dive into the complex stress landscape that dealer designers confront daily. From relentless requests for deliverables, quick deadlines, exhaustive email chains, and unending creative demands - we examine how these tasks can grind you down. This balancing act between projects and people strains not just the mind and body, but also begins to cross over into every facet of life and business.

So, what's the greatest source of your work-related stress? How do you counteract this daily pressure?  Join me as we navigate these questions and consider solutions for managing and mitigating the stresses that many dealer designers are facing daily.

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On this episode of The Design Pop, I sit down with the brilliant Jill Stewart, VP of Business Strategy at Office Revolution. Together, we dive into Jill's journey, starting as a dealer designer to leading a diverse team of designers and workplace professionals today.  Jill breaks down what she's learned on this journey and how embracing change just might be the most important skill we can learn in today's fast-moving, tech-enabled, world.

We also explore the power of a design team and how to unleash their potential. Jill emphasizes the significance of recognizing and respecting the work of dealer designers, and how their unique ability to connect with people can help elevate your organization.

Tune in to this episode to discover how to "get to the table" and take your career to the next level.

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