The Interior Collective: Recent Episodes
IDCO Studio
A podcast for the business of beautiful living presented by IDCO Studio. The Interior Collective is equal parts advisor, collaborator, and trusted friend to interior designers around the world. I’m your host, Anastasia Casey -- bringing in interior designers and industry tastemakers to provide you with actionable advice for your own practice from experts you already trust. Our star-studded lineup features industry-renowned names such as Amber Lewis, Heidi Callier, Shea McGee, Marie Flanigan, Jake Arnold, Clara Jung, Carley Summers, Gail Davis, Lindsey Borchard, Lauren Liess, Light & Dwell, Victoria Sass, Megan Grehl and so many more. We’ve assigned each guest a specific topic, for truly actionable, inspiring and strategic takeaways from each episode.
Josh Jarboe, Vice President of Sales at Four Hands, discusses how to best leverage your relationships with trade vendors to maximize profitability. In today's episode, Anastasia fires off rapid fire questions you should ask every trade partner, and Four Hands delivers on every answer. From simplifying pricing tiers to easy-to-navigate self-serf options, and a killer customer support team, selecting Four Hands as a primary trade vendor can improve your bottom line without increasing your client's costs. Four Hands is committed to making the design process easy, enjoyable, and profitable for designers.
Open a Four Hands trade account today: fourhands.com/theinteriorcollective
This episode of the Interior Collective podcast focuses on pricing as an interior designer, covering topics such as overhead expenses, time billing, flat rates, and procurement fees. Lindsay Borchard of Lindsay Brook Design shares insights and strategies for pricing services, including the importance of transparency and data-driven decision-making. The conversation delves into the details of pricing models, billing structures, and the impact of overhead expenses on pricing strategies. The conversation covers various aspects of interior design business operations, including procurement fees, receiving warehouse costs, project management billing, and increasing profitability. Lindsay shares insights on transitioning to flat rate pricing, managing client expectations, and optimizing business processes. She also discusses strategies for increasing revenue without raising hourly rates and emphasizes the importance of client experience and industry knowledge sharing.
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Brad, the founder of AFT Construction, shares his journey in the construction industry and the importance of collaboration between designers and builders. He emphasizes the need for effective communication and alignment of vision between the two parties. Brad also discusses the role of a superintendent in ensuring the success of a project and the importance of proper supervision. He highlights the value of pre-construction meetings and page turns to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Brad also addresses the issue of budgeting and the division of responsibilities between designers and builders when it comes to purchasing materials and furnishings. In this conversation, Brad Leavitt, owner of AFT Construction, discusses the importance of technology in the construction industry and how it can improve communication and transparency between contractors, designers, and clients. He emphasizes the use of tools like Buildertrend and Bluebeam to streamline project management and collaboration. Brad also shares insights on maintaining budget discipline, providing accurate bids, and value engineering. He highlights the significance of strong leadership and company culture in maintaining high morale and expectations within the team. Lastly, he discusses the value of social media in marketing and building a brand.
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Tiffany Piotrowski, owner of Tiffany Leigh Design, discusses the power of pivoting in business and the decisions that inform those pivots. She shares her journey as a business owner, including starting her own design blog, working for a well-known interior design firm, and eventually starting her own business. Tiffany talks about a pivotal moment when she realized she needed to shift her focus back to design and let go of her online shop. She emphasizes the importance of listening to your gut and being flexible in business. Tiffany also discusses how she communicates changes to her team and clients and the balance between growth and financial stability.
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Access all bonus material now on Patreon at patreon.com/theinteriorcollective incuding this week's New Project Marketing Plan download.
This week on the Interior Collective Podcast, we sat down with Lindye Galloway, an Orange Country, California, designer and shop owner to talk about her strategies for setting her firm apart and developing a distinct point of view in an area that is super saturated with designers. Lindye walks us through her transition from wedding designer to interior designer as she and her husband embark on a renovation just weeks after the birth of their son, Theo, and how it works now that he has joined the business. She candidly shares how she pieced her business together, always keeping her vision in mind and maintaining a stylistic thread while designing homes around the country, and how innovation and competition can propel you forward.
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Lindye Galloway
Download our guide to pricing your services as an interior designer now on Patreon at patreon.com/theinteriorcollective.
Hema Persad, founder of Sagrada Studio, discusses her approach to billing as an interior designer. She explains the onboarding and design discovery phase, as well as the billing structure at each phase of her process. Hema emphasizes the importance of being clear about the fee structure and having expectations outlined in the contract. She also talks about the significance of tracking hours and project profitability. Hema believes in open discussions about money in the industry to set realistic and fair industry standards. In this conversation, Anastasia discusses various aspects of billing and client management in interior design, while Hema expands her approach to collecting funds for accessories and artwork, as well as how she handles retainer fees and invoices. Hema also shares her thoughts on hourly rates for install and project management, as well as the challenges of hiring and managing a team. She emphasizes the importance of tracking time and managing finances, and discusses the benefits of remote work. Additionally, she talks about the impact of visibility and recognition on billing and client acquisition, and shares her excitement about upcoming projects and collaborations.
Today, interior designer and 2 time author Brian Paquette is serving a masterclass in lighting design. Brian’s breaking down the concept of lighting plans, how to create one, and budget allocations. I find it particularly fascinating because of the importance of harnessing light in the Pacific Northwest where Brian’s based.
Our conversation really emphasizes the importance of understanding clients' needs and preferences during initial conversations and tailoring the lighting plan accordingly, while balancing aesthetic and function when selecting light fixtures.
Brian is also offering a peek into his latest book ‘Outside In’, which finds a deeper meaning in design. Find sample lighting plans from some of Brian Paquette’s portfolio of work in the bonus materials section of Patreon. Access them now at Patreon.com/TheInteriorCollective or book an Expert call with Brian directly.
Download this week's bonus content including an itemized overhead budget download and join the private community on Patreon at Patreon.com/theinteriorcollective.
In this episode, Alyssa Kapito delves into managing overhead costs in interior design. Transitioning from art history to this field, she shares insights on scaling a business while controlling expenses. Alyssa discusses strategies for handling multiple projects and highlights the benefits of a home office for cost efficiency. Drawing from her internship experiences, she emphasizes the importance of networking. Additionally, Alyssa's ventures in writing a book and launching Gallery Alyssa Kapito underscore her entrepreneurial approach. Through her experiences, listeners gain valuable insights into maintaining financial health and work-life balance in interior design.
Download this week's exclusive content now on Patreon: Interactive Editorial Calendar and Monthly Content Planner
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In this week’s episode of The Interior Collective podcast, Anastasia welcomes Drew Michael Scott, design influencer and founder of Lone Fox. Drew's career was born on YouTube and has thrived across various design channels as he has built his brand and honed his aesthetic. Through years of consistency and resourcefulness, he has earned an audience that includes millions of online followers—in addition to the trust and collaboration of dozens of top-tier brands. Drew is an incredible representation of a new kind of designer—an industry tastemaker who inspires and educates without taking on clients of his own. Even for designers taking a more traditional route, Drew offers valuable insight into building and monetizing an online brand.
Get sample constrution documents, FF&E Schedules, and construction drawing disclaimers now on Patreon.
Tess Tweehouse, founder of Tess Interiors, discusses the importance of comprehensive construction documentation in interior design projects. She shares insights into managing construction documents and communication with contractors. Tess explains the process of creating bid sets and construction documents, including file storage and regular communication with contractors and trades. She also discusses the team structure at Tess Interiors and the number of projects they handle simultaneously. The conversation highlights the significance of revisions during the construction phase and the documentation and communication process followed by Tess's team. In this conversation, Tess dissects the process of creating construction documents and the importance of clear communication with contractors and trades. She explains how the furniture budget is determined and how materials, finishes, and cabinet details are applied to the construction documents. Tess emphasizes the need for detailed schedules, including materials, appliances, plumbing, and lighting. She also discusses the use of concept decks and the importance of revisions and communication throughout the project. Anastasia shares insights into the software and tools she uses to keep organized, including Google Drive and Dropbox. She concludes with expanding on meeting note documentation to maximize searchability and minimize any miscommunication.
Get full access to bonus material, downloadable worksheets, and in-depth analysis now on Patreon.
In this episode of The Interior Collective, delve into the intricacies of interior design logistics with Mandy Cheng as she reflects on the transformative impact of earning a spot on the AD100 list, three years running. Tune in as Mandy dissects the nuts and bolts of her design process, drawing from her background in set design and seamlessly transitioning into interiors. Discover Mandy's fluid approach to installation, always putting her client’s comfort first. Gain insights into managing logistics with a small team and the crucial role photography plays in showcasing her work. Join us for a conversation packed with thought provoking sound bites and practical advice for interior designers, covering everything from smooth installations to the art of booking photographers and exciting updates on future projects.
Full Analysis, Transcript and Bonus Download Worksheets Now Available on Patreon.
This week, coveted Washington DC designer Zoe Feldman breaks down her well-established six-part design process as she shares her journey into interior design and the importance of scaling her business. The conversation covers the six phases of her design process, including programming, schematic design, design development, construction documents, construction administration, and installation and styling. Zoë also discusses her Expert sessions and the different tiers of design services she offers. She shares her experience of investing in process improvement and the challenges and benefits of offering full service design and design anywhere services. In this conversation, Zoë discusses her approach to budget-friendly design with Design Anywhere. She breaks down the six-phase process of interior design, including programming, schematic design, design development, and installation. Anastasia also shares upcoming projects and collaborations, including a lighting collection with Mitzi that just launched and a kitchen design for fashion designer Jessie Randall.
Full analysis, transcript, and bonus materials available on Patreon.
In this episode of The Interior Collective, special guest Cortney Bishop offers an insightful perspective on her innovative approach to interior design, harmoniously combining her extensive background in marketing and business with her dedication to crafting spaces of significance. We delve into the foundational elements of Cortney's design firm, highlighting her unique approach to integrating residential and boutique commercial projects. This episode sheds light on how Cortney and her team skillfully navigate the complexities of design, merging creativity with strategic planning. Join us as we explore the intricacies of both commercial and residential ventures, the dynamic evolution of Cortney's firm, and the inspiring journey of entrepreneurship that transcends the traditional boundaries of interior design.
In the season 4 premiere episode of The Interior Collective, special guest Jeremiah Brent expounds on the intimate connection between personal rituals and interior design. In his new book, "The Space That Keeps You," Jeremiah explores how the spaces we inhabit are deeply intertwined with our daily practices and the essence of what makes a house a home. This episode not only sheds light on Jeremiah's transition from fashion to establishing a successful design firm but also emphasizes the significance of rituals in shaping our living environments. Jeremiah's insight into the transformative power of design, coupled with the anticipation of Jeremiah joining the cast of "Queer Eye," provides a compelling narrative on the importance of creating spaces that reflect and accommodate the rituals that enrich our lives.
Access guided worksheets, exclusive content, and a private community of interior designers and industry experts on Patreon.
When did “enough” become no longer enough when it comes to PR and marketing as an interior designer? 10 years ago, a single press feature was a pinnacle to a designer’s career, but nowadays, growth feels reliant on the frequency and the caliber of press features. Today, we’re chatting with PR veteran and co-founder of Dada Goldberg, the top Public Relations agency in the shelter industry. Rebecca’s guiding us through the changes we’re seeing in traditional press, the next wave of good PR, and how getting great press is absolutely something you can do on your own as an interior designer.
CONNECT
Dada Goldberg Website
Rebecca Goldberg Instagram
Dada Goldberg Instagram
Construction documentation is the most critical piece to executing designs of the highest caliber. We searched far and wide for examples of the very best in construction documentation and were wowed when we saw the materials presented by Sam Struck at StruckSured Design. In today’s episode, we’re chatting with the mastermind behind the documentation, principal and lead designer of the Hood River based design studio. From initial client education documents all the way through to Construction packages and everything in between, you’ll want to listen to this episode in entirety first, then come back a second time to take thorough notes.
CONNECT:
StruckSured Interiors
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Investment Guide Template
Client Process Bundle
Contractor Welcome Kit
62 Email Template Bundle
When the design phase is completed, an interior designer’s job is just beginning. As you head into the construction phase of a project - whether new construction or renovation, the logistics can get tricky. Most states won’t let you “Project Manage” your contractors, so “Construction Oversight” is the new industry standard. Today, Los Angeles based interior designer Katie Hodges walks us through the logistics of bringing your designs to life through overseeing construction.
LINKS MENTIONED
Katie Hodges Design
The Expert
There are so many paths to interior design as a career, but it seems very few of them offer experience in actually running an interior design business. Today, San Francisco Bay Area award winning designer Lauren Nelson walks us through navigating the business side of a beautiful design business. From pricing strategies to her experience in corporate design public relations, Lauren's coveted expertise has proven that every path to design offers unique wisdom.
LINKS MENTIONED:
Lauren Nelson Design
The Expert
Design Camp
While we often have guests on this show with large teams and multiple departments, the reality is, not every interior designer wants to have a large studio. Remaining small and nimble allows for more creativity as the principal designer, less people management, and a more flexible schedule. Today, we welcome award winning Los Angeles based multidisciplinary designer, Stefani Stein, as we explore the logistics and intentions behind scaling a design studio while maintaining a small team.
LINKS
Stefani Stein Website
The Expert
August Abode
Design Defined
Often overlooked, children’s bedrooms and play spaces are a pivotal, foundational part of their development. Architect and interior design duo Damian and Britt Zunino, principals of Studio DB, a multi-disciplinary firm in Manhattan are experts at crafting colorful, whimsical family homes that invite both refuge and wonder. Today, Britt and Damian walk us through the fundamentals of elevated kid’s spaces. We’ll take it to a deeper level as we discuss incorporating color and pattern throughout a home as well. Prepare to take notes in this masterclass of comprehensive, intuitive, and joy provoking design.
Every interior designer’s process is so distinctly unique. While designing new construction projects can be a bit more straightforward, renovation projects require a unique level of experience and planning to both bid and execute effectively. Today, Victoria Sass - principal designer and founder of award winning Minneapolis based studio, Prospect Refuge, walks us through her noteworthy renovation process. Specializing in historic and architecturally significant properties, Prospect Refuge projects evoke quiet luxury in a joyfully unassuming way.
Links Mentioned in This Episode:
Prospect Refuge
Book Victoria on The Expert
Ontologia Collection
Kwin Made
IDCO Studio
Three years after the start of the Covid pandemic, interior designers are still catching up to the rush in the industry, the delays in delivery, and the overwhelm and exhaustion we all experienced. As interior designers became more nimble, flexible, and efficient, changes to their process were inevitable. Today, we’re chatting with interior designer, best-selling author, and dear friend, Caitlin Flemming. Caitlin walks us through how her studio pivoted during Covid, the changes she kept in place, and how it affected her process moving forward. Then, we'll discuss her latest book, "Sense of Place".
Links Mentioned in this Episode
Caitlin Flemming Interior Design
Sense of Place
Travel Home
Design Camp
Kwin Made
Today, New York City based Megan Grehl of Megan Grehl Design Studio is breaking down exact steps to take your interior design studio to a global scale. She is a wealth of knowledge and as we begin to explore the concept of going global and designing on an international scale, Megan is breaking down exactly how she got started in global projects, how she's booking hospitality projects around the world, and what she's doing to incorporate that on a residential scale as well. So let's go ahead and dig in going global, managing and scaling projects on an international level.
Prior to receiving her education at the University of Pennsylvania, Megan lived in Hong Kong, Beijing, Taipei, Tokyo, and Shanghai for over 20 years. As a result, Megan is fluent in English and Mandarin Chinese. With an innate sensitivity to design, style and curation, Megan Aileen is the embodiment of the bridge between eastern and western design values.
Welcome back to Season 3 of The Interior Collective - a podcast for the business of beautiful living. Quiet Luxury is the buzzword in every marketing campaign and TikTok video around these days. But the concept of mixing bespoke, one-of-a-kind pieces with quality, everyday items is here to stay. Joining us today is Brigette Romanek, founder and principal designer of Romanek Design Studio. She is one of LA’s most sought after designers, and named repeatedly in Arch Digest’s “AD 100” and Elle Décor’s A-List.
Brigette's clients include Gwyneth Paltrow, Beyonce, Kelly Rowland, Misty Copeland & Demi Moore and she’s built her studio on the foundation that spaces should be fresh and functional, aesthetically provoking, and completely lived in. Tune in as we break down how Brigette achieves that livable luxury in every project–from quiet family homes to multi-million dollar high-profile projects.
Mentioned in this episode:
Livable Luxe by Brigette Romanek
Brigette Romanek on The Expert
Romanek Studio’s Showroom on The Expert
Design Camp
As we kick off Season 3, we welcome back fan favorite, Jake Arnold just in time for the drop of his first book, Redefining Comfort. On the tail of his global cover story with Arch Digest, Jake is breaking down his design process working with the likes of John Legend and Chrissy Tiegan, how his “first of its kind” cover hit all 7 international Arch Digest markets, and how you can translate his celebrity status to your own interior design firm.
Links Mentioned Jake Arnold Studio
Redefining Comfort by Jake Arnold
Jake Arnold on Interview Season 1
The Expert
The Expert Showroom
The Expert Trade Program
Design Camp
DESIGN CAMP TICKETS ON SALE NOW!
Lindsey Brooke Design
Episode Mentioned: Lindsey Borchard - Pricing as an Interior Designer
Together, Lindsey and Anastasia have hosted hundreds of interior designers from every corner of the globe at Design Camp. Design Camp came to fruition based on our personal experiences growing seven-figure businesses in the industry. We felt the lack of a comprehensive, actionable and relatable resource to get started. Everything felt top secret, competitive and subjective.
After working together for more than five years, we made it our mission to create an interior design retreat where designers can form honest, supportive relationships, create an accountable mastermind group, and be given the blue print they need to level up their business.
Every session of Design Camp is different. The keynotes, the sessions, the people. We work diligently year round to keep Design Camp’s content of the moment and comprehensive. We’re grateful to welcome return campers alongside first time guests at every session.
Design Camp is an immersive four-day retreat created specifically for the diverse interior design community. Founders Anastasia Casey and Lindsey Borchard, along with their respective teams, offer inspiration, insight, and empowerment through strategic business development discussions and guided implementation. Every detail of our luxury event is intentional, from the intimate grouping of campers to the inspired setting. Working sessions are punctuated by shared meals, cocktail hours, and keynotes from some of the industry’s most influential voices. Our mission is for you to leave Camp with an actionable plan for creating a design business that is more profitable, enjoyable, and authentic to you—with a network of likeminded friends to support you along the way, forever after.
Transcript
00;00;00;00 - 00;00;35;13
Anastasia
Hi, and welcome to this bonus episode of The Interior Collective, a podcast for the business of Beautiful Living. I'm your host, Anastasia Casey. And today we are talking about a very big passion project of mine, Design Camp. Together with my co-host, Lindsey Borchard of Lindsey Brooke Design, we are walking you through the infancy of Design Camp, how it started out, how it's transformed, and what the four day inclusive business retreat looks like today.
00;00;35;16 - 00;01;04;24
Anastasia
Tickets are now on sale at Design Camp IDCO. Hey, Lindsey, and welcome back to the show. I am so excited to have you here. And there's nothing I love more than, like a secret bonus episode. I know. I'm so excited to be here. Obviously, I love your podcast and just love everything about the Interior collective. So I'm happy that we can have this kind of, like, conversation about Design Camp.
00;01;04;24 - 00;01;22;28
Lindsey
And yeah, bonus episodes are always the best. I love how we can take a little bit of Design Camp and we'll get all into Design Camp a little bit later. But I do love that we can have even just this many one hour conversation to give people a taste of what Design Camp is really about. But if you haven't listened to it already, go back to season one.
00;01;22;28 - 00;01;57;00
Anastasia
I'll link it in the show notes. Lindsey did an incredible episode about pricing as an interior designer, which proves to be one of our top downloaded episodes ever, and it's one worth listening to and relistening to because the way she breaks down, how she builds clients leaves no money on the table. She's getting every possible dollar from her clients in a very fair way, but B, it's also just mind blowing how specific and generous you are with your exact process.
00;01;57;01 - 00;02;17;26
Anastasia
So we'll get into that a little bit more. But I do just have to start the show off by saying Lindsey is the most gracious and open business owner I've ever known. And additionally, she's just brilliant when it comes to running her firm. Oh, you're so sweet. You're going to make me cry today. Yeah, you'll probably cry by the time we get done.
00;02;17;28 - 00;02;45;03
Anastasia
So. Okay, let's go ahead and start talking about Lindsey Brooke design and your design firm from the beginning. When did you start? How long have you been in business? And then we'll get down to, like, how many people are on your team now? Because I've just really seen it from its infancy. Yeah, I mean, I started this in 2016 and in a spare bedroom of my home, kind of a cliche story of I didn't go to school for this.
00;02;45;03 - 00;03;07;20
Lindsey
I went to design school for fashion, did that a little bit, and then I, I randomly went into the wholesale side of an interior interior design company. Rachel Ashwell, Shabby Chic. So they, like, made their own products and they have their own stores. And so I did the wholesale department of that. And really that was my first taste of interior design.
00;03;07;22 - 00;03;31;10
Lindsey
And even though it wasn't like my personal style, I really got the behind the scenes of how to make a product, how to put it together, how to put it together in a retail space with designers. So I don't have any formal training on interior design. And it's this business that was basically just built on a passion. And I was at that point a stay at home mom to my oldest son, James.
00;03;31;10 - 00;03;54;29
Lindsey
I was pregnant with my second and looking back now, I probably had some postpartum with James that I didn't really realize, but I felt like I just didn't have the creativity in my life that I really did need. And I don't think I realized it at that time. And so my girlfriend was like, You should start a blog because blogs are like the thing back then.
00;03;55;02 - 00;04;22;28
Lindsey
This is probably like 2014 and you know me, I don't like blogging. I'm like, That is not me. And I started Instagram and I started just posting things on Instagram, my house, my friends houses. I started getting referral clients from my friends. And then I started getting these E design clients from Instagram and I'm like, Googling what is E design?
00;04;23;01 - 00;04;56;22
Lindsey
And that's kind of how the business started. It slowly snowballed from there. One referral led to another referral and one E design led to another E design, and then it kind of shifted to doing more like local clients and I remember at a point where it was like, okay, we need to possibly get a nanny. If I wanted to continue this because I was doing it like between nap time at night and I talked to my husband and he was super on board and super supportive and saw kind of like a spark lit within me.
00;04;56;24 - 00;05;17;26
Lindsey
And so that's kind of how it started. Like, you know, we added a nanny one or two days a week and then slowly built on that and then had another conversation to say, like, Hey, I think I could do this full time. I think I can make a real business out of this. And that's when it really like that's when I say like, okay, 2016 was like really the start of the business, even though I had been doing it for a little bit.
00;05;17;26 - 00;05;47;00
Lindsey
But I started in my house, you know, with an employee in my house, with young kids running in and out, crazy, not being able to focus. My garage turned into, you know, pillows and accessories and furniture and it just overtook the space. And, you know, now it's almost we're going into our eighth year this summer, and now we have a studio space and a retail store.
00;05;47;00 - 00;06;11;26
Lindsey
And we have eight employees, nine employees, ten employees, if you include the shop, too. So it's just it's I am really proud of it when I really sit back and like, take a second. You know, there's still so much more that I want to do. And you know this I talk to you about it all the time, but I am really proud of where we started and kind of where we are right now.
00;06;11;29 - 00;06;36;18
Anastasia
But yeah, it's been a journey, though, So to give a little background on how Lindsey and I know each other, if you had officially started in 2016, I think you would have reached out to me on Instagram probably 2017 or 2018. Yeah, I think it's just 2018. Yes. I've been following you for a while and I really just loved the content that you were pushing at that time.
00;06;36;18 - 00;06;53;10
Lindsey
I had started. So when I started this business, obviously, like someone came and said like, what's E design? And, I had followed a girl that was doing E design. I don't know if, you know, she actually has a pillow company now. Daniel Oki Pillow Companies and E Design. I reached out to her to say, Hey, what is E design?
00;06;53;12 - 00;07;26;09
Lindsey
And she just let me kind of know what she was doing. And then when I really started the business, I reached out to a couple other designers who I met through Instagram and they kind of opened up to me. So I started opening up on Instagram. Well as you know, like, I mean, social media just took up so much of my time and my business really started kind of obviously I had two young kids and so I reached out to you and didn't at that point, like, did it need a website or branding?
00;07;26;09 - 00;07;49;24
Lindsey
But I needed help so much with marketing. And I remember it was like I was definitely one of your first hires, if you will, even though I was sort of a contract. But I remember like it was, I don't want to say it was a hard sell for me, but you were definitely like, This is a big investment. Like, this is a big thing for me to be hiring out.
00;07;49;26 - 00;08;11;11
Anastasia
And you just were at that phase in your business where it was really like that first giant leap to be like, Hey, I'm going to invest this much in marketing dollars. And I just remember totally freaking out and being like, Oh my gosh, Lindsey's work is so beautiful. Like, look at what a cool California style she has. But I think we just really hit it off.
00;08;11;11 - 00;08;31;07
Anastasia
So we had I think we had definitely exchanged DMS and we're like Instagram friends, but we certainly weren't close friends when you had initially reached out? No, not at all. I mean, I remember having that conversation. I think we spoke. I mean, I literally remember the day I was you.
do too! I remember I was in the old kitchen before we renovated it.
00;08;31;07 - 00;09;01;14
Anastasia
And I remember I was standing there, my living room facing, and I felt this like kismet energy, you know, And I just remember feeling like this is my girl, like, I just I felt like you were listening to me with like, I really was like, Hey, I really want to continue for my voice to be kind of like helping other people, you know, was still really young in my business and learning and making mistakes, but I wanted to carry that through.
00;09;01;14 - 00;09;19;08
Lindsey
I was kind of just coming on and I don't even think stories were a thing. I don't even know. I kind of just came on and started writing captions about business stuff. And I think you were the first one that was like, you should start this thing called Monday mentors and kind of talk to.
00;09;19;10 - 00;09;42;26
Lindsey
It was a fine line because I remember you saying clearly, designers are not your customer, so we can't just focus so much on designers. But it was so important to me that you found a way to incorporate that into my business model, which I just thought was like one genius, and to just the fact that you took something that was super important to me, even though you probably were like, This girl has no idea like that.
00;09;42;27 - 00;10;10;05
Lindsey
This is not going to be bringing in the clients that she wants for her design business. But yeah, it felt just such an instant connection. And, I remember I had 16,000 followers. I remember talking to Quinn (husband) and being like, I think this is going to change the path of my business. Like I think I am so sold on just what you were telling me and the way you believed in my business, even though you really didn't know it.
00;10;10;06 - 00;10;26;20
Anastasia
Like in the ins and outs, like you know, now, you know, it was just amazing. And it's probably one of the best decisions I made so far in my career. And like five years later, still, you know, and then just expand it. Anyways, I don't get into that. Okay. So I know, I know. Well, thank you for those sweet words, Lindsey.
00;10;26;20 - 00;10;54;26
Anastasia
I just love you so much. But if you're listening and if you happened to notice one of the continuously weird parallels between Lindsey and I, she keeps referencing her husband, Quinn Yes, my husband is also Quinn. And that is just one of the funny little things that I've just always felt so connected to Lindsey. But she touched on how one of the pillars of her business has always been mentorship and education, and I think that's really like the infancy of Design Camp and this concept around it really started.
00;10;54;26 - 00;11;19;14
Anastasia
I just loved that she was so open with her knowledge. I love that she was open with her struggles and I felt like there was just such a gap in the industry for it. So that's kind of a little preface, but I want to talk more about where your business is now, because I feel like your credentials are just so outstanding and you don't necessarily sing your own praises very often.
00;11;19;14 - 00;11;38;26
Anastasia
So I do want to go over that. I mean, I think it's really important to mention that in these five years you are well into seven figures in your design firm and have been for years now. How many you said that you have ten employees, including the shop now at this point, how many clients a year are you taking on?
00;11;38;29 - 00;12;05;28
Lindsey
We typically have anywhere between 10 to 15 projects at a time. I would say within a year we probably do anywhere between maybe 20 and 30, just depending on where we fall with some of our projects in a span of years. So it really just kind of depends on where those projects fall as far as when they end and things like that.
00;12;06;01 - 00;12;24;14
Anastasia
So I feel like that's still small when I talk to a lot of people, even at Design Camp, like we have 30 projects right now, so we're really selective about and I feel, you know, it's been a privilege that we've been able to be really selective now on who we take on as a client because we're a small firm.
00;12;24;17 - 00;12;50;19
Lindsey
I only have four designers plus myself on the design team. And so with these big projects, we want to make sure that we're not getting burned out, that each of our projects are getting the best of us. They're getting the best of things. But I think that it's really important to make sure when you get to a point, you know, we don't, we don't just take on large projects.
00;12;50;19 - 00;13;12;02
Lindsey
We still like to take on smaller ones as well. What do you consider that like? What is the difference between a small and a large project? So the difference between like a quote unquote small and large part large projects are typically full remodels or full custom homes before the house down or starting from the ground up, or we're taking it down to the studs and redoing everything.
00;13;12;04 - 00;13;38;09
Lindsey
Plus we're doing all the furnishings as well. So that's kind of what we usually tend to do between, I would say, three and five of those a year. Then more I would say maybe medium projects are we're doing full home furnishings, so we're doing 5 to 6000 square feet or more of a full home coming in and furnishing from top to bottom, maybe doing some like cosmetic, maybe painting or adding wallpaper, changing out hardware, things like that.
00;13;38;12 - 00;14;01;09
Lindsey
And then smaller projects tend to be kind of what our medium projects are. But maybe it's not the full house, maybe it's just all the main living spaces. Maybe it's just the first floor, maybe it's just a kitchen remodel. So it's still, I guess, a decent amount of work. But compared to the larger ones, to us, that feels more manageable and they're done quicker.
00;14;01;16 - 00;14;23;02
Anastasia
They're not taking 2 to 3 years to complete. So it's kind of nice to sprinkle those and because like right now we're in a space where like we haven't done a photoshoot in forever, I don't know when we're going to do another photoshoot like we have nothing completed right now. So yeah, there's like that big lull in between when you're in your procurement era or a construction area that overlaps.
00;14;23;02 - 00;14;56;21
Lindsey
And so the smaller projects that can be a really great killer project, even if it's just a kitchen that's getting redone or just a smaller furnishing area in a primary suite or something, something of this question when. So we talk a lot at Design Camp about how to graciously kind of steer the wrong type of clients away. And one of those ways is on your intake form, on your website, to have that dropdown of like what is your project Total project budget, including furnishings, design fees, construction fees, like what is the total number?
00;14;56;28 - 00;15;20;12
Anastasia
And we always like to make sure that in that dropdown the smallest number listed is your smallest price point. You're willing to take on a project. So when you're saying that you still take on the smaller projects, are those people that are coming to you from Instagram and your website or those people that maybe are past clients that you're doing like a one off or I am interested in how you decide to take on those small projects.
00;15;20;15 - 00;15;45;13
Lindsey
It can be all of the above. It can be referrals from past clients. So it's a friend of a past client and I always, even though most of them have been really good, I always want to give those people the opportunity because the referrals from some of our our best people that we worked with that we've become friends with, or it will be from Instagram or it will just be, you know, maybe they got in touch just us through through our website, through Google.
00;15;45;13 - 00;16;05;04
Lindsey
But I really like to make sure that the budget aligns with whatever it is that we're doing. So our minimum is about 100,000. We probably are going to raise that because it's just really hard to do like a kitchen design right now with $100,000. Our fees included materials construction. So we're going to be taking a look at that this year.
00;16;05;04 - 00;16;28;05
Lindsey
But right now it's $100,000 thinking of, okay, if we're doing three room minimum kind of furnishing, that's about how much we need for furnishings. And is that 100,000? Is that just for the furnishings? That doesn't include your fees. Right. Right. Can you put your fees in there, too? We can possibly fit our fees in there, just depending on which rooms we're doing.
00;16;28;08 - 00;16;49;22
Lindsey
And if we want to take on a small project like that sometimes, I mean, we have definitely done like one of my favorite projects that we did was one primary bedroom in the primary bathroom, and they had such a healthy budget for that and they really just let us be creative and challenge our our own kind of design esthetic and wanted to do really beautiful things.
00;16;49;22 - 00;17;07;00
Lindsey
And so that was a no brainer, even though it was such a small thing. But it was a nice turn around. It was like a 4 to 6 month project and we were able to do it within their budget. But you know, I would say most people wouldn't want to spend what they spent on just their primary. You Yeah.
00;17;07;08 - 00;17;37;25
Lindsey
Yeah. But yeah, so that 100,000 minimum is probably going to have to go up to probably 200,000. That's a jump, but it's a realistic jump. Like I just want to be really realistic. I've had so much experience now with understanding how much things cost, and that was probably the hardest thing that I had to learn and has and is just always changing with COVID now that inflation, all this stuff.
00;17;37;25 - 00;18;00;17
Lindsey
So I think that it's really needed for what type of projects we want to do. Well, I think that's a perfect example of what I think makes Design Camp and the way you host Design Camp is that you are making these small or sometimes substantial pivots or alterations to both your processes and just how you run your business.
00;18;00;25 - 00;18;21;21
Lindsey
And what I love about it is, I mean, we'll spend three months before Design Camp going over our outlines and our talking points and revising and saying, wait, did we change that this year? Have we updated this in the last six months? And I think this is a perfect example of how next time we're at camp, you've probably made that decision and you figure it out what that minimum is.
00;18;21;28 - 00;18;54;23
Anastasia
And do you share that with everyone who attends? And I think that I love Design Camp. It is like this living, breathing organism of all of us growing and gaining experience together and sharing that experience. So I love to talk about back in 2018, you and I started working together and then that was, I believe it was like June, June or July that we actually like to officially onboarded you as a client.
00;18;54;23 - 00;19;18;20
Anastasia
And we were running your Instagram and your newsletters and writing blog posts for you. So then fast forward to the January Market in Las Vegas of 2019, and we had both our clients come with us, our teams were with us, we were at market. We walked all the showrooms with you. We were on a panel together. I believe for-
00;19;18;22 - 00;19;52;25
Lindsey
We were on a panel with Ivy, which is now Houzz Pro and I can't remember what we were talking about. Probably just business stuff. It was you and- Mikel Welch. Yeah, it was just the three of us. Yeah, it was just us. And so, you know, that was the first time we had met. Our husbands met and yeah, I remember, you know, just again, like having that, you know, sometimes you talk to people and you have these like Instagram connections or you have these online connections and you meet in person, you're in, you're kind of like, okay, maybe it's a little different or whatever, but it's still the same.
00;19;52;25 - 00;20;14;15
Anastasia
Like, it just felt more like a sister, you know? And we went to after that, that night after the market, I don't know what hotel we went to. We were in the bar. We just started kind of talking about her. Mind you, the bar was closed. We literally went and sat down at this bar. The bar was closed and we were just like, We need to keep talking about business.
00;20;14;17 - 00;20;33;00
Anastasia
And so we sat down and it was so late and so we were like, Oh my gosh, that panel was so great. I remember going really well and I was like, We need to talk more. Like there's more we can share. And I loved the questions we received and we were like, We need to talk more about this.
00;20;33;07 - 00;20;59;03
Lindsey
And I honestly and I hope you do remember Lindsey. I don't recall who said the word retreat first, but we were just like feeding off of each other, thinking about it. I don't remember either. I just actually think you were talking about your experience with the retreat you took. And then I probably said something like, Oh, yeah, we should do that.
00;20;59;03 - 00;21;28;17
Anastasia
And then, yeah, okay, that was weird. It happened quickly. So the retreat experience that I was talking about, which actually aligns beautifully with our story together and our timeline because I had gone on a luxury retreat with Fiona Humberston. She is a brand stylist in the UK, and she was hosting this beautiful workshop in Majorca and I was just obsessed with Fiona.
00;21;28;17 - 00;21;47;21
Anastasia
I still am. She's an incredible mentor to me, but I went on this retreat. I remember she had a monthly payment plan option. I had been in business for maybe 18 months. I was very new into business. And she had a payment plan option. I paid for it for a whole year. Like leading up to this retreat.
00;21;47;23 - 00;22;12;14
Anastasia
And I went with one of my good friends, Ciara Wilson, and we got to Majorca. It's like an incredible, you know, 500 year old estate. And it was just so beautiful. And the retreat was very, for lack of a better word, it was super woo woo. It was very much like feelings and like general vibes. And I being new in business was like, I need to do a list, tell me what to do.
00;22;12;14 - 00;22;32;18
Anastasia
I will check it off and I just need to go through these action items. And I wasn't fully invested. I wasn't totally in it at that point. We're on a day like three or so and we had a psychologist there who was teaching us about the psychology of design and all these different things and really about the psychology of our own business.
00;22;32;20 - 00;22;55;27
Anastasia
And I was like, Oh, this isn't what I thought I signed up for. I thought we were going to be drawing logos and making marketing pitches, and it definitely was not that. And on day three I had, you know, exercised 100 million with a psychologist who was there. One of the exercises she had us do, she was like, write down your five favorite clients you've ever had.
00;22;55;29 - 00;23;17;04
Anastasia
And when I wrote down that list, four out of the five of them were interior designers and the whole message they'd been teaching us was like, You need to find your ideal client, find your perfect audience. And I remember resenting that a little bit because I was like, Hey, I'm trying to make rent. Like I can't turn clients away.
00;23;17;04 - 00;23;36;24
Anastasia
I cannot buy into this concept of saying no to a bunch of work that's coming in just because there's going to be someone potentially better down the road. But when they had me do that exercise and I listed them out and I remember it was Clara from Banner day, Lindsey was on that list, Decor rotation. And I was like, Those were absolutely my favorite clients.
00;23;36;24 - 00;24;01;13
Anastasia
I can produce the most beautiful work, the most meaningful work. To me, it finally clicked and I was drinking the Kool-Aid and we left. The next morning. I rewrote every bit of copy on my website to focus entirely on interior designers. And from that point on, I never worked with anyone outside of the shelter industry again, and that's when IDCO really
00;24;01;13 - 00;24;22;10
Anastasia
transformed from me being basically a freelancer to having a proper company where I have, you know, now we employ 22 people and so I, I will never forget how that retreat changed my life, even though it took me two of the four days to really get into it.
00;24;22;13 - 00;24;43;17
Anastasia
But I understood the power of having a small set of time, a chunk of time set aside to focus on your business and what your intentions are within your business and to learn from other people in the same business and to be open and candid about that. When you're trying to run a business, it's just really difficult to carve out that time.
00;24;43;17 - 00;25;07;14
Anastasia
And so I was telling Lindsey the story in that bar. I'm sure it was after 2:00 in the morning, it was so late that we were talking about this and the boys had already gone to bed. And between her Monday mentor sessions, which we had already started, everyone goes spam her so she brings them back. Go spam her on Instagram, but then she's going to be like, Stass, I need you to do the Monday sessions for me.
00;25;07;14 - 00;25;31;07
Anastasia
I don't have time. And that's where I really was. Like, Wouldn't it be amazing if we could take this panel discussion? We just did her Monday mentor sessions, my knowledge of marketing in the industry and created our own version of a retreat. Yeah, I think we felt like we were the perfect two hats. I had at that point some experience in the business.
00;25;31;09 - 00;25;56;09
Lindsey
You had the marketing and we just kind of felt like, Wow, we can really both be touching on really important things that we both, you know, quote unquote felt like. I don't mean, I hate saying expert, but like at that time, like, you know, we were learning and we had already grown a lot in that first six months of us working together, which is crazy to say.
00;25;56;09 - 00;26;18;11
Anastasia
But yeah, I mean, I remember I remember like telling her about it and then like, I think like very quick, I don't know how quick it could be days, it could have been weeks, but we then started planning like, yeah, it was like, here's the idea. I have this perfect place in Austin and I remember feeling really overwhelmed like, Oh my God, how do we just even start this?
00;26;18;11 - 00;26;42;14
Anastasia
Like, how? But it just effortlessly kind of came together, which also made me realize that, you know, I grew my business very organically and I feel like Design Camp has just like came about very organically and has grown very organically. And that's how I feel, like I lead a lot of my intuition on business and I just felt right to feel like, okay, we were like, this is how it's supposed to be.
00;26;42;14 - 00;27;08;24
Lindsey
And yeah, I mean, I don't think that it would have worked if we didn't come in there and like right from the start, be very vulnerable and like to really talk about what is in my business. I, we, I have, I have done other things and have seen other things where a lot of people hold things back. And I just remember being like, if we're going to do this, we really have to pull back the curtain, you know?
00;27;08;27 - 00;27;40;08
Lindsey
And like you said, like, I don't think I've ever talked and I've taught several different sessions, but I don't think I've ever said the same thing at each Design Camp. Like, we are always changing our business. We are always improving. We're always going through these. Sometimes fails and rough, rough patches and we talk about that. And I think that's what really sets Design Camp apart and why it works.
00;27;40;10 - 00;28;06;22
Anastasia
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00;28;06;24 - 00;28;46;07
Anastasia
Visit IDCO.studio to choose your favorite before it sells out! You mentioned earlier when we were starting to position ourselves as experts and even though we were still like newer in business and figuring it out, I feel in hindsight, which is always 2020, that it wasn't that we felt that we were experts. I feel like where our expertise is even now after our 10th Design Camp, our expertise lies in our ability to, a, be super honest and open, and our expertise lies in our willingness to show our mistakes.
00;28;46;09 - 00;29;17;24
Anastasia
And our expertise lies in getting other people to that level of vulnerability and willingness to share as well. I feel like your magical gift. Obviously, you're such an incredibly smart business person, but I think what makes your unicorn feature is really your ability and willingness to share the highs and the lows and exactly how you got there so that people can learn from that experience, and can contribute their own experience.
00;29;17;24 - 00;29;58;11
Lindsey
And I feel like that's really where our special, our special moment of Design Camp is. It's not even necessarily our resume, it's the environment we're able to cultivate at Design Camp now. Totally. I mean, I remember it could have been one of the last ones we had at the Wayback, and we can maybe talk about the evolution of that, but I remember getting this like 911 text during one of when we were speaking and we had a break and I called my office and we one of my designers at the time was just having such a horrible experience with a client, really, really difficult client.
00;29;58;12 - 00;30;20;23
Lindsey
We ended up having to fire them and it was a mess. And I remember like going, you know, after I talked to them and we kind of went back into sessions and talking Design Camp, like opening up and telling people like what had just happened, you know, and like, I just think it's so important because I learned so many so many things from people at camp.
00;30;20;23 - 00;30;40;02
Anastasia
So much, so much. It's like, you know, people are like, Oh, it's so nice. You just like, kind of selfishly do it for myself. Did I have learned some of my key things that we have either changed or pivoted on or just knowing that like, oh my God, they feel the same way, too.
00;30;40;04 - 00;31;07;02
Anastasia
That is so true. I feel strongly that even because we have designers come and we'll talk about things we haven't even said, what Design Camp is it? We will talk about that. But we have campers who have not yet started their business all the way through, people who have been in business for 15 or 20 years and everybody obviously takes away different, different information and finds different levels of values throughout their sessions on the four day experience.
00;31;07;02 - 00;31;30;09
Anastasia
But even our most senior designers that come, I hear over and over again that sometimes it's just really great to be validated. And if there are certain things that you're doing in business that you have been doing and we're saying, yes, we have tried a lot of different options and we agree that this is the best way. Sometimes you just need to know that, hey, you don't have to start over on something else.
00;31;30;09 - 00;31;47;27
Anastasia
Like it's just a great gut check to be like I am on the right path now. There's also tons of things that are like, Oh gosh, we've been doing this system for 15 years, but it's not the most efficient anymore. And now we have three other options presented to us that we can really investigate and find out what's the best fit for our firm.
00;31;48;02 - 00;32;13;14
Lindsey
Yeah, I mean, I think and I think that when, you know, when we were talking about this, about what we wanted, it was first and foremost, I think it was like building a community because I know how important that was for me. I had made really great designer friends on Instagram who kind of were my community. Instagram was my community, and I was able to reach out to them with any questions I had and they were very candid with me.
00;32;13;14 - 00;32;43;07
Lindsey
But I know that that's not the case with a lot of people. Even though I had a couple of people who were open, there were still so many that were closed off and I think that above all the education and kind of what you learned, the community that's built around Design Camp is really the most magical thing because like you said, it's kind of like with anybody who is either just starting or been in the business for 20 years, they kind of find their people at design gear, you know, hundred percent.
00;32;43;09 - 00;33;09;03
Lindsey
And we find our people at Design Camp. And it's just so nice that like we let everyone know, like, listen, we're going to be super vulnerable and we're going to let you know kind of the ins and outs. But this really only works with you guys. Also, let your guard down and are vulnerable too. And I think that's probably the biggest thing I think when I look back on like all the Design Camps, that's the biggest thing that people take away is that they have like friends for life, people that they can call after Design Camp.
00;33;09;03 - 00;33;44;04
Lindsey
They can like it. I mean, we have campers that go on vacations together. Yeah. Like they have their oh, we have some in Europe right now. There's a group of I think five or six of them who are in Europe right now on a trip when we were at Camp. So we just wrapped our spring 2023 session because that was two weeks ago now and we had campers from our first Design Camps, as in three years ago, that were currently on a reunion trip to Florida and there were 16 of them there and they all go together and everyone always goes to market together and round top together.
00;33;44;04 - 00;34;18;15
Lindsey
And there's just something so amazing about showing up to an industry event forever after and having not just familiar faces but close intimate friendships that you can just kind of pick up where you left off. Although I have heard that some of these groups are on a group text all day, every day, nonstop texting, and people have literally had to silence the notifications because they are that close and it's just being paying them nonstop like, yeah, listen, businesses can be really lonely, really lonely, especially if you don't have a team, you know?
00;34;18;15 - 00;34;45;24
Lindsey
And so I think that one of my favorite parts about Design Camp is just having the community and having to be able to walk away feeling like, Wow, I have people in my corner, you know? So we obviously go through based off of my unique retreat experience, I really try to make sure that Design Camp is very action plan hard facts like really jam packed with actual key information.
00;34;45;27 - 00;35;17;11
Anastasia
But even with that said, I still look at camp that 30% of the value is what Lindsey, myself and our teams put into it. And 70% of the value is what you learn from other campers and those friendships that you take. And so to those listening, I launched the podcast I guess last year to kind of get a little bit of that Design Camp feel and inside look into the industry on a more accessible, larger scale.
00;35;17;13 - 00;35;44;15
Anastasia
But I think what makes camp just really the next level is the fact that you can reply with questions, you can interrupt us at any point. It's a very casual and we like to have things interjected so that we can learn from everyone and to have those carved out moments where we do just allow for conversation with people that are in business the same amount of time as you, and then also with people who have been in business for way longer than you.
00;35;44;15 - 00;36;04;07
Lindsey
So you have a lot of opportunities to learn from different people. So Linds, at this point, I feel like we should actually explain what Design Camp is. And let's start by what it was when we launched with the Wayback. So you had come to me and said, Hey, I have this perfect place. I think you were. I can't remember how many you were working with.
00;36;04;09 - 00;36;21;18
Lindsey
And I remember coming out and I was like, Okay, I'm going to go on this trip to Austin. We're going to like, go to this place. We're going to kind of sit down and plan out everything. And the Wayback was just so perfect because it's this really beautiful little kind of bed and breakfast run by a mother and daughter.
00;36;21;20 - 00;36;42;24
Lindsey
And it's like little cabins. And I think it was between like 17 and 20 people that we had. I can't even remember. No, it sleeps 14 people like with some of our stuff, I guess. Yeah. So with us, yeah, we didn't even get to stay on property. We would slip back to my house every night and be back for breakfast at seven the next morning.
00;36;42;26 - 00;37;06;14
Lindsey
So, yeah, it was the little cabins and people would bunk up and now it was like very nice cabins, really beautiful. But it definitely was like summer camp vibes, grown up version. Yeah. And we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves. First, Lindsey and I were like, Well, we're going to teach all of us.
00;37;06;18 - 00;37;23;16
Lindsey
We're going to teach everything. I'm so frigging glad we don't do that. We're we're going to people and we and I can't even remember how we, like, really picked the topics, but I think we were just like, we need to talk about the client experience and at that time, kind of like what we were going through in our own business.
00;37;23;16 - 00;37;44;19
Lindsey
So for me building, I was building up this kind of client experience that we have now. And so you had obviously really helped me with that by building as an investment guide and all of these tools to help us create that client experience for our clients that really propelled us in getting the type of clients that we really wanted.
00;37;44;22 - 00;38;08;14
Anastasia
And so I know that we talked about that, we talked about trade accounts, we talked about marketing, we talked about systems and processes. Like, I mean, we tried to pack so much within the three or four days or and we would have dinners together. And I mean, we really just kind of spent we didn't leave the place like we did not leave and we still don't leave,
00;38;08;19 - 00;38;44;29
Anastasia
But it was so small and intimate. And I remember, oh my gosh, do you remember our first camp? And we just cried pretty much the whole time. The whole time. The whole time. And I think it was just like all of this, like work and like this dream that we both kind of realized we wanted to do. And it and the people that are at our first camp, I mean, they just hold such a special place because they believed in us, like they were the ones that said, yes, like I believe in you and I want to learn from you and I still get choked up because it's like, you know, sometimes, you know, you hope
00;38;44;29 - 00;38;58;00
Lindsey
you're doing it right and you go like, I don't know if this is going to work. And you just like putting it all out there and like, we were just like really putting it out there. I really felt that at the time and we just had the most amazing campers and the fact that we cried and they didn't.
00;38;58;00 - 00;39;16;22
Lindsey
I mean, maybe they did, but like, they did not let us know that that was crazy. But it was just so much fun. And it really made me realize, okay, we do like what we were feeling about the community and the sense of bringing people together and learning and just talking about business for 3 to 4 days.
00;39;16;25 - 00;39;41;07
Lindsey
That was like super confirmed by that camp. That was something to me. Yes. And meanwhile, at the Wayback, the venue was so great. But we literally Lindsey, I are schlepping concrete tables from one location to another to set up for dates. We were just doing so much work. Lexie there. And Erin, you had two of your employees.
00;39;41;07 - 00;40;16;06
Lindsey
Yes. And we were just, you know, if I had employees, if I knew, I probably had Katie at that point, but she was not there. So there were really only three or four of us. And it was, yeah, it was kind of a madhouse. But and so at the beginning that first one because we could only fit 14 people sleeping there, we slept off off property, We had a couple of people who were local who would drive in, so we had about 20 campers and the way Lindsey and I set it up is the only way we could make it at all sustainable financially is that we had to do two weeks back to back.
00;40;16;06 - 00;40;43;27
Anastasia
So each week was a different session, different campers, and we did that at the Wayback for. So we do three or four rounds at the Wayback. DID Well, you know, our first one was in February of 2020, right before COVID. Yeah. I mean we really, by a miracle got out and then we canceled. I think we canceled our October, we postponed October, and then we had a spring 20, 21 year.
00;40;44;01 - 00;41;03;10
Anastasia
And we did fall 2021 at the Wayback. And then we got to the point where, I mean, our camp was selling out in 5 minutes online. It was selling so fast and people were so eager to get to join. And Lindsey and I were like, This is so much work. It takes so much out of us.
00;41;03;10 - 00;41;22;27
Anastasia
And two weeks at a time is a big chunk plus, you know, six or eight months planning. So we were like, okay, how do we scale this without losing the magic of Design Camp? And that has been the biggest challenge in our trajectory of hosting Design Camp together. It was like, how do we make this something that's profitable?
00;41;23;01 - 00;41;42;13
Anastasia
I still wonder if we averaged out our hours and actually logged our time, it's not a profitable thing because we spend so many hundreds of thousands of hours planning each one. But just from a covering costs perspective, we knew that we needed to scale. And Lindsey had asked me, okay, well, if you could have camp anywhere, where would it be?
00;41;42;16 - 00;42;04;15
Anastasia
And I immediately was like, Well, literally, I could have it anywhere. I would want it at a Kelly Wearstler hotel, I'd want it at the proper place. And so we sent out well, Lindsey's team sent out RFPs, tried to get some numbers on things, and we started to look. After inquiring a few places, we realized, hey, the proper might not be out of reach.
00;42;04;18 - 00;42;28;19
Anastasia
And it was important for us that even though it wasn't going to be cute little cabins that the experience of when you come and invest in Design Camp, you're staying in a place that inspires seeing and beautiful and feels like a luxury and the proper definitely hit all of that but what made the proper in my opinion, the most ideal location for us to scale to was just the level of service.
00;42;28;19 - 00;42;52;13
Anastasia
I mean, the level of service at the proper is second to none. Why everyone there is just amazing. Like they really do a great job at picking their team. So once we figured out that we could make this work financially, we were like, Well, how do we keep the mystique and the intimacy of what Design Camp started as when we were just in those little cabins.
00;42;52;15 - 00;43;19;29
Anastasia
And we realized that by breaking people up into small groups of about 14 people based on years of experience, we could do rotations so that you can sit and listen to design presentations or systems and processes next to someone who's been in business for a similar amount of time. Are you? Not that your questions would always be identical, but they would be likely more relevant than sitting next to someone who just hasn't even launched their business yet.
00;43;20;06 - 00;43;42;21
Anastasia
And that way we could really cater each of those small group sessions to the group that we're speaking to. And in order to be able to do those five rotations, we brought in our teams and this is where I feel really we came to the next level at Design Camp because Lindsey has her team of designers doing the presentation on design presentations.
00;43;42;23 - 00;43;44;21
Anastasia
She has her
00;43;44;21 - 00;44;05;17
Anastasia
Director of Operations is teaching systems and processes of literally how she runs the business because as our businesses have scaled, we are not necessarily the people who are doing all of these specialties. And so we wanted to bring in the people who were doing the specialties. Yeah, I really think that that was probably one of the best shifts that we made.
00;44;05;17 - 00;44;23;13
Lindsey
I mean, obviously it was nice because we were bringing in people to help us right? At the same time. I mean, they're just like I said, like I am not technical . I did not go to school for that. So if someone asked me a question on CAD design, I would not be able to help because I don't do that.
00;44;23;15 - 00;44;49;13
Lindsey
So it's nice to be able to have our senior designers who teach the design presentation, who are doing the legwork of all of that, teach that program or that session. And we still teach sessions on pricing. So Anastasia and I cover pricing, we cover how to grow a team. So there are things that we are now more an expert in and our own business that speak to more than certain people on our team.
00;44;49;16 - 00;45;14;18
Lindsey
But I think that that's what was kind of scary to do at first. I know my designers are like, Wait, you want us to be your clients like they are troopers. They are so great to do that. But I think again, it just was such a great pivot and I'm just so glad it worked out. And I think that it was risky, but it really does pay off because I do think that it's really valuable to learn from the people who are doing that work every day internally.
00;45;14;20 - 00;45;46;09
Anastasia
Yeah, our team, the IDCO team, comes as well. And we have a session, a small group rotation on websites and copywriting and we have our lead copywriter there literally doing audits on your website, telling you the exact formulas to put in to write beautiful, eloquent copy. And you know, there's the saying that those who can't teach, I feel like Design Camp is the antithesis of this and says, no, we're going to learn from the people who are actually doing this and it's really special to be able to do that.
00;45;46;11 - 00;46;11;22
Anastasia
So now we've scaled and I want to talk about what Design Camp is now. So it is a four day experience. You check in about 1:00 in the afternoon at whichever property we're at. It's always going to be at a proper location either in Santa Monica, in Los Angeles or here in Austin this fall 2023. We will be back in Santa monica and then spring 2024 will be back in Austin.
00;46;11;24 - 00;46;33;23
Anastasia
And over the course of four days, we have six or seven different keynote presentations with Lindsey and I and then our celebrity designer guests, as well as the five small group rotations. And we have these beautiful dinners on the rooftop every night, as long as it's not raining, which it did in spring. And then we have dinners and a beautiful restaurant inside.
00;46;33;26 - 00;46;53;10
Anastasia
And the final day on day four, we have a nice guided implementation time where all of our staff that was teaching is now available to ask more specific questions. If you weren't able to get it answered. But I want to talk about what we're covering at camp, because every camp we pivot a little bit and some camps will pivot more than others.
00;46;53;12 - 00;47;26;06
Anastasia
And I feel like this spring we changed a lot up that will be carrying through, moving forward. We listen to people's feedback. Yeah, we ask our employees to ask everyone during dinner what they like, what they don't like, and we really take into account what people want to hear or maybe what didn't work. And so I always think that like the evolutions that we've had at Design Camp always come back from campers and, and our own review of what didn't work and what works just like how we do with the project and I'm sure you guys do too.
00;47;26;06 - 00;47;53;23
Anastasia
But I think that it's really important and I kind of like that we change things up a bit because it also brings people back because they want to learn about something different that maybe we didn't cover when they were the first time. Yeah, absolutely. We have about 10 to 15% consistently that are repeat campers that have been there a year before and implemented everything we were taught and they're like, I'm ready to hear it again so I can take out the pieces that maybe I glazed over the first time.
00;47;53;23 - 00;48;17;07
Anastasia
So some of the additions we have brought to Design Camp as of recently, the biggest one that I feel like is a total game changer and I feel really blessed that Brittney joined us is understanding your numbers and financial planning for interior designers. We have our CFO who specializes in financial planning and advice for interior designers, Brittany Vier, who came out and taught those small group sessions.
00;48;17;07 - 00;48;39;26
Anastasia
So you're sitting next to someone who's been in business for three years asking the same questions, because a lot of us started, our businesses right before COVID or in the boom of COVID and we're so swamped and so busy that sometimes you weren't able to actually look back and say, Well, wait, I need to assess this. What are my profit margins?
00;48;39;26 - 00;49;02;24
Anastasia
Where am I making the most money? Can I pivot my offerings to grow the most profitable sections of my business? And Brittany really breaks it down for us. Lindsey You want to talk us through design documentation, presentations like I said, our senior designers are teaching design, documentation and presentations. And this session what I really like is we kind of show you and walk through.
00;49;02;24 - 00;49;28;09
Lindsey
I mean, obviously designers like we're not teaching anybody how to design, right? But we're teaching how we are organized within our design and how we do client approvals, how we showcase the material selection, how we're doing client onboarding as far as homework, like what we've done to reduce the amount of revisions we go through and show you our spec book.
00;49;28;11 - 00;49;47;13
Lindsey
And one of the things that I really, really wanted to do with Design Camp is that I really wanted to be able to show like our exact thing. So it's not just like, here's a copy of what our client homework looks like is literally what our client homework looks like and what we send to our clients.
00;49;47;13 - 00;50;12;04
Lindsey
So same thing with the spec book and we really go through like from the time that they become a client to the time that we're installing and they go through that whole process and they're showing everything from how we do our presentation, how we grab feedback, how we do revisions, how we work with our proposals, how we do technical drawings, how we then present all of that to the contractor.
00;50;12;04 - 00;50;36;11
Lindsey
If it's a larger remodel or tear down, like I said, the spec book, and then how we kind of like wrap it up into a pretty bow and then how we are for that client with the design process. So another addition, or I guess you could say that we've just revised and made it really specific. We have tried dozens of different design softwares and obviously IDCO
00;50;36;14 - 00;51;17;00
Anastasia
We've worked with thousands of interior designers and I have kind of this amazing bucket of knowledge from not just what Lindsey has learned specifically in her business, but what all of our other clients have as well. And we've really dug in deep to teaching studio designer as your design software, and we are really excited to welcome studio designer to Design Camp to do very intimate, in-person small group session studio designer training where we can talk about the accounting side of the business, where we can talk about how to be tracking those numbers, how to be doing your proposals, how to turn those into purchase orders, as well as how to be bringing in your other
00;51;17;00 - 00;51;44;26
Lindsey
overhead expenses so that a studio designer can truly be your one and only accounting software. While it's also your project software. That's been really exciting because they obviously know a lot more about it than we do. And I feel like we learn so much from every time we get to talk to Robert and the team. Yeah, and you know, it was really important to bring them on or to talk about them because obviously we had made the switch a couple of years ago from Ivy Houzz Pro to City Designer before we were talking about Ivy and how we use that.
00;51;44;28 - 00;52;15;29
Lindsey
And when we go through our system and process session, we are talking a lot about the software systems that we use. So it only made sense to bring them on, really be able to like deep dive into that because, you know, like you said, there's so many different software systems and as a designer it's not the end all, be all, but it's definitely, for me, the biggest improvement that I've made in my business from when we switched, like, I can't know, I'll talk about Studio Designer all day long again.
00;52;16;02 - 00;52;46;09
Lindsey
So behind the product and what it's done for us. But yeah, I think it was really important to bring it on because it is hard software. It's not hard, it's just a learning curve and learning about it. So it's nice to bring on that professional that Robert is the guy who set up our company within Studio Designer so he's so knowledgeable and so it made so much more sense to have him there rather than me kind of just teaching what I've learned in the last year.
00;52;46;16 - 00;53;06;24
Anastasia
Right. And moving forward, we're switching that from a general keynote with the entire group to the small group sessions where you're going to get an even more hands-on experience. So then we talk about portfolio and website audits. I think that's really important, obviously here at I.T. So we do branding and web design, both template and custom versions for interior designers.
00;53;06;24 - 00;53;36;18
Anastasia
But I think when someone already has one implemented, it can be really hard to find someone who's willing to guide you through what you've already built in versus saying you have to start from scratch. So I really love that session and I'm grateful for our team to be there to teach that. One of the keynotes that I mentioned that Lindsey and I do together is pricing for interior designers, and it's so amazing to sit there with our group of usually about 70 campers and ask to raise your hand if you are charging $100 or less.
00;53;36;23 - 00;53;55;01
Anastasia
Raise your hand if you're charging $150 or less. And we go through and you can see this general pool of who's charging what, how much they're charging so that you can quickly say, hey, there is clearly room for me to raise my rates. I think that's really amazing. And then Lindsey just breaks down her three part process of pricing.
00;53;55;06 - 00;54;15;22
Anastasia
Again, I'll have her episode links in the show notes here for you. But it's just brilliant the way that she does it for the most clean, clean for the client, clean for you internally process possible, but also make sure that there's nothing you're paying for out of pocket. And that's just a mistake we see a lot of designers make where they are paying costs.
00;54;15;22 - 00;54;40;29
Lindsey
That is definitely a client cost, and she's really eloquently outlined that for us. Yeah, and I love that this year we brought in a copy of our actual proposal that we provide to our clients. Think the proposal building is such a stressful task to do. I actually get a lot of DMS from designers who are like, I have this project and here's the scope and am I pricing that out?
00;54;40;29 - 00;55;00;21
Anastasia
Right? And I just love that we really go in depth about what we include on the proposal and how we price it and that the tips and tricks that we do to make it not so overwhelming for the client. And because that is really like the first impression right? So I love that we provided that this time.
00;55;00;21 - 00;55;24;13
Anastasia
And one of my favorites that I actually got to teach this time around because Katie was on maternity leave was our system and process session, which we really just go through our whole kind of from client experience down to client off boarding. We do a real big deep dive into the procurement phase and we show you our process chart.
00;55;24;14 - 00;55;49;28
Anastasia
We show you again everything that we use in our business to make things organized. And we talk a lot about the things that didn't work and why we changed it to implement new things. And we talked about the things that were super successful. And this is where we showed a lot about studio designers because we're obviously talking a lot about the procurement, but it was a hefty session, I will say.
00;55;50;00 - 00;56;11;21
Lindsey
But I always thought it was nice because it was the first time I really taught it. I obviously did it like put it together with Katie, but she usually teaches it and it was so nice to really see how people just like, soak up that information because yeah, because it's not taught at design school. Even if you did get your degree in this, like this is not the information they're teaching you how to be an interior designer.
00;56;11;21 - 00;56;42;16
Anastasia
They aren't teaching you how to run an interior design business and the business of that. And I know when I was getting feedback from campers who like Lindsey Session was or in the future, Katie session is just mind blowing. I know everyone's always like, I want a Katie, I need a Katie. I’m like, you can't have her! Not available. So then we have a general keynote with Caroline Pinkston who is our director of PR and she handles PR for dozens of interior designers around the country.
00;56;42;23 - 00;57;01;07
Anastasia
And we talk about PR and marketing and the shifts that are constantly happening. We touch on social media there as well, but we have a specific session on social media which is so helpful for people because like, what is the latest and greatest? What is happening on Instagram? Do I use hashtags? Do I not have all of those things that are constantly pivoting?
00;57;01;07 - 00;57;25;08
Anastasia
And then one that we've added most recently also is growth strategies. And what we mean by that is how do you grow your team with bodies and also how do you grow your business from a financial side? Things through getting the deepest discounts from your trade vendors and how to get the biggest profit margin with your markup. Yeah, I really like that one.
00;57;25;08 - 00;57;50;04
Lindsey
And obviously didn't do that in the beginning because I felt like I couldn't really speak to a lot of it because I wasn't really a leader or quote unquote boss at that point. I had one employee and so I felt like, you know, that was one that was nice to wait on a little bit. And really that's the one I think that we opened up a lot really with because we talk about being a leader and how to be a good leader.
00;57;50;04 - 00;58;10;23
Anastasia
And that's a lot in our work. And we've and now we've kind of combined it with trade discount, growing your revenue too, because at the end of the day we're all here to make money and be successful. However you define success for you and so that is a one that I really love because it's also really interactive.
00;58;10;23 - 00;58;30;25
Anastasia
I think that when people talk a lot afterwards about their kind of ideas and gaining inspiration from other people's ideas, I know I have when we talk about it at dinner, so I love that one that we bring in. Yeah, I feel as though six or seven years into my business and going from me plus one part time person to now there's like 20 of us.
00;58;30;27 - 00;58;54;16
Anastasia
We talk a lot candidly about how you need to be very intentional with growing your team because once your team grows, it's really hard to scale it back and I shared a very recent, very personal struggle that we did have to scale back a bit and how incredibly difficult that is. And we just share how to make sure you don't have to go.
00;58;54;18 - 00;59;28;17
Anastasia
So it's just such a joy to be able to feel like I can talk about the things that are hardest in my business and talk about things that are killing it and things that, you know, my team loves me for and things that I'm really proud we were able to implement in our small business and the kind of policies we have for maternity leave and how we're able to give unlimited PTO and all of these different things that we can share how we're able to afford that as a small business, how we're able to make the decisions to bring that in, and how if you don't have the ability to afford certain benefits, what are
00;59;28;17 - 00;59;49;24
Anastasia
some benefits you can provide that don't actually cost you anything but mean a lot to someone's quality of life? Yeah, I think it's important to talk about the highs and lows for sure. So wrapping up, I know when do you have to hop off here, but we are super excited to announce our next Design Camp, which will be happening this fall, October 23rd to 26th at the Santa Monica proper.
00;59;49;24 - 01;00;12;08
Anastasia
And I am dying over our keynote speaker lineup, which we didn't even touch on. That's something we brought in to bring in our celebrity guests, which has just been so exciting personally so exciting, you know? I mean, I know, but we're so excited to be welcoming. Bria Hamill in Lindsey said that the Bria podcast episode was her favorite ever.
01;00;12;15 - 01;00;38;19
Anastasia
It felt super, super personal to her as she just recently moved in, expanded her show room. We have Susanna Simon Pietri of Chango and Co coming, who is just this, just the coolest modern, beautiful style within the expansive team. She has over 20 employees now. Caitlin Flemming will be joining us and we'll be celebrating her latest book launch at Design Camp, which is such a treat for us to be able to do.
01;00;38;19 - 01;00;57;09
Anastasia
And we always, always, always like to weave in quite a few surprises. So you never know who's going to show up at Design Camp to come say, Hi, Lindsey. Thank you so much for going down this memory lane. I'm super proud of us for not crying throughout the whole thing. I know it was nice to look back on like ten years, how we started, where we came from and what we're doing now.
01;00;57;09 - 01;01;23;19
Anastasia
And I mean, it's only been three years really that we've been putting this on. And I, you know, I hope that it continues. And I just I really love that we were able to kind of like sit back and kind of take a look at the success of Design Camp and what we're doing, because I do feel like it's such a special event, and I've said this after every camp, we say this over and over how lucky we are to view, able to do this and to experience it ourselves.
01;01;23;19 - 01;01;48;15
Anastasia
And I, I just feel so lucky and blessed to have you in my life and that we're doing this. And, you know, it's always nice to be able to take a beat and like, look at your own kind of journey, which, you know, we never really do know. So this is such a treat for me. We feel like every camp as we get closer, I'm pulling my hair out and I'm like, This is it.
01;01;48;15 - 01;02;08;24
Anastasia
We're not doing it again. This is so much work. And then as the week wraps up and people are walking up to us with tears streaming down their face, seeing how their life has been changed in four days is the most fulfilling passion project I could ever imagine. And there's just no one in the world that I could ever do this with besides Lindsey.
01;02;08;24 - 01;02;31;19
Anastasia
So thank you for carving out some extra time for me today. I know you're over me. After we just went through camp, I will talk to you soon and tickets are now on sale linked in the show notes here for you. So we will see you in October. Lindsey. See you then. Thank you so much, Lindsey, for joining me today.
01;02;31;19 - 01;02;58;23
Anastasia
As we chatted down memory lane as a reminder, design tickets for Fall 2023 are now on sale. The four day inclusive business retreat will be hosted at the Santa monica proper October 20 through 26, with keynote speakersBria Hammel, Chango and CO and Caitlin Flemming. We are so excited to bring you more jam packed information than ever before and we hope to see so many familiar faces again.
01;02;58;26 - 01;03;22;29
Anastasia
You can purchase your tickets at the link in the show notes and make sure to get on the waitlist because the event sells out quickly. We'll be back in Austin in spring of 2024 and fall 2024 will be back in Los Angeles. Until then, I'm your host, Anastasia Casey, and this is the interior collective.
Amber Lewis: Growing Pains & Industry Stardom
Episode Details
Noteworthy success is always the goal for an interior design business. But when a studio expands into a full blown lifestyle brand, the lines can blur when it comes to corporate structure. With an ever-changing industry and internal roles evolving to fill gaps that come with growing pains, managing who does what in each department can prove complicated. Today, I’m welcoming Amber Lewis of Amber Interiors to walk us through her studio’s structure after spending a decade as a top designer. We’re chatting all about repeat book deals, product licensing, and what comes next for an interior designer of her caliber.
In this episode, Amber and I discuss:
- How to run two separate, successful business entities
- Who you should hire first
- Employee structure within an interior design studio
- How to stay involved as your studio grows
- How to grow your business without investors
- What to look for in a brick and mortar storefront
- 2 key tips for writing a book
- How to expand beyond your signature style
- And more!
Use code ‘BONUS15’ for 15% off sitewide at idco.studio
Thanks for listening to this episode of The Interior Collective. You can listen to our episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or access all the show notes on our website.
You can follow along with Amber on Instagram, discover more of her work on her website, and shop her curated home decor at Ayr Barns.
SHOW NOTES
The Interior Collective: Website
IDCO Studio: Website | Instagram | YouTube
The Identité Collective: Blog | Instagram | YouTube
Design Camp: Website | Instagram
Becca Interiors: How to Source Everything
Episode Details
After years of light, bright, and airy design trends, we’re finally seeing the industry embrace color, pattern, and vintage goods in a big way. Today’s guest has always used these features thoughtfully, in a way that feels collected, warm, and full of character. Becca Casey of Becca Interiors is joining me to dig into two really critical topics for running an interior design business. From walking us through sourcing all the things, to the systems and processes required for contractors and builders to execute her beautifully nuanced designs, Becca is so generously sharing the details in this jam-packed episode.
In this episode, Becca and I discuss:
- How to use color and pattern with intention
- Reliable sources for quality interior furnishings
- How to find the right trade partners
- Which items are best to source from trade partners
- How to ensure a vintage piece is authentic and high quality
- Tips for building relationships with vendors and artists
- The best practices for working with contractors and builders
- How to foster close working relationships with builders and contractors
- And more!
Software + Services
IDCO Contractor Welcome Guide
Paint + Wallpaper
Farrow & Ball
Benjamin Moore
Bennison Fabrics
Lewis and Wood
Antoinette Poisson
Cabbage & Roses
Antique Flea Markets
The Annual Cotswold Art & Antiques
the Shepton Mallet Antique Fair
Arding Antiques and Collector Fair
Déballage Flea Market
Use code ‘BONUS15’ for 15% off sitewide at idco.studio
Thanks for listening to this episode of The Interior Collective. You can listen to our episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or access all the show notes on our website.
You can follow along with Becca on Instagram, discover more of her work on her website, and shop her curated home decor at Ayr Barns.
SHOW NOTES
The Interior Collective: Website
IDCO Studio: Website | Instagram | YouTube
The Identité Collective: Blog | Instagram | YouTube
Design Camp: Website | Instagram
Kate Abt: When Your Signature Style Trends
Episode Details
In an industry where your look literally defines your brand, the pressure to find your signature style can be overwhelming. Defining your look in spite of trends can be critical to the success of your studio and crucial to attracting your ideal clients. So what happens when your look starts trending? Can you still stand out in a sea of lookalikes? Today’s guest is helping us navigate all of those questions and more. Kate Abt of Kate Abt Design opened her studio over a decade ago and immediately established her iconic aesthetic–timeless, collected, and livable. With her English roots and California influences, she’s found the beautiful balance between classic and effortless interiors, despite the ebbs and flows of design trends.
In this episode, Kate and I discuss:
- How to identify your signature style
- How interior design trends evolve over time
- Which elements in a design are important to remain timeless
- How to combat the pressure to follow trending styles
- Finding the balance between fresh design and trending design
- Tips for attracting your ideal clients
- And more!
Mentioned in This Episode:
The Expert
Thanks for listening to this episode of The Interior Collective. You can listen to our episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or access all the show notes on our website.
You can follow along with Kate on Instagram, Pinterest, and discover more of her work on her website.
SHOW NOTES
The Interior Collective: Website
IDCO Studio: Website | Instagram | YouTube
The Identité Collective: Blog | Instagram | YouTube
Design Camp: Website | Instagram
Arvin Olano: Elevated Video Content for Interior Designers
Episode Details
Things change rapidly in marketing and keeping up with where, how and when to show up is more than a full-time job. But one thing that's become abundantly clear the last few years is that video reigns supreme across social platforms–and it's not going anywhere anytime soon. If you’re an interior designer and struggling to find the time and budget to dedicate to creating elevated video content, we’re addressing all of those concerns in today’s episode. Digital creator, designer, and interior stylist, Arvin Olano, found his second career through the launch of his incredibly successful YouTube channel in 2020. Now, with over 361,000 subscribers following his journey, he’s cracked the code for navigating the logistics of video production for interior designers. In today’s episode, Arvin is generously walking us through creating an editorial calendar, content planning, tips for outsourcing, monetizing video content and so much more.
In this episode, Arvin and I discuss:
- Why video content is valuable for interior designers
- How to make the most of a film day
- How to create an editorial calendar
- Best tips for getting comfortable in front of a camera
- YouTube best practices
- How to push through creative burnout
- The importance of trends in video production
- And more!
Mentioned in This Episode:
RUGS USA Collab
Vlogging Camera
Final Cut Pro Tutorial
Video Editing Terms
Thanks for listening to this episode of The Interior Collective. You can listen to our episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or access all the show notes on our website.
You can follow along with Arvin on Instagram, YouTube, and discover more of his work on his website.
SHOW NOTES
The Interior Collective: Website
IDCO Studio: Website | Instagram | YouTube
The Identité Collective: Blog | Instagram | YouTube
Design Camp: Website | Instagram
Laura Hodges: Leaning Into Sustainable, Ethical Design
Episode Details.
It’s no secret that the interior design industry can be one of over-consumption, unnecessary waste, harmful toxins and unsustainable resource harvesting. However, we believe that sustainability should be at the forefront of every project. In today’s episode, I’m chatting with LEED AP and GREEN AP interior designer Laura Hodges about how she implements more sustainable practices in her design business. Laura is taking us through her technical education in environmentally conscious interior design and how she puts it into practice in her design work.
In this episode, Laura and I discuss:
- How to forge a path to sustainable design
- How sustainable design impacts a home’s livability
- How to encourage clients to accept ethical design
- Best practices for repurposing and reusing materials
- Which elements of interior design work are well recycled
- Impactful sustainability practices interior designers should implement
- And more!
Mentioned in This Episode:
U.S. Green Building Council / LEED Website
Sustainable Furnishings Council / Green AP
Thanks for listening to this episode of The Interior Collective. You can listen to our episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or access all the show notes on our website.
You can follow along with Laura on Instagram, and discover more of her work on her website.
SHOW NOTES
The Interior Collective: Website
IDCO Studio: Website | Instagram | YouTube
The Identité Collective: Blog | Instagram | YouTube
Design Camp: Website | Instagram
Renee Bush: Brand Strategy & Positioning for Interior Designers
Episode Details.
In this economy, turning away potential clients seems unrealistic, but it’s the only way to make room for your target audience. In today’s episode, interior design brand strategist, Renee Bush, talks us through identifying your ideal clients and positioning your brand to reach them. Renee has helped top designers like Studio McGee, Light & Dwell, and Boxwood Interiors with her proven strategy for identifying the unique differentiator that sets every interior designer apart from the rest. In this episode, we’ll help you identify your ideal client, personify them, and curate your services to both attract and serve them at every stage of life.
In this episode, Renee and I discuss:
- How to best identify your business goals
- What an ideal client means to an interior designer
- Why identifying a target audience is valuable
- The purpose of finding your unique differentiator
- How to find your unique differentiator
- 5 key steps to identify, clarify, and target your ideal clients
- And more!
Mentioned in This Episode:
Light & Dwell
Studio McGee
Boxwood Ave Interiors
Thanks for listening to this episode of The Interior Collective. You can listen to our episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or access all the show notes on our website.
You can follow along with Renee on Instagram, and discover more of her work on her website.
SHOW NOTES
The Interior Collective: Website
IDCO Studio: Website | Instagram | YouTube
The Identité Collective: Blog | Instagram | YouTube
Design Camp: Website | Instagram
Carley Page Summers: Styling for Photoshoots vs. Styling for Living
Episode Details.
The reality is that styling a home for your clients is different than styling for a photoshoot. What looks beautiful in person might not exactly translate over camera. If you want to put your best foot forward on camera, online, and in-person, today’s guest has mastered it all. Carley Page Summers first explored her love for interior design through photographing and styling spaces. Now, she brings her refined editorial eye and skill for crafting a visual narrative to her interior design projects and her work is simply unmatched. Today, Carley is walking us through the key differences between styling interiors for photo, video, and lifestyle applications.
In this episode, Carley and I discuss:
- How different art forms can inform and inspire interior design
- The primary differences between interior design and interior styling
- Skill sets required for interior styling, photography, and design
- How to style spaces for lifestyle applications
- How finishes and materials evoke emotion
- Tips for a positive collaboration between designers and stylists
- How to successfully prepare for a photoshoot
- The anatomy of a perfect shot list
- Capturing interiors on photo and video
- And more!
Mentioned in This Episode:
Virtual Design Services on The Expert
Book - Sacred Spaces
River & Bord Collection
Thanks for listening to this episode of The Interior Collective. You can listen to our episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or access all the show notes on our website.
You can follow along with Carley on Instagram, and discover more of their work on her website.
SHOW NOTES
The Interior Collective: Website
IDCO Studio: Website | Instagram | YouTube
The Identité Collective: Blog | Instagram | YouTube
Design Camp: Website | Instagram
Chango & Co: Finding Joy in Social Media Marketing
Episode Details.
Love it, hate it, or maybe a little intimidated by it, the role of social media in the interior design industry cannot be ignored. While some designers landed their first big project through their extensive Instagram following, others may find the fickle algorithm, the constant demands of the platform, and the thought of showing up on camera less than appealing. If you don’t aspire to expand from interior designer to lifestyle influencer, is it still worth the effort to show up on social media? And if so, how?
Today’s guest, Susana Simonpietri, Creative Director and Founder of Chango & Co., has over 286k followers and was one of the first interior designers to see Instagram’s marketing potential when the platform first launched. Despite overseeing a wildly successful interior design studio made up of a team of almost 20 individuals, Susana still runs Chango & Co.’s Instagram entirely on her own! Today, she is generously sharing how her studio shows up in such an authentic, successful, and sustainable way on Instagram, and we’ve got a lot of ground to cover.
In this episode, Susana and I discuss:
- Which social media platforms interior designers should invest in
- How to balance social media and running a business
- Creating and maintaining an editorial calendar
- Social media tools for interior designers
- How to review social media analytics
- Sustainable engagement strategies for designers
- Managing dms about product sources
- How to find a community on social media
- Best practices for using Instagram engagement tools
- How to budget for content creation
- How to curate a grid that showcases your aesthetic
- And more!
Thanks for listening to this episode of The Interior Collective. You can listen to our episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or access all the show notes on our website.
You can follow along with Chango & Co. on Instagram, Pinterest, and discover more of their work on their website.
SHOW NOTES
The Interior Collective: Website
IDCO Studio: Website | Instagram | YouTube
The Identité Collective: Blog | Instagram | YouTube
Design Camp: Website | Instagram
Unique Kitchens & Baths: A Crash Course on Custom Cabinetry
Episode Details.
We’ve all heard the age-old saying, “The kitchen is the heart of the home,” and oftentimes it’s also the top priority for interior design clients. Today’s guest has dedicated her business to the art of custom cabinetry and kitchen design and with over 15 years of experience, she has a lot of tips to share. Tanya Smith-Shiflett, owner and founder of Unique Kitchens & Baths, has seen and thought of everything when it comes to balancing form and function in these well-loved spaces. IDCO Studio has worked closely with Tanya on a number of projects and I recently had the pleasure of working with her and her team to bring my dream kitchen to life. Working with Unique Kitchens & Baths has been proven invaluable time and time again and I’m so excited to share a fraction of Tanya’s knowledge with you today.
In this episode, Tanya and I discuss:
- Starting a business from the ground up
- Diversifying business services as your business grows
- The behind the scenes of creating custom cabinetry
- Managing accelerated project timelines
- Life-changing kitchen functionality hacks
- Upcoming kitchen trends
- How to work with UKB as an interior designer
- How to estimate pricing for detailed projects
- Managing client budget expectations
- And more!
CONNECT WITH TANYA
Website
Virtual Design Services
Showrooms
The Austin Tudor Kitchen Design Process
The Latest Austin Tudor Kitchen Update
CABINETRY COLLABORATIONS
Lauren Liess
Lauren Liess Podcast Episode
Light & Dwell
Light & Dwell Podcast Episode
Storie Collective
Zöe Feldman
Thanks for listening to this episode of The Interior Collective. You can listen to our episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or access all the show notes on our website.
SHOW NOTES
The Interior Collective: Website
IDCO Studio: Website | Instagram | YouTube
The Identité Collective: Blog | Instagram | YouTube
Design Camp: Website | Instagram
Yond Interiors: The Logistics of Distance Design
Episode Details.
In a post-pandemic world, distance design has become increasingly popular, especially considering the opportunities social media brings to discover designers all over the world. Today’s guest, Julia Miller of Yond Interiors, has perfected the art of high-end distance design and an expert client experience.
Yond Interiors is a boutique interior design studio based in Minneapolis, yet serving clients all over North America. Julia’s interiors have been nationally recognized, for good reason, and she has so much knowledge to share with us today.
In this episode, Julia and I discuss:
- Rebranding an interior design business
- Expanding and hiring a team
- How to work with clients
- Breaking into distance design
- Balancing in-person and distance design projects
- The impact of social media on client inquiries
- What’s included in full-service distance design
- How distance design differs from local projects
- How to vet long-distance inquiries
- Pricing for long-distance client consultations
- How to get proper plans from a distance
- Presenting to long-distance clients
- Deliverables for distance design
- Arranging and billing for site visits
- How to prep for a long-distance install
- And more!
Mentioned in This Episode:
Shore Creative
Growing Your Team with Marie Flanigan
Website Templates for Interior Designers
Design Camp
Better Homes and Garden’s Home Tour
Tips to Getting Published
Design Spec
Thanks for listening to this episode of The Interior Collective. You can listen to our episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or access all the show notes on our website.
You can follow along with Yond Interiors on Instagram, and discover more of their work on their website.
SHOW NOTES
The Interior Collective: Website
IDCO Studio: Website | Instagram | YouTube
The Identité Collective: Blog | Instagram | YouTube
Design Camp: Website | Instagram
Light & Dwell: Defining Your Signature Style
Episode Details.
It’s no secret that the interior design industry can seem really saturated. Between Pinterest, Instagram and other social media platforms, inspiration is everywhere, making it all the more challenging to identify an aesthetic that stands out from the rest. Today’s guests are Aymee and Molly, the dynamic duo behind Light & Dwell, and they have truly mastered the art of distinguishing their brand and defining a signature style. Lately, I’ve seen them take their brand to new heights as they carry that signature style from physical spaces to digital platforms and beyond. In this episode, we’re getting a masterclass in leaning into a signature style as an interior designer and how to use that to differentiate yourself online.
In this episode, Aymee, Molly, and I discuss:
- How to work with a business partner
- Defining a corporate business structure with two lead designers
- How to define your signature style
- What influences design style evolutions
- How to intentionally elevate your brand over time
- How to evolve your style alongside your business
- How to navigate social media authentically
- The importance of a signature style when attracting clients
- And more!
Mentioned in This Episode:
Dada Goldberg
Dwell Well Furniture
Jake Arnold Podcast Interview
Nebraska Lake House Project
Design Camp
Thanks for listening to this episode of The Interior Collective. You can listen to our episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or access all the show notes on our website.
You can follow along with Light & Dwell on Instagram, and discover more of their work on their website.
SHOW NOTES
The Interior Collective: Website
IDCO Studio: Website | Instagram | YouTube
The Identité Collective: Blog | Instagram | YouTube
Design Camp: Website | Instagram
Alison Giese: Interior Design As Your 2nd(+) Career
Episode Details. Oftentimes the path to success isn’t linear and it might take a little longer than expected to find your true calling. In this episode of The Interior Collective, we’re exploring ageism in the interior design industry, how to avoid it, and if it even matters. If social media makes you feel like starting a career in your 40s or 50s is out of the question, today’s guest is here to tell you that it’s never too late to break into the industry. Award-winning interior designer Alison Giese found her passion for design after making two major career changes and she’s sharing her tips for breaking into the interior design industry, and creating a sustainable, thoughtful business with longevity.
In this episode, Alison and I discuss:
- Getting into the interior design industry
- How to overcome fear of failure
- Social media marketing
- Helpful skills for the design industry
- How to avoid ageism
- How to stay relevant while maintaining a unique perspective
- What an interior design career trajectory looks like
- Setting client boundaries and expectations
- And more!
Mentioned in this episode:
- Alison Giese on How to Decorate Podcast
- Clara Jung’s Podcast Episode
- Erika Powell of Urban Grace
- Bunny Williams
Thanks for listening to this episode of The Interior Collective. You can listen to our episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or access all the show notes on our website.
You can follow along with Alison on Instagram, book a call with her on The Expert, and discover more of her work on her website.
SHOW NOTES
The Interior Collective: Website
IDCO Studio: Website | Instagram | YouTube
The Identité Collective: Blog | Instagram | YouTube
Design Camp: Website | Instagram
Bria Hammel: Pivoting in Times of Uncertainty + Expanding Into Commerce
As an interior designer, how do you keep your doors open during times of uncertainty? The short answer: Diversify your revenue streams and always, always be willing to pivot. Walking us through this process is Bria Hammel, the creative director and CEO of Bria Hammel Interiors. After over a decade of business, Bria has become adept at finding ways to keep her studio thriving despite any hardships in the national economy. Full service design, complete furnishing projects, spec homes, designs for full neighborhood developments, design expert consultations, a digital store, a physical store, events, and product collaborations–Bria knows how to do it all and how to do it all really, really well.
In this episode, Bria Hammel and I discuss:
- First steps in starting a business
- Handling stress as a business owner
- How to maintain a small but nimble team
- How to conservatively approach times of economic uncertainty
- Pivoting as a business owner
- The process of opening an e-commerce shop
- Commerce startup costs
- Pop up shops as a way to test brick and mortar locations
- E-design service opportunities and benefits
- Design consultations
- And more!
Mentioned in this episode:
SOFTWARE & SERVICES
- Designer for a Day
- Custom Shopify Development
- EOS: Entrepreneurial Operating System
- Quick Books
- NetSuite
Thanks for listening to this episode of The Interior Collective. You can listen to our episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or access all the show notes on our website.
You can follow along with Bria on Instagram, book a call with her on The Expert, discover more of her work on her website, or shop Brooke & Lou.
SHOW NOTESThe Interior Collective: Website
IDCO Studio: Website | Instagram | YouTube
The Identité Collective: Blog | Instagram | YouTube
Design Camp: Website | Instagram
Heidi Caillier: Going Against the Grain
SHOW NOTES The key to success as an interior designer lies in your own understanding of who you want to be as a designer. Kicking us off on for Season 2 is none other than Heidi Caillier, the Seattle-based interior designer who has successfully grown an impressive following, earned dozens of features in top tier publications, and attracted a devoted clientele base all while avoiding trends and staying committed to her unique outlook as an interior designer.
In this episode, Heidi Caillier and I discuss:
- The importance of controlling the work that you show in your portfolio
- Choosing and collaborating with a photographer
- Where to submit projects for publication
- Print versus digital
- Curating your social media feed
- Where to find inspiration and how to use it
- Evolving your aesthetic and challenging yourself creatively
- How to approach trends
- Tailoring a project for the client and understanding their vision
- And more!
Mentioned in this episode:
MAGAZINES
- VERANDA
- Rue Mag
- Elle Decor
- Architectural Digest
- The World of Interiors
- Homes and Gardens
- House and Garden
- Frederic Magazine
- Luxe Interiors + Design
FEATURES
- Architectural Digest
- Studio McGee
- Amber Interiors
- Wall Street Journal
PRODUCTS + SOURCES
- 1stDibs
- Apparatus Cloud
- Robert Kime Fabric
- Delft Tiles
OTHER CREATIVES
- Haris Kenjar Photography
- Brian Paquette Interiors
Thanks for listening to this episode of The Interior Collective. You can listen to our episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or access all the show notes on our website.
You can follow along with Heidi on Instagram, book a call with her on The Expert, discover endless inspiration on her website, or listen to more of Heidi's wisdom shared on her episode of Design Perspectives with Gail Davis.
SHOW NOTES
The Interior Collective: Website
IDCO Studio: Website | Instagram | YouTube
The Identité Collective: Blog | Instagram | YouTube
Design Camp: Website | Instagram
BONUS EPISODE
Brittney Vier: Financial Planning for Interior Designers
As an interior designer running your own studio, the finances can feel overwhelming. From taxes to payroll, there are so many things to consider. Today’s guest, Brittney Vier, is answering all the most important, the most confusing, and even just the “Where do I start?” questions. This virtual bookkeeper for interior designers shares tips on how not to leave money on the table, ways to ensure your business can stay afloat during times of uncertainty, and who should make up your financial team. Plus, Brittney shares what we can do now, before the end of year, to prepare for a stress-free tax season in this BONUS episode of The Interior Collective.
In this episode, Brittney Vier and I discuss:* The differences between + how to read financial statements * Business entity structures + how they relate to finance * Which finance experts to hire and when * The best accounting software * Budgets, forecasts, and projections * Setting financial goals * Setting salaries * Expenses you can cut back on * Where designers often leave money on the table * The year end financial checklist * Tax deductions * How to prepare for tax season
Mentioned in this episode:* American Express (AMEX) * Chase * Wells Fargo * Gusto * ADP * Quickbooks * Xero * Lindsey Brooke Design * Design Camp * Studio Designer * Design Day Service Product From IDCO Studio * “How to Manage Your Business During Uncertain Times” Webinar With Studio Designer CEO Keith Granet (Note: Even though the event day and time have passed, you can still register and receive access to the recording.)
Thanks for listening to this episode of The Interior Collective. You can listen to our episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or access all the show notes on our website. You can reach out to Brittney at brittney@brittneyvier.com or visit her website.
SHOW NOTES
The Interior Collective: Website
IDCO Studio: Website | Instagram
The Identite Collective: Blog | Instagram
Design Camp: Website | Instagram
So many designers are straddling the fence between an interior design side hustle and a full-time career. Our season one finale of The Interior Collective features Beth Diana Smith discussing her career transition and lessons learned along the way. Beth Diana Smith spent more than a decade working in accounting and finance with a hard earned Bachelor's degree in Business and a Master's degree in Accounting. Later, Beth earned a degree from the New York School of Interior Design while taking night classes working around her day job. Her interior design career started as a side hustle before she left accounting to start Beth Diana Smith Interior Design.
Her designs use expertly curated art, layered textured, bold patterns, and colors to create uniquely sophisticated, layered and luxurious residential designs. Beth has been on NBC and HGTV, and you've seen her work featured in various outlets, including House Beautiful, Elle Decor, Real Simple, Lonny Magazine, Domino, The Wall Street Journal, and the Business of Home.
Today's episode of The Interior Collective is all about Managing Your Interior Design Business - from the softwares we swear by to the intimate workings of hiring, benefits, company policies and managing HR. We’re covering a lot.
In This Episode, I'm covering:
- Our favorite client management software, Dubsado
- Why we insist on using Google Drive, not Dropbox
- Filing organization and naming conventions
- Team communication + inbox zero
- Why you should be using Canva
- Interior design studio job descriptions + titles
- Defining company policies + benefits
- Studio Handbooks
- New Hire Tutorials + Checklist
In full transparency, I spent the majority of 2021 hashing out every detail of my business, defining our company culture, putting new policies in place and building up industry leading benefits for my team. We were lucky enough to bring in a corporate strategist to help us research, define and implement the most useful practices of large companies, on a small scale. This year, we’ve put it all to paper and created a plug and play template for you to adapt in your own design firm.
A quality company culture and smoothly operating business is key to profitability and longevity. Skip back to Episode 2 as I break down the perfect Client Experience for interior designers, but today we’ll pick up where that leaves off with automations and key softwares. I wish I could tell you there is one software program that we suggest for everything but that is just not the case, and I am ok with that. I would rather use a program that was really good at a couple things, than a program that tries to do so much, it doesn’t do anything well.
Before we dig in, just a reminder that today's full transcript, show notes, links and products are all available on our website at www.idco.studio/podcast. I encourage you to listen now, then go back and read to make notes.
That’s enough intro - let’s dig into our must have softwares, starting with my personal favorite, Dubsado.
IDCO would not exist today without Dubsado and as I’ve learned more from our interior design clients and their process, I’ve figured out the best way to utilize Dubsado for interior designers. Before using
This highly anticipated episode of The Interior Collective digs deep into Shea McGee's blueprints for strategic growth, practices for productivity, and insights on incorporating video within your marketing strategy. We welcome Shea McGee Founder and Creative Director of Studio McGee, McGee & Co., author, and Netflix's Emmy Nominated Dream Home Makeover.
Over the last eight years, we’ve watched Shea McGee grow her interior design business into a powerhouse lifestyle brand centered around approachability and beautiful living alongside her husband, Syd. Today’s episode of The Interior Collective digs deep into Shea’s strategic growth, her practices for productivity and insights to incorporating video into your marketing strategy as an interior designer. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Shea for years now as we’ve interviewed her on the blog, and today, I’m so excited to bring that conversation to the podcast.
In this episode, Shea and I discuss:
- Dynamics of working with your partner
- The transitions from design studio in
Since the beginning of the pandemic, it feels like every designer out there - myself included - is branching out to beautiful AirBnBs as fun little getaways. Stretching their design muscles, enjoying some time away from the office, and hoping to turn a little profit. We’re bringing in interior designer and short term rental maven, Blaire Moore, to discuss the ins and outs of making high-end short term rentals profitable as a designer. Balancing a thriving interior design business, running a small fleet of luxury boutique stays, launching a bespoke e-commerce line, starring on her very own episode of Magnolia Network’s “Point of View” - Blaire Moore is both maverick, muse and magician. She’s mastered the art of a family business and unpretentious luxury. Don’t miss this episode of The Interior Collective if you’re looking to diversify your revenue streams as an interior designer.
We’re welcoming interior designer and luxury hospitality maven, Blair Moore of Moore House Design and Moore House Family, to discuss diversifying your revenue streams as a designer with high-end short term rental properties.
Since the onset of the pandemic, it feels like every designer - myself included - is branching out to beautiful vacation rental properties. It's become an opportunity to stretch some design muscles, enjoy time away from the office, and turn a profit. We're bringing in interior designer and short-term rental maven Blair Moore to discuss the ins and outs of making high-end short-term rentals profitable as a designer.
Balancing a thriving interior design business, running a small fleet of luxury boutique stays, launching a bespoke e-commerce line, and starring on her very own episode of Magnolia Network's Point of View series, Blair Moore is a maverick, muse, and magician. She's mastered the art of a family business and unpretentious luxury. I'm
The line between interior designer and lifestyle influencer is a fine one. The Lauren Liess brand has expanded from Interior Design Studio to include the Lauren Liess Blog and The Property Collective, in addition to three books (with a 4th on the way), numerous TV features and dozens of product collaborations. Lauren Liess’ entire brand evokes a feeling of home across all channels. Her brand feels like those late, slow hours of summer afternoons that seem to linger a little longer than the day before. It feels like the neighbor you grew up next to. As her brands expand, as do her offerings, we’re talking about how to evolve into a lifestyle brand as an interior designer here on The Interior Collective.
The Identite Collective and IDCO Studio present The Interior Collective, a podcast for the business of beautiful living with your host, Anastasia Casey and guest Lauren Liess of Lauren Liess & Co.
In this episode, Lauren and Anastasia discuss:
- How Lauren got her start in the industry
- The process of publishing three (soon to be four) books
- Expanding into e-commerce and product lines
The thing design school will never teach you is what to charge. Today’s episode of The Interior Collective is all about pricing as an interior designer. From different ways to charge, the pros and cons of each, and the unusual formula we’ve found most successful - and we’re not holding anything back. Lindsey Borchard of Lindsey Brooke Design - my Design Camp co-founder and forever business best friend is divulging all her secrets to a successful and lucrative interior design studio. Lindsey is committed to transparency in the industry and candidly explains her pain points of pricing and the three phase system she’s built to making sure no money is left on the table as an interior designer. Tune in to this episode of The Interior Collective for an exclusive look at our most popular keynote session of Design Camp.
The Identite Collective and IDCO Studio present The Interior Collective, a podcast for the business of beautiful living with your host, Anastasia Casey and guest Lindsey Borchard of Lindsey Brooke Design.
Lindsey Borchard of Lindsey Brooke Design is my Design Camp co-founder, but she's also my forever business best friend. I've learned so much from Lindsey over the years, but most importantly, she's taught me how to safeguard your business model from leaving money on the table. In this episode, Lindsey and I cover different ways to charge as an interior designer, the pros and cons of each, and the unique formula she's found most successful. Lindsey holds nothing back in her straightforward advice and shares exactly what it takes to run a successful and lucrative interior design studio. Before we get into the conversation, let me formally introduce Lindsey a bit further:
Lindsey Borchard's work is ultimately inspired by her own life. As a mom to two boys, she deeply understands the impact that a well-designed home can have on your family. A born and bred Southern California girl, her work carries that same organic, natural beauty and distinctly relaxed feel of the California landscape. Put simply: a Lindsey Borchard space is an invitation to live a more beautiful life every day.
In this episode, Lindsey and I discuss:
- Flat fee vs hourly pricing models
Today on The Interior Collective, we’re reframing the definition of Traditional Interiors. What has predominantly been a white, euro-centric definition of traditional design is finally being dismantled with the recent showcasing of Black and BIPOC voices and their work in the industry. Traditions aren’t a universal thing, so Traditional Design shouldn’t be either. We’re chatting with renowned interior designer and fellow podcaster, Gail Davis as she shares what traditional interiors mean to her and the way traditional design should make you feel. Gail also guides us through her greatest lessons learned in interior design school and how she translates them into traditional design today.
The Identite Collective and IDCO Studio present The Interior Collective, a podcast for the business of beautiful living with your host, Anastasia Casey and guest Gail Davis of Gail Davis Designs.
Gail Davis is what I consider to be the industry’s Fairy Godmother - she’s constantly connecting designers with who they need to know. Gail and I have been friends for years now, as IDCO Studio designed and developed her website back in 2020. Since then, Gail has hosted me on her podcast and also attended Design Camp in Los Angeles earlier this year, allowing us to finally meet face to face. It’s an immense honor to get to host Gail on The Interior Collective and return the favor.
Gail studied at the New York School of Interior Design, and honed her craft, interning at two of New York City’s most prestigious firms—Bunny Williams Inc. and David Kleinberg Design Associates. Now having practiced for over 15 years, Gail is the Principal Designer and owner of Gail Davis Design, known for their concierge-level interior design services. Her projects have been published in House Beautiful, Elle Decor, AD Pro, Domino, and so many more. Gail is the podcast host of Design Perspectives and the resident webinar host for
Show notes linked here. Landing dream projects with ample budgets can feel out of reach. AD 100 Interior Designer and Co-Founder of The Expert, Jake Arnold walks us through his journey to celebrity status and every struggle along the way. A self-admitted work-in-progress, Jake Arnold advises that persistence is key. Success is 1 part luck, 2 parts design, Jake refuses to be looked over. Find inspiration in Jake Arnold’s creative process, re-use Jake’s strategy for getting noticed, and take notes on the countless words of wisdom he shares in this special inaugural episode of The Interior Collective.
The Identite Collective and IDCO Studio present The Interior Collective, a podcast for the business of beautiful living with your host, Anastasia Casey and guest Jake Arnold of The Expert and Studio Jake Arnold.
Mentioned in the episode:
- The Expert
- Design Camp LA
- AD100
- The Secret
- IDCO Studio products
As a follow up to Episode 2, The Interior Collective is breaking down how to maintain that perfect client process as your team (and workload) grows. Clara Jung, Principal of Banner Day, is joining us from The Bay Area as one of House Beautiful’s Next Wave Designers. Clara was IDCO Studio’s first interior design client and really the catalyst to making IDCO what it is today. She has successfully grown her team into a full service boutique interior design studio with both in-person and remote full time employees. Her former career as a corporate attorney has paved the way for always perfecting systems and processes that result in the highest caliber of client service.
The Identite Collective and IDCO Studio present The Interior Collective, a podcast for the business of beautiful living with your host, Anastasia Casey and guest Clara Jung of Banner Day.
Unpopular opinion - digital press can actually be MORE valuable than print press these days for interior designers. While being published in the pages of a glossy magazine can be the pinnacle of press for designers, I honestly question how much traffic is actually getting driven to the source. On today’s episode of The Interior Collective, we welcome Kelli Lamb, Editorial Director of Rue Magazine, as she walks us through the benefits of both print and digital press. We’ll then take it a step further and share the perfect publication pitch process, so you can handle your own PR, without the need for a publicist.
The Identite Collective and IDCO Studio present The Interior Collective, a podcast for the business of beautiful living with your host, Anastasia Casey and guest Kelli Lamb of Rue Magazine.
Season 1 | Episode 2 Anastasia Casey: Perfecting Your Client Process SHOW NOTES
No process is more important as an interior designer than your client process. From the initial inquiry to the final goodbye, I’m walking you through every step of the way today on The Interior Collective. We’ve put together the tools you need to plug and play - providing a concierge level client experience for interior designers.
Find all the episode details, links and examples of this episode of The Interior Collective in the show notes here.
Shownotes and more information from this episode can be found here.
IDCO Studio: Website | Instagram
The Identite Collective: Blog | Instagram
Design Camp: Website | Instagram
Season 1 | Episode 1 Marie Flanigan: Growing Your Team SHOW NOTES
As an interior designer, growing your team can feel overwhelming. That first hire is always a leap of faith. My advice is to always hire for a role, not just an additional person and today’s guest, Marie Flanigan, is walking us through the exact steps to growing your team. For interior designers, hiring should be a revenue stream, not a business expense because that hire is creating billable hours. Stay tuned as we share the gritty details of growing a team, break down successful organization structures, and make a big surprise announcement.
The Identite Collective and IDCO Studio present The Interior Collective, a podcast for the business of beautiful living with your host, Anastasia Casey and guest Marie Flanigan of Marie Flanigan Interiors.
Shownotes and more information from this episode can be found here.
IDCO Studio: Website | Instagram
The Identite Collective: Blog | Instagram
Design Camp: Website | Instagram
Season 1 Trailer Welcome to The Interior Collective SHOW NOTES
This is The Interior Collective, a podcast for the business of beautiful living, presented by IDCO Studio and I’m Anastasia Casey.
Here at IDCO Studio, We’ve already gone through the roller coaster that is being a start-up and now that we have established a name for ourselves in the interior design industry, it is our duty to empower others. We believe in paying it forward. Through years of experience, we have the answers to your questions. We don’t hold our secrets close and aren’t afraid of getting personal, because we believe there’s room for everyone at the top.
The Identite Collective and IDCO Studio are thrilled to be launching our first season of The Interior Collective, a podcast for the business of beautiful living – starting on Friday May 20th, 2022. I’m your host, Anastasia Casey. I'm bringing in interior designers and industry tastemakers to provide you with actionable advice for your own practice, from experts you already trust. Season 1 has a star studded line up including Shea McGee, Jake Arnold, Clara Jung, Kelli Lamb, Gail Davis, Lindsey Borchard, Lauren Liess, Beth Diana Smith, Amber Lewis and so many more. We’ve assigned each guest a specific topic, for truly actionable, inspiring and strategic takeaways from each episode. The Interior Collective is coming soon and I am so looking forward to seeing you there.
We’re your resource for brand-elevating design, marketing insight, and game-changing products because of our unparalleled expertise and a deeply rooted code of ethics. We are an up-to-date guide to the latest tools and technology, a champion for diversity and inclusivity in the industry, and a well of wisdom on all things business ownership for interior designers. Get ready to join us for conversations where both newbies and industry veterans alike will find inspiration and assistance.
Be sure to follow along on Instagram and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on what we’re talking about next week. If you love our podcast, please leave us a review. If you have questions or topics you’d like to hear next, email me at podcast@idco.studio, again that is podcast@idco.studio.
IDCO Studio is a boutique creative firm that creates digital spaces as layered, intentional, and inviting as the tangible ones designed by our clients. We’re dedicated to crafting brands that celebrate beautiful living, helping hundreds of interior designers elevate their businesses and land better projects.
Whether you’re a new designer in need of done-for-you templates or an industry veteran looking to commission a completely custom rebrand and website, IDCO Studio has a coveted collection of offerings that we developed with you and your business in mind.
Shownotes and more information from this episode can be found here.