A Life Of Design With Taniya Nayak

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
For thirty five years, Cindy Stumpo has been a female
home builder with a passion for design, a mastery of detail,
and a commitment to her crack. With daughter Samantha Stumpo
by her side, I don't need my.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Whole family on a date with me.

Speaker 3 (00:12):
That's a good note. It's goddemn weird.

Speaker 1 (00:13):
See. Stumpo Development is the only second generation female construction
company in the country.

Speaker 4 (00:18):
You're crazy, You're a wacko.

Speaker 3 (00:20):
You're insane.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
I mean, it just doesn't end together. Cindy and Samantha
welcome guests to explore the world of construction, real estate, development,
design and more here. I'm predictable. Every time I think
I know what you want, you switch it out. But
that's what makes your houses all your deed. Discuss anything
that happens between the roof and the foundation. Nothing is
off limits. You truly do care about everybody. She can
yell at chi gets green, but when you get her alone,

(00:44):
she's the best person on the planet. Cindy Stumpo is
tough as nails.

Speaker 3 (00:49):
Yea and welcome to Cindy Stavo Chufa's Nails on WBZ
and I'm here tonight with Sammy and we have who
want to tell eyboy? She can tell you who's in
the studio with us?

Speaker 5 (01:04):
Oh it's Tan. Yeah, you guys.

Speaker 6 (01:06):
I miss you both so much. You both don't age ever,
they the same.

Speaker 3 (01:11):
I can't have it. I get to walk on Angry
elevens and no, can't have it? Led you to it.
So here with Tanya and I from HGTV, and we
would say, ABC.

Speaker 5 (01:24):
ABC, Yes, great Christmas Light Night.

Speaker 3 (01:27):
How is that show doing.

Speaker 5 (01:29):
Good? It's really good.

Speaker 6 (01:30):
I'm actually going into my thirteenth, thirteenth season of the show.
It's like I feel like I'm growing up with the show.
Getting ready to leave though in a couple of weeks.
So it's been so jam packed because I'm trying to
get all my work done, you know, with the business
before I hit the roads.

Speaker 5 (01:46):
But the show is going great.

Speaker 3 (01:47):
Let me ask these questions. I'm gonna I'm gonna hit
you with some other questions. I typically don't you're always kind?
You like you're still running around. I saw you at
the awards for recently what's it called?

Speaker 5 (02:02):
Yeah, like I FDA Design Awards.

Speaker 3 (02:04):
Yeah, Like I don't do any of that anymore. Like
I'm so done, Like I'm done running to events and
when they you know, Cindy, want to give you a No,
I don't even want the award. Give the award to
somebody else, right, Like, I'm but going.

Speaker 5 (02:20):
Been there, Like you've done it, You've got all the awards,
like you're you're there. I'm still climbing my way, Cindy.
I'm like, I'm still trying to make a name for myself.

Speaker 3 (02:28):
But you have a name here, Han, you do, Like,
what are you talking about? You do have a name.
And then you're always so many kind, You're always so kind,
You're you know, look at we can only hide our
you know who we really are behind our video footage
on Instagram and TV and radio and whoever we are
out there. But you are who you are. I'm who

(02:50):
I am. I don't I don't know what you really
don't like me? Right, I don't really care on there,
But you're always so sweet? What keeps you in that mind?
Oh my god, am I gonna use that word?

Speaker 2 (02:59):
Mindset?

Speaker 1 (03:00):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (03:00):
Yeah, yeah? What keeps you in that brain? Yes?

Speaker 5 (03:02):
Mindset? I like it.

Speaker 6 (03:04):
I seriously think it's a Boston upbringing. I feel like
that's why you are who you are. Authentically. That's why
I am who I am authentically, you know. And I
think also a part of it is I had a
pretty strict upbringing, like the most loving parents in the world,
but very very strict and very respectful. So growing up,
you know, I have Indian parents. I was born in

(03:26):
India and came here when I was a baby. So
first generation. We're living life the way my parents remembered
when they were in India, right, So things are evolving,
my cousins are evolving, but my parents' mindset is the
way it was with they not anymore, but obviously growing.

Speaker 5 (03:42):
Up it was. It was very old school and very traditional.

Speaker 6 (03:45):
So I think that is a big impact on it.

Speaker 3 (03:47):
Like every one of my Indian clients all their parents
like that. But the kids, yeah, and the kids are
now like look, and I'm on the second generation of
you know, the Indian culture buying a lot of my homes.
Right this the Indian culture has done very well, extremely well,
highly educated. Family just has their priorities in the right place.

Speaker 2 (04:12):
Some of them won't let me even date people unless
they've read.

Speaker 3 (04:14):
Their charts and oh yes, but that's true.

Speaker 5 (04:18):
Yes, literally gone down that path.

Speaker 2 (04:20):
Yes, yes, like no matter who I need to know
their chart.

Speaker 3 (04:25):
But she's literally like my sister, like she's my sister.
Like literally, I don't have a sister. She doesn't have
a sister. Karen and Karen, I can't pronounced it correctly.
So but.

Speaker 5 (04:40):
Wait, you have another Indian best friend and I don't
know about it.

Speaker 3 (04:43):
Yes, yes, so I literally built her her first home
in my Oh yeah, I don't remember.

Speaker 2 (04:52):
I sold it recently.

Speaker 3 (04:54):
Well you would know. You sold it then built them
three more, right, I'm on the third for the daughter now, right,
so you know har Harvid grads and the kids are
Harved grads and doctors and scientists and you know, the
whole nine yards. But yeah, loyalists can be like we
just oh and we literally lived quarter of a mile
from each other. Right, So her daughter calls me when

(05:15):
her daughter can't talk to her about things, right, and
Samuel will talk to Karen, and Karen's I did the
chats on that guy, and he's no good for you, No, no, no,
no no.

Speaker 2 (05:24):
She tells me, we have to give him a blessing
if you're going to truly marry him or anything.

Speaker 3 (05:28):
She's got her.

Speaker 5 (05:30):
I believe in that stuff, do you guys, believe in.

Speaker 6 (05:32):
I mean, I didn't get married that way, you know,
but I do think there's something behind it.

Speaker 3 (05:36):
She had this woman, she made me get on uh
Zoom with this woman from India mongoloids they called a
manga something. And why Ray and I fit together so well?

Speaker 2 (05:47):
And you were always going to get divorced from dad.
It was already in chats. I was going to get divorced.

Speaker 5 (05:53):
So it's wild.

Speaker 6 (05:54):
I know, if you ever watch Indian Matchmaker, the woman
on the show, she does like a face comparison thing
where there's features in your face that she can tell
if you're going to be a good match or not.
And then your astrology the day you were born. When
when we're born back in the day, they would give
you the first letter of the child's name to make

(06:17):
sure that they have a healthy life.

Speaker 3 (06:20):
Okay, so now we know, I don't know why you're
as kind as you are. You've never let TV, you
never let TV get your head. And I was there,
you know, listen, I was there with those designers and
they're pretty competitive, you know. I mean they were looking
for the next Walmart deal, the next Target deal. None
of them were very kind to each other. Behind the scenes,
you know, so I watched that they were kind to

(06:40):
me because I wasn't a threat to them. I'm going
to come up with hammers and niels like you guys
are doing the design. I don't want the wall model,
the Target or the Macy's you know, linen line. That's
not my thing. But you never seem to have gotten
that fray with them either, No you no way?

Speaker 4 (06:56):
You know what?

Speaker 6 (06:58):
Yeah, my whole philosophy and I actually things have changed
a lot.

Speaker 5 (07:01):
There's a much stronger camaraderie now with the HGTV peeps,
you know behind them.

Speaker 3 (07:07):
It's really a decade. Well I see, like I said,
I see you in Sonya. Come on, Sabrina is still
very close, Alison.

Speaker 5 (07:18):
Yeah, very very close.

Speaker 6 (07:20):
And I think having that camaraderie, all I want is
for my friends to be successful.

Speaker 5 (07:26):
Like if you're successful, I'm successful. We help each other out.

Speaker 6 (07:29):
There is zero jealousy, and I can't even I'm fifty
one now, I can't deal with friendships that have that
level of one upping or jealousy see you later, I'm out.

Speaker 5 (07:43):
I don't have time for that. You know.

Speaker 3 (07:44):
Is it amazing how much you've changed in ten years? Now?
What you tolerated affity, you ain't tolerating anymore. That's it.
You're done. Nope, No, and you've learned.

Speaker 5 (07:55):
I've shed friends. I've said whenever I'm feeling.

Speaker 6 (07:58):
Something's toxic in my life, I just don't need I
like you said, maybe I'm very happy, I'm very peaceful.

Speaker 5 (08:05):
I'm lucky.

Speaker 6 (08:05):
I get a good, solid seven hours of sleep every night.
You know, I am, generally speaking, like a really great
life and happy. I don't need someone else's both get
out of here, neat it, you know what I mean.
It's just that I don't have time for it. So
the minute I start to sense that, I kind of
pulled myself away.

Speaker 3 (08:24):
That's called that's called growing up. I'm maturing. You do
know that, Right ten years ago, if we had this conversation,
it wouldn't go down this way it went. But again,
you've got clients stressing you out. No matter what, clients
are going to stress you out. That's what it's all about.
I mean, they're going to make you google crazy, right,
we all do it, but it yes, it is, and

(08:45):
we have to have patience. But you're also going to
find out in another like I'm gonna I'm gonna call
that future now next, the next two years to three years. Yeah,
even your patient's level for that is you're gonna say,
you know, I don't care how much money this job
is gonna make me. I'm not taking it on. I'm
not gonna take that Trump. Are you there now?

Speaker 5 (09:05):
I'm already getting I'm already getting there.

Speaker 6 (09:08):
It's really hard for me to say no because I
always want to help everyone, just like you.

Speaker 5 (09:12):
You know, you want to help people.

Speaker 3 (09:14):
You're you know, the the well I thought were gonna
go to break. I'm Sidney Stuff on you listening to
couple his nails.

Speaker 4 (09:19):
On w b Z. Will be right there, sponsored by
Flora Decor, National Lumber and Village Back.

Speaker 3 (09:35):
With Feelings and welcome back to Taba's nails. I'm Sidney Stuff,
and I'm here with Sammy. I'm here with him. No,
let her introduce herself.

Speaker 2 (09:48):
Sorry, now, she's not when I talk. When I don't talk,
I can't win.

Speaker 3 (09:51):
Who's in the studio with this.

Speaker 5 (09:54):
It's t ant Iyak here.

Speaker 3 (09:57):
Okay, because she's definitely not shy, So talk to me.
So we're designing. Here, you're designing. We're going back and
forth to Florida you're still with HGTV. You're still with ABC, right, yeah, yeah,
what's your buckul list? Where were we going? Like, what
what's left that bucklet life?

Speaker 5 (10:15):
Oh?

Speaker 6 (10:16):
I just did one big bucket list thing this summer
and I went to South Africa on an epic, epic adventure,
did the Safari thing. We were hanging off the cliff
in Victoria Falls, literally like sitting on the edge of
the waterfall, which in our videos you can't see there's
a harness holding us, but we were. My feet were dangling.

(10:37):
It was like Niagara Falls, but my feet were dangling
over the edge.

Speaker 5 (10:41):
Was terrifying.

Speaker 3 (10:43):
Okay, that's your personal life. You probably have a lot
of things in your press life. I want to know
your professional life because your professional life has been a
long you've had. Look, you start with HGTV. How many
years ago? How long have you been on there?

Speaker 5 (10:55):
Now? Twenty over twenty years now.

Speaker 3 (10:58):
Over twenty years you've had You've had a big career there.
So yeah, oh, you're not going to believe this one.
You ready for this one? I can't make this. I
had Oh this is so good. I wanted to call
you and tell you this. So this guy comes from
another area and says, Hey, you know, Cindy, I want

(11:18):
to buy money homes. I want you to build a home. Bapa.
I have no clue who he is. I'm like, no problem,
great guy, awesome, great family. Love him, love him to death,
love it. I wish he was my son, That's how
much I love him. So I stopped putting pieces together
after the project started. He Scripts Network?

Speaker 5 (11:40):
Who was it?

Speaker 3 (11:41):
He was the great grandson of Scripts Network. He owns
Scripts Network.

Speaker 5 (11:46):
Oh my god? So really?

Speaker 3 (11:47):
Yes?

Speaker 4 (11:48):
Yes?

Speaker 3 (11:48):
So now I said, dude, you were my boss ten
years ago. Now you're my boss again.

Speaker 5 (11:53):
I can't make that a full circle right there?

Speaker 3 (11:55):
Yes, yes, and they sold out.

Speaker 5 (11:58):
Actually yeah.

Speaker 6 (12:00):
The full circle for me with HGTV is that I
was doing years ago. I was hosting a show called
house Hunters on vacation, So it was like one of
those spin offs of house Hunters, and I got to
take these families at these most epic, beautiful vacation destinations,
show them houses, give them a one week, all expense
paid vacation in one of the houses. And that was

(12:22):
Pie Town, which is Tara and Jennifer and since then,
of all the designers that they work with on HGTV.
They hired my firm, Tammy and Iyak Design to design
their place in Seaport. We designed, Oh my gosh, why
am I a Manhattan Pondo out there?

Speaker 5 (12:42):
I mean we just they are the best clients because
they get it. They get this business. You know, they
understand but exactly.

Speaker 3 (12:49):
But imagine the guy that literally that's his family script
now that's wild sits on the board.

Speaker 5 (12:55):
So where are you the project? Are you done? No?

Speaker 3 (12:58):
If I no, We've doing everything to this place. This
place has sports courts, tennis courts, you name it right,
like sports court's cool. It's like the concrete house like
it's it's like it's I don't want to do any
more design in my life. I just let me be
the builder because I don't want to design. They'll come
with me, call me, I'm right here, but here's Here's

(13:22):
always what happens. It's the same thing over and over again.
They'll come with their own designers and then they fire
them within like sixty days or ninety days into the
project because they'll say to me, well what do you think?
And then the designer gets upset. I'm like, well, this
bathroom has about every color tile you could pick in
it and it's a kids bathroom. You know me, I'm

(13:43):
about clean lines. Why we take a little bathroom a
kid's bathroom and you know shower, vanity, toilet, right and
sweet bathroom? Bedroom? Can't have this color on this wall
and that It's like I'm having a seizure when I
walk in there. You don't have the rule to carry it.

Speaker 5 (14:03):
It doesn't speak to the design of the house.

Speaker 6 (14:05):
If it's a modern, clean line home, you want to
keep that clean.

Speaker 3 (14:10):
Think about it. Even you could be the sill the
most traditional home. When you walk in, I don't want
to see gold gilded going up the shower wall. Then
I'll go over here and now there's a mosaic, and
then over here there's thirty two by thirty two and
there's nothing talking to each other. It looks like a
big like I walked into a towel store and they
have all the samples right except that. So then the

(14:31):
owner will say that except there, what do you think? Sitny?
And I go, don't ask me that question because that's
never going to be good because if you ask me
what I think, I'm not gonna lie either. And there
lies here comes to table, right, So I just have
to learn and to say, oh, everything looks beautiful and
then take the pressure off my back. Right, And it's true, Sammy,
let's just going forward.

Speaker 5 (14:53):
Yep.

Speaker 3 (14:53):
Just pass her name out and say, listen, here's what
you need to do. Because all these decades I've train
them to be able to count on me. And if
I if I don't delegate that away, I'm never going
to get another three four years out of my business.
I won't because I'm tired.

Speaker 5 (15:10):
Yeah, tie it. So what's your bucket list? What's your
big game? Oh, I'm Cindy.

Speaker 3 (15:15):
I don't know what that is. There's one more thing,
and I almost did it, and then I decided, like
I pulled the ripcord like last minute, I was offered
to take the stumbo public. I drove myself crazy for
three weeks, see me shaking my head. No, no, no,
three weeks. I overthought and overthought, and I said, oh
my god, I'm gonna do this at this stage of

(15:36):
the game. I mean, this was just handed to me.
Here's a shell. You're ready go go? Yeah, and I
just figured you start doing the countdown. I want some
I've worked so hard for forty years of my life, right,
like I've been working since seventeen years old, like a

(15:56):
crazy girl. Right, I never stopped kids two kids, and
there's got to be some time for Cindy. But no,
there's something missing, and I thought it was that public company.
And then when I realized, right, you know, no, I
don't need that in my life. As nice as it
would have been to have C Stumbo Development Co public

(16:17):
if I was ten years younger, if I was your age,
or nine years younger, eight years younger, even if I
go five years younger, I would have done it now
at the stage. No, if Samy had taken a bigger
role on maybe yes. So I don't know. There's one
more thing on that bucket list I want to do.
I just don't know what it is. Maybe it's yeah,

(16:38):
I don't know. But for you.

Speaker 2 (16:39):
Complete, what's that you feel incomplete?

Speaker 3 (16:42):
I know people laugh all the time. Yes, there's something missing.
I don't know what something is.

Speaker 5 (16:46):
I'll have to find is that's that incredible? Yeah?

Speaker 3 (16:48):
What is it?

Speaker 5 (16:49):
What is it?

Speaker 6 (16:50):
Because I think going public, my fear for you would
be that the quality might get lost or you know,
it gets a little correct diluted. And your name is
your brand, is your like exceptional, exceptional work.

Speaker 5 (17:05):
I went to who you Are?

Speaker 3 (17:06):
Well, I went through all that, all that in my head,
and I said, listen, you know you want to go
to a rich woman and you want to go to
a really rich women, right, Like, there's two different types
of wealth. Right, So I wasn't I'm on the back
three in my career, right Like, okay, sure I am
on the back three.

Speaker 2 (17:23):
I'm saying that, No, I have NOAA nine, the back nine.
I don't even play golf. You don't even know what
that means.

Speaker 3 (17:30):
But on the back three anyways, unless she steps up,
okay and die if see you could take see if
you girls were smart, you say to each other, see,
this is the problem. No hotshot has walked into my
office and said, listen to Stumple, let's have a conversation here.
You are getting up there in age now, because now

(17:51):
you can see that the next generation is not as
hungry as my generation was. Right, they don't have that tenascy.
They don't have that burning to be successful. They don't
have it, right, And when you find one that does,
they're not the norm. They're the abnorm. How one guy
has walked in a hotshot thirty eight thirty nine forty
business degree behind him whatever and said, look it, teach

(18:14):
me all your what you do, bah bah bah, and
I'll take this company to one more level and you
can just sit back and come along for the ride, right,
or Sammy hasn't gone together even like somebody like you
both and said, listen, you bring a design element that's
not my specialty. Sammy, I'm the GC, I'm a construction
She knows everything about it, she holds a license, but

(18:36):
she doesn't want to do the design it and she
doesn't want to really run the guys. So then we
bring a bodyguid on called Chad, my other son, and
he just stands behind her and make sure everybody does
what every's supposed to do. Right, But to let that
brand go because at some point, see the two things,
you either sell the company or you keep it going
for the next generation. Maybe something for you and Sammy

(18:58):
talk about maybe do a spec house together. Actually, why
didn't you Mark, Why don't you work with me on?
We got two coming out of ground and Brookline, and
we try to bring a brand together on a spec
house to go, Yes, I don't right from the plans
to the door knobs and call it together what it is?

(19:23):
I got another crazy for it? Wait, I got another
crazy way with this. We haven't caught up, right, this
is crazy. Let me go off to break. There's another
funny story I'll tell you about. Okay, Daniel, listen to
Simmy Stumble tub his Nails and w b Z.

Speaker 4 (19:35):
We'll be right back, sponsored by Pellow Windows of Boston,
Next Day Molding and Kennedy Carpet.

Speaker 3 (19:59):
And Stumbling You listen to Temper Nails on WBZ and
I'm here with Sammy and.

Speaker 5 (20:07):
Ta.

Speaker 3 (20:08):
Okay, so here's here's a crazy story, right. So crazy
story is you buy a house for millions and millions
and millions of dollars, right, millions, and then you know
the next person comes along because in this situation, a
lot of times our perch and sales get flipped, right,
meaning one persons buying it, then another person buys it
from another person and they're designer did it?

Speaker 5 (20:30):
Now?

Speaker 3 (20:30):
The new designer comes in and then they drop everything
down the blueboard and you're watching all this stuff just go.
You got to be kidding me, because again this designer
doesn't look I know your finish.

Speaker 5 (20:40):
Design, I know you have high end finishes to start like,
I'm sure thousand it out, must cut you.

Speaker 3 (20:46):
But yeah, sometimes it's just the designers come in and
they don't like what the last designer did, right, and
they want to flex their muscles. And then I've got
to be in the middle of everything going okay, whatever, okay,
well we'll rip that out and we'll tear that down.
It happens quite a bit that Saammy will pre sell
a house and then get an offer from somebody else

(21:07):
and she'll say, well, take it to my client. Maybe
you'll want to make the spread and sell it. Maybe
you won't. That happens more than you think, And then
another group of designers come in, right, so but to
go back to you, well, to you.

Speaker 6 (21:20):
Well sorry, let me let me just address that for
a moment here, because it sounds to me it's a
celebrity designer, I'm assuming, or someone with a big name.

Speaker 5 (21:29):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (21:30):
They always think they have got names.

Speaker 6 (21:32):
Yeah, So you know, I think what happens sometimes is
the bigger these designers get, they this is exactly what
we were talking about with you. If you went public
it suddenly they get diluted and they have to bring
on help that they don't know if they're able to
deliver what they would have delivered themselves hands on and
for me, this is why I keep my company very small.

(21:54):
I have to be hands on and I understand it's
difficult to scale that way, but I'm scaling in other ways.
I'm scaling with brand, products, licensing, you know different things
that I can scale my Tanya Iyak brand.

Speaker 5 (22:09):
With my business. I do it just because.

Speaker 6 (22:12):
I love it, like I love being hands on and
I love designing. But I can't let go of that detail.
And I think that this is what sometimes might happen
with bigger designers that are trying to scale.

Speaker 5 (22:24):
It's a tough thing.

Speaker 6 (22:25):
All I'm going to say is in this industry with
construction and design, it's not an easy thing to be
able to spread it out.

Speaker 5 (22:34):
You know, I don't know. I have a team of
six people.

Speaker 6 (22:38):
I can't seem to figure out how to get any
bigger than that because it makes me.

Speaker 3 (22:42):
Nervous, okay, And like myself, when I look at a
piece of land, it could look like black diamond to you.
It could look like it's going up and down terrains,
but I always see the house that's going on there.
There's the advantage I have right, I'm already picturing this like.
I can't rain somebody else to think that weight.

Speaker 5 (23:02):
So you can't.

Speaker 3 (23:03):
They're not you, right, So it's hard to delegate because
they're not going to see. Give me all. I always
say this, give me the the rough diamonds. What's it
the I always buy the the diamond and the rough.
Thank you. And I will make the the rough diamond,
the diamond the rough, and I will make that place

(23:25):
right now working on a project look like black diamond
skiing down with one leg, right, with one ski leg,
you're not making to the bottom. And now there's pool
back there that we're building in a sports cort and
to think that we've taken this land. But there's the
advantage I have. But I can't train somebody else to
think that way. You either have that talent you don't

(23:48):
like you?

Speaker 6 (23:48):
Do you think that you and I have done a
disservice to ourselves, our company, our name. If my company
wasn't called tany and Iak Design, maybe I couldn't scale
it a little differently or not.

Speaker 5 (23:59):
You know, I'll send you something.

Speaker 3 (24:00):
But then you are what's that's him?

Speaker 2 (24:04):
You wouldn't be who you are. But because in both industries.
There's a lot of builders designers that don't make.

Speaker 3 (24:11):
It true true that. But again she's talking about is
how can you scale when you are the company? And
there lies the problem, that's the biggest problem. You can't
scale because she is who they're hiring. They want to
see her face, they want to see my face out there,

(24:32):
so until she figures way to delegate. But but delegate,
but so.

Speaker 2 (24:36):
Just charge for take less people.

Speaker 5 (24:38):
Yeah, and then that is actually the right answer.

Speaker 3 (24:42):
That is a better idea. But you know, look at economies.
I don't know. If you're feeling a bit of a
slow down out there, you start to feel it, there's
a slow down.

Speaker 5 (24:50):
Yeah, we we just came out of it, thankfully. It
was the summertime.

Speaker 6 (24:53):
It was slowed down a bit, but it's starting to
pick back up again.

Speaker 5 (24:58):
I'm so glad, and.

Speaker 3 (24:59):
I bet you should. You do.

Speaker 2 (25:00):
You're really interviewing the client, that the other way around.

Speaker 3 (25:03):
Oh, she's definitely interviewing the client. I stopped letting you
interview me, interview me by thirty two, like I was done,
Like no.

Speaker 5 (25:11):
Three, it's a whole other thing.

Speaker 6 (25:13):
Now, you're right, I think we are lucky, Cindy, that
we've been able to showcase. I mean you've obviously I'm
not taking anything away from all that you've built up,
but we've also had this public I people have seen
us more publicly because we had our TV shows or
have our TV shows on HGTV, So we're in a

(25:33):
better position.

Speaker 5 (25:34):
Than a lot of other designers.

Speaker 6 (25:36):
You at this point obviously made a name for yourself
in a much bigger way. But I think that having
a little bit of publicity around us it helps us
not have to always do the be interviewed in a
sense that we can take on who we want to
take on.

Speaker 3 (25:51):
You know, you say that, but it wasn't HGTV. That Again,
there wasn't a lot of female builders out there in
nineteen eighty nine, right twenty three years old. So the
media once I was four or five years in the industry,
the media started writing what they want to write, the
Knockdown Queen, Like I got these really bad names, the
knockdown Queen. What's the knockdown? It's like a lifetime movie,

(26:15):
like what's the Knockdown Queen? You know it's knocking down
everything in Newton.

Speaker 5 (26:18):
But.

Speaker 3 (26:20):
That I guess being a female in the construction industry.
But it was a very hard road, it really was.
I mean, we love of God. I hope that it
paved the way for many others. But you got to
be a different person out here because it's another ten
years before you see things changing. You need another decade

(26:40):
of women out here doing what I do and for
designing again. You know, it's like you ever see that
Instagram when the designer gets out of the car and
every subcontract is going. Everybody's going. But I'll say the
same thing as the designer gets out of the car.
They're going, you know, like Sahi T, Sahi T. It's

(27:03):
kind of funny. Okay, here she comes out of the
car with the Louisverton bag and she's going to dictate
to us, right, But I I really brands are funny.
I never looked at C Stumble as a brand because
who we didn't set out that way. We set out
that we're going to be a business. We didn't talk
about brands back then. Her She's Chocolate was a brand,
you know, ye, a brand.

Speaker 6 (27:28):
Where you should be putting your flooring and your tile
and your cabinets and your countertops and all of those
things in your homes. You know where is that you need.
I feel like not that you need it because you
have enough going on, but that would be the.

Speaker 5 (27:44):
Brand, well maybe the fingers.

Speaker 3 (27:47):
That's where we've made a mistake in this ten year
relationship is that we haven't got down and sat down
again and said, hey, let's do siddy which I'm jumping
on the speck with you from the design of the
outside the inside, and we're gonna both run with this.
And that's why we are going to sit down next week.
We're going to talk about this. I've got two coming

(28:09):
up in Brookline, right next door to each other. And
when we do together, you know what I mean, and
see how that works out, and me, you and Sammy
and this way, if you two can do this together,
then I can start to take a step back. The
more time I spend the field, the less deals I'm
making out there, the more time that my The more

(28:29):
I'm spending in the field with these guys, the less
deals I can buy because they're eating up too much
of my time, me running to tile stores and this
and that for clients. I no, no, I'm too good
at underwriting deals. I should not be doing that. All
I should be doing is buying product, buying product, buying product.
So everybody has jobs to keep working and working and working.

(28:51):
The more you stifle me on jobs, the less time
I have to go look at new deals. Right, it
is a problem. Right, So here we just have this
organic conversation and it can turn out to something else.
And I think you bring the names together, you know,
just still you know, nine years under me, So that's

(29:11):
a big difference.

Speaker 5 (29:12):
Pretty powerful stuff. Sam Are you going to take over?
Are you going to take over the business or what's
the plan here?

Speaker 2 (29:18):
She's not really going anywhere?

Speaker 3 (29:19):
Who are you kidding? Is she ready?

Speaker 5 (29:23):
No? No?

Speaker 2 (29:24):
Yeah, I wish, don't I wish if she wasn't here
and I didn't have a choice. Yes, but she's not
going anywhere.

Speaker 3 (29:31):
Put Sammy to the test and something happens to me,
she will absolutely, absolutely do amazing. But she has she
doesn't have to do that right now because I'm still
running the ship. Right But if I stop tomorrow, that's
where Sammy shines. Okay, I gotta do what I gotta do.
I am not letting my mom's business ever go anywhere.
I know her personality. It just takes me to when

(29:53):
I disappear and go down to Florida. She'll take right over. Holder.
We gotta go to break. I'm stumbling you. Listen to
Tough of Rails on w bz.

Speaker 4 (29:59):
Right, sponsored by new Brook Realty Group, Boston, would Smaller
Insurance World Auto Body and Tasca Drive Auto Body.

Speaker 3 (30:19):
I'm sending you listen to Tapes Nails on w b
z H.

Speaker 5 (30:22):
I want to know what's going on in your personal life, lady.

Speaker 3 (30:25):
Now, she wants what's going on? Sam's Press the Life. Well,
we're on in now, so you want to talk about
you Press the life ladies.

Speaker 2 (30:30):
Sure, I'm at dating all right, went and did my
boobs in li bo section and now I'm healing.

Speaker 3 (30:35):
She tells everything.

Speaker 5 (30:36):
Everything you looks fantastic.

Speaker 3 (30:38):
Okay, we need any.

Speaker 6 (30:40):
Of it, but you look great, and it's all about
what makes us feel good.

Speaker 5 (30:43):
But now no one, no one's on the the picture.

Speaker 3 (30:46):
Huh not right now, Sam's Sam's waiting for me to
make him on AI. That's not true, okay, mister perfect.
Don't ask me what I make. Don't ask me this,
don't ask me that, don't try to troll me. Let's
be partners and let's have a good relationship. Just have
a purpose, go to work. I don't care if you're
picking up trash for a living, doesn't matter who makes

(31:08):
the money. Just be a good person, be a good
human being. Hold on, let me make that guy an
AI for you. You know, what I've seen is is
a generation of that twenty nine to thirty nine, that
ten year they missed the boat on something like. I
don't know if they all went brain dead or we
did something wrong as parents. I have no clue, but

(31:28):
what I do see coming up and these kids intern
with me every summer for the month of June. There's
a different brain going on. I'm not gonna use the
word mindset, because that's all you guys are. That word mindset.
I don't that's the word. I don't like it. What's
not manifest And let me manifest that I'm twenty two
years old and I'm a runway model and I'm five ten,
and life's going to be able to super model feel good? Yeah,

(31:50):
that's not gonna happen. So I live in the real world.

Speaker 6 (31:52):
I think I don't know if I could ever do
it if I wasn't married, I don't think I would
know how to handle the dating world.

Speaker 5 (32:00):
Do what do you get on. How do you meet people? Sam?

Speaker 2 (32:05):
I mean I'm on them. It's interesting. People have a
lot of opinions about a lot of things, ranging from no,
they won't accept me, which is wild, shut up, I
have like thirty three or firms and I won't accept me.

Speaker 3 (32:21):
Why who are they?

Speaker 5 (32:22):
It was supposed to be.

Speaker 2 (32:23):
Like celebrities only based on like how many Instagram follows
you have and all these things, and somebody there must
not like me?

Speaker 3 (32:33):
Was it Raya Raya? Yeah? Oh what so they were
supposed to be the roll's voice of dating supposedly who
owns this company? Yeah it is.

Speaker 5 (32:41):
It's kind of like that, like so if there's.

Speaker 3 (32:44):
So very good, so you got, you gotta Okay, that's right,
so you got but your rich screwed up kids on there,
that's wonderful.

Speaker 2 (32:51):
It's not supposed to be that it was. It was
really supposed to be for celebrities only, and you were
supposed to get in based on like if you really were,
like I had a lot of follows on Instagram, actually
made something of yourself. But now they've kind of let
a lot of random people in, so it's kind of
the same on all day.

Speaker 6 (33:06):
Yeah, but they're looking at And I know this because
I have a couple of friends that have found like
some legit really good matches on there and they're they
look for people that have every single thing that Samantha had,
like everything like beautiful, smart, successful, all the things.

Speaker 5 (33:24):
That's crazy.

Speaker 3 (33:25):
Yeah, I don't know, guys, Okay, I liked that the
old fashioned way where I was, My generation is the
best generation. We have the best music. People were pretty normal.
And if your grandmother told you, don't date that boy,
his family's crazy. They get a crazy grandmother. You didn't
date the boy, that's Itana tell me about the family. Okay,
everybody knew everybody.

Speaker 5 (33:45):
No.

Speaker 2 (33:45):
Now there's a thing on Instagram of Facebook that's are
we dating the same guy? And people will write the
person the guy's name and then be like beware or
should you date that person or not? Or how many
people is that person dating? So that's what each other.

Speaker 3 (33:57):
But I don't know.

Speaker 5 (33:58):
I'm twenty three, twenty three years.

Speaker 6 (34:00):
With Brian now and I can't I can't wrap my
head around ghosting. And like, you know, you started this
off by saying, I'm such a nice person. If I
had to go on a date with someone and it
didn't work out, I'd be like, I'm really sorry, I
think a really nice guy.

Speaker 3 (34:15):
Blah blah blah.

Speaker 5 (34:16):
I would just go on and on and then they
would think I liked them again.

Speaker 2 (34:19):
I mean, you've tell some random people that I've connected with,
And she writes.

Speaker 3 (34:23):
I hope you're not a stiff. No, Like, I just
look at pictures. I'll just know. I just don't listen.
I can read pictures. I'll just go sam, don't with
shit time, swipe left, swipe right, swipe upside down, throw
that goddamn thing out the window, and like, just go
meet something normal. But they're not normal people, not normal
people crazy. But the reason why you can spend so
much time in your career and I could do was

(34:44):
I got married young. I got married at twenty. I
had Samantha twenty three, so I had that foundation under me.
I wasn't running out my friends doing stupid stuff right like,
so I could go out there. Remember I'm running car
dealerships that we owned and the construction company. Think about that.
Then I sold that to a public company, right I
sold grew up healths. So by twenty five I'm knees

(35:09):
deep into two companies and I like I always say,
I don't care what the KAMMANI is. I don't care
if it's real estate. I don't care if it's construction.
I don't care if it's Hershey, bas I don't care
if it's my donkey's coffee. You put me behind the
wheel of running a business. I'm going to run a business.
It's just my kmmanity is.

Speaker 5 (35:28):
That's how but that's how you're wired like you are.

Speaker 6 (35:31):
You were born that way, wired just to be a
workforce and really kill it like slay.

Speaker 3 (35:37):
But again, you have that. I think it all stems
from I think we all I always say this every
time we start off as a reason, and that's making
our parents proud. And that's why I started the way
I started. You wanted to make your your mom and
dad proud, right like I'm going to show my mom
and dad I can make something of my life.

Speaker 2 (35:56):
Or anything you would have ever changed right me?

Speaker 5 (36:04):
This is a tough one to answer.

Speaker 6 (36:05):
It's a good question though, because I love I love
the way things are.

Speaker 5 (36:09):
Going, so I don't know that I would have changed anything.
The only thing that I maybe.

Speaker 6 (36:14):
Would have done differently. And this is totally in another
direction of conversation. But you know, we tried to have
I got married at thirty four. Yeah, I think I
was thirty four years old, So I got married a
little kind.

Speaker 5 (36:27):
Of later, I guess. But then I waited. I was
just like, I don't want to I'm not ready for kids.

Speaker 6 (36:33):
I've always felt so young minded that I waited and waited,
and then we couldn't have kids. So it's a it's
a thing that if there's one regret, I maybe would.

Speaker 5 (36:44):
Have either frozen my eggs or or tried to have
kids early.

Speaker 3 (36:48):
You can have one of my.

Speaker 2 (36:50):
Yeah, I have twenty five of them frozen. You can
have one.

Speaker 5 (36:54):
Oh, thank you? I mean, can you?

Speaker 3 (36:56):
Yeah, you'll have a white, blond headed baby.

Speaker 5 (37:00):
Everybody wants me to master Yeah, but no, and then.

Speaker 3 (37:08):
I'll come over and excuse me. This is really my
grandchild too, Okay.

Speaker 5 (37:12):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Speaker 6 (37:13):
But I will say this, I have a zero regret
in that department, because when I reached a certain age,
we both were like, let's stop trying, let's just live
our lives. And I am I don't wake up in
the morning going oh god, which I wake up in
the morning, I'm like, oh my gosh, it's so peaceful.

Speaker 5 (37:29):
I can sleep it off. My woman's freeman. I don't
have I don't have to change the diaper.

Speaker 6 (37:32):
I don't have to Like there's I've gotten to the
other side of it. I'm fifty one now, like at
forty seven, forty six is when I was like enough
of this, I'm not trying anymore, Like what am I
doing what I want to I'm going to be old
and have a little kid, then be tired, and then
they're going to be an only child and they're not
going to have a sibling.

Speaker 5 (37:52):
Like there were just a lot of thoughts that went
through my mind.

Speaker 6 (37:54):
Of I'm just going to now focus on living just
the best freaking life live.

Speaker 5 (38:00):
I'm gonna go on vacations and it is awful and
maybe me I don't mean.

Speaker 6 (38:04):
This is how I mean started, but kind of like
litle life that my friends.

Speaker 5 (38:08):
Who do have little kids like to be, like, oh.

Speaker 3 (38:10):
Man, listen, I'll tell you look, I would. I would.
I would die without Samith, I really would, like I couldn't.
But if I didn't know she existed, then I wouldn't
know what I was missing, right, But I do now obviously,
if you.

Speaker 2 (38:25):
Said that about all your friends that have kids that
are younger. You're like, I don't know how they do it.

Speaker 3 (38:28):
Oh, I don't know. They're they're my age with teenage,
just like, are you kidding me? But again, I got
married at twenty and twenty three. I had Samantha. Who
did that? My girlfriends didn't get married to like twenty eight,
twenty nine, started feelings in their thirties, you know, thirty one,
thirty two. Again, they're just getting out of college. They
were starting their careers some and some had no careers.
They just married rich guys. I mean then some married

(38:48):
they were own poor whatever. I've a friend. I'm like
a poola platter. I like every type of friend. Like,
give me rich poor, I like a bool. Don't stick
me with just out of rich people all day long.
I want to shoot myself.

Speaker 5 (39:02):
Right.

Speaker 3 (39:02):
The conversation is, so what a men's beg are we buying?
Is this the best we can do? So that I
have to lean to the men's side the table and go, okay,
I can't do the women's side. I gotta go to
the men's side. Listen, what do they say, she's a
woman in a and a man's was it? No, a
woman in a man's body or something like that. I'm

(39:23):
a woman with I don't know. They always say it,
she's a woman in a body. You heard them saying
on the interview that the client said, you're going to
meet my builder, but she's a woman in a man's body. No,
was it a woman in a man's body? Street up here?
Meaning inside here there's a man, right, but outside it's

(39:44):
a woman. Okay, I didn't know that.

Speaker 2 (39:46):
But all right, you can share me anytime you like.

Speaker 3 (39:48):
But look, I don't I think that overachievers and that's you,
and I for sure that bucket list is never full
and you're not missing anything, by the way, That's what
I was trying to get to, Like, do what's good
for your husband, period and don't look back. You're gonna
look better than all your friends. You're gonna stay loving
younger because you're not gonna have the stress of worrying

(40:11):
about kids and then where they're going and blah blah
bah and oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what I
can say. We're going to break this city. Stumphon, Listen
to Tough of Nails a WBZ and welcome back to

(40:35):
Ciddy Stumpo and Toughest nails on WBZ and I'm here
with Sammy and I'm here with Tanya and Tanya how
do people how do people reach you?

Speaker 1 (40:44):
Yeah?

Speaker 6 (40:44):
Everything, I have social media, email, website, it's all.

Speaker 5 (40:48):
My first and last name is one word and it
spelled different. T A n I y A and A
y A k.

Speaker 3 (40:56):
And one of the best designers and one of the
best people I've ever met in my life. Right and
nothing ever goes to her head. She's just down on
earth and she's just a good human being. You really are.
Oh and my producer old on you're and my producer said,
you're pretty. What do you stop steering? Yes, that's ross.
He alsoys in love with you. Okay, we all love you.

(41:17):
You're just You're just good. I'll see you next week
and we'll do our thing. Okay, thanks for coming on
the show. I love you. Everybody. Have a great, safe weekend.
This is Cindy Stampo Top his nails on WBZ News
Radio ten thirty