Kelly Kern: Design Visionaries: Partnership, Innovation, and the Art of Interiors

Episode Transcript
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Voice Over (00:00):
The following podcast iDesign Lab is an SW
Group production in associationwith Five Star and TW Interiors.
This is iDesign Lab, a podcastwhere creativity and curiosity
meet style and design.
Curator of interiors,furnishings and lifestyles.
Hosted by Tiffany Woolley, aninterior designer and a style

(00:22):
enthusiast, along with herserial entrepreneur husband
Scott, idesign Lab is yourultimate design podcast where we
explore the rich and vibrantworld of design and its constant
evolution in style and trends.
Idesign Lab provides industryinsight, discussing the latest
trends, styles and everything inbetween to better help you
style your life, through advicefrom trendsetters, designers,

(00:45):
influencers, innovators,fabricators and manufacturers,
as well as personal stories thatinspire, motivate and excite.
And join us on this elevated,informative and lively journey
into the world of all thingsdesign.
Today, we're joined by theincredible Kelly Kern, a true
design dynamo with a richentrepreneurial journey.
Originally from North Nevada,kelly spent over 30 years in

(01:08):
Atlanta before relocating toFlorida.
She's a West Coast girl atheart but deeply influenced by
her Southern surroundings.
From founding her firstbusiness, the Paper Gourmet, at
just 24, to pioneering theluxury home care category with
Caldrea and Mrs Myers, kelly'sdiverse career is a perfect
blend of creativity, businesssavvy and a passion for design.

(01:29):
Now she's channeling thatenergy into restoring historic
homes and refining her designskills, all while playing a key
role at J Douglas.
Stick around as we dive intoher fascinating journey and
what's next for thismulti-talented visionary.

Tiffany Woolley (01:44):
Welcome to the iDesign Lab podcast.
Today we're excited to haveKelly Kearns in our studio and
she's going to go on a journeytelling us about her journey
into the interior design fieldof being a rep for some really,
really incredible brands, andwe're excited to have you here

(02:05):
today.
I wanted to get started with alittle bit about yourself.

Kelly Kerns (02:10):
Sure, thank you first off for having me, so born
and raised in northern Nevada,moved to the East Coast years
and years ago, always imaginedI'd make my way back to the West
.
And here I am, in my mid 50sand still here on the East Coast
, but I think I think I cansafely say now this is probably
home.
I've been in Florida now forthree, just about three, years.

(02:33):
I relocated here, as I said,from Atlanta, actually for this
job.
I work under a sales agencythat's based out of Atlanta, so
I'm an independent sales rep,work under a sales agency that's
based out of Atlanta, so I'm anindependent sales rep, but what
they call a sub rep, whichmeans that basically all the
administrative and operationaltasks that come with this job

(02:54):
and there are many those aremanaged by kind of a central
point in Atlanta.
We also have a full-timeshowroom, not just in Atlanta
but also in High Point, northCarolina.
Interestingly enough, Iactually hired this sales agency
that I work under now as a rep.
I hired them to represent oneof my brands that I managed as a
sales manager gosh, I don'tknow 14, 15 years ago.

(03:16):
So I met Doug Self, who's theprincipal of J Douglas, all
those years ago, and we becameobviously professional friends
and colleagues but thenmaintained a friendship over the
years, even after I had kind ofstepped away from the industry
in the years the year leading upto COVID and those years and

(03:37):
when this opportunity came abouthe reached out to me to see if
I'd be interested and I thoughtwhy not take a chance?
So that's what brought me toFlorida.

Scott Woolley (03:45):
How did you get your start in interior design or
in furniture?

Well, you know it's interesting, I've always my
sister and I joke about this.
I instinctively Lord knows howcan find my way to the most
expensive thing in any shop orboutique.

That sounds like Tiffany.

Voice Over (04:00):
That's right.

It's our own special gift, but that's right.
It's our own special gift, butthat also lends itself to design
and my mom I mentioned toTiffany earlier.
I grew up with a single parentand my mom was pretty
exceptional and one of the waysthat she was, I think, so
special was that she made ourhome truly our house, a true

(04:26):
home.
So it was a space that wascomfortable and loving and warm,
and we didn't have a lot, butwhat we had was special and the
things that she collected.
I say collected.
She was not a gadget, she wasnot a trinket lady, but it was a
home that was put together withheart and things that were
meaningful to her and certainly,ultimately, to us, and that's
something that my sister and Iboth, I think, inherited from
her.
So we've always had a love of,you know, design and spaces, and
that's something that my sisterand I both, I think, inherited
from her.
So we've always had a love of,you know, design and spaces.

(04:48):
And I can remember as a younggirl flipping through design
magazines and dog earring pagesand, you know, cutting out pages
and even pasting them on mybedroom wall.
And I can remember gosh sevenor I might have been seven or
eight years old and I was lateto school one morning and my mom
was getting irritated becauseshe was ready to go and I was
too busy because I was making awaterbed for my Barbie dream

(05:12):
house.

Oh, I love that .
So you really have thisinstinct inside you.
Yeah, you're drawn there.

Yeah, and I will say that you know I'm not a
designer.
I don't have the credentials,I've not gone to school for
design, but I do have a love forit and I feel so fortunate to
be able to be surrounded by thetalent that I am People like
Tiffany, I mean.
I see their vision executed andmy home is really important to

(05:38):
me and I'm so fortunate to beable to play a part in kind of
the execution, to be able toplay a part in you know kind of
the execution.

So would you say it's your mother inspired you to
go in this direction.
Or is there another person inthe industry or icon?

Well, no, I've always just again, I've really
kind of gravitated to this.
But my background really, youknow, sales came naturally to me
, but I was always on the salesmanagement side of the industry.
My first love which is kind offunny is paper, believe it or
not.
I loved to design invitationsand stationery and I actually
launched a business.

(06:10):
I opened a retail store at theage of 23 in Annapolis, maryland
, called the Paper Gourmet andit was gifts and invitations to
please every palette, thank you,and it was such an exciting
venture.
And I look back and I think,gosh, that was such a bold move
at that age.
But I was pretty fearlessbecause I knew at that age I had
so little to lose.

(06:32):
And I think now it's like Iknow too much.
So we're ruled by fear in a waythat we aren't when we're
younger.
So I encourage people that areyoung to really take risks that
you wouldn't otherwise take,because as you get older you're
not in the same position.
You might not be able to dothat and it ended up being just
an incredible journey, but thatwas really kind of the entree to

(06:53):
the industry for me was I hadthis shop and I loved being a
part of people's lives.
I was doing invitations, youknow, for personal events
exactly all sorts of you knowthe meaningful, you meaningful,
these moments in their life thatare so meaningful engagement
announcements and then weddinginvitations, and of course, the
baby showers.

So there's a lot of design that's involved in all
of that.
Yeah, absolutely.

And I still have a love for all of that.

And that was back again quite some time 30 years
ago.
But I enjoyed the giftcomponent of that shop, so I had
gifts and so forth and I wouldgo to the Atlanta show.
And that again just kind ofopened my eyes to this bigger
world and I was just sointrigued by their creativity

(07:40):
all around me.
Interestingly enough, that wasactually when I was in, you know
, again in a different building.
Anybody who's been to theAmerica's Mart knows there are
different buildings and eachactually house different types
of product.
So the Merchandise Mart, whichis where our showroom is housed,
of course, is namely furniture,home decor, and that was a

(08:01):
building I never stepped foot inbecause it was, you know, it
was kind of out of reach.
It wasn't something that acategory of product that I would
have bought into.
So you can imagine, years later, when I actually had a chance
to be exposed to that, it wasjust to me, it was like my
everything.

Oh yeah, yeah, so were you buying for your
store.

Voice Over (08:20):
I was.

So you were a buyer at such a young age.

Well, she was buying she's, I was, so you were
a buyer at such a young age.
Well, she was buying, she'sselling and she's also designing
and running a business.

It was such fun and I really have to credit my
boyfriend at the time, who stillis a close friend to this day.
He was such a great supporter.
Again, I was pretty fearless.
The backstory to this, by theway, is my sister and I lost our
mom pretty young, like a yearbefore this happened or maybe
about two years before thishappened, and quickly thereafter

(08:52):
we lost kind of our fatherfigure.
My mom's only brother hadpassed unexpectedly, so
literally it was't some bigwindfall.
We really felt like the bestthing we could do really would
be as a tribute to both of themwas to take a risk that we

(09:14):
otherwise and to do something weotherwise would not have had a
chance to do.
My sister ended up moving toGuatemala and she taught school
in Guatemala and traveled andthat really was kind of.
She had a love of travel earlyin life.
She was a wonderlust and sheactually was in the.

Voice Over (09:30):
Peace Corps in Rwanda if you can believe it.
A piece really Wow, awonderlust.

All those years ago .
But so that was her journey andthat was her venture and for me
I was a little more comfortablestaying home or staying close
by.
Josh and I were relocating fromAtlanta.
We were gone for about threeand a half years to Annapolis.
He had a job in DC andAnnapolis was so charming and

(09:54):
idyllic and we became such apart.
My business became such a partof that local story, just a
fiber of that community, and itwas just an incredible and
storybook experience for me.
But that was how the businessstarted.

What a segue, really.
What a transition.

And then when I sold the business so I sold the
business Josh had a chance tomove back to Atlanta.
We both actually were really wereally loved Atlanta, so we
were happy to go back.
But I ended up going to work asthe sales manager for the
Simblest Group, which wasdefinitely kind of the
preeminent sales agency forhigher end gift and you know,

(10:32):
and smaller decorative items andso forth.
But you know they had thingslike.
They had things like the Timescollection Do you remember the
Times?
And they had that, that Fraserfir candle that everybody had.
It was you know, all the thingwas all a thing and some
personal care, but it was aboutique agency run by Ron
Simblist and again I hadtransacted business with them as

(10:54):
a buyer and then suddenly Iflip-flop and I get to the sales
management side and worked withthem as a sales manager.
So that was kind of my segue.

What an amazing little story, and I love how
something can start so small andimpactful at the same time.
Brings you full circle almostto where you are now, because
both of I mean not both, butmultiple brands that you
represent now have such a hugefollowing.

Yeah, so tell us about Jay Douglas.

So Doug Self actually is the founder and
president of the company and ifyou've not had a chance to meet
him, I hope at some point whenyou come to Atlanta or High
Point I can introduce you.
He's quite remarkable.
He was a rep himself years agoand I think he saw an
opportunity to maybe do thingsdifferent and better and so he
launched his own sales agencyand gosh, I don't you know, of

(11:48):
course, I don't know.
Trying to think of how manyyears, I'm going to guess that
that was over 20 years ago,maybe 25 years ago.
But he's definitely known inthe industry as kind of as a
pioneer and a leader, and heruns his business with just such
organization, suchprofessionalism, he's such a

(12:10):
kind person and everything isvery well planned out.
I learned so much from just evena conversation from Doug.
There's always a takeawaythat's important and meaningful
and he's really a great partner,but he really lets us run our
business.
I mean, this is, in fact, abusiness that's my own and I get

(12:31):
to run it and I have an adminwho's fantastic.
She's almost full-time.
She's based out of Orlando,because you really in this job,
especially when you havemultiple manufacturers, the
responsiveness is everything youreally need to be able to get
back to people.

Especially the world we live in today.
Communication, yeah Well.

I know that I'm the queen of immediate
gratification and if I can't getan answer right away, I'm on to
the next thing.
So I kind of go about mybusiness with the expectation
that most people are probably alot like me.
So I will usually be on theroad and Shoshana, who is my
admin we call her Shosh she isthere and on the computer and so
people get answers andinformation and orders put

(13:13):
through right away.
So we really try and be like wereally try, and if I'm going to
compete, I have exceptionalproduct, but more than that, we
have exceptional service.
So I want to make sure that myaccounts people like yourself
know so, jay douglas isrepresenting a number of
different brands.

I feel like they were one of the beginning,
because I feel like now so manygroups are under umbrellas.
But if I now think about it,with what you just mentioned,
jay douglas was probably one ofthe original that had multiple
brands in our industry.

So J Douglas is like a company in itself.

It was J Douglas Living Exactly.

And I think he just dropped the living, he
rebranded, I think about 10years ago, and so it's just J
Douglas.
But again, the reputation for JDouglas, just the way he
operates the business, the waythat we as a company, our
culture, all of those things,it's quite something to be
aligned and really be a part ofthat organization.
There are 15 of me within theorganization that do what I do.

That's not that many Throughout the.

United.

States Throughout the Southeast and the
Atlantic.
That's not a huge.
I mean, that's a special group.
It is and we're close.

We have a really interesting, and some of these
people have been there from thebeginning, which is a real
testament, obviously to theorganization, but also to the
brands that we represent.

What are some of the brands you represent?

So, gosh, I'm lucky I have a pretty fantastic line
list Off the top.
Archeriers, obviously, is wherewe met initially, and such an
incredible, incredible company.
Again, the culture is reallyinteresting.
The product is even morephenomenal.

What does their development process look like
at Arteriors?

Do you get involved in anything like that?
I think that they're receptiveto the feedback that we get and
we do share that with, obviously, our contact within their
company, but they're such awell-oiled machine, they have a
process that, again, theirplanning is several years out,
right so what we'll see, youknow, in this next.
You know this next release hasbeen actually in the works for
probably three, four years,actually probably more likely

(15:18):
three but you know they're sucha as a brand.
You know they're such a as abrand.

You know they're such a leader in the industry
and you're talking about Arteria.
Arteria is, in particular andthat's really forward thinking
trending.

They are, but you know all of these companies have
to be.
You know, again, the processinvolved in product development
is a timely one.
I mean it takes, it's a longrun.
But with Arteria in particular,you know they're the big player
, they're factories that theywork with.
Those are their factories, ortheir factories where they're

(15:49):
really the number one probablymanufacturer in terms of volume.
So they really have a they'realways going to be a priority
for those people and it's notnecessarily a customized line.
I mean, there is some customupholstery options not custom,
custom, but within their rangethere is, and that would be more
for and for that customizationthat would be really in their

(16:10):
hospitality or contract division, and that division is not
something that I actually manage.
Again, the business has grownso much that we really have to
kind of stay in our lane.
So I sell primarily to well,completely to residential
designers and retailers.
I sell primarily to well,completely to residential
designers and retailers and myterritory is South Florida,
basically to Delray and up toVero, so it's a lovely and very

(16:32):
nicely, it's a nice-sizedterritory but it's manageable
and that's important because youwant to again be responsive.

Is more of your business on the designers or
retail.
It's more heavily weighted withdesigners for sure, that's what
we're hearing, that's the trendwe're hearing.

I feel like it's been that way for a while, even
when I was on the salesmanagement side.
I really saw that shift severalyears ago where really our
volume was by and largegenerated by the design trade,
the retailers that footprint.
It's expensive to run a retailstore.

And they're somewhat disappearing.

Yes, they are, and I hate that.
I personally love theexperience of shopping.
I like that.
I love a well-curated retailexperience, but I also
understand, having been aretailer.
It's a lot and of course mybusiness was a small business in
comparison, but the designtrade is so very important and
vital to what we do and I wouldsay that's, you know, that's

(17:29):
really kind of the future.

There's a lot of growth still to be had in the
interior design industry, whichis, you know, exciting for me
and in my own research I'verealized it's something that
they even say AI won't reallyinterfere with, because so much
of it is intellectual propertythat only people can explore and

(17:51):
provide, and there is aconnection online and on site or
in meetings, on a daily basis.

Well, there's a personal connection as well with
every client.

And someone's personal space.
I mean that's so important,right, Like you get to know them
, I mean that's so important,right, Like you get to know them
.
I mean there's a real intimacyto that relationship.
That's so important and acomputer can't generate that.
No.

Not at all.
We still find that the vastmajority of consumers don't
understand interior designers.
I think that, oh, it's just tooexpensive to go to an interior
designer.
I'll just go to rooms to go, orjust go to a furniture store.
Part of the reason why we'redoing this podcast is to really
get the message out there thatif you're an individual that's

(18:37):
looking to do your home, go seean interior decorator You'll
save yourself money, yes, and Isay that I'm like a good
designer shouldn't cost you morethan what you were going to
spend.

Making a decision for home product lighting
furniture rugs.
So often people go about it ontheir own and when they do, they
end up actually with productthat they can't use Correct.

Voice Over (18:58):
This happens all the time, all the time.

The lighting doesn't.
The sizing's off the lightingdoesn't correspond with the
existing design plan.
There are so many things andit's very expensive it is no.

They're walking into a furniture store and
they're seeing oh, I love allthis, how this looks.
They're putting it then intheir house, going why doesn't
it look the same in my house?
Well, they're not thinkingabout.
Well, the furniture store hadnice rugs, they had different
lighting, they had wallpaper up,they had wallpaper up, they had
.
Which designer brings it alltogether?

I mean something just as simple as, again,
knowing how to like theplacement of a rug and the
dimensions of a rug.
I know.
If I'm not mistaken, years agoyou interviewed Rip.

Voice Over (19:35):
I think Rip was on here and I love Rip he's.
So Rip and I are counterpartsin the territory.

We actually share one brand, lalloy, so Lalloy has
a little bit different businessmodel in that most brands that
I represent, I am the exclusiverepresentative for this given
territory With Lalloy, weactually share the territory, so
he has accounts that areassigned to him, as do I.
It could be a little rough,couldn't?

it.
Not at all, it actually andagain there's no like
competition.
Yeah, I'm not going to lie.

When I first joined on I thought that seemed a
little.
I thought, gosh, this is alittle shaky to me.
We all play really nicely inthe sandbox together, and
especially you know, rip.

I don't know anybody who doesn't know.
We should probably rip back onbecause we did it during COVID.
We went together.
He's such a stitch, he is astitch.

He's so funny.
But Lalloy is one that we shareand I can tell you like again,
rugs that can be expensive.
You're making it.
I mean, people generally don'tknow how to buy a rug and you
know what Google's not going totell you they always go too
small.

Google's going to guide you only so much.
That's the personal side to it,yeah absolutely Plus Plus.

You want to work with somebody's existing home.
Not everybody's doing a fullredesign, Not everybody has the
budget for that.
So, you need somebody likeyourself to come in, who has the
background and the training andthe resources.
They don't know where to go.

You save infinite time and money by working with
a professional design trade.
But a lot of people think theyknow where.
They think that, oh, there'sthis great store, I'm going to
go there, I'm going to redo mybathroom.
And they realize, oh, I needtile and marble or whatever.
And they go, oh, I can do that,just marble and tile places.

Then when they get it all put together, they go TV.
Yeah, they make it look so easyand the budgets are so
unrealistic.
On that show I always laughbecause-.

They really are Design on time, like I mean
totally Jumping back though tolike our tiers, and even you
just mentioned Lalloy.
So how do you design?

and create and balance your personal business
and brand, essentially betweenbrands that are under the J
Douglas umbrella and then brandsthat are not.
So now I'm not, so I don'tactually do design myself.
I work exclusively withdesigners.
So I sell to design trade.
So I'm not doing design plans,but I actually do help my
designers and my retailersoccasionally if they're looking
for on you guys so often I'llsee, you know you align better
than correct.
We would yeah, and I also knowlike scale.

(22:01):
You know we can look at thedimensions for anything online
and you know I mean you're thedesigner, you know.
But but I can give you somesense because I've seen it in
person.
I can speak to the experiencemore fully or explain kind of
like, is this going to actuallycast enough light?
Is it bright enough?
Is it going to?
You know, these types of things, that that you can't really
gather from just a website aloneso it.

(22:22):
it's really important that again, that I know my brands
intimately and that's really theservice that I provide.
But I also have other brandsother than Arteria.
Again, I'm really lucky to havethe line packages that I do and
I'm probably not going to nameall of them, but really I offer
textiles.
So really even down to the finedetails Bath linens, bed linens

(22:46):
, beautiful bedding and evenactually the inserts for your
personal space I find itsurprising often that not all of
my designers actually take theproject that full step.

That's Tiffany.
She takes it.
Not every project allows you totake that full step.

I of course, would love every.
Every project allows you totake that full step.
I, of course, would love everyproject to allow me to do that.

And me too.
We just did an installation twodays ago.
I think it was like twotruckloads of furniture and
whatnot.
The house was Tiffany redid,the whole house brought
everything in and she alsobought them all their new plates
, their cups, their knives andforks and whatnot.

The house was Tiffany redid.

the whole house brought everything in and she
also bought them all their newplates, their cups, their knives
and forks and spoons Like trulychunky yeah, everything.
Towels, the linen, includingremodeling the whole house, all
new floors staircase wallpaperand all furniture, but all, even
the little teeny things.

It has to be so satisfying for you to step back
and recognize the finishedproduct, of course.
And it's such a personal again.
It's really such a personalexpression.
There aren't many things thatyou can do in someone's life
that are more personal thanhelping them design their home
and, again, their bedrooms forexample I was just going to say
so their bedroom.

So when you say one of the lines you represent
is like what the downs duvets?
So I represent peacock alley,okay, which is out of dallas
family owned company.

Actually, most of the companies that we, that we
represent, are still, of course,family owned.
Um lovely brand, and actuallypeacock alley is the brand that
I hired jay douglas for, youknow, all those years ago.
So I know the family I'm veryfond of of them.
The product that theymanufacture is beautiful.

Voice Over (24:25):
Yeah, it is beautiful.
Where is that out of?

And they're out of Dallas Dallas.

And they actually have a lot of custom
capabilities that just don'texist in the industry any longer
.
And that's all done in Dallas,their Dallas workroom.
Wow, most of their products areeither Italian or made in
Portugal, and the line is vast,but it's really kind of
something for everyone.
I mean I can do something on amore contemporary scale, I can
do something a little bit moretraditional.

(24:49):
I can do monograms.
I mean it's nice to have thatkind of in my offerings.
But in addition to PeacockAlley, I also have one other
textile brand.

Voice Over (25:01):
It's called Pom Pom at Home and it's fun because
it's just got that really chickind of laid-back luxe linen
look.

Effortless, stylish , really comfortable and they're
amazing.
Every market.
I'm just kind of in awe.
You come to market because youwant to see new and exciting and
they deliver every time we wentto market this year year and we
saw you there.
Yeah, in our tears.

First time for me to ever go.
Oh no, when we left I said toTiffany I said you need to start
bringing clients here, likewhen you're redoing an entire
house this is like in two days,you can show them and they can
sit in there.

I'm hoping through the podcast and through
the growth, is really growingpeople's understanding of what
is out there, and I feel likeone thing that you realize at
market is everything has itsvalue there.
I feel like people aren't whenwe're together and you're
looking at a bottom nine of anumber of like oh, I want to

(26:03):
spend that on that chair, youknow.
Or oh, blah, blah, blah, Likewhen you see there is a
difference, and I feel likethat's the biggest takeaway from
High Point is just there is adifference of the quality of, I
mean, at least the things I'mlooking at there.
It all holds its value and thensome and I feel like that's

(26:24):
something that's depending onthe client might get lost and I
feel like it's my job to reallybring that back of like it is
special and it's about creatingthis unique, you know, story
that is your home Well, and kindof really introducing them to
like kind of their futureheirloom, if you will.

(26:45):
Without a doubt.

So that that is hopefully furniture that you
know will last, but also thathopefully their children will
want at some point to have intheir home that kind of idea.

Without a doubt , and I feel like there was a
time where the heirloomfurniture industry, in our
instant gratification, madeoverseas mentality where things
were in stock.
I would say even I lost sightof that as we were like kind of
talking out in the office.
You know, my career startedwith only high, high-end

(27:17):
residential.
I was only doing, you know,million-dollar interiors to $7
million to $10 million houses.
That was like where I startedvery young and then, as my life
changed becoming a mom and goingto schools and you know kid
events I started meeting, youknow, families who were just
building their life and mycareer just on its own, trying

(27:40):
to transition, with friendsbeing like, well, can you help
me?
And like, can you help me totransition?
With friends being like, well,can you help me?
And like, can you help me?
And they couldn't necessarilydo the million dollar interior
in nine months or 12 months or18 months, but they were able to
do it over a few years, youknow, and it really was special
to me to be able to introduceall this to them.

(28:04):
Yeah, because, yeah, becausewhere else I feel like it does
get lost in furniture stores.
Like you say you love abeautifully curated store, I
mean a big furniture store, eventhough they're really lovely
for some reasons I just don'tthink it translates like I'll
say, having lived in Atlanta forso long, the retail environment

(28:24):
there is obviously prettyimpressive Right, because
obviously the size of the city,the sheer population can support
it.

But I love a retail and I'm curious what you like,
but in a retail environment.
I love a retail environmentthat has a real mix.
I want to layer it.
I want to go in and be inspired, not just by what's new.
I want to layer it.
I want to go in and be inspirednot just by what's new.
I want to see some product thatis found like true art and
found objects, things that arebeing repurposed and special.

Things that are unique and different.
It's not like walking into aregular, just furniture store.

Do you find with your projects?
Do you incorporate a lot ofthat?

I would love to spend more time and I hope to,
and we do spend time doing thatand obviously there's some jobs
that lend you to be able to domore of that than others.
But to me that is what isspecial, too about going to High
Point and even going to be andseeing arteriores is because for
a lot of around here those arestill special found pieces.

(29:22):
Even though they might not bevintage or completely from
another time, they are so unique.

Yes, and the finishes and the mixed metals
and there's a story and there isTo the product.
An artistic story especially, Imean with each of my brands and
again I have to give credit toseveral of them Villa and House
which I love, which formerly wascalled Bungalow 5, and they're
amazing.

I want to hear why they changed the name.

Not that I matter on camera I can't be sure 100%
that my story is correct, but Ibelieve that there was an
ownership like a chance forissue.
But the ownership of thecompany did not change.
Thankfully, because they'relovely people to work with and
certainly to represent.
But I think somebody there wasBungalow the name even though
they had been in business for, Ithink, at 30 years at that
point Wow, yeah, so they changedthe name and honestly, yeah, so

(30:09):
they changed the name and,honestly, things have continued
to flow just the same.
I know, isn't it one of?
Those things we overthink andPhila in-house doesn't always
roll off the tongue so easily soI refer to it as B&H.
B&h.
I do too, because that's thewebsite.

Yeah, exactly, it's much easier, but that brand
they just reinvent themselvesconstantly.

Again, the materials, people like Arteriors
.
I mean, these companies are sosmart about design and again
they're thinking, you know, wayfar ahead of what I could even
get my head around.
And another one of my partnersthat's really just, I would say
are just killing it in terms of,you know, introducing new
product and being reallyaggressive in kind of, in their

(30:51):
pursuit of new business always,and their service is fantastic,
is Worlds Away.
I love Worlds Away it was asmaller brand years ago,
vanities now.
And they had a little bitdifferent vibe, they are just so
fresh.
And again new product, always.
People are really excited by itand to your point, the vanities
.

Voice Over (31:09):
The vanities.
I mean that's a whole newcategory for them.

That is doing really, really well.
So I'm really lucky to havethese brand partners and some
accessories as well.
I mean Eddie Lawrence, who doesthe fantastic books out of
Atlanta, all the customization.
They've always been special.
I love such a nice guy, but hiscreativity is just like next
level.
Cfc and Noir are both partnersof mine as well, and CFC is

(31:34):
abbreviated for Custom Furnitureand Cabinetry.
That's how they started.
They were a custom cabinetbuilder in California and I have
to remind people in myterritory often like this is
basically your own Like.
Think about this as your ownworkshop.

Voice Over (31:46):
Wow.

I didn't even know that.

They can do.
Oh well, then I'm not doing myjob.

And now you do.

But not only can we customize, by changing the
finish, the products that theyhave within their existing line,
but we have the ability tocustomize and actually
manufacture something that's notin existence.
And they do it beautifully.

And it's domestic.
They are a great line in Noir.
Tell us a little bit more aboutthose two brands.
Sure, so both California-based,they're related, right.

They are so actually the designer, and this
is interesting in this day andage.
Usually you have a design teamto put out this kind of product.
So many new products eachseason and really just to have
that true creativity, I think.
For me personally, I think thatat some point I would just tap
out I wouldn't have any moreideas.

(32:36):
But George actually is at thehelm of the design team for both
brands and he is the onlyperson, the sole designer, does
not use CAD.
But everything new, everything.

Wow, lighting too.

Mad genius, right I mean so creative and just
fascinating to me that oneperson can think up and create
all of this and put all of itout there and ever evolving.
And actually noir is reallyinteresting in that they launch.
It's not duplicated reallyeither no, it's not.
And it's also noir is not.

(33:07):
It's constructed from like 100%wood product.
It is not.
Of course, some materialssometimes will have brass or
marble or other surfaces, buttheir wood product is all wood.
There's no fiberboard, there'sno MDF, it's no particle board.
It is 100% wood.
And there aren't a lot ofbrands out there that can say
that.
But what they do is soinnovative and fresh and really

(33:29):
interesting and it's really kindof the jewelry and I feel this
way about our terriers.
Often too, it's the jewelry inthe room.
You know, it's that moment.

They're the conversation pieces.
Absolutely yeah, they reallyare, and.

I've seen people do some really cool things with a
lot of my Noir productsrepurposing it into sink bases,
you know that type of thing Evenusing it, building it in two
walls inset to make it like acustom cabinet.

So you represent quite a few very very strong,
well-known brands in theindustry.
I mean when you think about allthe different names you
represent and you look at theircatalogs, how extensive they are
.
That's a job in itself toreally stay on top of.

Yeah so I have no hobbies.
How's that?
Your hobby, is that my hobby?
Is that so?

I'll ask you a question, then, from a design
standpoint of all the thingsthat you sell, is there one area
that you really personally loveto sell more than another?
That's a great question.

Not necessarily a company but a type of a I love
lighting.
I think lighting makes thespace.

Right.

It makes the room.
It's the most fun thing to lookfor, I feel like.
I think so I enjoy lighting.
I really do, and I can't reallyspeak as to why, but I think it
just you know, for me, andmaybe it's because really I have
so many brand partners that dosuch strong and they also unique

(34:51):
lighting.

They own that category in such a big way they
really do.
All those brands I mean even toNoir has such funky they're not
a huge catalog of lighting butall funky you have a Noir light
fixture.

Well and actually in fairness.
So you're asking me what I liketo sell the most.
I mean, I do love the lighting,actually come to really love
upholstery too.
That was a category that I hadnot touched on really before
joining J Douglas, and actuallywe have a brand that we sell
exclusively.
There's really only one othersales agency in the US that
sells it, and I think one of thereasons I love to sell it is

(35:24):
I've been to the factory.
I've met the people Iunderstand and trust in the
construction.
The story is a good one.
It's still American sourced andAmerican made.
So not just is it constructed inthe US, actually just outside
of High Point, but it's also theproduct itself is sourced in
the US, which I think you know.
We don't have a lot of storieslike that out there.
But as a designer and you and Ican attest to this in this

(35:49):
world and I get these callsoccasionally, where you know
your customer is using GoogleLens and they're price comparing
and it's just Totallyridiculous.

Voice Over (35:54):
It's so maddening.

You've done all the work and you occasionally have
that customer who or that client, I should say, who just you
know thinks they're doingthemselves a favor, when in fact
it just it opens up a whole canof worms it's part of.
But I love that Charter Street.
Actually their line ofdistribution is so clean so
we're not selling to anybody buttrade, so it's not shoppable,
so it's not only a great productbut it really then kind of

(36:19):
quiets or completely nullifiesthat conversation that you would
have.
But I love how the productdelivers, it shows beautifully
and it's a nice line, boutiquekind of bespoke product and
that's actually kind of been my,that's been my kind of my fun
pet project since I got here.
I just didn't know how much I'denjoy that category.

So, as new things are coming out with all these
companies, are you lookingforward to that or are you
looking at that as like oh, thisis more than.

I got it's like Christmas.

It is like Christmas, I mean, it is
Christmas I today.

I feel like that teenage girl that actually was
always waiting for her, likeTeen Beat or Glamour magazine,
you know like they come in themail back when we used to get
subscriptions.

So how do you learn about when they're like
new or you know arterias, whenthey're coming out with stuff?
Do they have a little meetingwhere you go and you get shown
things?

Yeah, absolutely, and the stories are you know.
Again, it's so great right tounderstand the backstory, to
know kind of how the product youknow, kind of how it?
Evolved.
So each brand has obviouslyusually a sales manager,
somebody at the helm, kind ofthat's our, you know, kind of
our contact, our direct contact,and we'll usually get on a Zoom
call as a group and they'llwalk us through the new product

(37:30):
introductions and tell us thebackstory, which is really
fascinating.

Really fascinating.

Voice Over (37:34):
Can you imagine?

There's a lot of note-taking which is great.
And the photos and lots of oohsand aahs.
But then we'll also follow upwhen we actually see that
particular manufacturer at thenext market.
So we have Atlanta market inevery January and every July, so
January market's just a matterof weeks away, Wow.
And we'll do a walkthrough ofall the new product and a

(37:56):
refresh on what's existingBecause, you know, sometimes we
find ourselves getting.
You know we, like I, may havecertain products.
You asked earlier do I havecertain things that are my
favorites?
I think we all do, I know.

And I have to reuse things, but sometimes
they're just so good that it'slike okay, but I have to force
myself sometimes to.

I need to talk to my counterparts that are doing
what I do elsewhere in thecountry or in the region and say
what's working for you, tell me, what are you getting traction
from and what's the backstory,why is that working for you?
And we'll exchange thosestories, which is so important
Because, again, ultimately Icome back and I can actually
make that beneficial for myclients here.
So you know, I learn always,even about products that are

(38:38):
already existing in the line.
I'm still learning more aboutthose because you know there's
because they're vast companiesand brands.
You know I don't want to buy it,and I really don't want to be a
mile wide and an inch deep.
I really want it to be focusedand be a resource you know
that's trusted.
Yeah.

Good question.
So Jay Douglas had their ownbooth.

So we have our own showroom, showroom in High Point
.

We do, which is, at least from my perspective.
That's unusual because all thereps that we know they're all
inside of other you know thebrands that they're representing
.

Yes.

But you have multiple brands in your showroom
.
I mean, that's a realcommitment from a rep company.
Oh yeah.

Absolutely yeah.
But I think again it kind ofspeaks to.
It's really a testament toDoug's belief in the brand but
what that does is it gives us anopportunity for the brands that
might be kind of smallerboutique companies, that might
not be able to well, theyprobably could, but they may not
want to actually take on thecommitment, which is a big one
of their own corporate showroomin those environments so we

(39:41):
actually then can staff and showtheir product in a really
beautiful way under one roof inthat market.
So some of those smaller brandscan actually be housed there.
So they still get a presence,because we want to make sure
that our clients have theability to see each of our brand
partners at market and it'salso nice to have it again

(40:01):
outside of Arterios has theirreally beautiful showroom.
We cover a lot of ground, so wedo have the corporate showrooms
, but then we have our showroomin addition too, and in our
showroom not only do we showthose brands that are only
housed in our showroom, but, ifyou notice, we'll have the rugs
from Lalloy.
We'll even have some of theone-of-a-kind rugs from Lalloy
that are beautiful, and thenwe'll have lighting and

(40:23):
accessories, kind ofcross-merchandised, so that we
can actually again remind ourclients when we're in there that
don't forget, we have this,this and this, right, and then
we can go back circle, back tothose corporate showrooms, right
, yeah, yeah, it's.
It's pretty impressiveorganization.
It's very, very well thought outright, yeah, it is yeah, we get
our steps in at high point, forsure oh, I know that's the best

(40:45):
part of yeah you know, at leastit's like exercise for fun so
what did you think of high point?

what was your?
I was overwhelmed by you know,I've been in a number of
different businesses.
I've spent a lot of time goingto trade shows representing
products and brands that Ieither had and was selling and,
like you said, a lot of steps.
It's a whole city of justfurnishings.

Fascinating, isn't it?
Yeah, you know when I think ofwhat.

Dakota used to be here in South Florida.
That's nothing compared to whatHigh Point is.
It's like I said when we weregoing to the airport leaving I
said to Tiffany you need to stopbringing some of the clients
here.

So how do you think about that?
What's your thought on that?

I thought of one client immediately, like they
would have walked around andwould have bought everything for
their entire house.

Well, I always say, you know, with clients in
general and in my own designprocesses, we all love a lot of
things and we appreciate so much.
So, going to a high point, youjust see so many things you love
and want to use anywhere andeverywhere because they're all
so cool or beautiful and edgyand new or what have you.
But not every project can houseeach thing, so that might be

(41:56):
distracting for somebody whocan't compartmentalize and that
person yeah, you know what Imean.

Be like that's my future lake house, that's my
future country house, exactly.
But it's another girl's dreamand I get so many of those
little picture boards.

in my brain it was like, okay, this would be
great for a Yellowstone ranch.

Voice Over (42:12):
This would look great in a New York City
apartment yeah, you get part ofit.

You do that kind of thing.

I'll say it again on this podcast that anyone
who's considering the thinkingof remodeling, redoing the house
even if it's one room and theyfeel they're going to spend
money that they're caring aboutthey should get a designer and
they should go to High Point.
They should go see.

It's just.
It really opens your eyes tothe possibilities, doesn't?

it yes.

It's a special experience.

Not to knock furniture stores, but when you
go into a furniture store it'slike they have the chairs on the
floor.
But I don't think peoplerealize that this chair you
could get probably 500 differentways.
There's so many other fabricsyou can get the different wood
finishes on the legs and soforth, that I don't think people
know that.

I don't think people realize that, scott, are
you looking to take over my job?

No, but that's one of the reasons why we're
doing this podcast is to try, toanyone who listens, to educate
them more that it's an endlessamount of possibilities, that
you don't have to just stickwith the one thing that you saw.
That can be changed.

I call tiffany a com junkie well, I like, yeah,
you know, we get all the, allthe orders that come in.

It's for me in the beginning when I got special
, yeah yeah, when I got involvedwith her like three years ago
in this business, I would say toher why are we selling a chair
to this client and we're puttinga different fabric on, a
different trim on, and now we'respecifying the color of the leg
to be a different finish?
What was wrong with the onethat's on the website?
She's like that's not what theend result I want to have in

(43:51):
this house, and so three yearslater, you understand.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Well, you understand when you see the home
done.
Yes, yeah, you know I've hadthe pleasure and I'll say unique
pleasure to have worked withsome of the most talented
artists in the world, from musicand entertainment and so forth,
from Paul McCartney to you nameit.
Oh my gosh, wow.
Paul McCartney do you name them?
Oh my gosh, Wow, goodness.
No one's more talented thanwhat I see Tiffany do.

(44:16):
That's only from a husband,right, which is going to lead me
to my next question I want toask you is that she's constantly
sending on Instagram.
Every day she sends mesomething to look at that
another designer is doing oranother interior design firm is
doing.
Look at this room, they didLook at this and look at that,
and there's a lot of very, verytalented interior designers that
are out there and she's showingit to me on social media.

So what you do, is social media important or part
of what you do, very so I don'tthink it's so important, like my
role in social media, but Ilook very closely at what my
clients are doing.
It's really important for me.
In order for me to be a helpfulresource to them, I have to
have some sense of what yourprojects look like.
You know kind of what theexecution is design wise for you

(45:02):
.
Perfect example today, walkinginto your office, kind of
looking at your job board andseeing you know cuttings and so
forth.
I mean I may be able to be like, do you already have?
You know you're assigned to ripfor Lalloy, so I can't say this
, but usually I'll walk in andbe like do you have a rug?

Voice Over (45:16):
Because I have a rug I have, you know, I've got.

I've got a beautiful, you know, like I,
something that will correspond,or I have a light like that's
going to work really well withthis particular collection.
So so I think that that's youknow kind of value that
hopefully that I bring.

What do the brands expect from you at all?
What does it look like for thecross-promotion?
Obviously, when you tag a brandwho evolves, that Is that the
brands themselves, or JayDouglas.

So the brands each are, I think, spearheading their
own.
They have their social mediateams.
Again, that's a job, a rolethat they actually all have
internally and, of course, theywant us to promote that as much
as we possibly can.
I mean, who would ever haveimagined the impact of that to

(46:07):
our industry?
Right, it's just kind ofmind-boggling.
You and I were talking abouttechnology and its impact
earlier.
No, it's pretty amazing.
But I think that you're askingabout the expectation.
For me, personally, I think thevalue that I bring is really,
again, like the service, butreally to make sure that I'm

(46:28):
telling the story that thebrands want to be told.
You know, flipping through acatalog is not tactile.
I want you to have samples.
I need you to have things inyour hands so you can experience
and so that your clients canexperience that too.
So I really try and encouragemy accounts to lean on me for
those resources.
We were talking about yourlibrary earlier.
It's like you know, like whatcan I?

do.
I don't think we do a good jobwith that.
I don't think we lean on likeyourself.
We don't.

But I feel, as the team has grown now here
we'll be able to lean on ourreps more.

We also don't do a great job on social media at
all.

We don't really put any emphasis into it.

We're working too .

That's our 2025 goal.
You're busy with this podcastYou've got a lot going on.

And I'm busy with this podcast.
You've got a lot going on andit's our goal.
Yeah, I think the podcast isreally now making us rethink
that we need to put more of aneffort into the social Well, and
I don't know.

I mean, I feel like we're all in a similar age
group, that's like a whole newskill set yeah it is.
So I'd say, take it easy onyourself, don't put too much
pressure on yourself tounderstand and know all of that.
I think that that's where theseyounger people having somebody
in your office, an intern evenusually can take that over and
they come by it so righteously,just innately in that age group,

(47:43):
in that demographic.

Because I'm one of these people who's such a
perfectionist I don't want toput anything that doesn't look
perfect online and meanwhilesome people totally don't
overthink it, like it doesn'tmatter if there's blue tape
still on there for a paint touchup you're gonna wait till that
yeah, and then that never endsup like yeah coming to fruition.
We've moved on our times right.

Moved on anyway yeah, well, I'm terrible about I
.
I have done projects on my own,so, um and I and I joke that
half of being smart is knowingwhat you're dumb at so I know
just enough about design to keepout of trouble.
And then come to theprofessionals for the things
that I know I don't knowanything about.
But I've always.

(48:26):
And I look back at this and Ithink, gosh, one of my greatest
regrets is I always forget totake the before pictures.
I always take the afterpictures and you really want to
be able to appreciate just howfar you've come in a project.

And that is the gratification.
I always say that too, actuallythat some of these projects
that are existing are almostmore fun than starting from
scratch, because it's reshapingsomething and breathing new life
into it.
You can start from scratch andcreate something that's really
magnificent, but starting withsomething that was really odd or
awful or, you know, had a lotof quirks, and then creating

(49:04):
something really.

It's kind of tough, though, sometimes, just to tell
somebody that their baby isugly.

I know it's easier when they call you
no-ears Very easily.
It's a good saying.

You just tread gently or tread lightly,
Absolutely.
I know it's so interesting.
I'm fascinated by the podcast,though I think you have a fan of
me now I'm going to make apoint.
I listened to a few of yourprevious podcasts after I met
you in October.
You're a work in progress.
No, I love it though.

You and I talked about this earlier.

You know I spend a lot of time in the car and I'm
on the phone quite a bithands-free.
I'm careful, but this is abetter use of my time listening
to podcasts.
There's so much to learn.
There is so much to learn.
And not just specific to design,but about personalities and
people and kind of what makes ustick.
And this is, at the end of theday, we are selling, or I'm

(50:00):
selling product, but it's reallyI mean, this is again such an
intimate industry it is, and soit's really about the people and
the personalities.

It is and I love that too like even through
you and learning the stories ofthese brands and of these items,
and there's just not enoughhours in the day to always, you
know, remember all those things.

Do you feel like your clients appreciate knowing
on what is available, which isendless?

Yeah, so, even though it's endless and it's
available, we can.
I always say, like, do you knowhow many I edited to get to
these three?
Yeah, do you know how much weedited, like out of all those
crazy chairs and all the crazylight fixtures or lamps, like

(50:51):
literally as we've curated yourhouse.
I think only these three arelike a perfect complement.

Amazing.

You know.
So, like there was a lot ofediting to get to, yeah, and you
hope that people.

You know, sometimes they again whether people
really can grasp just how muchgoes into that.
It's hard to know, but we know,and that's why we're also doing
this.

It is kind of a profession where people think,
oh well, I can do that myself,versus understanding all the
many facets.
Oh, yeah, the construction andthe coordination is truly so
much of what we do, and it's notalways easy and seamless, but
at the end of the day, I meanthere's nothing we won't do to

(51:36):
make it right.
You know, at the end of theproject but I have that
gratification.

To your point, though, again, just, you know,
there's so many facets to thebusiness, and the things that
nobody, like a, you know the enduser, would never be able to
understand is something assimple as actually receiving the
product, the delivery of thatchest or that console, simple
things like that we can't reallygenerally deliver to a

(52:04):
residential address.
Correct the world doesn't worklike that.
I mean, in some instances wecan.
Is it ideal?
No, that's when things go wrong.
And again, that's why it's soimportant to have somebody on
your side that can manage all ofthat for you.
I always tell my customers, ormy clients I should say I'm like
you know, that's again, that'swhere we come in.
I should be to your point.

(52:24):
I have several brands, but Ishould be the single point of
contact for you.
You should not have to have arelationship individually with
multiple brands.
You should have one numberthat's mine, one email that's
mine.
So if something does gosideways, I'm your single point
of contact.
We'll take it from there.
Something arrived damaged ormaybe short shipped, maybe
there's an invoicing or billingquestion or issue.

(52:45):
That's what I'm here for, sonot only to tell the story about
the product and the brands andeducate, but really the service.
Yeah, and that's important and Ireally do Like I take that very
seriously and it kind of comesback to just being a young
person in business all thoseyears ago and growing up working
in customer service, even inhigh school, having weekend jobs

(53:06):
.

It's kind of part of my core, you know it's
like in my DNA Well, you do itwell.
Well, you know it's like in myDNA Well, you do it well.
Well, thank you, I appreciateit and we're grateful that you
joined us today.
We always have like thesequestions for fun.
These are more just for fun, oh, okay.

Yeah.
So we're going to ask you acouple of think of design.
Is there a hotel that comes tomind that you love to design?
Oh goodness, something thatstands out.
Oh, I hate to.

Well, I like anything that makes me feel at
home and, honestly, this is nota well-known hotel but it's more
an inn, kind of a luxury inn inArizona, in Paradise Valley,
the La Hermosa Inn.
La Hermosa I love Spanish,adobe and also Mediterranean

(53:54):
architecture.

Is that near Scottsdale?
Yeah, I think it's ParadiseValley is the address.
Is the actual city,mediterranean?

architecture.
Is that near Scottsdale?
Yeah, I think it's ParadiseValley is the address, is the
actual city, but yes, justoutside of Scottsdale it's not.
Again, it's not a grand hotel.
I think what I like is thatit's so again, it just.

The way you feel when you're there.

Precisely, yeah, yeah, absolutely.
I mean, I can think of grandhotels that are awe-inspiring,
but this is really more again,what I enjoy.
Oh, I love that.
Yeah, if you haven't been go, Ihave to check it out.
It's special yeah.

I think I may have stayed there.
It sounds familiar.
Yeah, be sure you go in thewinter.

It sounds familiar.
Don't go in July.

What is your favorite wardrobe accessory?
Oh goodness, Spanx.
Wardrobe accessory oh goodnessum sphinx.
I love that.

Talk about an amazing story, no right, like
there's so much there.
Well, and now she's launchedher shoe brand.

I don't know what do you think I'm curious,
what do you?
Think about those.
I'm like you know, I'veactually gone online to like
maybe buy a pair.
But then I'm like, oh, oh, do Iwant to spend $500?
On that, but then again I getit.
But yeah, what a brilliant likejust this and you know, she's
somebody too who I listen tooften and follow, which brings

(55:08):
back what we do here atiDesignLab.
But everybody's stories arejust so fascinating and the
growth, oh yeah.

I have so much respect for it.
I these stories are just sofascinating, and the growth.

Oh yeah, I have so much respect for it.

I don't know her, Sarah, but I know people that
know her pretty well.

Just having been in Atlanta.

Well, in Atlanta, right and my friends that have
kids that are close in age.
That went to school with herkids and she's legit.
I mean everything I know abouther.
Just what you see is reallytruly who she is.
And she gives back in a big wayand, of course, you know,
really took care of heremployees when she sold the
company.
But no, I joke about that, butit's actually kind of true.

(55:43):
I feel like that changed my.
You know, that's transformedhow clothing fits.

I think most women have transformed how it is
.
Yeah, I mean yeah, it's trulybrilliant.
It's one of those things that,and it keeps getting better.

I agree, I mean I have to.
You know it's a littleembarrassing, but I'm like, yeah
, if you're asking me, you wantthe honest about truth.

That might be the best answer yeah.

Yeah, that's a good answer.

I think most people would answer that if they were
being truthful.
Two more questions.

Sure, with all the things that you represent,
is there a favorite design,design element?

Design element, yeah, or design piece, lighting,
for sure Is there a piece ormore of a.
I'm going to get in troublebecause I have so many, Honestly
, we have.
Oh God, I'm so lucky because wehave so many good things there
is.

There's an item that just stands out to you.

that's like there are a couple, honestly.
But if I'm going to talk aboutlighting, our Terriers recently
launched, honestly.
But if I'm going to talk aboutlighting, our terriers recently
launched and it was actually twoseasons ago but it was called
the Belal Chandelier and it'sbeautiful and it's basically
kind of a mix like eucalyptusleaves.
It's stunning.
Yeah, I know, but I'm veryexcited to report that that,
because I love green as a color,I do too.

(56:51):
I'm actually expecting thatright now for someone, and it
might be.
Are you?
And did you see the flush mountthat they introduced?

No, so that's beautiful.
I don't know if I did and thathas done very well.

It's gorgeous, and that, as a category, is
something that, honestly, Ithink we were really in need of
larger scale flush mounts.

I think that they have Like the diameter
Totally yeah.

And they've done a.
Really it's been very wellreceived.
I would look specifically likethe Fera the Bilal, but I love
the Bilal.
But I'm actually most excited.
I got a little tip from somefolks in the management team
that that's actually going to bereleased in a white colorway,
which I love.

I just love the simplicity of that.
Anything with white and I lovegreen, but that's more of a
commitment Always rings true.

So that's kind of my favorite now, but also going
to be my future favorite.

Favorite yeah for sure, I love that Absolutely
Favorite restaurant design-wiseLike a restaurant that's just
so pretty.
Again, it could be a feelingGoodness.

I would almost say, could it be someone's home.

Oh, I love home entertaining.
I love home entertaining.

No answer is the wrong answer, but every answer
is always interesting, my sisterand I were lucky enough with
her kids years ago to stay inGranada, Spain.
Actually, her life partner,Stephen, has a home in Granada
and has had it for years, and wewent and did like a fun girls
trip years ago and there'ssomething about being and

(58:23):
actually it's literally you know, you open the windows and
you're looking directly at theAlhambra, so I mean it's just so
, it's breathtaking, so to becooking and breaking bread, if
you will, in that environment,you know, and with loved ones,
that's pretty special.
So I can think of restaurantsthat I love and I love a good
meal and I love a good glass ofwine, but I think that that
really just when I think aboutthat, that's more memorable.

I agree, and I'm a sucker for beautiful tile
work, you know, and all of thecolor.

And I love that they're so fearless with all of
that.

And it's just a special, it's a special space.
Yeah, and I love that I do tooyeah.
What a great way to Althoughshouldn't it be my own kitchen?
No, I feel like kicking inother people's kitchens in
Europe is definitely a betterhave you.

If you've not been to Granada, I will tell you it's
an all-time favorite for me.
I have such affection for thatarea.

That's your sister, do you guys?

get to go often.
No, I've not had a chance to goback, and I think one of the
reasons that I do need to goback, for sure, one of the
reasons I like it so much is itreminds me a little bit of home.
The topography in Granadareminds me a great deal of
northern Nevada, which is whereI'm from, and their climate is
not just completely dissimilareither, but it's just beautiful

(59:37):
and, let's be honest, you know,the Spanish people are lovely
and the food's lovely and thelanguage is pretty easy and,
yeah, it's just everything aboutit.
Make a trip, yeah.

Well, I love that.
Yeah, it's a good way to wrapup on a high note.
Thank you so much for joiningus.

Thank you for having me and Merry Christmas or
Happy Hol holidays, whatevereverybody is celebrating.
Thank you.

Voice Over (59:58):
Well, thank you Appreciate it.
Idesign Labs podcast is an SWGroup production in association
with the Five Star and TWInteriors.
To learn more about iDesign Labor TW Interiors, please visit
TWinteriorscom.

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