S1:E33 Success is made up from a lot of things

We sit down and discuss life and business with our amazing talented friend, Nancy from Design Link Interiors. It's a great story of how people who when are given chances or opportunities, and are eager to take them and run can build amazing success.   Plus, you're going to love Jeremy's moment of Joy for the week! :)

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Episode Transcript

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (00:00):
I'm so busy today.

(00:01):
I don't have time to talk toNancy.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_09 (00:03):
Hey,

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-20 (00:04):
Oh, what?

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_ (00:05):
that's your priority, Stacey.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19- (00:06):
Ouch.
Man.
Well, you know, 1 of myemployees, uh, brought me to the
side.
It's 1 of my employees, 1 of our

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (00:14):
your showroom employees.
Good.
I'll remind you of that nexttime.
There's a problem.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19 (00:20):
please don't she's like, is, is Stuart
okay.
And I was like, yeah, he's fine.
Nothing, nothing happened.
She's like, he just seems likehe's in another place.
And I said, he's probably got 4,000 things going on.

(00:40):
That's about it.
See?
Yeah.
So that's what I was like.
He was fine.

stuart_1_09-19-2024_09071 (00:44):
yeah, I have a new build that had to
do electrical walk through onMonday at a moment's notice for
the entire house, which is why Iwas that much later on Monday
and, one of my remodels that, Ilove her to death.
This is the fifth house I'vedone for her.
We were there yesterday doing awalkthrough and I came back and
told Jeremy that, we have maybetwo weeks of solid work left,

(01:05):
you know, just putting up somelight fixtures and some mirrors
and we're done with what we'vestarted, you know, in February,
which is great.
And they're happy there.
Well, now they've decided to addon to the back of the house
before we leave.
So,

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-202 (01:18):
Oh dear lord,

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (01:20):
so,

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_09071 (01:21):
a project that never ends.

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (01:23):
and we just, we just need to do it
before we move in.
I was like, well, It won't betwo weeks

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-20 (01:30):
it?
Yeah, get another designer.
Yeah.

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090 (01:32):
they're fine.
They're fine.
They both have other houses tolive in, so it's whatever.
So yeah.
So it's just kind of back up andpunt and you just gotta, just
gotta get, just gotta

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (01:41):
You gotta roll with it.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (01:43):
and he's also like, not freshly, but
back from vacation.
And you know, anytime you go outof town and you get back, it's
just like a shit

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (01:49):
It's a week of catch up.
Just

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (01:50):
Two weeks, a month,

stuart_1_09-19-2024_09071 (01:52):
Well, yeah, just, just in office stuff
and weeding through Dwayne'semails and frantic texts at 10
o'clock at night that he'ssending me for questions of shit
I don't know about.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_09 (02:03):
Hey, that's the life that we all
live.
So

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-20 (02:07):
You want to be

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_09071 (02:07):
well, I'm glad to know

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-20 (02:08):
you get to be boss lady.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0907 (02:11):
7.

stuart_1_09-19-2024_09071 (02:12):
yeah,

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_ (02:13):
stops.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_09071 (02:14):
Well, listeners, the wonderful female
voice that you're hearing withus today

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-2 (02:19):
It's not Dwayne.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (02:20):
it's not Dwayne high pitched it is
our beautiful and incrediblytalented friend, Nancy Elam, who
is a designer entrepreneur,businesswoman, head bitch in
charge of.
Um, a design firm here inLexington called design link.
And I'm going to let you give alittle bit more, just give us a

(02:42):
quick rundown of like thebusiness and what your role is
and all that, and then we'll getinto the fun stuff just so
people know who you are.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0907 (02:48):
So design link is, something that
was created.
With a business partner of minethat I met actually through
singing and choir at church, andhe and I did the design work.
He's a commercial architect.
He did the design work on thechurch, and then I partnered

(03:09):
with him through that process.
And then after it was over, hesaid, you know, I've been doing
this a long time, and I'vealways wanted to have a design
segment of my business.
And, but I've never,collaborated with somebody that
I felt like I connected with,like I do with you.
And so that was the start.
I honestly didn't want to do itbecause I at that time was

(03:33):
working at Home Traditions and Iwas kind of just coasting and it
was fun.
I didn't have the responsibilityof a business owner and I got to
just do the design side and Iliked it.
But my niece, Jessica,, wasgraduating from UK design school
and she had a passion forcommercial design and that's

(03:55):
really what Jerry's focus wason.
That's my business partner'sname.
And I said, I'll do it if shecan come on board and he said,
great.
And so we did it and Jessica isnow also a business partner with
us.
She's we've been together nowfor 17 years.

(04:15):
So we do both commercial andresidential design.
My focus is obviously moreresidential.
But as you guys know, once youhave relationships with people,
sometimes that ends up segwayingover into commercial if they own
a med spa or a.
So you, it's who you have therelationship with that you end

(04:36):
up working, working for.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (04:38):
You know, we've talked about on here
how, really what we do.
Okay.
So to give you a quick back,story, Nancy is that someone
said to Dwayne early on thatwhat we did was frivolous, or
they thought what we did wasfrivolous.
I know how dare that bitch.
Um, and so we've not let it go,but what we have discovered, the
more that we chat about this andwe talk and we talk with other

(04:59):
designers is that it's all aboutthe relationships with the
people, like that's what, that'swhat, like, that's the biggest
benefit of doing what we do,right.
Is being able to be creative,but establishing these,
relationships with people thatcross gears, decades,
generations, and all that kindof, wonderful stuff.
So I'm, I'm glad to know thatagain, people love Nancy cause

(05:20):
Nancy's wonderful.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (05:21):
Oh, that's sweet.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-1 (05:23):
there's joy.
Well, the, the, one of thecaveats for anybody to ever be
part of our little guest familyis somebody that we love and
somebody we know and somebodythat we believe that brings joy.
And you click every single boxabout 12 times over because you
are joy in every way.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_09071 (05:40):
Well,

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (05:41):
Can we talk every morning?

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (05:43):
ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! We're your
little cheerleaders in themorning.
Um, you know, she's brought ustons of joy just because she's a
sweet, sweet, sweet person.
The, who she hasn't brought joyto, may be the ladies in the
front.
Because listeners, what happensis Nancy will have a project

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (06:01):
a skinny little queer in the back
too sometimes.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090 (06:03):
Stuart, so they, they will, they will be
working on let's say aresidential, whatever, any kind
of design and it will be a DDay.
So they're going in and they'regoing in to accessorize and all
that stuff.
Well, we love this because Nancycomes in or Jessica comes in or
any of the girls come in andthen they just pull.
And when I say they pull, theypull.

(06:23):
They put the picture frames,accessories, lamps, artwork.
I mean, they just take

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0907 (06:27):
We basically destroy your showroom.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (06:29):
just destroy

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (06:31):
it's funny because like a hush comes
over the show.
for like 30 minutes like Nancy'shere.
So everybody just waits, theyjust

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (06:39):
and you want,

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (06:41):
and tissue ready.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0907 (06:42):
Oh gosh.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (06:43):
so then if we're in the office and
we hear that, that they'rebuying, then we always want to
go out because we always want tosay hello if we're, if we're not
up there.
So we go out and then it neverfeels that whatever lady's
working that day, if she'sbehind the cash rep, you see
this look of panic and likethey're caught in the
headlights.
Like, where do I start and wheredo I start doing all this stuff?

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-202 (07:01):
so funny.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (07:02):
I mean, it's funny cause it's
true, but you know, we love it.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024 (07:05):
They're always so

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (07:06):
be a source.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-202 (07:08):
We do have some

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0907 (07:09):
is when I roll up in there at a,

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-20 (07:15):
Uh, we, we, they fine.
They know what the rules are.
They know what the rules are.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (07:20):
of us would stay if we can be,
we're going to do what we got to

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_09071 (07:22):
I know, but you know they're
really nice.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-2024 (07:24):
a conversation.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_ (07:25):
There, you know, they're thinking, um,
we opened at 10 this morning.
Where have you been?

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090 (07:31):
Listen, so

squadcaster-831e_1_09 (07:31):
honestly, there's never been a
conversation.
Not

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (07:34):
not

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19- (07:34):
once, not once.
Truthfully, I tell you, I tellyou, get your act together, but
it's not, it's just not a bigproblem.
Hey, I want to ask you, cause,um, you know, our name is House,
right?
And this can be very confusing.
You're like, What's the name ofyour business?
And you, you do what?
And your name of the business iswhat?
And they just kind of don'tunderstand it.
So it's evasive sometimes,right?

(07:55):
To the world.
Even though we decorate yourhouse, right?
For me, it's kind of commonsense, right?
But you have the best name,right?
Design Link.
I think that is the smartest,chicest, most descriptive name I
can think of.
It just tells me what you do.
Who came up with that one?
I've always loved that

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (08:15):
Well, I'm honestly glad to hear you
say that because I, I think itsounds a little, I don't know,
non sophisticated in my mind,but I'm glad that from your
perspective that it, that youlike it.
The reason for the name wasinitially, we were doing
commercial and residential.

(08:37):
And so the link was tying thosetwo, you know, having a business
that ties those two thingstogether because it is kind of
unusual, I guess, really for acompany to promote doing both of
those things.
So that was and linkingarchitecture, you know, with my
business partner being anarchitect, it was linking the

(08:59):
architecture and the designelement.
Together.
So

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-202 (09:02):
So you've, you've sold your reason
for the name.
It links

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0907 (09:05):
it makes sense.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-2 (09:07):
what we're always our biggest, um,
enemy, right?
Or, or we pick our part.
You shouldn't because it reallydoes do the job.
And you, you've describeddescribed it as what it does.
I mean, it really does.
So I have to say this.
In none of the many, many, manyyears I've known you, ain't
nobody ever said anything aboutMr.
Man.

(09:27):
So you've got some man floatingin the back of your life and I'm
like, I don't even know what thehell she's talking about.
So now what's his name again?

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_09 (09:34):
Jim.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-2 (09:36):
Jim.
Tell

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (09:37):
Are you talking about my husband or
my

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (09:39):
No, no.
He's talking about your business

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (09:41):
your

squadcaster-831e_1_09- (09:41):
business partner.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_09071 (09:43):
Cause I never

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19- (09:45):
Yeah, I

stuart_1_09-19-2024_09071 (09:45):
Yeah, we thought it was just

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090 (09:46):
existed

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (09:48):
No, so

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (09:49):
And all these little impurns with
different credit cards comingin.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0907 (09:54):
So Jerry Herndon is his name.
God bless him.
He is just this incredible man.
He is truly like a second dad tome and second granddad to
Jessica.
Yeah he is an incredibly godlyman, just a good person, but

(10:15):
he's also really talented andhe, we call him the word
magician.
He could tell you to, go take ahike and you'd say, thank you.
I mean, he's, he can firesomebody and they give him hug
when they leave.
I mean, he's just that guy.
Um, he's eight.
He's getting ready to turn 83the end of this month.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (10:35):
wow,

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19- (10:36):
What?

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (10:37):
loves what he does.
says he'll work till the, youknow, till the day he drops
over, I guess.
Sharp as a tack, still veryhealthy, and just has a thriving
business.
He's just, again, he's, it'srelationships.
He's just a repeat and

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-202 (10:53):
Is he in the office with you every

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (10:55):
every day.
Yeah.
Now, when we initially startedDesignLink, um, of course,
Jessica was, A baby straight outof college had a passion for
commercial work, and we did.
I didn't have any commercialconnections at all.
That wasn't what I did.
So, Jerry, literally, the dayshe started said, okay, here you

(11:19):
go.
Here's our 1st client.
And God bless the turnersbecause they just took Jessica
in and allowed her to kind oflearn and, and work with them on
many, many projects and theycontinue to all, you know, uh,
give her continued business anddo a ton of work together, but I

(11:39):
mean, they literally let hergrow up with them and just
learn.
Um, doing projects for them,knowing that she was so green.
I mean, she just was juststraight out of school, but she
is.
A workaholic.
She is a go getter and she justdid it.
And she, she did a good job andfumbled along the way, but made

(12:01):
it work.
And really, and truly withoutJerry though, we wouldn't have
had those connections.
You know, you don't, you don'tjust call and say, Hey, I just
graduated from college.
Can I, can I decorate youroffice?
Like, um, no, thank you.
But because they had a longtermrelationship with Jerry, Jerry.
Um, they trusted him and sothat's how all that evolved.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19- (12:24):
It's, It's, who you know, right, in a
way.
It's who you know.
Funny, and that's, you can't,you can't change that in life.
It's about, the connections andhow you evolve, and that's just,
that's just, that's how youbuild business once it's all
said and

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (12:39):
Yeah.
Yeah.
But we attribute much of oursuccess to him, for sure.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19- (12:44):
yeah, no, I, when you were saying
that, I think that you, you hada good business going, but it
sounds like The connection withhim to get to a different level
and it, it's, it's.
Now I can understand clearly theprojection path that you were
able to go on.
And it's not, dismissing yourtalents for Jessica's talents,

(13:04):
but he sounds like he was animportant layer to get where you

nancy-elam_1_09-19- (13:07):
Absolutely.
My goodness.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-20 (13:09):
you just happen to have, like with
Jessica, I'll go back to, shehad, an immense talent, right?
She had the degree, she has adrive, so it wasn't as if you
brought in a partner that was,useless.
Right.
She had it, but she, that wasthat one step that she was
given.
She was able to then, um,platform

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_ (13:29):
Right.
Absolutely.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-2 (13:31):
just goes back to in life, if just,
if you, if, if you have thatwork ethic, and you have that
talent and you're kind, ifthere's one person that sees
that and mentors that and givesyou that hand out, it changes
your life forever.
It just does.
Preach

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (13:50):
does.
We'll be forever grateful toJerry Herndon.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (13:54):
do you see why we call Dwayne the
preacher?
He gets up on his littlesoapbox.
Now listen, he'll tell this samedamn story 17 more times today
to 17 more people walking thestore.
But you know, hey.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-20 (14:03):
So, my connection is there was
something called a parade ofhomes or decorator

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (14:09):
Oh,

squadcaster-831e_1_0 (14:10):
something, right?
And there was a house that,Stuart and I worked on and we
did the master bedroom and youdid a guest bedroom upstairs.
Now, I don't know who

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (14:22):
I

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-202 (14:23):
do you certainly remember this
Stuart?
Yeah, I remember Nancy's fabric.
It was black and gold or blackand caramel or something, twa.
I remember that room and howbeautiful it was.
I thought you did it, just anabsolutely beautiful job with
it.
But what stuck out with me wasthis not just talent, but, there
was just a kindness there.

(14:43):
I felt your kindness and, thatit's not as always true with
every designer, right?
I think we've got, we've, all ofus have done it long enough.
We've met really good people.
Great designers out there, butthere's some snotty snots and,
you're not that you're justhumble and kind and gifted.
And I, you stuck out

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (15:01):
Thank you.
You're stuck.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-20 (15:02):
and that, that, that week, uh, and,
um, the other thing that youwon't remember, uh, well, you
may, but I shouldn't say that iswhen we, when I was, um, we all
were doing the, the, the.
Um, one of the things I reallypushed back on wasn't, it had to
be in context.

(15:22):
25 years ago, right?
Something like that.
I mean, a long time ago before

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0907 (15:27):
it was in West Wind, right?

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (15:29):
I mean, if it was 25 years ago, I
was in high school.

stuart_1_09-19-2024_09071 (15:31):
Yeah.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-202 (15:32):
It

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (15:33):
You didn't, you.
didn't exist

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19- (15:34):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, yeah, shut up, right?
Uh, I don't miss so West.
Stuart and I talked about it andwe wanted the hardwood floors to
continue into the master bedroomon the first floor at that time.
That was a controversialdecision, and we got a pretty
strong pushback and whateverreasons we use, but ultimately,

(15:57):
it was classic and the builderfinally lamented because it was
a showcase and it's to do thingsa little different and I.
I recall you having a commentaryof some form of how much you
like that and you wish otherpeople do it or something like
that, but long story is you'reappreciative of it and you were
complimentary of that.

(16:17):
And again, that's one of thethings that stuck with me is
you, you saw that and youappreciated it.
And I was like, Mm hmm.
Old girl got it.
She know what she doing too,right?
Hmm.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (16:30):
Well, I remember you from Lexington
Mall Days.

stuart_1_09-19-2024_09071 (16:33):
mall.
Yes.
I also remember Dwayne fromLexington mall

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-2 (16:37):
It's Not good

stuart_1_09-19-2024_09 (16:38):
partners because back then.
He had his little store homeaccents back then.
And I was actually lead visualfor McAlpins.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (16:52):
Oh.

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (16:53):
So I did their home store visuals at
that time.
And I remember when Dwayne wasclosing his little store to move
to a big store.
Oh my God.
Cause you know, I'd on my break,I'd walk through that little
mall and go to orange Julius andtake a break and get

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_ (17:09):
Orange Julius.

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (17:12):
And, uh, He had this little sidewalk
sale and this crazy woman wantedthis cat poster.
You know, it's that cat posterof them playing with yarn, kind
of Victorian, very Kirkland'slooking, and he had already had
it marked down to, I don't know.
10 or some random number from50.

(17:35):
And she was trying to get it for5.
And he, I remember him grabbingthat from that woman.
He's like, I'll just keep it.
I'm not giving it away.
I thought, God, what a rude ass.
No wonder he's going out ofbusiness.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (17:47):
never got that memo, customer's always
right.

stuart_1_09-19-2024_0907 (17:50):
Right.
And then, you know, five, sixyears later, we meet at another
location and then here we are.
29 years later, So

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19- (18:01):
There we go.
No, my, my version's justslightly tweaked from that.
And it's a little more vile.
It's, I'm ripping it out ofcrazy mall walker is what she
was.
She was a mall walker who lovedcats.
She really was a mall walker.
And she was there every day andit was just awful.
I'm ripping out her hand sayingto her, I'd rather burn it than

(18:22):
let you have it.
But that's my version.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (18:24):
See, I remember in the 4 million
times, I've heard that story.
I always remember as I wouldrather.
Eat it and you kind of likecrunch it up and shove it in
your mouth.
I don't know.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-2 (18:34):
it's one of those, it's some version
thereof and it was probably, Ijust took it and said, no, baby,
you can't have that.
That's probably what really

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (18:40):
No, you were,

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-20 (18:41):
the

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (18:41):
were pretty direct

squadcaster-831e_1_09- (18:43):
whereas, okay,

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (18:44):
that.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-2024 (18:47):
I love it.
I love it.
I love it.
Okay.
What you got going on?
What jobs you got going on?

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (18:51):
I'm telling you all, I know you feel
it too, but we, it's, we're justso busy.
I mean, so

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (18:59):
What is one of your favorite
residential ones right now?
Oh my.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (19:05):
right now.
We have a project out in,actually one of the houses was
in the tour this year and it's afamily, they have a family
compound and it's Justabsolutely beautiful.
A couple hundred acres and it'sthe mom and dad and the two

(19:25):
daughters Are both buildinghomes out there and I've had the
pleasure of working with the twogirls and I love their
aesthetic.
They're both, you know, we allhave our own preferences, style
wise, even though we end updoing all different styles.
But it's very, traditionalcoastal, southern, and they're,

(19:49):
they're similar in style, thetwo girls, but different ones, a
little more hardcore,traditional ones, a little more
informal, little more coastaltraditional, I guess, but both
homes are just lovely.
And they're amazing, like theirmom and dad, and so easy to work
with just.

(20:09):
beautiful people, and just thewhole atmosphere out there.
It's gorgeous.
They've got this amazing farmand a beautiful pond and a party
barn and it's just, you go outthere and think this is
literally heaven.
To be able to live out here withyour family and you're right

(20:31):
next door to your sister andtheir kids are growing up
together and, So that's just afun project beyond just the
design element of it.
The people are just so kind andfun to be around and easy to
work with.
So that's probably one of my,I've actually got a few though.
I mean, I've got another familythat we're working with and she

(20:53):
found out unexpectedly in themidst of building a house that
she was pregnant with twins.
And so had to regroup andhonestly, the house floor plan
had to get redesigned and it wasalready framed.
So, like, walls had to come outand some tweaks had to be made

(21:14):
to accommodate these twins.
And so that and I mean,literally, these people are the
kindest people.
So, you know, I'm just rightnow, I've just got a slew of
really nice.
Fun people to work with andthey're much, they're very
modern.
So it's like, it's that the funof getting to work on more

(21:36):
traditional project versus moremodern.
And I love, I love all thestyles.
I just, you know, I migrate frommy own personal home more toward
that mix of traditional with,you know, I love modern art
blended in or whatever, but, um,but I also enjoy doing just full
on modern or whatever, you know,I think we can all relate to

(22:00):
that probably in that youappreciate all of it.
You just maybe don't want to besurrounded by 24 7 in your own

jeremy_1_09-19-2024 (22:08):
Absolutely.
Well, I was, I was, thelisteners can't see what I'm
admiring the, the console behindyou with the beautiful
chinoiserie and the orchids andthe cerused wood and the modern
piece of art.
And I was like, yeah, I couldlive in that.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (22:22):
okay, so let me be real transparent
right now.
I thought about what mybackground was going to be
before we did this.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090 (22:30):
Mm-Hmm.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0907 (22:31):
If I took this around to the rest
of my house, the house that welive in now was built in 1990.
we moved a couple of years ago.
And the people that formerlyowned the home, they did it up
right in 1990.
I mean, it full on decorated andit was beautiful then, you know,

(22:55):
all the ornate window treatmentsand wall coverings and, um,

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (23:02):
I like to call that circa
Kirkland's.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_ (23:05):
sponge painted walls and,

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (23:07):
Oh,

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (23:08):
know, all the things, which again,
they really invested in allthat.
And it was lovely at the time,but it it's time for an update.
our daughter got married a yearago here on our farm.
And now we're wedding poor, andwe can't afford to update this

(23:30):
house yet.
So it's, if I could show youwhat our master bathroom and
kitchen and Many other roomslook like, you would think that
we had gone back into time.
Um, I've got pink marble floorand it in my bathroom and a tub
the size of pool swimming pooland a shower that is only like a

(23:54):
two and a half by two and ahalf.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-202 (23:56):
So now does that make you neurotic
and you're like, I, I wanna fixthis.
Or you're like, you're so busy,I'll get to it and I'll have
time to ponder it.
Or you're like, oh God, I gottafix this, but you just have to
move on.
Where are you with that?
See, I would, I'm not, I feellike I've lived in my house for
18 years and it's a continualdisarray and it makes me jittery

(24:17):
and I just, I can never getenough money.
I can never get enough time andif I do get a room then it gets
destroyed.
You know, like I had the master,or not master, I had a guest
bedroom upstairs finished to themost Perfect of detail and then
Ian became 14 and moved upstairsand destroyed it, right?
I love you, Ian, but it's, youknow, it's not perfect now.
And then I had another guestbedroom upstairs that was, um,

(24:41):
well put together, but sweetChloe got an apartment and she
did mattresses and I took themattress out of that room
because we didn't have time togo look for mattresses.
And I said, just is.
And so now that room has beensitting there with draperies and
sofas and furniture in themiddle of the room with no
mattresses for a year.
No, I don't have time to do it.
I just don't have time to do it.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_09071 (24:58):
Yeah.
Nate, what, as you were tellingthe story of your bathroom, what
it, what it reminded me of was,I think we have a mutual love of
Lori Paranjapi to pay out ofNashville, Zachary.
So, uh, Lori was, um, sharing astory one day or something.
She would, I think she wassitting in her bedroom where she
was sitting in her kitchen.
I don't remember where she wassitting.

(25:19):
They were getting ready toremodel it.
They had to, and she was justtalking about, Oh, it's a
bathroom.
That was our bathroom.
And she was like, You all woulddie if you saw this bathroom.
And then she showed, because yousee all these beautiful design
projects that she does,everything's done and finished.
And then she shows you thesuper, super dated bathroom.
Right.
And, um, she was like, this ismy bathroom.

(25:40):
Well, while I was watching it.
I was upstairs working in ourcurrent home and we had moved in
here and it needed a totalremodel from, from top to
bottom.
And, you know, you just can onlydo what you can do.
So when I'm watching this, I'msitting in our guest room,
that's across the house and I'mlooking up and, you know, we
lived here for like.
Four years and all of theplaster upstairs had to be

(26:03):
repaired and there was plasterflaking from the ceiling and
falling down.
And so I remember taking apicture of it.
I was in the chair.
I was like, girl, you're notalone.
I'm like, I get it.
Like, you know, people alwaysthink that everything's perfect,
but you just have to do it asyou can, as you go.
It's, there are some people thatcan do it all at once and, you
know, God bless them if they canafford it.
But for the rest of us, you

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_09071 (26:21):
I know.
I mean, there is.
Do you all feel a little bit ofpressure when somebody new comes
to your house and and they knowyou're a designer and you, you
just think they have thisexpectation that everything's
going to be flawless, you know,and right.
It's

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-2024 (26:41):
I don't, I don't, I don't, I

stuart_1_09-19-2024_09071 (26:44):
Yeah.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_ (26:45):
myself

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-20 (26:45):
You

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (26:46):
a completely new person.
Yeah.
Like if any of you all cameover,

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (26:49):
Yeah, I wouldn't

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (26:50):
you know, you're, you're in the
profession, you know it, but ifsomeone brand

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-20 (26:54):
I'm just in the I can give you shit
phase in life, so no, I really

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_09071 (26:57):
I love that.
I need to adopt

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19- (26:59):
Yeah.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_09071 (27:00):
Well, our friend Esther gave me some,
um, and I thought this wasreally wise.
Our friend Esther bought this,um, Old Victoria, it's Victorian
and it's Stewart, I don't knowwhat kind of, it's, it's a big
old house.
I don't remember, um, downtown.
And when she bought it, it was atotal disaster.
I mean, it didn't even haverunning water and concrete.
I mean, it was just a mess.

(27:20):
Um, And while she was livingthere, she was also renovating
it.
And her advice to my husband andI, when we bought this house and
again, this house was fine, itjust was really dated and just
needed the modeling.
And she was like, my only adviceto you is invite people over
from day one.
Let them see it.
All and enjoy the journey withyou.

(27:41):
And so then I tried to do that.
So then, you know, when, when,as soon as we moved in, before
we did anything, we hadeverybody over so they could see
the house and then they wouldsee it kind of like as it
transitioned.
So, I mean, it is just, it

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0907 (27:53):
it is what it is.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (27:54):
I think with this, I don't, I
don't, I don't feel that withthis.
I know that people get worried.
Like friends get worried when Iwalk into their homes, thinking
that I'm judging it up and downand I don't, my brain doesn't
work that way.
I it's I'm done.
I'm not thinking anymore.
So it's their home.
I'm appreciate being welcomedinto

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-20 (28:10):
I'm right.
I want some food.
Just feed me,

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (28:12):
give me a drink.
Um,

stuart_1_09-19-2024_0907 (28:16):
Right,

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-202 (28:17):
If you ask me why I'm there, Hey,
what do you think about this?
It, I turn a switch on and I go,okay, let me think about it.
But I literally don't walk inthe door and start judging and
picking apart because you haveto, you need to shut your mind
down.
At least I do for me, right?
I have to shut my mind down orif it's continually going.
Uh, it's just overwhelming.
And like, I'm there for you.

(28:38):
I'm there for the food.
I'm there for the friends.
I'm there for the party.
I'm not there to decorate.
I'm just, that's why I'm here.
So I can shut this down.
And so I really, it's likesomebody to ask me about their
house.
I'm like, I don't know.
Now, if I'm at your house fordesign project,

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (28:52):
Yeah, sure.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-20 (28:53):
But if I'm just there to visit, I'm
like, I don't know, because Ididn't pay attention.
I wanted to know what was on thestove.
A fat boy wants to eat.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (29:01):
uh,

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-202 (29:02):
Or you like, your, your, your
mind's always on.
I'm looking at You, I think you,you're like, no, I

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (29:07):
No, I definitely have a hard time.
I'm not judging at all.
I mean, you know, but I have areal hard time turning it off
because I'm regardless of whatspace I'm in.
I mean, I can be sitting in arestaurant and my head is going,
uh, you know, I'm looking at.
The art and the ceiling detailand the flooring and

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19 (29:29):
Aren't you tired?
Miss Hilly?

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_09071 (29:31):
I am, but I can't help that.
You know what I mean?

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (29:34):
No, I get

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (29:35):
Don't you all do that when you walk

stuart_1_09-19-2024_09071 (29:37):
Yeah.
I, I

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (29:38):
if a space inspires

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-20 (29:40):
you do that?
Stuart?

stuart_1_09-19-2024_09071 (29:41):
Yeah.
I, I do, I mean, I keep it quietto myself, but it's always, it's
always churning in there aslike, oh, I could rearrange it
this way, that light fixturewould be better over here and
blah, blah, blah.
I mean, I'm always doing that.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (29:54):
Yeah, I'm with you.
I, I don't talk about it, butit's happening.

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (29:58):
no.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19- (30:00):
think I have so many voices in my
head.
If I don't shut them down, itwould imply.

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (30:05):
They all shut down at one time.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (30:07):
I think

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-2 (30:07):
They all shut down at 1 time.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (30:09):
for me, it's, if, if I go into a
space and it really does inspireme, then I start picking it
apart, not in, uh, how I wouldchange it, but I start analyzing
why the decisions

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (30:21):
Yeah.
So you can learn from it.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_09071 (30:23):
Yeah.
So I can learn from it.
So that's, that's what it is.
So speaking of that, what.
Are there designers or who islike really getting you going
right now?
As far as design, like, asidefrom, you know, like Laurie,
trying to pay for it.
She's just a sweetheart.
Like, who do you really admire?
What inspires you?
Dwayne

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_09 (30:41):
love Suzanne Kassler's design.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_09071 (30:44):
clue.
Dwayne

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (30:46):
She's probably my favorite.
Um,

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_09071 (30:49):
knows

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19- (30:50):
know, Nancy did, you know, that's
like, like, like my, my sweetmama.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (30:55):
she is

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-202 (30:56):
Do you know this?
Yeah, uh, Law, she's a

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (30:59):
Oh, she's good.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-2 (31:01):
well you are like the Susan Gassler
of

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (31:03):
Yeah, that's what I am.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-202 (31:06):
Do you are?
Yes, what you are, you are.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (31:08):
Um, I love, um, Mark Sykes.
know who I'm talking about.
He's a good one.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-202 (31:17):
He does, I don't follow anybody, I
just, so, uh, yeah, yeah.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (31:21):
You would like him.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_09071 (31:24):
Susan

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (31:24):
You would, you need, yeah, you would
like him a lot, I think.
Um, those were probably my twomajor go tos, but yeah, Suzanne.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (31:35):
I, Dwayne actually in our last
podcast, talked about how she,he, she really inspires him, um,
and the look and style and, and,and all of that.
So I always like to ask peoplelike, well, how do the, when
they feel like they'restruggling, where do they find
their sense of inspiration?
Like, where, where do you looklike, where do you, like, some
people just need to take a walk.

(31:57):
Some people need to cry.
Like, what do you need?

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_09 (32:01):
both of those probably done both of
those, but well, number 1, youknow, we do have, um, a great
team of designers.
Um, we actually hired 3designers straight out of
college.
In the spring for, you know, asfull time assistance, you know,

(32:22):
but they are degree designersthis year.
We did and then we have Jessicaand and Alan Callahan who are,
you know, more experienceddesigners.
So, when I'm really hung up.
And I just did this yesterday.
I call in the troops and, youknow, I had Jessica and Alan sit
down with me in front of mylaptop.

(32:43):
And I said, I'm just stuck and,you know, just collaboration
with other designers.
I think, whether they work withme, or they're you guys, or
whoever they are, I thinkthat's.
That's so key because gettingsomebody else's perspective on
it and you all know how itfeels.
You've looked at something solong that you just can't even

(33:05):
see past the problem.
So collaboration I think is, ishuge and, and that they totally
solve the problem.
And just having that affirmationalso from another designer
saying, yes, that does look goodor know that here's what's wrong
is.
Is so beneficial.

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090 (33:27):
mm-Hmm.

squadcaster-831e_1_09 (33:28):
adjective affirmation is something that's
always in my head.
A lot of times you'll work witha design or with a client and
they really have a greataesthetic.
And sometimes you kind of lookat it and it's just, let's say
it's just an accessorizing job.
I'm like, I go there and waslike, you don't even need me.
Why am I here?
Right.
But they need that affirmation.

(33:48):
And at first I kind of stoodback and said, well, this, why,
why am I here?
Oh, I need to get thataffirmation.
I have it built in like you dowith these two amazing business
partners.
And I have this ability tobounce that off where that other
person's out there floating bythemselves, that client, right?
And they just need to hear fromyou.

(34:09):
You're headed in the rightdirection.
What you're doing makes sense.
Maybe see the, see it throughthis lens and do this or tweak
this and you can just let themgo.
And it really is just.
The word affirmation, and it'sright.
And the other thing that stuckout with me when you were saying
this is the, the humbleness, theunderstanding that none of us

(34:34):
know the answer, right?
We don't know every singleanswer.
And when you realize, right,when you realize to put your
guard down and allow yourself towork with others and, um, And
hear their voices, even withclients, right, hear their
voices, but with your coworkers, when you do that, I've
said time after time after time,I'd rather have a team than an

(34:59):
I, right,

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (35:00):
Oh, gosh.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-2 (35:01):
much better.
Yeah, it just, it just helpseverything.
It just

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (35:04):
Yeah, for sure.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19 (35:06):
That's why you're good.
That's why you good.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_09071 (35:08):
I don't know, but I can say that I
absolutely know that I am notall knowing when it comes to
design.
So I have to surround myselfwith people that are strong in
areas that I'm weak for sure.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_09071 (35:25):
Well, I think it's also interesting to
be talking about your hiredthree designers right out of
college.
Um, you know, they're fresh,they're very green and they've
not learned, um, the experiencelevel.
Like they haven't learned whatthey don't know and they haven't
experienced what they'velearned.
Hasn't worked in the past.
And part of this has come from,we worked with a lady who said,

(35:47):
um, well, that may not workthen, but it may, may work now.
And she was talking about, youknow, we're scorned because
we've been around this for solong.
Um, and this didn't work then,but maybe it works now if we do
it this way.
And it's like, it's nice to havethose fresh eyes, um, that you
can communicate with, especiallywhen they're not scorned and
old, like

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_09071 (36:05):
I know there's pros and

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (36:06):
not you all, none of you are old,
none of you.
By the way.
Nancy's birthday was yesterday,you two.
I know you didn't know

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (36:14):
Oh, well, happy

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_09071 (36:16):
found this the last time.

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090 (36:17):
Welcome to the

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_09 (36:17):
you.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_0 (36:18):
birthday.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (36:19):
Oh, thanks.
I know I feel so old

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19- (36:21):
cute.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (36:22):
So, I don't know when this is going
to air, so this was, you know,we're taping it and it's going
to air later, but

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-202 (36:27):
so it was nine 18 is her birthday
because that's sweet.
Sweet Nancy.
That's my daughter's birthday.
I will never forget this.
Now

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (36:33):
Oh you

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-202 (36:33):
my sweet Chloe's birthday also I
did this year.
Yes I did Don't be an ass

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (36:39):
how old is your daughter now?

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-20 (36:42):
She turned 21 yesterday.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (36:45):
Did

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (36:46):
Of which I said, oh, I'll send

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024 (36:47):
tequila shots together last night?

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_09071 (36:49):
Thank you.
I said, I'm going to send hermoney so she can get a cocktail.
And he goes, she doesn't drink.
And I just kind of looked athim.
Doesn't come on like you canhave a cocktail.
Come on.
She's she she is an adult.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-20 (37:02):
not judging, but I don't think
that's in her wheelhouse.
I don't think that's an interestof hers.
That's not that wasn't a goal.
Her goal was she went out to,uh, the Chinese restaurant last
night, uh, with her boyfriendand they went and got, uh,
graders ice cream and that's whoshe

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_ (37:19):
That's all right

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-202 (37:20):
in the

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (37:20):
and she finished it off with a fifth
of vodka And

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-202 (37:32):
So we had your sweet baby girl in
the shop a few weeks ago.
Uh, well, look, she's gifted.
So tell us, tell us a littlestory about the sweet baby girl.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (37:42):
Well, she I mean genuinely I know I
sound like a typical typicalmom.
She is kind of perfect

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19- (37:52):
She's so kind.
She's such a sweetheart.
She really is so

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (37:56):
She really has always just been the
best She's just been a good kid.
Um, she just by nature is, has asweetness about her and, um, she
is totally in love with Jesus,which impacts her life in a big
way.
She, that's her, definitely herguiding light for sure.

(38:18):
But she's just easy to be aroundregardless of who you are.
She's going to love you and, andenjoy being around you.
And she has a gift for sure.
She's absolutely wants no partof being in the design business.
She's seeing what that lookslike from living with me her
whole life and how you don'tturn that off.

(38:40):
It's a 24, seven, you know, I'mat.
You know, we're trying to watcha movie and I'm texting a client
at 11 o'clock at night orwhatever.
And she, you know, she hasboundaries.
I do not.
She's very kind, but she alsoknows how to say no, which is,
I'm grateful that she has thatbecause I don't really have
that.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (39:01):
by the way, I think this is a
generational thing becausedwayne is also with you He
doesn't really have a whole tonof boundaries.
He'll text you back at 11o'clock.
I We'll wait till the next dayuntil I get a chance.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_09071 (39:14):
I love that.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_0907 (39:15):
saying

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-202 (39:15):
Or may never respond, by the way,

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_09071 (39:17):
know, if it's, if it's not needed.

squadcaster-831e_1_09- (39:19):
respond.
That's a generational

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (39:21):
my shut off.
time is 10 PM.
If it's after 10, you don't geta response to the next day.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (39:26):
Yeah.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-202 (39:27):
or he may never respond.
That's a very old generationalthing.

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (39:31):
true too.
I'll be like, yeah, I read it.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19- (39:34):
like,

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024 (39:35):
What's,

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (39:37):
it.
didn't warn

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19 (39:37):
that's what drives me crazy about these
two.
It's like, give me a thumbs up.
Give me an acknowledgement thatyou read this.
You may not react upon it, but,like, you see it, but I don't
know if you're ever going to doanything.
And both of these fools, right,I'll never know if they're going
to, if they see it or doanything.
It's just like, I need to knowthat you saw this, right?
And, nothing.
Crickets.

(39:58):
And I'm like, okay, whatever.
I just move on.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (40:00):
uh, okay, uh, moving on, uh, the one
thing that you did not mention,Nancy, about your beautiful
daughter is how incrediblyartistically talented she is.
So Dwayne mentioned having herin the store.

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (40:13):
that who that little girl was with
that?
Well, I would

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-2 (40:16):
Yes,

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (40:16):
to, I was on vacation.
So I, I just saw a post thatthis person was there.
I didn't know who the hell itwas.
So

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (40:24):
she, now does she only do watercolor
or does she do other forms of

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (40:27):
No, she does it all.
She does,

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (40:30):
why don't we have some of her stuff
in here?
Cause

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (40:33):
We, well, we did, well, so she did
and she did sell, I don't knowif she sold more than one, I
don't know, I have no idea whatthat was, but she brought in
some of her art, it looked, itwas

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-20 (40:40):
did well.
She did

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (40:42):
Yeah.
She sold like

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (40:44):
did we pay her for it?

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_09071 (40:46):
Well, I think they paid her directly
or however it worked.
Yeah.

stuart_1_09-19-2024_09071 (40:49):
good.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19- (40:49):
don't have to do anything.
No money.
No money exchanged.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (40:51):
Did, um, does she have, does she have
an Instagram, Nancy, or

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (40:55):
She doesn't.
I mean, genuinely you all her.
First appearance of any kind in,in her, you know, exposing her
talent was at your store.
She doesn't have anything up andgoing yet, but she's working on
it.
She actually teaches art and shewas full time last year.

(41:16):
And she went part time this yearso that she could pursue this
whole art thing.
So she, um, is going to have allthe things, Instagram and the
website, and maybe start sellingthings on Etsy or whatever, but.
Yeah, she would, of course, loveto have some of our art, you
know, just in, in yourinventory.

(41:38):
If you're interested,

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_09071 (41:40):
Yeah, we'll, um, we'll have to get
some, we'll get some and, and,

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19- (41:45):
there was a special order she took of
an oil painting.
Probably 8 by 10 or somethinglike that, a commission piece
that she's doing for 1 of thelatest year, uh, or 1 of the
customers rather.
So, uh, it, what I got from itwas, I got the vibe that this
was kind of new to her and we,she did a great job.
She was very personable.
Um, but I knew that this was,um, this handout, this

(42:08):
opportunity was giving her aplatform to shine, right?
I knew that, right?
I knew that that's what this wasabout, and I was grateful to be
able to do that for her, butit's because of Our connection
to you, but then she happens tohave that same beautiful talent
and her her light, right?
She really does so it worked outbeautifully The thing that stuck

(42:29):
out for me on top of her art andher kindness Is all the people
the friends and family thatshowed up that day

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (42:37):
Oh,

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (42:39):
hmm,

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-2024 (42:40):
I stood back, you know, I don't
have to get involved in allthis, but I saw so many people
that she knew coming in andgiving her love.
And I have to believe that thatgave her an affirmation, that
you're talented.
Again, that word affirmation,that you're talented and we
support you and people get it,and I love the fact that she

(43:01):
sold pieces because I alsobelieve that gave her confidence
to kind of.
Push this a little further forher.
And that's, I hoped that wouldhappen.
It's like, I didn't want her tocome in here and not sell
anything.
Uh, cause you never know, Youjust never know, right?
So she sold enough that I thinkit gave her enough confidence to
say, Hey, I can do this, right?
I do believe that.
So what was sweet is, I don'tknow if it was cousins, friends,

(43:22):
neighbors, that kind of doesn'tmatter.
There were a lot of people, butas a family core, her sweet mama
stayed here and hung out withher all day.
Her sweet dad came here for acouple hours and her.
Big brother, baby

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (43:35):
Big brother.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-20 (43:37):
big brother came.
And that tells me everything.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (43:43):
Yeah.
Sweet.
Thank

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19- (43:44):
Tells me everything.
Everything.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (43:47):
Yeah.
Well, that's a blessing to havewhat we have, you know,

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-202 (43:51):
So we're going to segue to um,
family again.
And this is uh, good old Jim.
Now Jim is Nancy's um, husbandof how many years

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (44:02):
33, we just had our wedding
anniversary last week.
We were in.
Sedona.

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (44:08):
Ooh, I love

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19 (44:09):
Excuse me.
So Jim, um, uh, worked forToyota for a thousand years,
right?
And put his, put his time in andworked hard.
And he's now working with Nancyat the firm.
Um, but so helping and again,beautiful relationship, but the
thing that stood out on meetingJim was, uh, walked over and

(44:30):
Nancy said, this is my husband,Jim and Jim said to me, yeah,
we've met before.
And I said, oh, well, apparentlyyou've made no impression on me.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_ (44:41):
that's true.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-202 (44:43):
It was true, and I was actually,
you know, it's a joke, right?
No, he got me, he got me, right?
But it's like, I don't remembermeeting him truthfully, but what
is context?
But the long story is, I think Imade up on it, right?
I think I did okay.
He's not mad at me.
No, He wouldn't care.
He'd get two craps, right?
He's the nicest, nicest guy.
You did okay.
He's, he's a good, good

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0907 (45:02):
he is nice.
Yeah, he's a good guy.
And the fact that he's workingat DesignLink now is hilarious,
but it's good that I'm justalways out in the field and that
we don't really interact at allbecause that could be
problematic.
That could not, that could maybenot work out so well

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_09071 (45:23):
this, that reminds me of a video I saw
this week, which will bring meto what, one of the things that
we've started doing in the showand when we would like to
continue is, is sharing momentsof joy that we've had this week
or the last, last little bit,and, um, Nancy, as a lady, would
you like to go first?
Is there a moment in the lastweek or two that has brought you

(45:45):
joy that you would love toshare?
And if you're not ready, we canlet you go last.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (45:48):
Well, honestly, it's kind of, it's not
work related, but we did justget

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_0 (45:53):
Whatever.
Yeah, whatever.

nancy-elam_1_09-19- (45:54):
celebrating our 33rd wedding anniversary.
So, I mean, have you guys beenthere?

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (46:00):
Oh, I have.
I've been there three differenttimes.
I

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_09071 (46:03):
I mean, Stuart, it's literally,
you all, it's like, you, youfeel like you're on a movie set.
It's not real.
It, the landscape is insane.
And so I just remember standingthere thinking, this is just the
most beautiful thing I've everseen.

(46:25):
And just feeling so overwhelmedby how gorgeous our world is and
how beautiful it is.
You know, God has just providedall of this amazing architecture
really for us to enjoy.
And, you know, we're watchingthe sunset and just how grateful
I was in that moment, just to beable to be, be able to travel.

(46:46):
And, you know, obviously 33years of marriage, that's been,
um, good and happy and justfeeling so overwhelmed, I guess,
with gratefulness and just beingable to stand in that beauty.
That's what stands out to meright now, because it's

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-20 (47:05):
No, that is joy.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_0907 (47:06):
that's true

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19 (47:06):
That's joy.
that's true joy, that's truejoy.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (47:09):
Yeah.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-20 (47:11):
Hey Boo, you got one Stewie?
He

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (47:13):
my moment of joy for this week is
to eat those Spalding's donutsthat I have out there because
they were warm when I broughtthem in.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_ (47:21):
that's some

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-2 (47:22):
He's the,

stuart_1_09-19-2024_0907 (47:23):
That's what I got this

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-202 (47:24):
is the, he brings him in weekly.
He is the best at that.
He at least brings him in, Iguess once a week, sometimes
twice a week, I can't remember.
Uh, but he brings him at leastonce a week.
And, um, that's a little touchof literal sweetness from
Stuart.
That he, he takes care of us andbrings us some good donuts every
week.
And that's, that is joy andkindness, really is.

(47:48):
Okay, let me, let me do mine.
Uh, mine is because I do, I'mout on the floor much more than
the other guys because they haveother venues to take care of.
Right?
So I have these opportunities towork with people that, um, they
don't necessarily have.
And, I got a gift, last week andit goes back to the back story

(48:10):
of when she gave it to me.
Uh, I said, you I don'tunderstand.
And she said, I came in, uh,your guy's shop about two months
ago and I was having a really,really difficult day.
And she said, I came in here,um, just to kind of, you know,
retail therapy and I needed tokind of feel better.

(48:31):
And.
You were so kind to me and theladies were so kind to me, but
what stuck out was what you saidto me.
And she said, I don't know ifyou felt how I was feeling that
day because she didn't tell me.
And to this day, I don't knowwhat the issue was and don't
need to know, right?
That's not important.
But she said, What you said tome, make this your best day

(48:52):
ever.
And that's just a little mantra,right?
And so she left and she said, Ipondered what you said and I
turned it around.
I turned it around.
So she said, so I want you togive me this gift to let you
understand what you did for me.
So I opened it up and it's thisplexiglass neon sign that's

(49:14):
attractively done that says bestday ever.
Now.
Oh, yeah.
If that doesn't.
Bend your knees and humble yourheart.
Nothing will right tounderstand.
It goes back to a voice saidthis words have negative power,
but they also have beautifulpositive power.

(49:35):
And anytime you have anopportunity to interact with
anybody, which I do a lot.
Just bring that positive energyif you ever can, because you
never know the shoes thatsomebody's walking in.
So, of course, you know, this ismy, I'm going to hang on to this
story for the rest of my lifebecause it really was, is
humbling.
It's humbling to know that.

(49:56):
Anyway, there's mine.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (49:57):
I saw her when she brought that
in.
I did not know the backstory tothat.
You've said many times, youknow, best day ever.
Like you've, you know, that's inyour vernacular, right?
That you said, so I justthought, Oh, it's just, you
know, she's just loves it.
I had no idea about thebackstory

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_ (50:10):
that's sweet.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19- (50:11):
there was, this was, it was a good
one.
Really, really good

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024 (50:14):
Mm-Hmm?

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (50:15):
um, I, Okay.
So I have, okay, so I'll do twocause you know, I'm a joyful
person.
Um, but this week, but, uh, thisweek and last week we had, and I
don't think I even mentionedthis to Dwayne.
We had two customers come in thestore that I know I have been
clients of ours for 20 years andwe hadn't seen either one of

(50:40):
them.
Well, there was Barbara

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (50:42):
Oh, Barbara Mc.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (50:43):
in Leslie and Barbara came in.
Hadn't seen, hadn't seen her ina long time.
And then there was another onethat came in yesterday, Cynthia,
who we've not seen.
And she, I don't know, maybeeight years or whatever, but
she, they have been customers ofus over the time and they were
so thrilled to have found usagain.
They thought we had closed orwhatever.
But as soon as they walked backin and they saw our faces, they

(51:04):
just lit back up like it wasbefore.
And it's just like, there's beenno time that went by.
I thought that was so sweet.
But the other one was a videothat I saw on Instagram and it
had an older couple, we'll sayprobably, And they were dancing
to some live music in, um, insome kind of European town.

(51:25):
Right.
And so they were just kind ofjigging, but they were just, you
know, again, they're 80something, so we're not going to
say grace is probably theirnumber one, feature for their
mobility, but, um, the captionthat was on the picture was
imagine how many times theyforgave each other to get to
this point.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_ (51:41):
that's good.

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19- (51:42):
what?

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (51:43):
I thought.
Oh,

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-2 (51:45):
Wow.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (51:46):
and I thought, and so it just
brought me joy of, that soundsweird, but it, it just, it
registered with

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (51:52):
No, that resonates.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_090714 (51:54):
I thought, cause you know,
everybody was looking at it andeverybody was thinking of like,
how sweet is this?
How beautiful is this?
And then you have to reallythink, but to get there,
there's, there's some love andsome joy and some forgiveness.
That's gotta be there.
So

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (52:06):
Oh, that's good.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_09071 (52:07):
Yeah.
So I love that.
Well, Nancy, thank you so

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19-2 (52:10):
back to Nancy and 33 years of
forgiveness,

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (52:12):
Yeah, I know.
That's really resonating with menow.
I'm

squadcaster-831e_1_09-19- (52:16):
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Yeah.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_09071 (52:18):
night as I was trying to tell my
husband the story as we wereeating dinner, he said something
really mean and snarky and Ijust kind of looked up at him
and I thought forgiveness,forgiveness, forgiveness,
forgiveness.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_0 (52:28):
Yeah.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_0907 (52:29):
Nancy, thanks so much for joining us
this week.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (52:31):
Uh, thank you guys.
I love you all.
Love your store, but I love

stuart_1_09-19-2024_090714 (52:36):
Do I need to tell the girls?
Are you coming in today,

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_090 (52:40):
Let me think.
I never know when I'm coming.
I'll look at my schedule and Ohcrap.
I've got to install tomorrow.
Yes.
I'll be there.

jeremy_1_09-19-2024_09071 (52:50):
well, we will, um, put design links,
link down in the notes below, aswell as Instagrams and all that.
And then whenever we getanything from your daughters,
Arthur, we'll put it up therefor the world to see too, to
celebrate her.
Um, and as always listeners, ifyou haven't had a chance to
download our mobile shoppingapp, please be sure to do, if
you have any ideas, tips,tricks, or you just want to

(53:10):
bitch about something, feel freeto call our hotline, because why
not?
It's 859 412 1572.
That's also down in the shownotes.
And, um, we will see you againnext Wednesday when a new
episode drops.
We'll see you soon.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_ (53:25):
Thanks guys.

stuart_1_09-19-2024_09071 (53:26):
Thank you.

nancy-elam_1_09-19-2024_09 (53:28):
Bye.