March 7, 2025 • 31 mins
Ready to challenge the norm? Join me for a captivating conversation with Jessica Brugger, founder of Dwell Well Design Co., who bravely swapped corporate life for the fulfilling chaos of entrepreneurship. This episode peels back the curtain of what it's truly like to step away from a cushy job and into a path of passion. Whether you’re on the brink of making a change or just contemplating what color to paint your kitchen, this episode invites you to explore how to build a career and a space that feels authentically you.
Need support or guidance on your entrepreneurial journey? I want to help! Sign up for an open 15 minute slot on my Calendly and let's talk. Who knows, maybe you'll end up on the show like my new friend Jessica!
Calendly Link: http://bit.ly/4i2ZsFk
Subscribe, share your thoughts and leave a review! And as always ... keep it movin' baby.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hey there you beautiful badass.
Welcome to the Keri Croft Show.
I'm your host, keri Croft,delivering you stories that get
you pumped up and feeling likethe unstoppable savage that you
are.
So grab your coffee, put onyour game face and let's do this
thing, baby face.
And let's do this thing, babyStruggling to hit those big
(00:28):
company goals you set last year.
Well, q1 is almost over.
Are you making real progress orjust telling yourself?
You still have time?
Varsity L'Oreal Consulting helpsleaders gain clarity and get
shift done.
That's S-H-I-F-T.
Whether you need to refine yourvision, align your team or
bring your organization's valuesto life, they've got you
(00:50):
covered.
And yeah, you've heard her namebefore.
She was on the show a fewmonths ago and we talked about
confidence, vulnerability andreaching big goals.
Well, now it's your turn.
Now, through March 14th,they're offering three powerful
experiences designed to bringclarity, alignment and momentum
to your organization at the bestvalue yet.
So stop feeling stuck and startmaking moves.
(01:12):
Visit varsylorellcom to learnmore and book a convo today,
ready to elevate your self-caregame.
Boscal Beauty Bar is a modernmed spa offering everything from
cosmetic injectables, lasersand microneedling to
medical-grade facials andskincare, conveniently located
in Clintonville, grandview,powell and Easton.
Making self-care a priority hasnever been easier.
(01:34):
Use code CRAWFT for $25 offyour first visit.
Let's get real here.
Aging isn't always cute.
Wrinkles, things sagging wherethey didn't before.
Do I hate my partner, or isthis perimenopause?
I've been there and that's whyI'm all about Donaldson From
plastic surgery to aesthetics tofunctional medicine.
They help you love your bodyand get to know it better.
(01:56):
Want to feel like yourselfagain?
Head to DonaldsonHealthcom and,if you're a first-time client,
mention the Keri Croft Show for$100 off your first treatment.
You're welcome, jessica Brugger.
Welcome to the Keri Croft Show.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Thank you so much, so excited to be here.
I'm excited to have you here.
Let's talk about me, you,interiors, whatever.
Oh no, we're going to talkabout you.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
This is a 90% you, 10% me type scenario.
Great, I've been waiting forthis moment my whole life.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
No, pressure Men, so how?
Do we find each other Way backsystem of strength right and
then sliding into your DMs latelast year as you were doing the
show and I was a fan to sayhello and what's happening and
I'm loving this.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Yeah, I think you got on my Calendly, didn't you?
Yeah, I have a Calendly, didn'tyou?
Yeah, I have a Calendly in myDM that if you're trying to
start something, if it'sstarting a family, starting a
business, even if it's like somekind of internal thing, you're
trying to do self-confidence.
Where's the inner badass?
I'm trying to be a magnet forthose people.
So I have time carved out in myschedule.
(02:59):
If you want to get on myCalendly via my link in my bio,
yes, that's absolutely what itwas, and that's a really great
way to kind of you know, breakthe ice, say hello, get to know
one another and, as it turns out, you're just the perfect person
to have in the chair in termsof corporate America
high-powered, exec-turnedentrepreneur, and there's
nothing I love or feel more thanthat, because same-sies yeah,
(03:24):
we had that in common.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
And or feel more than that because same Z's yeah, we
had that in common and it'sgreat to sort of see your
trajectory selfishly, um,because of that shared
background, and so that was areally fun connection.
And then also that I just neverthought.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
I never thought that this would be what I was doing
well, I'm going to start withthat because when you, when I
was researching, and you hadwritten what you wrote on your
intake form, it's probably sucha typical story for people.
So you have great parents.
You are lucky to have grown upwith two like parents who are
like totally you know, butParents want their kids most.
(04:00):
You know.
Most parents like let's beconservative, let's get the job.
That's quote unquote safe.
Do the 401k go on vacation?
Like the idea of you everpeeking your head outside of the
line to say, oh, maybe I couldlike do something on my own.
That didn't feel attainable no,it wasn't even.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
it wasn't even a consideration.
And what's interesting, I think, about my upbringing in that
respect is that my mom's parentswere entrepreneurs.
They owned their own business.
They did very well at it, andso she grew up in that, and I
think it's probably thatexperience that made her the
amount of times.
If anything came up while I wasin corporate, her answer was
(04:42):
sort of my mother would neversay shut up.
But if she did like, be quiet,be thankful, stay where you are,
you get paid good money, you'rerespected Like don't, don't
question anything, this is whatyou do.
And I think it's because in herlife they're just what they
were the ultimate ofentrepreneurs, right, it was
busy, it was crazy, it wasscrappy all the time, um, and so
(05:04):
she couldn't.
She wanted it to be easier, Ithink, for me well and you were
really successful.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Yeah, corporate america you were doing your
thang sure?
Speaker 1 (05:12):
so you're high-powered corporate, you're
making a lot of money, thatpaycheck looks real nice every
month, super good, goldenhandcuffs, baby golden handcuffs
.
So how?
What was the catalyst?
What was the like?
Ok, aha moment.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
I laugh that whenever I tell this story it's sort of
like I didn't have an aha moment.
For a relatively smart person,I had about 42.
So aha moments I think onebiggie was I had been at an
agency for a year or so and Iwas like I'm not excited.
A year or so and I was like I'mnot excited and where I say
(05:49):
it's as creative as maybe acorporate career can be.
Unfortunately for me, thatagency wasn't that case.
There was a lot of this is theway that we do it, and I kept
getting sort of three stepsforward and pulled back, like so
many of us that are incorporate have that experience,
I think and so it was reallyfeeling unfulfilling and I had
two small kids and I think thatfor me it became a matter of how
(06:14):
valuable is my time?
And I have never, and I can'timagine ever, considering being
a stay-at-home parent.
It's just sort of not who I am.
Stay-at-home parent, it's justsort of not who I am.
But I did recognize that forthe amount of time that I was
away from my family, what I wasdoing with that time wasn't
really fulfilling me in any wayother than a really nice title
and a paycheck.
(06:34):
I had been renovating homespre-marriage, you know, 15, 20
years.
I thought everyone did that,that.
I thought everyone did what Idid every time I moved into a
home for the most part.
And so naive me in realizingsort of over time that that's
not the case, was like, hey,I'll go back to school and get
certified as an interiordesigner, I'm doing all this
(06:56):
work anyway, like let me learnwhat I don't know on the side of
the business, um, and it'lljust be a for fun thing, it'll
be a thing I do for creativefulfillment.
So I did it super casually forabout a year or so.
And then my company, like somany, had been downsizing and so
(07:17):
I had started interviewing andI was in this final interview
for this behemoth job.
That was the money and thetitle and the 401k matches, it
was all the cachet.
And when I wrapped that finalinterview and I talked to my
(07:40):
husband that night and he waslike you know how did it go?
And I was like I do not want todo it, like I just don't.
I'm thinking about like the dayand like I just don't want to
do it.
And Sean and I are so insanelydifferent.
And he's like don't do it.
Oh, you make that sound so easy.
(08:00):
You're crazy.
That's not an option.
But it planted the seed to belike what would it take for me
to do it?
Could I not do it?
What does that look like?
And so, sure enough, I was likeguys, I so appreciate the
opportunity.
I'm not, I'm out.
And I gave myself the rest ofthat year to build the business
like a business that I wouldbuild for my clients back, you
(08:23):
know, in corporate.
And I was like, if I'm going todo this, it's not going to be
some mom and pop, you're gettingsome handwritten Word document
kind of thing.
It's going to be branded, it'sgoing to have a point of view.
I will be the forefront and thename and I will be counted on
by clients and we're going tohave a really high standard here
and do it right.
And so I built that in theremainder of 23 and then said
(08:46):
here's the revenue goals, here'sthe deal goals I've got for the
first quarter of last year.
If I hit them, it's a go.
If I don't hit them, I'mgetting back on the trail of
interviewing and findingsomething.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
So trying to put myself in the mind of somebody
listening to this right now,because a lot of these stories
we tell it's like very highlevel and I, here's what I did
and it sounds so easy.
Right, the person at homethat's like man, that sounds
really great.
But like I need money, I haveto like it would be really great
.
How am I gonna make it for sixmonths?
So how did you, when he said,okay, then don't, were you guys
(09:20):
equal breadwinners?
Okay, so you're the breadwinnerTotal.
And so how did you actually getyourself from him saying don't
do it to looking at the runwayto say here's the actual
financial plan.
How did you do that?
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Because it is.
It's this like glorious, followyour dream kind of a convo
without that, and I think thatis the anti-conversation that I
want to have.
Like I am not the person that'slike follow your passion.
I'm like follow your passion ifit's not a not-for-profit at
the end of the day.
But let's be real, truly, whatI did was a few really logical
(09:54):
things and a few that maybe area little kooky, but the one was
I hired a coach.
I hired a coach thatspecialized in the interior
design business and I foundsomebody that really I felt like
I could relate to and have somereally direct and straight talk
, because that's a requirementfor me.
Like I don't want to.
I don't want to talk aboutfluff, I want to talk about
tactically, what?
What number of posts onInstagram does this mean?
You know like I'm in the weedsof this whole thing, but really
(10:18):
the biggest thing I wanted tosay was like not only can I make
X money, do you know people inthis industry that are doing
that?
And then let's talk about whatare those pillars.
Is it presence online?
Is it a really clear brandingimage?
Is it?
And at the end of the day, Ithink we probably all know it's
all of those things, but I wantto make I had to make sure,
(10:42):
prior to going in that I saidthese are the five things, these
are the five pillars that Iknow have to exist.
Hey, you that specializes inthis area and has been in it way
longer than me.
Are these the five things?
Are there other things I shouldbe thinking about?
I made sure and went to greatlengths and investment to say
who are the experts, what arethe questions I need to ask?
(11:04):
Because I'm not the expert andthat's okay, I will be the
expert, but that's not now.
So it was a coach.
And then, to your point, carrie, it was a really, really nitty
gritty Excel spreadsheet to sayhere's what we have in savings.
Hey, we thought it was going togo to a new car, a vacation and
(11:27):
this and that, and if thefurnace blows, furnace blows out
.
But realistically, let's takethe run rate of our monthly
expenses.
And then, every so often, I'mgoing to blow it up and say
something happens and add fivethousand dollars unexpectedly.
How long can we go and not missa mortgage payment or something
right Like how long until we'reworried about groceries?
It gave me the opportunity tosay what's the time worth?
What's the creativity worth?
(11:48):
What is the real runway whenyou think about corporate
America, is you theoreticallyhave this very tidy wind down to
retirement, and then you've hadthis 401k match that I joke
constantly about in your RothIRA and your financial planner,
and, like none of that exists inthe entrepreneur journey.
What does exist, though, is myability to build the empire that
(12:13):
I hoped WellWell Design Companybecomes, and then I get to say,
as I want to retire, I'm goingto do half this work, I'm going
to do a quarter of this work.
Then it feels way less likework, and that gives me sort of
a world where I'm still part ofit and doing what I love, but in
a way that is almost only fun.
(12:35):
So the retirement, or the winddown, looks very different, but
I could see that as well.
And then let's's be a littlebit crazy, because I'm a Gemini,
and I'm the most Gemini Geminion the earth.
I went to Willow, who I check inwith once a year or so on my
tarot cards, and was like hey,can I do this?
And will I be poor?
Will my children never be ableto go on vacation if I do this?
(12:57):
I reached out to four or fiveof my previous co-workers who
had left corporate and gone outon their own and either
franchised, become realtors andwere just killing it at their
game and said what do I not know?
What have I not thought of?
What would you say to you fiveyears ago if you were doing this
over again?
So I did a ton of Excelspreadsheets and I did a ton of
(13:22):
introspection and I did lessbusiness plan writing than I
would have anticipated for me,but I did a lot more thinking
through.
What do I want the brand to be?
What do I want the brand tostand for?
What do I want to make surethat I'm incorporating in the
larger picture of it from theabsolute beginning of this and
(13:43):
not waiting until 10 years downthe road?
So some of those things arereally putting time and legwork
into getting to know the artsscene around Columbus.
So artists, makers,tradespeople, I really want
people to know that they canhave original art in their homes
and it can mean something andit should feel like something
(14:05):
when you're in your home.
It shouldn't just be prettyspaces.
So what are sort of all ofthose pieces that I want to
bring into this story that I'mhelping you tell in your home
how much runway?
Speaker 1 (14:14):
how many months did you have where you're like I'm
comfortable?
For how many months?
Speaker 2 (14:18):
my real life was I had 14 months and then I was
like you start interviewing andthen you plan for about six to
eight months of interviewing tofind the right thing.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
And then, when did your revenue start to kick in?
How many months did it take youto get maybe a right around
where you were?
Speaker 2 (14:36):
I'm still working on that and I will say I did not
take any pay for the first year,I just wanted to keep
reinvesting it.
Take any pay for the first year, I just wanted to keep
reinvesting it.
So I was able.
Again, that runway, right thattime, gave me the ability to say
write off the money.
You know that you can live.
You know your kids can live.
(14:56):
They can still play club soccer, we're fine, Do what you need
to do to build this business.
Listen, we worked hard to havea really great savings to be
able to do that.
So I'm not I don't discount thework that we did to be able to
do that and but it gave me theability to say what's the right
thing for the business andwhat's the business I want to
(15:17):
build.
Sort of, fuck the money rightnow.
We'll get to that.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
I think it's important for people to know who
you know.
Everybody has this dream.
Everybody's daydreaming aboutshit, but just daydreaming about
something.
It's like cat's daydream.
Just because you have thisdaydream in your mind, like I'd
love to start x, it's soimportant that when you do take
that leap, that you're set upfor success.
Because if you, if you do takeit and you fail miserably the
first time, right, if you're notputting the calculated risk, if
(15:44):
you do have a dual incomefamily, if you do have children,
you have to think throughfinancially like what does this
runway look like?
And then like, to your point,forecasting enough.
Don't sit there and spend sixmonths on a business plan.
If writing the business plan iswhat's holding you back, please
call me.
Your business plan is going tochange every six months to every
(16:05):
year.
So I'm not saying like, don'tdo a business plan, but don't be
so focused on this businessplan.
Right, focus, like what yousaid, on making sure that you
have all of those quote unquotepillars aligned.
How are you going to sort oflike Geppetto this thing and
visualize how are you going tohave those revenue buckets?
How are you going to createrevenue and value and be in
(16:25):
alignment?
Speaker 3 (16:29):
Hey Maria Milligan, here with RE-MAX Premier Choice.
Being a realtor here meansbeing part of a community.
I'm more than just a businesscard.
I'm someone you'll see aroundtown.
I build trust with my clientsbecause I care about this
community and the people in it.
Ready to take that next step?
Let's do it together.
Text me at 614-314-1355.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Who says you need a special occasion to feel like a
celeb.
I mean, stress is real, life isbusy and your scalp, yeah, it
deserves some love too.
That's where Headspace by MiaSantiago comes in.
Treat yourself or someone whodeserves it to a luxurious scalp
treatment and a killer blowoutor cut, because nothing says
main character, energy, honey,like a fresh style from
(17:11):
celebrity stylist Mia and herteam.
And because we love a good deal, mention the Keri Croft Show
and get 20% off your service orany gift card for somebody in
your life that you love.
Headspace by Mia Santiago.
Because great hair daysshouldn't be rare.
We always say like withcorporate America, safe, it's
(17:34):
safe.
No, it's not Like, and that'sthat's what we're realizing.
So I say that because if that'syour reason out there, if your
reason for not starting yourthing is because you feel safe,
yeah, honey, that's that.
I hate to blow that illusionfor you, but you're not, yeah no
, I completely agree, and it'sonly happening more and more
right.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
So I know plenty of folks that are to your point
they're writing the businessplan, they're writing the
business plan, they're writingthe business plan.
But that's been a solid fiveyears now.
It's not the business plan, andthat's okay.
If this is not your thing,that's okay.
This is tough, this is tough.
There's no path.
And that business plan, promise, promise will change in three
(18:15):
months and it'll change again inthree months, and that's got to
be okay too.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
I just know my brain never, ever turns off and it
gets very exhausting at timesand I wish that I could just
stop the train, but there Idon't know really how to do that
.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
I have yet to figure it out.
We were chatting prior tostarting here that I was on
vacation with my family in theworld's most overwhelming
location, which is Disney andUniversal Studios, and I
numerous times had to be likeyou guys go ahead and do the
(18:51):
ride or the thing or whateverthat is.
I need to just make some notesin my phone, I need to make a
list, I need to make some notesbecause it's consuming my brain
and I'm just worried that I'mgoing to forget about it or not
think about it or not organizeit in this, you know, sort of
actionable way, and so I justneed to pause for a moment and
do that.
Part of that is making surethat I'm really spending my time
(19:13):
intentionally.
I think will forever be achallenge for me and people that
have the personality.
That is just a lot of ideas, alot of things going on.
How has this been for, is it?
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Sean, yeah.
So what would he say if wecalled?
Speaker 2 (19:30):
him.
He would say that he's notsurprised at all and he would
say he's probably a little bittired of being shipping and
receiving at our house at alltimes.
But I've always been me, butI've always been me.
So, whether that was thecorporate America version of
this or this entrepreneur dwellwell design company version of
this, I've always been very busy.
(19:51):
I've always been speedingrapidly through sort of
everything and a type A and acreative and so, yeah, he would
say it's going amazingly, he'ssuper proud, he's excited,
probably wishes I were a littlecalmer.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Well, sean, I wouldn't, you know, hold your
breath on that one.
Do you feel totally fulfilledLike?
Are you like I can't believe Idid corporate for so long?
Or are you like holy shit?
Speaker 2 (20:19):
This is so much harder than I thought it was
going to be.
It is absolutely worth it to mein every respect of it.
Absolutely worth it to me inevery respect of it.
But I also think that I'm very,very lucky that my corporate
career gave me an amazing amountof knowledge and learning to be
able to walk in to this journeyand not just screw it all up
from the beginning.
The amount of overlap and theamount of things that I'm using
(20:41):
from that career is wildly morethan I even anticipated at the
beginning, and I worked withsome really exceptional people
in my corporate career and somereally unexceptional ones.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
I'm sure you had a bunch of douchebags too.
Let's not, it's not yeah let'snot forget about those words.
Totally Going back to youpersonally, it feels like you've
had a pretty solid, stable,kind of like humming right along
kind of life, which is amazing.
You did say you were born witha cleft palate.
Yeah, how big of a deal wasthat for you.
(21:13):
Like, how did that shape you?
Cause you had mentioned acouple of surgeries and one in
which you couldn't eat for amonth, so like it was a much
bigger deal for my parents thanit was for me.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
So when I was born I had a cleft palate, meaning I
had no roof in my mouth, so minedid not go.
Often you see folks with a scaron their lip.
My palate it wasn't a cleft lip, it was just the palate.
So as a child my tongue couldflip all the way over backwards
and smother me.
So I was carried on my stomach.
(21:42):
I was wedged in a crib on mystomach and so I say like the
impact to me is wildly less thanthe impact.
Can you imagine being a parent?
Speaker 1 (21:51):
I'm literally thinking about your mom as we
speak.
Like are you kidding me?
Wait a minute?
So how long until you were ableto even have the certain?
Like how long did they have to?
Speaker 2 (22:00):
do that with.
I was a year and a half oldbefore they created a palate in
my mouth long did they have todo that with?
Speaker 1 (22:05):
I was a year and a half old before they created a
palate in my mouth.
So the doctor was like hey,listen, like there's a chance
that she could like so becausethe tongue goes back.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
Yeah, you can flip right over so like I don't have
like a uvula or anything nowbecause it's a, it's a created
palate in my mouth.
But just imagine that's just agiant open cavity.
So glamorous, a giant opencavity.
My poor parents, they didn't,they didn't anticipate any of
that.
It was like wait, what's what'swrong?
What's going on?
And eating eating, as you canimagine, without suction for a
(22:35):
bottle is really challengingdoes she talk about how
traumatizing that was?
Speaker 1 (22:38):
no might, no, did you ever ask?
Speaker 2 (22:40):
her.
I mean, yeah, I'm, it's like nobig deal this is what, what it
was?
Speaker 1 (22:45):
It's like anything.
You know it's funny.
You go through something butthen, like a year later, you're
like yeah, that was hard, butI'm just putting myself in that
position with a baby trying tolike.
I bet you she was an absolutewreck.
I would have been a mess.
I would have absolutely been amess.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
When they created the palate in my mouth, they did a
projection, like many of us didwhen we had kids.
I'm like, how big is your kidgoing to get?
But in this case they did theprojection to say how big and
what's the structure of the face, so that they can create a
palate because it's not going togrow.
And so when I was in eighthgrade, I had to have another
(23:24):
surgery because, I don't know,my head was larger than
anticipated.
I don't know what the wholedeal was right.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
They're like oh, got that wrong.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Giant head on this one.
We're going to have to dosomething about that.
And so they took a muscle frominside my throat, put it across
the back of my throat so thatthe palate in my throat would
close on noises that it neededto do that.
So I sounded pretty nasallyprior to that and I was in the
hospital for about a week andthen I could not eat for a month
(23:51):
.
It was a liquid day, was a lotof insure for a month, and so I
missed basketball season and Ilost a whole bunch a whole bunch
of weight, of course, and andabsolutely hated Ensure.
And my kids now it's so funnythey see the commercials for
Ensure like Disney Plus orwhatever, and they're like that
looks great.
I'm like, oh, I can't eventhink about it.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
You're like trauma.
Stop, Stop it right now.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Yes, wild Okay.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Like were kids, did they bully you before that?
Speaker 2 (24:23):
when you sounded different, or were they like,
was there anything?
Or they just?
Speaker 1 (24:25):
kind of like knew you as you like.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Yeah, I think they.
Just I don't think anybodyquestioned it, that's true, and
I think because it graduallyright, that would that gradually
happened over time as I, as Igot bigger, and I don't think
that it was so much a thing.
I think also I probablybenefited from again the fact
that, like I've been me thewhole of my life and so I am a
little bit just like this isjust this, is it?
(24:47):
We just continue on and barrelthrough, and so when you, I find
, when you don't give people toomuch a choice, Right, well, you
know, kids, little assholes.
Right, I mean eighth grade wasnot the prime for anybody.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
I was like I was so tall and had braces and a perm,
I mean it was uh, it was a realsight to see.
All right, so let's talk aboutthis design alchemy that you
have here, because this is soit's dwell.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
Well, talk to us about this I write design
alchemy each year at thebeginning of the year, and it is
the intention and the ideabehind the whole thing is it's
really about being forwardlooking about interior design,
but in an approachable way.
So we don't live in Paris orNew York, but we still want to
(25:31):
have great interiors that areinteresting, and so my job, I
think, is to say what's real.
But let's push you a little bitand say how visually do you
want to tell your story in yourhome?
And so this year's DesignAlchemy is focused on three
different areas.
The classics Classics are backhardcore, think, you know, crown
(25:53):
molding and box pleats andskirts on furniture again.
So the classics are back man,natural and organic sort of two
sides of that one, of course,bringing plants and live into
your space we have only realizedmore and more is such a game
changer for our moods, for howwe live, for how we feel in our
(26:15):
spaces.
But also the natural andorganic shapes, so things that
are handmade, tactile, layeredtextiles, things like that.
And then individualisticinteriors, which is probably my
favorite, which means likeeverything and anything goes.
There are ways to bring thewild, the crazy, the kitschy,
(26:36):
the whatever you love into yourhome and still make it feel very
elevated and high end and havea whole bunch of character.
So we talk about some ways todo that.
And then I also always includea toolkit in the back which
changes, but the one constant init is the Dwell Well Design
(26:56):
Company color box, which is ourpick for colors, paint colors
for the year, what we're loving,why we're loving it and it's a
great place.
If you're like I need to sprucesome stuff up in my home start
with the start with the walls.
The paint color makes such abig difference.
But also, like, what are ourmust-haves in the world of home?
(27:17):
I talk about keys to lighting,because man lighting, there's a
lot to it and it makes such ahuge difference.
So this year's edition hasquite a few keys to lighting,
depending on your spaces thatyou're talking about.
And then just a little bit of alike meet the team.
Here's our process, here's howwe do what we do.
I love this paint color, thankyou.
(27:38):
What I like about this one isit feels red, but it's not the
red of 1993, right, it's got alot of black in it.
So, to your point, it reallymakes it pretty darn neutral If
Alexis from Schitt's Creek.
Were a color, this would be it.
It's confident, it's timeless,it's effortlessly bold, and
anytime I can bring Schitt'sCreek into a conversation, it's
a real win for me.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
You know, it took a little nudging.
I probably had people tell melike 20 times I had to watch
that and I was like refusingbecause I'm just not a big
comedy, I don't know, I justwhatever, give me a Dateline
murder any day.
I watched that and I was likethis is something else.
So good, so effing good.
So what else?
Before we wrap this up, whatelse do you want people to know
about?
Speaker 2 (28:17):
Dwell Well, I really focus on full service interior
design.
I found that people are notonly a bit overwhelmed and
intimidated by creating theirpersonality and themselves in a
home and all of the layers andthought that goes into that and
decisions.
It is a lot At Dwell.
Well, we're really dedicated tomanaging the whole process and
(28:41):
makeover, if you will end to end, and that makes it a little
easier for our clients as well,as sort of that ideal outcome
and selfishly for me, I get towalk away from it and be like,
no, that's exactly what itshould be for that person.
And so we're really excited anddedicated and I'm very excited
about creating and translatingpeople's personality, who they
(29:04):
are and what they love intotheir space.
Nobody's going to look the same.
You don't want to live in ashowroom and you don't have to
wait until your kids are 20 tolive somewhere that you love.
We really really vehementlybelieve in the power of home and
starting your day and endingyour day in a place that feels
(29:25):
just like you and the way thatyou want it to feel and can
enter the world in a confident,happy person and place.
I think home is that for all ofus and, quite honestly, let's
not be too precious about it.
Let's make it fun, let's makeit interesting and let's make it
really different for everyone.
I'm booking out now into summerand fall, which is really fun,
(29:47):
damn girl.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
Right, can I get a damn girl?
Hey, listen, sorry guys, she'sbooking out into 2027.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
It's a really it's an exciting thing to even be able
to say Good for you, but it'srefurnishes, it's kitchens.
It's finishing basements, it'srefurnishes, it's kitchens, it's
finishing basements.
It's all the fun stuff.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
Yeah, and what would you say to people who are like,
oh, I don't want to do thisbecause it'll hurt the resale
value of my home, so I'm goingto keep everything very.
Who wants to live like that?
Speaker 2 (30:13):
It's exactly what I say.
You live in your home.
Yeah, and I think the otherthing that people don't maybe
count as much is whenever thetime comes that somebody is
coming to look at your home, topotentially live in your home
Even if they say that's not thecolor I would have painted the
walls or the rug I would haveput on the floor they're going
(30:33):
to notice and appreciate themanner with which it's executed.
Says so much and people are soenvious of that.
So, yeah, no, that's not athing.
Live in a place that you wantto live in, that feels like you.
Speaker 1 (30:47):
AKA Dwell Well.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
Dwell Well Design Company.
Dwell Well baby.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
Well, thank you so much.
I appreciate you coming in.
I love that we connected via.
Calendly and the universe andthe interwebs Right.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
So another PSA for anyone out there who's listening
.
I do have a calendar up.
I have time carved out.
I want people starters, doers,dreamers, executors who need a
nudge or, if you want someadvice, anything, a pep talk,
tough love.
I'll tell you your baby's ugly.
I will give you all the honestfeedback.
So find it on my bio inInstagram and you can just click
(31:21):
on it, schedule a time andlet's just kind of lock eyes and
see what happens.
I just I care and I want tomeet you.
So thank you for taking me upon it.
This is why we're sitting here.
This is how things happen.
If you're still out therefollowing your girl, follow me
on YouTube, spotify, apple orwherever you get your podcasts
and, until next time, go checkout Dwell.
Well, there's a free download,really, really comprehensive and
good.
(31:41):
I highly recommend you go there, check it out, check her out
and if you have a lot of time towait like you know, 2027, sign
up with her because she's superbusy, she's fucking good and
keep moving baby.
Hey there you beautiful badass.
Welcome to the Keri Croft Show.
I'm your host, keri Croft,delivering you stories that get
you pumped up and feeling likethe unstoppable savage that you
are.
So grab your coffee, put onyour game face and let's do this
thing, baby face.
And let's do this thing, babyStruggling to hit those big
(00:28):
company goals you set last year.
Well, q1 is almost over.
Are you making real progress orjust telling yourself?
You still have time?
Varsity L'Oreal Consulting helpsleaders gain clarity and get
shift done.
That's S-H-I-F-T.
Whether you need to refine yourvision, align your team or
bring your organization's valuesto life, they've got you
(00:50):
covered.
And yeah, you've heard her namebefore.
She was on the show a fewmonths ago and we talked about
confidence, vulnerability andreaching big goals.
Well, now it's your turn.
Now, through March 14th,they're offering three powerful
experiences designed to bringclarity, alignment and momentum
to your organization at the bestvalue yet.
So stop feeling stuck and startmaking moves.
(01:12):
Visit varsylorellcom to learnmore and book a convo today,
ready to elevate your self-caregame.
Boscal Beauty Bar is a modernmed spa offering everything from
cosmetic injectables, lasersand microneedling to
medical-grade facials andskincare, conveniently located
in Clintonville, grandview,powell and Easton.
Making self-care a priority hasnever been easier.
(01:34):
Use code CRAWFT for $25 offyour first visit.
Let's get real here.
Aging isn't always cute.
Wrinkles, things sagging wherethey didn't before.
Do I hate my partner, or isthis perimenopause?
I've been there and that's whyI'm all about Donaldson From
plastic surgery to aesthetics tofunctional medicine.
They help you love your bodyand get to know it better.
(01:56):
Want to feel like yourselfagain?
Head to DonaldsonHealthcom and,if you're a first-time client,
mention the Keri Croft Show for$100 off your first treatment.
You're welcome, jessica Brugger.
Welcome to the Keri Croft Show.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Thank you so much, so excited to be here.
I'm excited to have you here.
Let's talk about me, you,interiors, whatever.
Oh no, we're going to talkabout you.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
This is a 90% you, 10% me type scenario.
Great, I've been waiting forthis moment my whole life.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
No, pressure Men, so how?
Do we find each other Way backsystem of strength right and
then sliding into your DMs latelast year as you were doing the
show and I was a fan to sayhello and what's happening and
I'm loving this.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Yeah, I think you got on my Calendly, didn't you?
Yeah, I have a Calendly, didn'tyou?
Yeah, I have a Calendly in myDM that if you're trying to
start something, if it'sstarting a family, starting a
business, even if it's like somekind of internal thing, you're
trying to do self-confidence.
Where's the inner badass?
I'm trying to be a magnet forthose people.
So I have time carved out in myschedule.
(02:59):
If you want to get on myCalendly via my link in my bio,
yes, that's absolutely what itwas, and that's a really great
way to kind of you know, breakthe ice, say hello, get to know
one another and, as it turns out, you're just the perfect person
to have in the chair in termsof corporate America
high-powered, exec-turnedentrepreneur, and there's
nothing I love or feel more thanthat, because same-sies yeah,
(03:24):
we had that in common.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
And or feel more than that because same Z's yeah, we
had that in common and it'sgreat to sort of see your
trajectory selfishly, um,because of that shared
background, and so that was areally fun connection.
And then also that I just neverthought.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
I never thought that this would be what I was doing
well, I'm going to start withthat because when you, when I
was researching, and you hadwritten what you wrote on your
intake form, it's probably sucha typical story for people.
So you have great parents.
You are lucky to have grown upwith two like parents who are
like totally you know, butParents want their kids most.
(04:00):
You know.
Most parents like let's beconservative, let's get the job.
That's quote unquote safe.
Do the 401k go on vacation?
Like the idea of you everpeeking your head outside of the
line to say, oh, maybe I couldlike do something on my own.
That didn't feel attainable no,it wasn't even.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
it wasn't even a consideration.
And what's interesting, I think, about my upbringing in that
respect is that my mom's parentswere entrepreneurs.
They owned their own business.
They did very well at it, andso she grew up in that, and I
think it's probably thatexperience that made her the
amount of times.
If anything came up while I wasin corporate, her answer was
(04:42):
sort of my mother would neversay shut up.
But if she did like, be quiet,be thankful, stay where you are,
you get paid good money, you'rerespected Like don't, don't
question anything, this is whatyou do.
And I think it's because in herlife they're just what they
were the ultimate ofentrepreneurs, right, it was
busy, it was crazy, it wasscrappy all the time, um, and so
(05:04):
she couldn't.
She wanted it to be easier, Ithink, for me well and you were
really successful.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Yeah, corporate america you were doing your
thang sure?
Speaker 1 (05:12):
so you're high-powered corporate, you're
making a lot of money, thatpaycheck looks real nice every
month, super good, goldenhandcuffs, baby golden handcuffs
.
So how?
What was the catalyst?
What was the like?
Ok, aha moment.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
I laugh that whenever I tell this story it's sort of
like I didn't have an aha moment.
For a relatively smart person,I had about 42.
So aha moments I think onebiggie was I had been at an
agency for a year or so and Iwas like I'm not excited.
A year or so and I was like I'mnot excited and where I say
(05:49):
it's as creative as maybe acorporate career can be.
Unfortunately for me, thatagency wasn't that case.
There was a lot of this is theway that we do it, and I kept
getting sort of three stepsforward and pulled back, like so
many of us that are incorporate have that experience,
I think and so it was reallyfeeling unfulfilling and I had
two small kids and I think thatfor me it became a matter of how
(06:14):
valuable is my time?
And I have never, and I can'timagine ever, considering being
a stay-at-home parent.
It's just sort of not who I am.
Stay-at-home parent, it's justsort of not who I am.
But I did recognize that forthe amount of time that I was
away from my family, what I wasdoing with that time wasn't
really fulfilling me in any wayother than a really nice title
and a paycheck.
(06:34):
I had been renovating homespre-marriage, you know, 15, 20
years.
I thought everyone did that,that.
I thought everyone did what Idid every time I moved into a
home for the most part.
And so naive me in realizingsort of over time that that's
not the case, was like, hey,I'll go back to school and get
certified as an interiordesigner, I'm doing all this
(06:56):
work anyway, like let me learnwhat I don't know on the side of
the business, um, and it'lljust be a for fun thing, it'll
be a thing I do for creativefulfillment.
So I did it super casually forabout a year or so.
And then my company, like somany, had been downsizing and so
(07:17):
I had started interviewing andI was in this final interview
for this behemoth job.
That was the money and thetitle and the 401k matches, it
was all the cachet.
And when I wrapped that finalinterview and I talked to my
(07:40):
husband that night and he waslike you know how did it go?
And I was like I do not want todo it, like I just don't.
I'm thinking about like the dayand like I just don't want to
do it.
And Sean and I are so insanelydifferent.
And he's like don't do it.
Oh, you make that sound so easy.
(08:00):
You're crazy.
That's not an option.
But it planted the seed to belike what would it take for me
to do it?
Could I not do it?
What does that look like?
And so, sure enough, I was likeguys, I so appreciate the
opportunity.
I'm not, I'm out.
And I gave myself the rest ofthat year to build the business
like a business that I wouldbuild for my clients back, you
(08:23):
know, in corporate.
And I was like, if I'm going todo this, it's not going to be
some mom and pop, you're gettingsome handwritten Word document
kind of thing.
It's going to be branded, it'sgoing to have a point of view.
I will be the forefront and thename and I will be counted on
by clients and we're going tohave a really high standard here
and do it right.
And so I built that in theremainder of 23 and then said
(08:46):
here's the revenue goals, here'sthe deal goals I've got for the
first quarter of last year.
If I hit them, it's a go.
If I don't hit them, I'mgetting back on the trail of
interviewing and findingsomething.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
So trying to put myself in the mind of somebody
listening to this right now,because a lot of these stories
we tell it's like very highlevel and I, here's what I did
and it sounds so easy.
Right, the person at homethat's like man, that sounds
really great.
But like I need money, I haveto like it would be really great
.
How am I gonna make it for sixmonths?
So how did you, when he said,okay, then don't, were you guys
(09:20):
equal breadwinners?
Okay, so you're the breadwinnerTotal.
And so how did you actually getyourself from him saying don't
do it to looking at the runwayto say here's the actual
financial plan.
How did you do that?
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Because it is.
It's this like glorious, followyour dream kind of a convo
without that, and I think thatis the anti-conversation that I
want to have.
Like I am not the person that'slike follow your passion.
I'm like follow your passion ifit's not a not-for-profit at
the end of the day.
But let's be real, truly, whatI did was a few really logical
(09:54):
things and a few that maybe area little kooky, but the one was
I hired a coach.
I hired a coach thatspecialized in the interior
design business and I foundsomebody that really I felt like
I could relate to and have somereally direct and straight talk
, because that's a requirementfor me.
Like I don't want to.
I don't want to talk aboutfluff, I want to talk about
tactically, what?
What number of posts onInstagram does this mean?
You know like I'm in the weedsof this whole thing, but really
(10:18):
the biggest thing I wanted tosay was like not only can I make
X money, do you know people inthis industry that are doing
that?
And then let's talk about whatare those pillars.
Is it presence online?
Is it a really clear brandingimage?
Is it?
And at the end of the day, Ithink we probably all know it's
all of those things, but I wantto make I had to make sure,
(10:42):
prior to going in that I saidthese are the five things, these
are the five pillars that Iknow have to exist.
Hey, you that specializes inthis area and has been in it way
longer than me.
Are these the five things?
Are there other things I shouldbe thinking about?
I made sure and went to greatlengths and investment to say
who are the experts, what arethe questions I need to ask?
(11:04):
Because I'm not the expert andthat's okay, I will be the
expert, but that's not now.
So it was a coach.
And then, to your point, carrie, it was a really, really nitty
gritty Excel spreadsheet to sayhere's what we have in savings.
Hey, we thought it was going togo to a new car, a vacation and
(11:27):
this and that, and if thefurnace blows, furnace blows out
.
But realistically, let's takethe run rate of our monthly
expenses.
And then, every so often, I'mgoing to blow it up and say
something happens and add fivethousand dollars unexpectedly.
How long can we go and not missa mortgage payment or something
right Like how long until we'reworried about groceries?
It gave me the opportunity tosay what's the time worth?
What's the creativity worth?
(11:48):
What is the real runway whenyou think about corporate
America, is you theoreticallyhave this very tidy wind down to
retirement, and then you've hadthis 401k match that I joke
constantly about in your RothIRA and your financial planner,
and, like none of that exists inthe entrepreneur journey.
What does exist, though, is myability to build the empire that
(12:13):
I hoped WellWell Design Companybecomes, and then I get to say,
as I want to retire, I'm goingto do half this work, I'm going
to do a quarter of this work.
Then it feels way less likework, and that gives me sort of
a world where I'm still part ofit and doing what I love, but in
a way that is almost only fun.
(12:35):
So the retirement, or the winddown, looks very different, but
I could see that as well.
And then let's's be a littlebit crazy, because I'm a Gemini,
and I'm the most Gemini Geminion the earth.
I went to Willow, who I check inwith once a year or so on my
tarot cards, and was like hey,can I do this?
And will I be poor?
Will my children never be ableto go on vacation if I do this?
(12:57):
I reached out to four or fiveof my previous co-workers who
had left corporate and gone outon their own and either
franchised, become realtors andwere just killing it at their
game and said what do I not know?
What have I not thought of?
What would you say to you fiveyears ago if you were doing this
over again?
So I did a ton of Excelspreadsheets and I did a ton of
(13:22):
introspection and I did lessbusiness plan writing than I
would have anticipated for me,but I did a lot more thinking
through.
What do I want the brand to be?
What do I want the brand tostand for?
What do I want to make surethat I'm incorporating in the
larger picture of it from theabsolute beginning of this and
(13:43):
not waiting until 10 years downthe road?
So some of those things arereally putting time and legwork
into getting to know the artsscene around Columbus.
So artists, makers,tradespeople, I really want
people to know that they canhave original art in their homes
and it can mean something andit should feel like something
(14:05):
when you're in your home.
It shouldn't just be prettyspaces.
So what are sort of all ofthose pieces that I want to
bring into this story that I'mhelping you tell in your home
how much runway?
Speaker 1 (14:14):
how many months did you have where you're like I'm
comfortable?
For how many months?
Speaker 2 (14:18):
my real life was I had 14 months and then I was
like you start interviewing andthen you plan for about six to
eight months of interviewing tofind the right thing.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
And then, when did your revenue start to kick in?
How many months did it take youto get maybe a right around
where you were?
Speaker 2 (14:36):
I'm still working on that and I will say I did not
take any pay for the first year,I just wanted to keep
reinvesting it.
Take any pay for the first year, I just wanted to keep
reinvesting it.
So I was able.
Again, that runway, right thattime, gave me the ability to say
write off the money.
You know that you can live.
You know your kids can live.
(14:56):
They can still play club soccer, we're fine, Do what you need
to do to build this business.
Listen, we worked hard to havea really great savings to be
able to do that.
So I'm not I don't discount thework that we did to be able to
do that and but it gave me theability to say what's the right
thing for the business andwhat's the business I want to
(15:17):
build.
Sort of, fuck the money rightnow.
We'll get to that.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
I think it's important for people to know who
you know.
Everybody has this dream.
Everybody's daydreaming aboutshit, but just daydreaming about
something.
It's like cat's daydream.
Just because you have thisdaydream in your mind, like I'd
love to start x, it's soimportant that when you do take
that leap, that you're set upfor success.
Because if you, if you do takeit and you fail miserably the
first time, right, if you're notputting the calculated risk, if
(15:44):
you do have a dual incomefamily, if you do have children,
you have to think throughfinancially like what does this
runway look like?
And then like, to your point,forecasting enough.
Don't sit there and spend sixmonths on a business plan.
If writing the business plan iswhat's holding you back, please
call me.
Your business plan is going tochange every six months to every
(16:05):
year.
So I'm not saying like, don'tdo a business plan, but don't be
so focused on this businessplan.
Right, focus, like what yousaid, on making sure that you
have all of those quote unquotepillars aligned.
How are you going to sort oflike Geppetto this thing and
visualize how are you going tohave those revenue buckets?
How are you going to createrevenue and value and be in
(16:25):
alignment?
Speaker 3 (16:29):
Hey Maria Milligan, here with RE-MAX Premier Choice.
Being a realtor here meansbeing part of a community.
I'm more than just a businesscard.
I'm someone you'll see aroundtown.
I build trust with my clientsbecause I care about this
community and the people in it.
Ready to take that next step?
Let's do it together.
Text me at 614-314-1355.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Who says you need a special occasion to feel like a
celeb.
I mean, stress is real, life isbusy and your scalp, yeah, it
deserves some love too.
That's where Headspace by MiaSantiago comes in.
Treat yourself or someone whodeserves it to a luxurious scalp
treatment and a killer blowoutor cut, because nothing says
main character, energy, honey,like a fresh style from
(17:11):
celebrity stylist Mia and herteam.
And because we love a good deal, mention the Keri Croft Show
and get 20% off your service orany gift card for somebody in
your life that you love.
Headspace by Mia Santiago.
Because great hair daysshouldn't be rare.
We always say like withcorporate America, safe, it's
(17:34):
safe.
No, it's not Like, and that'sthat's what we're realizing.
So I say that because if that'syour reason out there, if your
reason for not starting yourthing is because you feel safe,
yeah, honey, that's that.
I hate to blow that illusionfor you, but you're not, yeah no
, I completely agree, and it'sonly happening more and more
right.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
So I know plenty of folks that are to your point
they're writing the businessplan, they're writing the
business plan, they're writingthe business plan.
But that's been a solid fiveyears now.
It's not the business plan, andthat's okay.
If this is not your thing,that's okay.
This is tough, this is tough.
There's no path.
And that business plan, promise, promise will change in three
(18:15):
months and it'll change again inthree months, and that's got to
be okay too.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
I just know my brain never, ever turns off and it
gets very exhausting at timesand I wish that I could just
stop the train, but there Idon't know really how to do that
.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
I have yet to figure it out.
We were chatting prior tostarting here that I was on
vacation with my family in theworld's most overwhelming
location, which is Disney andUniversal Studios, and I
numerous times had to be likeyou guys go ahead and do the
(18:51):
ride or the thing or whateverthat is.
I need to just make some notesin my phone, I need to make a
list, I need to make some notesbecause it's consuming my brain
and I'm just worried that I'mgoing to forget about it or not
think about it or not organizeit in this, you know, sort of
actionable way, and so I justneed to pause for a moment and
do that.
Part of that is making surethat I'm really spending my time
(19:13):
intentionally.
I think will forever be achallenge for me and people that
have the personality.
That is just a lot of ideas, alot of things going on.
How has this been for, is it?
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Sean, yeah.
So what would he say if wecalled?
Speaker 2 (19:30):
him.
He would say that he's notsurprised at all and he would
say he's probably a little bittired of being shipping and
receiving at our house at alltimes.
But I've always been me, butI've always been me.
So, whether that was thecorporate America version of
this or this entrepreneur dwellwell design company version of
this, I've always been very busy.
(19:51):
I've always been speedingrapidly through sort of
everything and a type A and acreative and so, yeah, he would
say it's going amazingly, he'ssuper proud, he's excited,
probably wishes I were a littlecalmer.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Well, sean, I wouldn't, you know, hold your
breath on that one.
Do you feel totally fulfilledLike?
Are you like I can't believe Idid corporate for so long?
Or are you like holy shit?
Speaker 2 (20:19):
This is so much harder than I thought it was
going to be.
It is absolutely worth it to mein every respect of it.
Absolutely worth it to me inevery respect of it.
But I also think that I'm very,very lucky that my corporate
career gave me an amazing amountof knowledge and learning to be
able to walk in to this journeyand not just screw it all up
from the beginning.
The amount of overlap and theamount of things that I'm using
(20:41):
from that career is wildly morethan I even anticipated at the
beginning, and I worked withsome really exceptional people
in my corporate career and somereally unexceptional ones.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
I'm sure you had a bunch of douchebags too.
Let's not, it's not yeah let'snot forget about those words.
Totally Going back to youpersonally, it feels like you've
had a pretty solid, stable,kind of like humming right along
kind of life, which is amazing.
You did say you were born witha cleft palate.
Yeah, how big of a deal wasthat for you.
(21:13):
Like, how did that shape you?
Cause you had mentioned acouple of surgeries and one in
which you couldn't eat for amonth, so like it was a much
bigger deal for my parents thanit was for me.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
So when I was born I had a cleft palate, meaning I
had no roof in my mouth, so minedid not go.
Often you see folks with a scaron their lip.
My palate it wasn't a cleft lip, it was just the palate.
So as a child my tongue couldflip all the way over backwards
and smother me.
So I was carried on my stomach.
(21:42):
I was wedged in a crib on mystomach and so I say like the
impact to me is wildly less thanthe impact.
Can you imagine being a parent?
Speaker 1 (21:51):
I'm literally thinking about your mom as we
speak.
Like are you kidding me?
Wait a minute?
So how long until you were ableto even have the certain?
Like how long did they have to?
Speaker 2 (22:00):
do that with.
I was a year and a half oldbefore they created a palate in
my mouth long did they have todo that with?
Speaker 1 (22:05):
I was a year and a half old before they created a
palate in my mouth.
So the doctor was like hey,listen, like there's a chance
that she could like so becausethe tongue goes back.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
Yeah, you can flip right over so like I don't have
like a uvula or anything nowbecause it's a, it's a created
palate in my mouth.
But just imagine that's just agiant open cavity.
So glamorous, a giant opencavity.
My poor parents, they didn't,they didn't anticipate any of
that.
It was like wait, what's what'swrong?
What's going on?
And eating eating, as you canimagine, without suction for a
(22:35):
bottle is really challengingdoes she talk about how
traumatizing that was?
Speaker 1 (22:38):
no might, no, did you ever ask?
Speaker 2 (22:40):
her.
I mean, yeah, I'm, it's like nobig deal this is what, what it
was?
Speaker 1 (22:45):
It's like anything.
You know it's funny.
You go through something butthen, like a year later, you're
like yeah, that was hard, butI'm just putting myself in that
position with a baby trying tolike.
I bet you she was an absolutewreck.
I would have been a mess.
I would have absolutely been amess.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
When they created the palate in my mouth, they did a
projection, like many of us didwhen we had kids.
I'm like, how big is your kidgoing to get?
But in this case they did theprojection to say how big and
what's the structure of the face, so that they can create a
palate because it's not going togrow.
And so when I was in eighthgrade, I had to have another
(23:24):
surgery because, I don't know,my head was larger than
anticipated.
I don't know what the wholedeal was right.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
They're like oh, got that wrong.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Giant head on this one.
We're going to have to dosomething about that.
And so they took a muscle frominside my throat, put it across
the back of my throat so thatthe palate in my throat would
close on noises that it neededto do that.
So I sounded pretty nasallyprior to that and I was in the
hospital for about a week andthen I could not eat for a month
(23:51):
.
It was a liquid day, was a lotof insure for a month, and so I
missed basketball season and Ilost a whole bunch a whole bunch
of weight, of course, and andabsolutely hated Ensure.
And my kids now it's so funnythey see the commercials for
Ensure like Disney Plus orwhatever, and they're like that
looks great.
I'm like, oh, I can't eventhink about it.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
You're like trauma.
Stop, Stop it right now.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Yes, wild Okay.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Like were kids, did they bully you before that?
Speaker 2 (24:23):
when you sounded different, or were they like,
was there anything?
Or they just?
Speaker 1 (24:25):
kind of like knew you as you like.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Yeah, I think they.
Just I don't think anybodyquestioned it, that's true, and
I think because it graduallyright, that would that gradually
happened over time as I, as Igot bigger, and I don't think
that it was so much a thing.
I think also I probablybenefited from again the fact
that, like I've been me thewhole of my life and so I am a
little bit just like this isjust this, is it?
(24:47):
We just continue on and barrelthrough, and so when you, I find
, when you don't give people toomuch a choice, Right, well, you
know, kids, little assholes.
Right, I mean eighth grade wasnot the prime for anybody.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
I was like I was so tall and had braces and a perm,
I mean it was uh, it was a realsight to see.
All right, so let's talk aboutthis design alchemy that you
have here, because this is soit's dwell.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
Well, talk to us about this I write design
alchemy each year at thebeginning of the year, and it is
the intention and the ideabehind the whole thing is it's
really about being forwardlooking about interior design,
but in an approachable way.
So we don't live in Paris orNew York, but we still want to
(25:31):
have great interiors that areinteresting, and so my job, I
think, is to say what's real.
But let's push you a little bitand say how visually do you
want to tell your story in yourhome?
And so this year's DesignAlchemy is focused on three
different areas.
The classics Classics are backhardcore, think, you know, crown
(25:53):
molding and box pleats andskirts on furniture again.
So the classics are back man,natural and organic sort of two
sides of that one, of course,bringing plants and live into
your space we have only realizedmore and more is such a game
changer for our moods, for howwe live, for how we feel in our
(26:15):
spaces.
But also the natural andorganic shapes, so things that
are handmade, tactile, layeredtextiles, things like that.
And then individualisticinteriors, which is probably my
favorite, which means likeeverything and anything goes.
There are ways to bring thewild, the crazy, the kitschy,
(26:36):
the whatever you love into yourhome and still make it feel very
elevated and high end and havea whole bunch of character.
So we talk about some ways todo that.
And then I also always includea toolkit in the back which
changes, but the one constant init is the Dwell Well Design
(26:56):
Company color box, which is ourpick for colors, paint colors
for the year, what we're loving,why we're loving it and it's a
great place.
If you're like I need to sprucesome stuff up in my home start
with the start with the walls.
The paint color makes such abig difference.
But also, like, what are ourmust-haves in the world of home?
(27:17):
I talk about keys to lighting,because man lighting, there's a
lot to it and it makes such ahuge difference.
So this year's edition hasquite a few keys to lighting,
depending on your spaces thatyou're talking about.
And then just a little bit of alike meet the team.
Here's our process, here's howwe do what we do.
I love this paint color, thankyou.
(27:38):
What I like about this one isit feels red, but it's not the
red of 1993, right, it's got alot of black in it.
So, to your point, it reallymakes it pretty darn neutral If
Alexis from Schitt's Creek.
Were a color, this would be it.
It's confident, it's timeless,it's effortlessly bold, and
anytime I can bring Schitt'sCreek into a conversation, it's
a real win for me.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
You know, it took a little nudging.
I probably had people tell melike 20 times I had to watch
that and I was like refusingbecause I'm just not a big
comedy, I don't know, I justwhatever, give me a Dateline
murder any day.
I watched that and I was likethis is something else.
So good, so effing good.
So what else?
Before we wrap this up, whatelse do you want people to know
about?
Speaker 2 (28:17):
Dwell Well, I really focus on full service interior
design.
I found that people are notonly a bit overwhelmed and
intimidated by creating theirpersonality and themselves in a
home and all of the layers andthought that goes into that and
decisions.
It is a lot At Dwell.
Well, we're really dedicated tomanaging the whole process and
(28:41):
makeover, if you will end to end, and that makes it a little
easier for our clients as well,as sort of that ideal outcome
and selfishly for me, I get towalk away from it and be like,
no, that's exactly what itshould be for that person.
And so we're really excited anddedicated and I'm very excited
about creating and translatingpeople's personality, who they
(29:04):
are and what they love intotheir space.
Nobody's going to look the same.
You don't want to live in ashowroom and you don't have to
wait until your kids are 20 tolive somewhere that you love.
We really really vehementlybelieve in the power of home and
starting your day and endingyour day in a place that feels
(29:25):
just like you and the way thatyou want it to feel and can
enter the world in a confident,happy person and place.
I think home is that for all ofus and, quite honestly, let's
not be too precious about it.
Let's make it fun, let's makeit interesting and let's make it
really different for everyone.
I'm booking out now into summerand fall, which is really fun,
(29:47):
damn girl.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
Right, can I get a damn girl?
Hey, listen, sorry guys, she'sbooking out into 2027.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
It's a really it's an exciting thing to even be able
to say Good for you, but it'srefurnishes, it's kitchens.
It's finishing basements, it'srefurnishes, it's kitchens, it's
finishing basements.
It's all the fun stuff.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
Yeah, and what would you say to people who are like,
oh, I don't want to do thisbecause it'll hurt the resale
value of my home, so I'm goingto keep everything very.
Who wants to live like that?
Speaker 2 (30:13):
It's exactly what I say.
You live in your home.
Yeah, and I think the otherthing that people don't maybe
count as much is whenever thetime comes that somebody is
coming to look at your home, topotentially live in your home
Even if they say that's not thecolor I would have painted the
walls or the rug I would haveput on the floor they're going
(30:33):
to notice and appreciate themanner with which it's executed.
Says so much and people are soenvious of that.
So, yeah, no, that's not athing.
Live in a place that you wantto live in, that feels like you.
Speaker 1 (30:47):
AKA Dwell Well.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
Dwell Well Design Company.
Dwell Well baby.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
Well, thank you so much.
I appreciate you coming in.
I love that we connected via.
Calendly and the universe andthe interwebs Right.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
So another PSA for anyone out there who's listening
.
I do have a calendar up.
I have time carved out.
I want people starters, doers,dreamers, executors who need a
nudge or, if you want someadvice, anything, a pep talk,
tough love.
I'll tell you your baby's ugly.
I will give you all the honestfeedback.
So find it on my bio inInstagram and you can just click
(31:21):
on it, schedule a time andlet's just kind of lock eyes and
see what happens.
I just I care and I want tomeet you.
So thank you for taking me upon it.
This is why we're sitting here.
This is how things happen.
If you're still out therefollowing your girl, follow me
on YouTube, spotify, apple orwherever you get your podcasts
and, until next time, go checkout Dwell.
Well, there's a free download,really, really comprehensive and
good.
(31:41):
I highly recommend you go there, check it out, check her out
and if you have a lot of time towait like you know, 2027, sign
up with her because she's superbusy, she's fucking good and
keep moving baby.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.