June 17, 2025 • 38 mins
In this episode of Boulevard Beat, Meghan and Krissa are joined by the endlessly inspiring Joanna Buchanan—founder of her namesake lifestyle brand known for its vibrant, jewel-toned home décor and whimsical entertaining accessories. With a background in fashion retail and a globally influenced aesthetic, Joanna shares how she built a business rooted in color, storytelling, and celebration.
The conversation sparkles with tips on creating thoughtful tablescapes, designing with personality, and finding joy in the little details that turn everyday moments into elevated experiences. From mixing metals to embracing maximalism, Joanna reminds us that beauty is in the layers—and the bugs (yes, really!).
This is an episode for anyone who believes that style should be fun, personal, and always a little unexpected.
Street Style Takeaways
Save 15% site wide at www.houseofblum.com with promo code beat15! Or you can use this link- https://houseofblum.com/discount/beat15!
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Episode Website https://www.blvdbeat.com/about
The conversation sparkles with tips on creating thoughtful tablescapes, designing with personality, and finding joy in the little details that turn everyday moments into elevated experiences. From mixing metals to embracing maximalism, Joanna reminds us that beauty is in the layers—and the bugs (yes, really!).
This is an episode for anyone who believes that style should be fun, personal, and always a little unexpected.
Street Style Takeaways
- Style Is in the Story
Every piece in your home should tell a story—whether it’s a flea market find or a jeweled napkin ring. Design with intention and layers of meaning. - Don’t Save the Sparkle
Use your “fancy” pieces for everyday moments. Joanna’s philosophy? Life is the occasion—so bring out the glitter bugs and gilded coasters on a Tuesday. - Mix, Don’t Match
Combine metals, patterns, and textures freely. It's the unexpected pairings—brass and bamboo, stripes and florals—that make a table or room come alive. - Design from the Details Up
Start with one inspiring element—a color, a bug, a family heirloom—and build your space or table setting around it. Small pieces can lead the creative direction. - Celebrate Color, Always
Don’t shy away from bold hues or playful combinations. Joanna’s world is proof that color adds joy, confidence, and a touch of magic.
Save 15% site wide at www.houseofblum.com with promo code beat15! Or you can use this link- https://houseofblum.com/discount/beat15!
Connect with the Hosts https://www.instagram.com/boulevardbeatpodcast/
Connect with Meghan Blum Interiors https://www.instagram.com/meghanbluminteriors/
Connect with House of Blum https://www.instagram.com/shophouseofblum/
Connect with Krissa Rossbund. https://www.instagram.com/krissa_rossbund/
Connect with Liz Lidgett https://www.instagram.com/lizlidgett/
Episode Website https://www.blvdbeat.com/about
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome to boulevard Beat, a podcast where life and style intersect.
I'm designer Megan Bloom along with my co hosts, editor CHRISA.
Rossbunt and gallery owner Liz Legit. This podcast focuses on
the daily highlights instead of the hustle, interviews with taste makers,
and personal conversations on how to highlight achievable style you
constrol one street at a time. Boulevard Beat proves the one.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
You should take.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Today's guest is someone who truly embodies the art of
joyful living, Joanna Buchanan. If you've ever spooned over bejeweled bug,
napkin ring or a widely chic cocktail pick, chances are
you've already been touched by Joyana's world. With a background
in high end fashion retail and a design aesthetic shaped
by global travels, Joanna has created a lifestyle brand that
(00:55):
blends elegance with personality, pattern with playfulness. We talk about
how she built her brand, where she finds inspiration, and
why the details, no matter how small, are always were celebrating.
So grab a cup, maybe something bubbly, and settle in
for a sparkling conversation with Joanna Buchanan.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Joanna, welcome and thank you for being with us today.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
Thank you so much. I am thrilled to be chatting
with you guys.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
So, Joanna, we like to start with the same question
for each of our guests, and that is to tell
us about.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
The street that they grew up on.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
However, you have a bit of a different situation because
I know that you grew up in a few different places.
So since you are maybe our first international gifts, you're
certainly our first guest with an.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Accent, So.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
Why don't you tell us about maybe the street that
you grew up on in each of the places, because
they are international destinations.
Speaker 5 (01:52):
And so completely different.
Speaker 4 (01:54):
It was funny when I saw the question, I was thinking,
oh my gosh, you couldn't pick more different parts of
the world to grow up in. So I was born
in the Far East and I grew up in Hong Kong.
The street that I grew up on in Hong Kong
doesn't even exist anymore because I have been back several
times since we left, and yeah, sadly Hong Kong has
(02:15):
become so built up. But when I was young, the
name of the street, which is actually a fabulous name,
was Turtle Cove, isn't that great?
Speaker 5 (02:25):
Love?
Speaker 4 (02:25):
That was so fun, I know, And it was two
rows of townhouses on the far east of the island,
so we were on Hong Kong Island, and the two
rows of homes were on a mountain overlooking the ocean
and the sea. There was a very very steep path
(02:46):
down to a tiny, tiny little beach, which is not
what you think about when you think about Hong Kong.
But it was super fun because there were lots of
families on the road or on the street, and it
was very modern, very sort of seventies built. I think
they were new builds when we moved in in nineteen
seventy one, and it was very lush and very tropical,
(03:10):
and there were the most amazing white parakeets that used
to fly around and kind of land outside my window,
and it just felt very exotic, which was kind of fabulous.
Contrast that then to the tiny, tiny village in the
middle of rural Norfolk, England, which is where we spent
(03:33):
our summers. My parents bought an old pub actually and
turned it into a house and parts of it were
built in the seventeenth century.
Speaker 5 (03:45):
So super super old.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
The quietest street I think my children we go back
then now because my mum still lives there and my
children are just completely amazed at how few people can
live in a village and it still be called a village.
Speaker 5 (04:01):
But that is.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
Actually where I really started my love of gardening, because
neither of my parents were particularly interested, and we had
a really lovely big garden and it was a blank
slate because it had been a pub garden, which they
usually only kind of cut the grass for the first
twenty feet so people can sit outside and then the
rest of it is just left to nature. So I
(04:24):
was allowed and I kind of can't believe that my
parents really just gave me free reign with what I
wanted to do in the garden. I guess if you
find someone has an interest in something, you've just kind
of got to let them go with it. So yeah,
those were my two very different places of growing up.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
It's so wonderful to have those different, contrasting experiences, certainly
because I think that's what gives us that perspective on
the world and the people and how were the same
and how were the how we're.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
All different at the same time.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
So as a citizen of the world, you do have
that special perspective on specifically entertain and the differences between
varying cultures. So if you could just tell us about
the differences between them, and then also if you could
kind of tell our listeners what you do now.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
It's interesting because when I think about entertaining in Hong Kong,
I was a child then, so I'm really looking at
what my parents used to do and how they used
to entertain, and it was very different than to I
think how I entertain now in the US, and then
also how people entertain in the UK, so I'll speak
(05:32):
a little bit about that. It's also about your phase
of life too and how that changes your I guess
perspective on entertaining. But in Hong Kong it was very formal.
It was very glamorous. There was not so much entertaining
at home. There was a lot of going out and
a lot of big formal events. My parents did a
(05:54):
little bit at home, but again it was always very planned,
formal in citations, always a lot of staff helping out.
Speaker 5 (06:04):
It was a bit of a production.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
There was never anything that we did that was impromptu
or spontaneous. In the UK, people entertain in their homes
a lot people have really beautiful homes. I mean that's
a very broad generalization, but there are some really lovely,
big homes that people like to throw cocktail parties in.
And it does feel a little bit more intimate than
(06:26):
it did in Hong Kong, where you were usually in
a sort of third party space. In the UK, it
always feels a little bit more personal, and even though
it may be grand, you know, there's just a personal
aspect I think when you're in someone's home. And now
to be here in the States, I'm not sure I've
got the perfect perspective on how people entertain here because
(06:49):
I'm very specific in Connecticut right now, with teenage children
and having had younger children, that entertaining is a little
bit more chaotic, I would say, just from a very
personal perspective.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Well, I think.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Something here, and again I can't speak to the sports
culture all around the world, and I don't really say
this to be funny, but it's very true in the
United States oftentimes we do have a lot of chaotic
gatherings that are centered around sporting events.
Speaker 5 (07:21):
So there's that.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
I think that's a really good point actually, and my
children have actually both my children have really taken up
the entertaining baton, and they love to plan parties for
themselves and for their friends, and I stay well out
of it, and so does my husband. My son had
a Super Bowl party and that's now become his tradition,
and we leave the house because I don't want to
know what's going on. But you're right, there is a
(07:46):
lot of it around sport, and even with your children's sports,
a lot of the entertaining kind of you know, oh
that team just won this, so let's have everyone to
our house, or you know, this group is doing that.
So it's definitely a little bit more child centric than
I have seen in my past. I guess I would
say I'm trying to change that, but I still like
(08:08):
to your children, so it's you know, even as they're
getting older.
Speaker 5 (08:12):
I like to include them.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
So it is different. And what do I do today
was the second part of your question. So I started
a business of it started with Christmas decorations, which is
always a kind of shocker when I say that, because
no one in their right mind starts a business in
Christmas decorations. But that's what I did ten years ago,
(08:33):
and I really wanted to create something that was different
from the Christmas decor that I'd been seeing, and more importantly,
something that had a longevity and a really distinct point
of view and a really strong emphasis on quality and
craftsmanship and workmanship and things that lasted and that you
(08:56):
weren't just running to the lowc and I'm not going
to say the name, but big you know, box retailer
and revamping your holiday de corps every time you changed
your mind about what color you liked. So it started
with Christmas decorations and then really quickly moved into tabletop
and barwear. I was using molds that I had created
(09:19):
for ornaments, which my whole thing was with ornaments. I
liked the idea of doing jeweled bugs that felt very English,
because you know, Camilla Parker Bowles is always wearing a
jeweled bug brooch. But I loved the idea of jeweled
bugs on Christmas trees and not necessarily Santa's And that
kind of is how the business was built. And actually
(09:39):
still those things that I designed that very first year
are still some of our best sellers today. But yes,
so the business is tabletop, bar wear, Christmas to cor
and then bits and bobs in between. When I get
inspired to do other things.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
I love those little jeweled bugs, and I did notice too,
you had a lot of bees.
Speaker 4 (09:56):
Yes, And it's funny because my name is obviously last
name is Buchanan, so the bee is appropriate. But I
did not set out to have a be influenced brand.
It didn't start that way. But the bee was one
of the creatures that I designed and it just took off.
And I realized after i'd launched, how many people love
(10:19):
bees and how many people respond to them. And then
you start learning about the stories of bees, how many
different kinds of bees there are, and it isn't an
amazing emblem. And they are very attractive as well, so
that helps when you're designing around them.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Especially when they're badazzled as well. Exactly well, Joanna, You've
obviously lived in some fascinating places, and culture really shapes
us and who we are and the world around us,
and how we design and are influenced by different things.
What led you to transferring those influences into a career.
Speaker 4 (10:54):
So I don't think I consciously use those influences to
choose my career. I think I destined to be a designer.
There is no way I could have been anything else.
Even from a young age, I was sketching and creating
textiles and drawing and decorating cardboard boxes with scraps from
my grandmother's you know, patchwork quill collection. So I don't
(11:17):
think it influenced my career choice, but I do think
it influenced the way that now since I have my business,
I think about it, and I think for me, being
a global brand is something that I assumed and never
thought otherwise. And it's interesting now when we have so
many international customers and so many retail customers who are international.
(11:42):
You know, the first question is do you ship outside
the US? And now, of course I would. Why wouldn't I,
you know, because to me, I truly believe the esthetic
of what I do is absolutely non country specific. You
either love color and pattern and text or you don't,
and you can live anywhere in the world and vibe
(12:04):
with my kind of esthetic and design choices or not,
but it's absolutely not bound by country. And I think
that concept of thinking globally and thinking about all of
our different customers, whether they're event planners, whether there are
yacht customers, and we have a lot of yacht customers
who love to dress a fabulous table. That is who
(12:27):
I'm thinking about when I'm designing. I'm not just thinking
about who's on the piece of land that I'm living
on right now.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Well, and I think you can see that both globally
and in the fashion influence that you have in the
product you've developed, especially in the napkin rings that do
in fact resemble jewelry, which I love. Everybody needs a
little bit of that bling. What parts of the fashion
world do you incorporate into this business and what parts
do you leave behind?
Speaker 4 (12:54):
So I worked in fashion before I started my business,
so I have quite a different perspective I think on
maybe the home industry than someone who's been in home
their whole life. And what I love about fashion is
the excitement of it, the color, the drama of a catwalk.
I still there are certain brands that I love watching
(13:15):
their catwalk shows, and I think that's what I respond to,
the emotionality of it, if that's a real word. But
there's a real sense of place, there's a real sense
of theme. That is what I love about fashion, and
I definitely there are things that you'll start to see
recurring on catwalks that then you're wondering, how can I
(13:36):
add that to the table. The bow was something that
I really was loving in fashion and I wanted to
bring to the table. So I love that drama, I
think is what you know I love about fashion. What
I don't love about fashion, and that I definitely loved
about moving into the Homeworld was the aspect of not
(13:56):
having constant markdowns and not having to re establish a
collection or a whole new, brand new collection every couple
of months. I love that in home you can design
things that last. People will buy things that last, and
there isn't that need to mark down almost as soon
(14:16):
as something hits the sales floor. And that again speaks
to what I believe in in terms of buying beautiful things,
buying quality things, having them last, making them live updating
them with new pieces, but not throwing the baby out
with the bath water every time someone says it's time
to change seasons.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Well, and we talk about that so often, of just
buying pieces you love because they have that staying power
of looking beautiful, and there's nothing better than having a
dinner party and it's a piece of china that you've
had for a long time and it has that story
along with it, and it's still as relevant in today's
world and isn't trendy, you know, as we talk about
table and the environment, why do you think entertaining is
(14:58):
so important?
Speaker 5 (14:59):
So this was a.
Speaker 4 (15:00):
Great question and it really made me think about how
I think about entertaining and it's parallels with life, which
are you've got to put the effort in, otherwise you
don't get anything out.
Speaker 5 (15:15):
You've got to show up.
Speaker 4 (15:16):
I think those are the things that I think about life,
and I think they're very true about entertaining as well.
And I think that it becomes difficult to really connect
with people in the everyday running around between this and
that meeting's work, life, everything, and those times when you
(15:39):
can sit down around a table and really talk to
people and you're not on your phone, and you're not
worrying about what happens next and what comes next, and
particularly you know, if you're not in a restaurant, you're
not worrying about are they trying to turn the table,
when is the bill coming? Blah blah blah, you know
all that kind of thing. So I just think entertaining
(16:02):
is the same as life. You've got to put energy
into it, you've got to commit to it, and you
get out what you put in, and I love to entertain,
And as I said, I am so thrilled that my
children have decided that they love to host too. That
makes me so happy because that's a time for them
to connect with their friends, you know, in their own
(16:24):
special way for the super Bowl party or whatever it is.
My daughter does a lot of pool parties. It's a
chance to just be together with people that you enjoy
their company and like to be with and want to
know more about them, if you're getting to know them.
Speaker 5 (16:36):
More, if you know them really well.
Speaker 4 (16:38):
It's a chance to just just be I guess I
think that's how I feel.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
Joanna listening to that answer and then hearkening back to
the previous question where you were talking about your fashion
life and what that entailed. There must be a different
sort of emotional connection that comes around this category of
product and knowing that you are being a part of
people making memories versus just getting dressed for the day.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
The connection between what I design and how people use
it and how it is used is so important to me,
and I'm always asking our customers how are you using it?
Send us pictures. We love to see how you use
the collection, and I think being part of helping someone
create those moments, even if it's in a really really
(17:28):
small way, or you know, help them make those moments
easier to create, I guess as the other part of
it is incredibly important, and I think I can't imagine
now designing something that doesn't go into someone's home and
doesn't become part of their every day or part of
their ritual or their routine or their you know, part
(17:51):
of what they do well.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
And just connecting with people with every day and on
the table tap and just the beauty that the conversations
that they have is always delightful too. Chris and I
are both big fans of table tap, like we mentioned,
and entertaining and using those beautiful things. But I know
a lot of people setting a table can be really
intimidating as well, you know, mixing pieces, how you matching
(18:13):
everything together. What are some things that you can tell
people a good way to start a table scape?
Speaker 4 (18:20):
So I think I always because we get this question
a lot. We do get a lot of customers who've
never set a table before, and they they're always so
welcoming of advice and information. There are two things that
I think you need to think about. One is if
you have China already, then that's usually a fairly strong
starting point and that kind of takes you down one path.
(18:42):
But if you don't have China, or if you're willing
to go out on a little bit of a limb
and start in a little bit more of a vague
inspirational way, I always say, think about what atmosphere you're
trying to create. What is the mood of the event
that you're trying to create. Is it romantic, is it upbeat?
(19:04):
Is it traditional? You know who's coming, What is the
kind of vibe you're trying to create, and then you
can build from there. I do suggest that people start
with a color palette alongside the mood, because I think
that's helpful and it can definitely bring down the choices.
And then personally, I encourage people to start with a
(19:27):
bold tablecloth. I think that's a really fun way of
creating instant impact and it immediately sets the stage, it
immediately marks the table. It's impactful, and it's super easy
to start with that. So if you start with a
table cloth, I then go to the flowers, because I
(19:50):
am obsessed with having fresh flowers on the table. To me,
it's not a table, a proper table unless it's got
a lot of flowers on it. As CHRISA knows, I
love a flower table, and I would suggest if you're
not comfortable with using color, keep it tonal. If you've
picked a blue tablecloth, pick blue flowers. You know, don't
try to do too much if you're not feeling confident.
(20:13):
And then I think you can build back to charges
or place mats, build in the china, the glasses, and
then the napkins and the napkin rings are the icing
on the cake, and I think those can come when
you've really got the rest of it locked and loaded
and landed as to what the theme is and how
the color story's looking. One of the things that people
(20:36):
find hard to kind of translate from a magazine image
of a tabletop to real life is the fullness of
the table, because I think people can start to set
the table, get you know, think they've really got it,
and then they're like, oh my god, it doesn't look
like a magazine. And usually when you break that down,
it's because there isn't as much glass were on there.
There aren't as many sets of silverware or settings of silverware,
(20:59):
there are as many layered plates, so it's then building
those things up to really make it feel very full.
Speaker 5 (21:06):
I think that's what gives you the magazine look.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
Those are great pieces of advice and a good way
for anyone to kind of just build their own table
for sure. You know, as a product designer, you're always
putting your art and your things out into the world,
and I'm sure it's interesting just to see how the
customers use the pieces that you've created, as well as
with mixing their own in with the pieces as well.
What kind of feedback do you hear from your customers.
Speaker 4 (21:31):
I love the feedback, and it is usually it's more
beautiful in real life than photographed, which always kills me
because we spend so much money on photography and I'm like.
Speaker 5 (21:41):
How can it still not look and translate in real life?
Speaker 4 (21:44):
But oftentimes people say the pieces bring a smile to
their face, and I think that's what.
Speaker 5 (21:52):
You know.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
One of the things that I always think about when
I'm designing is not is.
Speaker 5 (21:57):
It practical or is it useful. It's well, I mean useful, I.
Speaker 4 (22:01):
Do think about, but it's more just I'm not designing
for something that you're going to use without noticing. I'm
designing for impact, I'm designing for whimsy. I'm designing for reaction.
You know, I want to see the customers smile when
they open the box, and often they say, you know,
I've kept it out because it makes me smile. Every
(22:21):
time I walk past my bar and I see, you know,
the cocktail picks or whatever. They make me smile, And
I think that emotion is something that I hope to
see when our customers write to us, And more often
than not, that is what they're saying, is, you know,
delightful And almost didn't know I needed it, didn't know
I need a jeweled straw. But now my everyday, you know,
(22:42):
lemonade or coffee is so much nicer because.
Speaker 5 (22:45):
I'm drinking it out of a jeweled straw.
Speaker 4 (22:47):
And it's really just you know, them acknowledging that those
small moments that you may be even doing on your
own or living on your own, can be a little
bit happier if you've got jewelry and color.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
Well, Joanna, you've already racked friends flowers and how you
enjoy to have a lot of them on your table skate,
I know that the garden plays a significant role in
your own life and your lifestyle, and you entertain there
as well. Can you maybe share with us a few
or a couple of your favorite entertaining gatherings that you
(23:21):
have hosted over the years.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
Yes, it's wonderful to think back on them, actually, because
we have had so many. One of the ones that
stuck out to me or that guests who were at
that dinner party still reference it as being a really
magical night. Was my daughter's thirteenth birthday, and we had
a small group of adults and a small group of children,
mostly family friends, and we put the table in a
(23:47):
different spot outside. We set it kind of behind the
pool in a sort of darker area that we normally
would not have set the table, and we had fabulous big,
teaky watches to create light, and those were shining onto
the pool, which our pool is black, so there's a
(24:08):
lot of dimension and drama in the pool.
Speaker 5 (24:10):
So there was this amazing fire light on the pool.
Speaker 4 (24:14):
And then I took out all of my vintage silver
candelabras and we ate by candlelight outside in September. Her
birthdays in September, and I had these big and less
summer hydrangers on the table, and it was very dramatic.
Speaker 5 (24:31):
It was just the most beautiful night.
Speaker 4 (24:33):
And I think it was obviously a combination of the
fabulous people that we had there, always lovely to have champagne,
and the food. I will never say is fantastic at
my house because I'm usually the cook, but it's you know,
it was okay, and it was just the romance of
that night. It really struck everyone and we just had
(24:55):
the most amazing time. So that was one dinner party
that I really remember.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
And just for reference, you live in Connecticut now.
Speaker 5 (25:01):
Yes, live in Connecticut now? Yes.
Speaker 4 (25:04):
And then I think the other event or events that
people would say and remember about us as a family
entertaining is we always do a party around the fourth
of July. We don't do it on the fourth, but
we do it around the fourth. My husband becomes a
total pyromaniac and scours Connecticut for illegal fireworks and if
friends are driving to North Carolina, he'll literally get in
(25:27):
their trunk and go with them to buy more illegal fireworks.
But we do a big open house. We do get
help in so that I can enjoy it as well.
We do a barbecue and that's always everyone who is
around is you know, welcome, whether it's little babies to
you know, grannies. And the thing that people remember again
(25:49):
not the food, although people we do ask.
Speaker 5 (25:52):
Everyone to bring a dish.
Speaker 4 (25:53):
My husband likes to run a massive egg toss competition,
so there are lines of children and some adults who
can't help themselves and where every year we're kind of
going for the biggest egg toss line ever and it's
just so fun. And you know, my friend's children say
to me, oh, you know, my kids want to plan
(26:15):
their summer holidays now around your Fourth of July party.
Speaker 5 (26:18):
They don't want to miss it, you know.
Speaker 4 (26:19):
So there are some really amazing moments that we've had
in the garden where I think people just have fun,
no phones, very casual, very informal.
Speaker 5 (26:28):
Everyone can do what they want.
Speaker 4 (26:29):
I just want everyone to feel comfortable and you know,
in and out of the pool, with or without egg
on them, just a good time.
Speaker 3 (26:37):
Where there are illegal fireworks, a good time will be
had by absolute.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
That is, that is for sure, Joanna.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
It's one thing to have great business acumen and it's
another to have that great creative prowess. How do you
mix the two, because that is a challenge for I
think a lot of people who are creative to, you know,
turn that into a business, and you've done so very successfully.
Speaker 4 (27:03):
I mean, there's so many things. I think it's perseverance.
I think it is also fully acknowledging what you don't
know and constantly learning and looking and reading. Because the
retail world is constantly changing, as is the design world.
Speaker 5 (27:21):
You have to fully embrace.
Speaker 4 (27:23):
The fact that you do not know it all, and
you need to listen to people. You need to seek
out help and seek out advice because and say yes
to every phone call. Because every phone call that I take,
I learn something new from someone. There's never a time
where I feel like I've wasted my time. I'm fortunate
in that I have a bit of both sides of
(27:45):
my brain. There are definitely times when you have to
turn one side off and turn one side on. It's
hard to be in both spaces at the same time
when you're running a business, and I have found I
think in the last year, I have to remove myself
from the very personal side of it and switch on
my business brain.
Speaker 5 (28:06):
A little bit more.
Speaker 4 (28:07):
If something, if I've designed something and it's not working,
accepting that it hasn't worked and moving on rather than
trying to push it and fight for that because sometimes
it just isn't what the world wants right now. So
removing that very personal aspect of the design side is
important when you're really growing a business and focusing on
(28:30):
what people do respond to. The Other thing I would
say is I have a lot of mottos around my desk,
a lot of motivational mottos. I look at those a lot.
You know, one of the ones that my husband gave me,
which I'm going to read to you now, and it
says life. But it really for me, it's the business
isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about
(28:51):
learning how to dance in the rain. So it is
about embracing the really difficult times that you will cut
across when you run your own business and trying to
understand that every single awful thing that happens is a
learning curve and will only keep you moving forward. It's
(29:13):
not easy to say, and it's certainly not easy in
the moment when you know sex decides not to pay
you for a year or whatever it is, you know
it's not easy. But ultimately, if you can stand back
and try and see some perspective on things. It will
take you down a new path. It will help you
to learn something new, and it will help you grow
(29:36):
as a leader and as a business owner.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
I had heard one time too that owning or being
a business owner is like your best form of therapy,
and it really is, because you have to go through
all of those emotions and how you handle them, and
like you mentioned, just how you lead then and stay
strong and not let people get you down right exactly.
Speaker 4 (29:55):
And it is a mental game, it really is, because
there are days when you know things can come really
crashing down there. I think are two points over the
span of the last eleven years where I've really thought,
oh my gosh, this is really difficult, and I don't
know how I can keep going.
Speaker 5 (30:14):
But when you think back on what you've achieved and
when you think.
Speaker 4 (30:18):
Of the things you still want to achieve, that's what
keeps you going, you know.
Speaker 5 (30:22):
But it is definitely it's definitely challenging.
Speaker 3 (30:25):
Well, you've been able to enjoy so much success thus far,
and we imagine that you have even bigger dreams. So
is there anything that you can tell us about what's
on the horizon for Joanne if you can. Well.
Speaker 4 (30:38):
One of the things that we put into place last year,
which was and is I guess afore shadowing of what
we're seeing now in the retail environment, is we engaged
with a sales agency because whilst our business online is
very strong, we had a very patchy relationship with specialty
(30:59):
store and retail stores, and given what's happening with Nemons
and SAgs, thank goodness we did because I love to
shop in person, I really do, and so it's slightly
counterintuitive then that I have a director consumer business, but
a healthy chunk fifty percent of our business still is
wholesale and selling to stores that will then sell us
(31:22):
in their lovely local communities and give us feedback on
what their customers are looking for and give us real
time evaluation of you know, trends and what people are
asking for in the stores. So building our retail presence
through those specialty stores is a huge strategy of ours
that we started last year and we're only building into
(31:45):
as we grow, because we are then able to reach
stores that I wouldn't even know about, in locations that
I wouldn't even know about. So that's very exciting because
that is it's building the brand in a real tangible
way and people can see and touch the product, and
that's so exciting for me to be able to have
(32:06):
people see, in touch and understand what we put into
our product in terms of quality.
Speaker 5 (32:13):
So that's a big one. I think.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
Well, and there's so many beautiful specialty stores all over
the country too, So to just have them be your
cheerleaders for you.
Speaker 4 (32:22):
Yes, exactly, and I think you know, I wouldn't even
know where to start. And it's not just the specialty stores.
It's also so many interior design stores, event planners. You know,
there's so much that we haven't even touched. And by
having this sales team reach out on our behalf and
know their territories way better than I ever would, that's
(32:43):
huge for us. It's also interesting because I am slightly
obsessed with what sells in China, and so it's really
helpful to say, Okay, what are the best selling China patterns?
What are people putting on their wedding list? That's really
useful information for me when I'm thinking about tabletop and
you know, colors and motifs and things like that. So
(33:04):
I love I love getting that input when I'm designing too.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
Well, Joyanna, It's been so fun talking to you today.
And we always like to end our episodes with a
few final questions. We'd love to know what's the beat
that keeps you going?
Speaker 5 (33:18):
Beauty.
Speaker 4 (33:19):
That is absolutely what keeps me going. That's when I
if things are difficult, if things are if I'm having
a bad day, I come back to what did I
set out to do with this, and that is create
beautiful things that people will enjoy. So whether that's when
I'm actually designing, those are the days when I'm.
Speaker 5 (33:38):
Like, I have a design day.
Speaker 4 (33:39):
Yay, that's so exciting, or when the things that I've
designed come back to me from the factories. That's always
a big highlight when I see the tracking and I'm like, heyay,
it's coming.
Speaker 5 (33:51):
So those you.
Speaker 4 (33:52):
Know, that the concepting and then the actual seeing of
the product when the design has come to life, and
then the other thing that I do love that to
me is the same aspect in terms of creating beauty.
At the photo shoots, I think those are days when
I look back because there's so much work, but I
(34:13):
look back on the images and I just am always
astounded by the talent of the photographers that we work with.
I love to style everything, so so that I like
to style. So I'm not going to say I'm talented,
but I personally respond to all the images that we
create and that makes me very, very happy. So I
(34:34):
would say beauty is the one of the over arching
things that keeps me going. And then I also think
it's the thrill of the unexpected, because you wake up
every morning with your own business. You have no idea
who's gonna knock on your door, who's.
Speaker 5 (34:50):
Going to email you.
Speaker 4 (34:51):
And there was a funny story before Christmas. It was
a weird queue for this year because of the election
and everyone forgot that Christmas was coming, and then there
was a real compressed timeframe. But we got an email
from the team from Gucci Westman and she was going
to be doing a holiday table and wanted to use
our pieces.
Speaker 5 (35:11):
And that was someone who was not on.
Speaker 4 (35:13):
My radar to be connecting with on tabletop, but she
did the most fabulous table. My daughter thought I was
so cool because we got a bunch of freebies in
exchange for the tabletop that we sent over, so she
was like, my god, this is the coolest thing you've
ever done, mam.
Speaker 5 (35:31):
So that was hilarious.
Speaker 4 (35:32):
But like, those are the things that just you're like, wow,
that's show stopping. You know, she's such an icon in
her industry, and for her to reach out to us
and want to work with us, those are the moments
that are really exciting and that keep you going.
Speaker 1 (35:50):
Those are wonderful beats to keep you going. For sure,
You've lived in England and you've lived in Hong Kong,
You've traveled the world. What does your perfect boulevard look like?
Speaker 4 (36:00):
I think it is a combination of Barcelona and Delhi.
Speaker 5 (36:06):
That's to me what I would love to see.
Speaker 4 (36:10):
I love the wide boulevards, the paved boulevards in Barcelona.
Speaker 5 (36:14):
The walking no cars.
Speaker 4 (36:17):
But when I think about what I love to see
on a street, I cannot get past the street markets
in Delhi. I spent a lot of time in India.
I used to work for an Indian textile company actually,
and used to spend big chunks of time out there
working in the factories and working on textiles, and so
textiles in a street market to me are like the
(36:37):
most amazing thing, and you get the most incredible color
and the most amazing inspirational patterns and contrasts and beadwork.
Speaker 5 (36:52):
If I could combine all of.
Speaker 4 (36:53):
That with a civilized, beautiful gram and boulevard, I think
that would probably be my ideal, my ideal combination and lots.
Speaker 3 (37:06):
Of vibrancy in both of those places. So really, yes, well,
thank you, Joanna. We have enjoyed every second of this conversation.
It's been such a joy to speak with you and
talk about You know, it's funny because you create this wonderful,
beautiful artistry that.
Speaker 2 (37:25):
Goes on the table.
Speaker 3 (37:26):
And you know, we say so often in this industry,
when you create beauty, it's about creating environments that help
aid those making memory moments that.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
You have with family and friends.
Speaker 3 (37:38):
And so to know that your your pieces are going
on people's tables where they have celebrations and holidays and
that sort of thing must be super special and exciting.
And we are so happy that you shared that with
us today.
Speaker 5 (37:51):
Thank you so much, Chris Sah and Megan.
Speaker 4 (37:53):
It was such a pleasure to meet you both, and
you definitely got me thinking.
Speaker 5 (37:57):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (37:59):
Thank you for listening to this week's episode of Boulevard Beat.
If you enjoyed this episode, please follow along and leave
a review. On Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen
so you never miss an episode, and of course, follow
your hosts on Instagram at Megan bloom Interiors, at CHRISA. Rossbund,
and at Liz Legit. We'll be back next week as
we take a stroll down another boulevard
Welcome to boulevard Beat, a podcast where life and style intersect.
I'm designer Megan Bloom along with my co hosts, editor CHRISA.
Rossbunt and gallery owner Liz Legit. This podcast focuses on
the daily highlights instead of the hustle, interviews with taste makers,
and personal conversations on how to highlight achievable style you
constrol one street at a time. Boulevard Beat proves the one.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
You should take.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Today's guest is someone who truly embodies the art of
joyful living, Joanna Buchanan. If you've ever spooned over bejeweled bug,
napkin ring or a widely chic cocktail pick, chances are
you've already been touched by Joyana's world. With a background
in high end fashion retail and a design aesthetic shaped
by global travels, Joanna has created a lifestyle brand that
(00:55):
blends elegance with personality, pattern with playfulness. We talk about
how she built her brand, where she finds inspiration, and
why the details, no matter how small, are always were celebrating.
So grab a cup, maybe something bubbly, and settle in
for a sparkling conversation with Joanna Buchanan.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Joanna, welcome and thank you for being with us today.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
Thank you so much. I am thrilled to be chatting
with you guys.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
So, Joanna, we like to start with the same question
for each of our guests, and that is to tell
us about.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
The street that they grew up on.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
However, you have a bit of a different situation because
I know that you grew up in a few different places.
So since you are maybe our first international gifts, you're
certainly our first guest with an.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Accent, So.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
Why don't you tell us about maybe the street that
you grew up on in each of the places, because
they are international destinations.
Speaker 5 (01:52):
And so completely different.
Speaker 4 (01:54):
It was funny when I saw the question, I was thinking,
oh my gosh, you couldn't pick more different parts of
the world to grow up in. So I was born
in the Far East and I grew up in Hong Kong.
The street that I grew up on in Hong Kong
doesn't even exist anymore because I have been back several
times since we left, and yeah, sadly Hong Kong has
(02:15):
become so built up. But when I was young, the
name of the street, which is actually a fabulous name,
was Turtle Cove, isn't that great?
Speaker 5 (02:25):
Love?
Speaker 4 (02:25):
That was so fun, I know, And it was two
rows of townhouses on the far east of the island,
so we were on Hong Kong Island, and the two
rows of homes were on a mountain overlooking the ocean
and the sea. There was a very very steep path
(02:46):
down to a tiny, tiny little beach, which is not
what you think about when you think about Hong Kong.
But it was super fun because there were lots of
families on the road or on the street, and it
was very modern, very sort of seventies built. I think
they were new builds when we moved in in nineteen
seventy one, and it was very lush and very tropical,
(03:10):
and there were the most amazing white parakeets that used
to fly around and kind of land outside my window,
and it just felt very exotic, which was kind of fabulous.
Contrast that then to the tiny, tiny village in the
middle of rural Norfolk, England, which is where we spent
(03:33):
our summers. My parents bought an old pub actually and
turned it into a house and parts of it were
built in the seventeenth century.
Speaker 5 (03:45):
So super super old.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
The quietest street I think my children we go back
then now because my mum still lives there and my
children are just completely amazed at how few people can
live in a village and it still be called a village.
Speaker 5 (04:01):
But that is.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
Actually where I really started my love of gardening, because
neither of my parents were particularly interested, and we had
a really lovely big garden and it was a blank
slate because it had been a pub garden, which they
usually only kind of cut the grass for the first
twenty feet so people can sit outside and then the
rest of it is just left to nature. So I
(04:24):
was allowed and I kind of can't believe that my
parents really just gave me free reign with what I
wanted to do in the garden. I guess if you
find someone has an interest in something, you've just kind
of got to let them go with it. So yeah,
those were my two very different places of growing up.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
It's so wonderful to have those different, contrasting experiences, certainly
because I think that's what gives us that perspective on
the world and the people and how were the same
and how were the how we're.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
All different at the same time.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
So as a citizen of the world, you do have
that special perspective on specifically entertain and the differences between
varying cultures. So if you could just tell us about
the differences between them, and then also if you could
kind of tell our listeners what you do now.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
It's interesting because when I think about entertaining in Hong Kong,
I was a child then, so I'm really looking at
what my parents used to do and how they used
to entertain, and it was very different than to I
think how I entertain now in the US, and then
also how people entertain in the UK, so I'll speak
(05:32):
a little bit about that. It's also about your phase
of life too and how that changes your I guess
perspective on entertaining. But in Hong Kong it was very formal.
It was very glamorous. There was not so much entertaining
at home. There was a lot of going out and
a lot of big formal events. My parents did a
(05:54):
little bit at home, but again it was always very planned,
formal in citations, always a lot of staff helping out.
Speaker 5 (06:04):
It was a bit of a production.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
There was never anything that we did that was impromptu
or spontaneous. In the UK, people entertain in their homes
a lot people have really beautiful homes. I mean that's
a very broad generalization, but there are some really lovely,
big homes that people like to throw cocktail parties in.
And it does feel a little bit more intimate than
(06:26):
it did in Hong Kong, where you were usually in
a sort of third party space. In the UK, it
always feels a little bit more personal, and even though
it may be grand, you know, there's just a personal
aspect I think when you're in someone's home. And now
to be here in the States, I'm not sure I've
got the perfect perspective on how people entertain here because
(06:49):
I'm very specific in Connecticut right now, with teenage children
and having had younger children, that entertaining is a little
bit more chaotic, I would say, just from a very
personal perspective.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Well, I think.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Something here, and again I can't speak to the sports
culture all around the world, and I don't really say
this to be funny, but it's very true in the
United States oftentimes we do have a lot of chaotic
gatherings that are centered around sporting events.
Speaker 5 (07:21):
So there's that.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
I think that's a really good point actually, and my
children have actually both my children have really taken up
the entertaining baton, and they love to plan parties for
themselves and for their friends, and I stay well out
of it, and so does my husband. My son had
a Super Bowl party and that's now become his tradition,
and we leave the house because I don't want to
know what's going on. But you're right, there is a
(07:46):
lot of it around sport, and even with your children's sports,
a lot of the entertaining kind of you know, oh
that team just won this, so let's have everyone to
our house, or you know, this group is doing that.
So it's definitely a little bit more child centric than
I have seen in my past. I guess I would
say I'm trying to change that, but I still like
(08:08):
to your children, so it's you know, even as they're
getting older.
Speaker 5 (08:12):
I like to include them.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
So it is different. And what do I do today
was the second part of your question. So I started
a business of it started with Christmas decorations, which is
always a kind of shocker when I say that, because
no one in their right mind starts a business in
Christmas decorations. But that's what I did ten years ago,
(08:33):
and I really wanted to create something that was different
from the Christmas decor that I'd been seeing, and more importantly,
something that had a longevity and a really distinct point
of view and a really strong emphasis on quality and
craftsmanship and workmanship and things that lasted and that you
(08:56):
weren't just running to the lowc and I'm not going
to say the name, but big you know, box retailer
and revamping your holiday de corps every time you changed
your mind about what color you liked. So it started
with Christmas decorations and then really quickly moved into tabletop
and barwear. I was using molds that I had created
(09:19):
for ornaments, which my whole thing was with ornaments. I
liked the idea of doing jeweled bugs that felt very English,
because you know, Camilla Parker Bowles is always wearing a
jeweled bug brooch. But I loved the idea of jeweled
bugs on Christmas trees and not necessarily Santa's And that
kind of is how the business was built. And actually
(09:39):
still those things that I designed that very first year
are still some of our best sellers today. But yes,
so the business is tabletop, bar wear, Christmas to cor
and then bits and bobs in between. When I get
inspired to do other things.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
I love those little jeweled bugs, and I did notice too,
you had a lot of bees.
Speaker 4 (09:56):
Yes, And it's funny because my name is obviously last
name is Buchanan, so the bee is appropriate. But I
did not set out to have a be influenced brand.
It didn't start that way. But the bee was one
of the creatures that I designed and it just took off.
And I realized after i'd launched, how many people love
(10:19):
bees and how many people respond to them. And then
you start learning about the stories of bees, how many
different kinds of bees there are, and it isn't an
amazing emblem. And they are very attractive as well, so
that helps when you're designing around them.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Especially when they're badazzled as well. Exactly well, Joanna, You've
obviously lived in some fascinating places, and culture really shapes
us and who we are and the world around us,
and how we design and are influenced by different things.
What led you to transferring those influences into a career.
Speaker 4 (10:54):
So I don't think I consciously use those influences to
choose my career. I think I destined to be a designer.
There is no way I could have been anything else.
Even from a young age, I was sketching and creating
textiles and drawing and decorating cardboard boxes with scraps from
my grandmother's you know, patchwork quill collection. So I don't
(11:17):
think it influenced my career choice, but I do think
it influenced the way that now since I have my business,
I think about it, and I think for me, being
a global brand is something that I assumed and never
thought otherwise. And it's interesting now when we have so
many international customers and so many retail customers who are international.
(11:42):
You know, the first question is do you ship outside
the US? And now, of course I would. Why wouldn't I,
you know, because to me, I truly believe the esthetic
of what I do is absolutely non country specific. You
either love color and pattern and text or you don't,
and you can live anywhere in the world and vibe
(12:04):
with my kind of esthetic and design choices or not,
but it's absolutely not bound by country. And I think
that concept of thinking globally and thinking about all of
our different customers, whether they're event planners, whether there are
yacht customers, and we have a lot of yacht customers
who love to dress a fabulous table. That is who
(12:27):
I'm thinking about when I'm designing. I'm not just thinking
about who's on the piece of land that I'm living
on right now.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Well, and I think you can see that both globally
and in the fashion influence that you have in the
product you've developed, especially in the napkin rings that do
in fact resemble jewelry, which I love. Everybody needs a
little bit of that bling. What parts of the fashion
world do you incorporate into this business and what parts
do you leave behind?
Speaker 4 (12:54):
So I worked in fashion before I started my business,
so I have quite a different perspective I think on
maybe the home industry than someone who's been in home
their whole life. And what I love about fashion is
the excitement of it, the color, the drama of a catwalk.
I still there are certain brands that I love watching
(13:15):
their catwalk shows, and I think that's what I respond to,
the emotionality of it, if that's a real word. But
there's a real sense of place, there's a real sense
of theme. That is what I love about fashion, and
I definitely there are things that you'll start to see
recurring on catwalks that then you're wondering, how can I
(13:36):
add that to the table. The bow was something that
I really was loving in fashion and I wanted to
bring to the table. So I love that drama, I
think is what you know I love about fashion. What
I don't love about fashion, and that I definitely loved
about moving into the Homeworld was the aspect of not
(13:56):
having constant markdowns and not having to re establish a
collection or a whole new, brand new collection every couple
of months. I love that in home you can design
things that last. People will buy things that last, and
there isn't that need to mark down almost as soon
(14:16):
as something hits the sales floor. And that again speaks
to what I believe in in terms of buying beautiful things,
buying quality things, having them last, making them live updating
them with new pieces, but not throwing the baby out
with the bath water every time someone says it's time
to change seasons.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Well, and we talk about that so often, of just
buying pieces you love because they have that staying power
of looking beautiful, and there's nothing better than having a
dinner party and it's a piece of china that you've
had for a long time and it has that story
along with it, and it's still as relevant in today's
world and isn't trendy, you know, as we talk about
table and the environment, why do you think entertaining is
(14:58):
so important?
Speaker 5 (14:59):
So this was a.
Speaker 4 (15:00):
Great question and it really made me think about how
I think about entertaining and it's parallels with life, which
are you've got to put the effort in, otherwise you
don't get anything out.
Speaker 5 (15:15):
You've got to show up.
Speaker 4 (15:16):
I think those are the things that I think about life,
and I think they're very true about entertaining as well.
And I think that it becomes difficult to really connect
with people in the everyday running around between this and
that meeting's work, life, everything, and those times when you
(15:39):
can sit down around a table and really talk to
people and you're not on your phone, and you're not
worrying about what happens next and what comes next, and
particularly you know, if you're not in a restaurant, you're
not worrying about are they trying to turn the table,
when is the bill coming? Blah blah blah, you know
all that kind of thing. So I just think entertaining
(16:02):
is the same as life. You've got to put energy
into it, you've got to commit to it, and you
get out what you put in, and I love to entertain,
And as I said, I am so thrilled that my
children have decided that they love to host too. That
makes me so happy because that's a time for them
to connect with their friends, you know, in their own
(16:24):
special way for the super Bowl party or whatever it is.
My daughter does a lot of pool parties. It's a
chance to just be together with people that you enjoy
their company and like to be with and want to
know more about them, if you're getting to know them.
Speaker 5 (16:36):
More, if you know them really well.
Speaker 4 (16:38):
It's a chance to just just be I guess I
think that's how I feel.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
Joanna listening to that answer and then hearkening back to
the previous question where you were talking about your fashion
life and what that entailed. There must be a different
sort of emotional connection that comes around this category of
product and knowing that you are being a part of
people making memories versus just getting dressed for the day.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
The connection between what I design and how people use
it and how it is used is so important to me,
and I'm always asking our customers how are you using it?
Send us pictures. We love to see how you use
the collection, and I think being part of helping someone
create those moments, even if it's in a really really
(17:28):
small way, or you know, help them make those moments
easier to create, I guess as the other part of
it is incredibly important, and I think I can't imagine
now designing something that doesn't go into someone's home and
doesn't become part of their every day or part of
their ritual or their routine or their you know, part
(17:51):
of what they do well.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
And just connecting with people with every day and on
the table tap and just the beauty that the conversations
that they have is always delightful too. Chris and I
are both big fans of table tap, like we mentioned,
and entertaining and using those beautiful things. But I know
a lot of people setting a table can be really
intimidating as well, you know, mixing pieces, how you matching
(18:13):
everything together. What are some things that you can tell
people a good way to start a table scape?
Speaker 4 (18:20):
So I think I always because we get this question
a lot. We do get a lot of customers who've
never set a table before, and they they're always so
welcoming of advice and information. There are two things that
I think you need to think about. One is if
you have China already, then that's usually a fairly strong
starting point and that kind of takes you down one path.
(18:42):
But if you don't have China, or if you're willing
to go out on a little bit of a limb
and start in a little bit more of a vague
inspirational way, I always say, think about what atmosphere you're
trying to create. What is the mood of the event
that you're trying to create. Is it romantic, is it upbeat?
(19:04):
Is it traditional? You know who's coming, What is the
kind of vibe you're trying to create, and then you
can build from there. I do suggest that people start
with a color palette alongside the mood, because I think
that's helpful and it can definitely bring down the choices.
And then personally, I encourage people to start with a
(19:27):
bold tablecloth. I think that's a really fun way of
creating instant impact and it immediately sets the stage, it
immediately marks the table. It's impactful, and it's super easy
to start with that. So if you start with a
table cloth, I then go to the flowers, because I
(19:50):
am obsessed with having fresh flowers on the table. To me,
it's not a table, a proper table unless it's got
a lot of flowers on it. As CHRISA knows, I
love a flower table, and I would suggest if you're
not comfortable with using color, keep it tonal. If you've
picked a blue tablecloth, pick blue flowers. You know, don't
try to do too much if you're not feeling confident.
(20:13):
And then I think you can build back to charges
or place mats, build in the china, the glasses, and
then the napkins and the napkin rings are the icing
on the cake, and I think those can come when
you've really got the rest of it locked and loaded
and landed as to what the theme is and how
the color story's looking. One of the things that people
(20:36):
find hard to kind of translate from a magazine image
of a tabletop to real life is the fullness of
the table, because I think people can start to set
the table, get you know, think they've really got it,
and then they're like, oh my god, it doesn't look
like a magazine. And usually when you break that down,
it's because there isn't as much glass were on there.
There aren't as many sets of silverware or settings of silverware,
(20:59):
there are as many layered plates, so it's then building
those things up to really make it feel very full.
Speaker 5 (21:06):
I think that's what gives you the magazine look.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
Those are great pieces of advice and a good way
for anyone to kind of just build their own table
for sure. You know, as a product designer, you're always
putting your art and your things out into the world,
and I'm sure it's interesting just to see how the
customers use the pieces that you've created, as well as
with mixing their own in with the pieces as well.
What kind of feedback do you hear from your customers.
Speaker 4 (21:31):
I love the feedback, and it is usually it's more
beautiful in real life than photographed, which always kills me
because we spend so much money on photography and I'm like.
Speaker 5 (21:41):
How can it still not look and translate in real life?
Speaker 4 (21:44):
But oftentimes people say the pieces bring a smile to
their face, and I think that's what.
Speaker 5 (21:52):
You know.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
One of the things that I always think about when
I'm designing is not is.
Speaker 5 (21:57):
It practical or is it useful. It's well, I mean useful, I.
Speaker 4 (22:01):
Do think about, but it's more just I'm not designing
for something that you're going to use without noticing. I'm
designing for impact, I'm designing for whimsy. I'm designing for reaction.
You know, I want to see the customers smile when
they open the box, and often they say, you know,
I've kept it out because it makes me smile. Every
(22:21):
time I walk past my bar and I see, you know,
the cocktail picks or whatever. They make me smile, And
I think that emotion is something that I hope to
see when our customers write to us, And more often
than not, that is what they're saying, is, you know,
delightful And almost didn't know I needed it, didn't know
I need a jeweled straw. But now my everyday, you know,
(22:42):
lemonade or coffee is so much nicer because.
Speaker 5 (22:45):
I'm drinking it out of a jeweled straw.
Speaker 4 (22:47):
And it's really just you know, them acknowledging that those
small moments that you may be even doing on your
own or living on your own, can be a little
bit happier if you've got jewelry and color.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
Well, Joanna, you've already racked friends flowers and how you
enjoy to have a lot of them on your table skate,
I know that the garden plays a significant role in
your own life and your lifestyle, and you entertain there
as well. Can you maybe share with us a few
or a couple of your favorite entertaining gatherings that you
(23:21):
have hosted over the years.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
Yes, it's wonderful to think back on them, actually, because
we have had so many. One of the ones that
stuck out to me or that guests who were at
that dinner party still reference it as being a really
magical night. Was my daughter's thirteenth birthday, and we had
a small group of adults and a small group of children,
mostly family friends, and we put the table in a
(23:47):
different spot outside. We set it kind of behind the
pool in a sort of darker area that we normally
would not have set the table, and we had fabulous big,
teaky watches to create light, and those were shining onto
the pool, which our pool is black, so there's a
(24:08):
lot of dimension and drama in the pool.
Speaker 5 (24:10):
So there was this amazing fire light on the pool.
Speaker 4 (24:14):
And then I took out all of my vintage silver
candelabras and we ate by candlelight outside in September. Her
birthdays in September, and I had these big and less
summer hydrangers on the table, and it was very dramatic.
Speaker 5 (24:31):
It was just the most beautiful night.
Speaker 4 (24:33):
And I think it was obviously a combination of the
fabulous people that we had there, always lovely to have champagne,
and the food. I will never say is fantastic at
my house because I'm usually the cook, but it's you know,
it was okay, and it was just the romance of
that night. It really struck everyone and we just had
(24:55):
the most amazing time. So that was one dinner party
that I really remember.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
And just for reference, you live in Connecticut now.
Speaker 5 (25:01):
Yes, live in Connecticut now? Yes.
Speaker 4 (25:04):
And then I think the other event or events that
people would say and remember about us as a family
entertaining is we always do a party around the fourth
of July. We don't do it on the fourth, but
we do it around the fourth. My husband becomes a
total pyromaniac and scours Connecticut for illegal fireworks and if
friends are driving to North Carolina, he'll literally get in
(25:27):
their trunk and go with them to buy more illegal fireworks.
But we do a big open house. We do get
help in so that I can enjoy it as well.
We do a barbecue and that's always everyone who is
around is you know, welcome, whether it's little babies to
you know, grannies. And the thing that people remember again
(25:49):
not the food, although people we do ask.
Speaker 5 (25:52):
Everyone to bring a dish.
Speaker 4 (25:53):
My husband likes to run a massive egg toss competition,
so there are lines of children and some adults who
can't help themselves and where every year we're kind of
going for the biggest egg toss line ever and it's
just so fun. And you know, my friend's children say
to me, oh, you know, my kids want to plan
(26:15):
their summer holidays now around your Fourth of July party.
Speaker 5 (26:18):
They don't want to miss it, you know.
Speaker 4 (26:19):
So there are some really amazing moments that we've had
in the garden where I think people just have fun,
no phones, very casual, very informal.
Speaker 5 (26:28):
Everyone can do what they want.
Speaker 4 (26:29):
I just want everyone to feel comfortable and you know,
in and out of the pool, with or without egg
on them, just a good time.
Speaker 3 (26:37):
Where there are illegal fireworks, a good time will be
had by absolute.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
That is, that is for sure, Joanna.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
It's one thing to have great business acumen and it's
another to have that great creative prowess. How do you
mix the two, because that is a challenge for I
think a lot of people who are creative to, you know,
turn that into a business, and you've done so very successfully.
Speaker 4 (27:03):
I mean, there's so many things. I think it's perseverance.
I think it is also fully acknowledging what you don't
know and constantly learning and looking and reading. Because the
retail world is constantly changing, as is the design world.
Speaker 5 (27:21):
You have to fully embrace.
Speaker 4 (27:23):
The fact that you do not know it all, and
you need to listen to people. You need to seek
out help and seek out advice because and say yes
to every phone call. Because every phone call that I take,
I learn something new from someone. There's never a time
where I feel like I've wasted my time. I'm fortunate
in that I have a bit of both sides of
(27:45):
my brain. There are definitely times when you have to
turn one side off and turn one side on. It's
hard to be in both spaces at the same time
when you're running a business, and I have found I
think in the last year, I have to remove myself
from the very personal side of it and switch on
my business brain.
Speaker 5 (28:06):
A little bit more.
Speaker 4 (28:07):
If something, if I've designed something and it's not working,
accepting that it hasn't worked and moving on rather than
trying to push it and fight for that because sometimes
it just isn't what the world wants right now. So
removing that very personal aspect of the design side is
important when you're really growing a business and focusing on
(28:30):
what people do respond to. The Other thing I would
say is I have a lot of mottos around my desk,
a lot of motivational mottos. I look at those a lot.
You know, one of the ones that my husband gave me,
which I'm going to read to you now, and it
says life. But it really for me, it's the business
isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about
(28:51):
learning how to dance in the rain. So it is
about embracing the really difficult times that you will cut
across when you run your own business and trying to
understand that every single awful thing that happens is a
learning curve and will only keep you moving forward. It's
(29:13):
not easy to say, and it's certainly not easy in
the moment when you know sex decides not to pay
you for a year or whatever it is, you know
it's not easy. But ultimately, if you can stand back
and try and see some perspective on things. It will
take you down a new path. It will help you
to learn something new, and it will help you grow
(29:36):
as a leader and as a business owner.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
I had heard one time too that owning or being
a business owner is like your best form of therapy,
and it really is, because you have to go through
all of those emotions and how you handle them, and
like you mentioned, just how you lead then and stay
strong and not let people get you down right exactly.
Speaker 4 (29:55):
And it is a mental game, it really is, because
there are days when you know things can come really
crashing down there. I think are two points over the
span of the last eleven years where I've really thought,
oh my gosh, this is really difficult, and I don't
know how I can keep going.
Speaker 5 (30:14):
But when you think back on what you've achieved and
when you think.
Speaker 4 (30:18):
Of the things you still want to achieve, that's what
keeps you going, you know.
Speaker 5 (30:22):
But it is definitely it's definitely challenging.
Speaker 3 (30:25):
Well, you've been able to enjoy so much success thus far,
and we imagine that you have even bigger dreams. So
is there anything that you can tell us about what's
on the horizon for Joanne if you can. Well.
Speaker 4 (30:38):
One of the things that we put into place last year,
which was and is I guess afore shadowing of what
we're seeing now in the retail environment, is we engaged
with a sales agency because whilst our business online is
very strong, we had a very patchy relationship with specialty
(30:59):
store and retail stores, and given what's happening with Nemons
and SAgs, thank goodness we did because I love to
shop in person, I really do, and so it's slightly
counterintuitive then that I have a director consumer business, but
a healthy chunk fifty percent of our business still is
wholesale and selling to stores that will then sell us
(31:22):
in their lovely local communities and give us feedback on
what their customers are looking for and give us real
time evaluation of you know, trends and what people are
asking for in the stores. So building our retail presence
through those specialty stores is a huge strategy of ours
that we started last year and we're only building into
(31:45):
as we grow, because we are then able to reach
stores that I wouldn't even know about, in locations that
I wouldn't even know about. So that's very exciting because
that is it's building the brand in a real tangible
way and people can see and touch the product, and
that's so exciting for me to be able to have
(32:06):
people see, in touch and understand what we put into
our product in terms of quality.
Speaker 5 (32:13):
So that's a big one. I think.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
Well, and there's so many beautiful specialty stores all over
the country too, So to just have them be your
cheerleaders for you.
Speaker 4 (32:22):
Yes, exactly, and I think you know, I wouldn't even
know where to start. And it's not just the specialty stores.
It's also so many interior design stores, event planners. You know,
there's so much that we haven't even touched. And by
having this sales team reach out on our behalf and
know their territories way better than I ever would, that's
(32:43):
huge for us. It's also interesting because I am slightly
obsessed with what sells in China, and so it's really
helpful to say, Okay, what are the best selling China patterns?
What are people putting on their wedding list? That's really
useful information for me when I'm thinking about tabletop and
you know, colors and motifs and things like that. So
(33:04):
I love I love getting that input when I'm designing too.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
Well, Joyanna, It's been so fun talking to you today.
And we always like to end our episodes with a
few final questions. We'd love to know what's the beat
that keeps you going?
Speaker 5 (33:18):
Beauty.
Speaker 4 (33:19):
That is absolutely what keeps me going. That's when I
if things are difficult, if things are if I'm having
a bad day, I come back to what did I
set out to do with this, and that is create
beautiful things that people will enjoy. So whether that's when
I'm actually designing, those are the days when I'm.
Speaker 5 (33:38):
Like, I have a design day.
Speaker 4 (33:39):
Yay, that's so exciting, or when the things that I've
designed come back to me from the factories. That's always
a big highlight when I see the tracking and I'm like, heyay,
it's coming.
Speaker 5 (33:51):
So those you.
Speaker 4 (33:52):
Know, that the concepting and then the actual seeing of
the product when the design has come to life, and
then the other thing that I do love that to
me is the same aspect in terms of creating beauty.
At the photo shoots, I think those are days when
I look back because there's so much work, but I
(34:13):
look back on the images and I just am always
astounded by the talent of the photographers that we work with.
I love to style everything, so so that I like
to style. So I'm not going to say I'm talented,
but I personally respond to all the images that we
create and that makes me very, very happy. So I
(34:34):
would say beauty is the one of the over arching
things that keeps me going. And then I also think
it's the thrill of the unexpected, because you wake up
every morning with your own business. You have no idea
who's gonna knock on your door, who's.
Speaker 5 (34:50):
Going to email you.
Speaker 4 (34:51):
And there was a funny story before Christmas. It was
a weird queue for this year because of the election
and everyone forgot that Christmas was coming, and then there
was a real compressed timeframe. But we got an email
from the team from Gucci Westman and she was going
to be doing a holiday table and wanted to use
our pieces.
Speaker 5 (35:11):
And that was someone who was not on.
Speaker 4 (35:13):
My radar to be connecting with on tabletop, but she
did the most fabulous table. My daughter thought I was
so cool because we got a bunch of freebies in
exchange for the tabletop that we sent over, so she
was like, my god, this is the coolest thing you've
ever done, mam.
Speaker 5 (35:31):
So that was hilarious.
Speaker 4 (35:32):
But like, those are the things that just you're like, wow,
that's show stopping. You know, she's such an icon in
her industry, and for her to reach out to us
and want to work with us, those are the moments
that are really exciting and that keep you going.
Speaker 1 (35:50):
Those are wonderful beats to keep you going. For sure,
You've lived in England and you've lived in Hong Kong,
You've traveled the world. What does your perfect boulevard look like?
Speaker 4 (36:00):
I think it is a combination of Barcelona and Delhi.
Speaker 5 (36:06):
That's to me what I would love to see.
Speaker 4 (36:10):
I love the wide boulevards, the paved boulevards in Barcelona.
Speaker 5 (36:14):
The walking no cars.
Speaker 4 (36:17):
But when I think about what I love to see
on a street, I cannot get past the street markets
in Delhi. I spent a lot of time in India.
I used to work for an Indian textile company actually,
and used to spend big chunks of time out there
working in the factories and working on textiles, and so
textiles in a street market to me are like the
(36:37):
most amazing thing, and you get the most incredible color
and the most amazing inspirational patterns and contrasts and beadwork.
Speaker 5 (36:52):
If I could combine all of.
Speaker 4 (36:53):
That with a civilized, beautiful gram and boulevard, I think
that would probably be my ideal, my ideal combination and lots.
Speaker 3 (37:06):
Of vibrancy in both of those places. So really, yes, well,
thank you, Joanna. We have enjoyed every second of this conversation.
It's been such a joy to speak with you and
talk about You know, it's funny because you create this wonderful,
beautiful artistry that.
Speaker 2 (37:25):
Goes on the table.
Speaker 3 (37:26):
And you know, we say so often in this industry,
when you create beauty, it's about creating environments that help
aid those making memory moments that.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
You have with family and friends.
Speaker 3 (37:38):
And so to know that your your pieces are going
on people's tables where they have celebrations and holidays and
that sort of thing must be super special and exciting.
And we are so happy that you shared that with
us today.
Speaker 5 (37:51):
Thank you so much, Chris Sah and Megan.
Speaker 4 (37:53):
It was such a pleasure to meet you both, and
you definitely got me thinking.
Speaker 5 (37:57):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (37:59):
Thank you for listening to this week's episode of Boulevard Beat.
If you enjoyed this episode, please follow along and leave
a review. On Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen
so you never miss an episode, and of course, follow
your hosts on Instagram at Megan bloom Interiors, at CHRISA. Rossbund,
and at Liz Legit. We'll be back next week as
we take a stroll down another boulevard
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