June 24, 2025 • 52 mins
In this episode of Boulevard Beat, Meghan sits down with Krissa Rossbund, senior editor at Traditional Home, to unpack the question: What makes design editorial? Together, they explore what goes into curating and publishing a feature-worthy project—from the editorial eye for detail to the emotional story behind the design.
Krissa shares how she identifies spaces that resonate with readers, how trends are balanced with timeless aesthetics, and why a project's heart is just as important as its beauty. Meghan and Krissa also dive into the working relationship between designers and editors, and the unseen effort behind every published spread.
Whether you're a designer dreaming of press, a design lover flipping through pages, or someone curious about the editorial process, this episode is a deep and delightful look at how great design finds its way to the printed page.
Street Style Takeaways:
· Story First, Style Second A beautiful room isn’t enough—editors are looking for meaningful stories that connect the design to the homeowner or designer’s vision.
· Timeless Always Wins Trends come and go, but classic elements with a twist have staying power in editorial features.
· Details Matter From floral arrangements to lighting choices, it's often the nuanced styling that elevates a space from great to publishable.
· Designer-Editor Trust Is Key The best features come from collaboration—when designers trust editors to tell the story authentically and editors trust the creative process.
· A Published Project is a Process Getting featured isn’t overnight—it takes planning, patience, and understanding the editorial calendar and audience.
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
Krissa shares how she identifies spaces that resonate with readers, how trends are balanced with timeless aesthetics, and why a project's heart is just as important as its beauty. Meghan and Krissa also dive into the working relationship between designers and editors, and the unseen effort behind every published spread.
Whether you're a designer dreaming of press, a design lover flipping through pages, or someone curious about the editorial process, this episode is a deep and delightful look at how great design finds its way to the printed page.
Street Style Takeaways:
· Story First, Style Second A beautiful room isn’t enough—editors are looking for meaningful stories that connect the design to the homeowner or designer’s vision.
· Timeless Always Wins Trends come and go, but classic elements with a twist have staying power in editorial features.
· Details Matter From floral arrangements to lighting choices, it's often the nuanced styling that elevates a space from great to publishable.
· Designer-Editor Trust Is Key The best features come from collaboration—when designers trust editors to tell the story authentically and editors trust the creative process.
· A Published Project is a Process Getting featured isn’t overnight—it takes planning, patience, and understanding the editorial calendar and audience.
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.
Rossbund 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
control one street at a time.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Boulevard Beat proves the one you should take. Chrisa, We're
diving into the world of editorial design today, and you're
someone who has a front row seat, so this will
be a great conversation.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Here I am talking about my job when I'm not
at my job, so I have to be able to
articulate what I do during the day.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Everyone wants a behind the scenes look at the editorial process,
and I know I've flipped through magazines and wondered how
do these homes get featured, or what it takes for
a project to get published, and how to navigate trends
while staying true to classic design. It's also an ever
evolving landscape, and so I think this will be a
good conversation. I know that it always looks like there's
(01:13):
a lot of glamour in your job. I think even
I would say that I feel that way, but I
know what goes into design, and I'm sure editorial design
is very similar that ten percents that glamor, and the
rest is all the sweat and computer work and work
behind the scenes that you're doing too. So talk to
us about what your responsibilities.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
Are as an editor, Megan.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
My primary responsibility is to deliver content that is relevant
to our audience.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
Our readers are.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
The most important people in this landscape, and we always
want to bring material to them that is fresh, relevant
and new to them. So that's an important quality is
new to them. But that's sort of the overarching responsibility
(02:03):
of my.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
Role as an editor.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
The other roles include, oh my gosh, photo shoots, trade shows.
I do a ton of public speaking at various types
of events throughout the country and some abroad as well.
But it's too develop relationships with designers, with makers, with
all of those people whose talents contribute to that content
(02:29):
that is necessary to make the magazine go.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
It's all encompassing, lots of different moving parts, for sure,
and it's neat to see, I'm sure in print. When
it all comes together and all the work that went
behind all of that too. Talk to me a little
bit about the challenges of your position in the everyday life.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
The biggest challenge of my position is the title of it,
and that is editor.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
It is my job to reduce and produce.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Meaning we get so much material that's thrown our way.
And I think that I maybe alluded to this a
little bit in my initial episode that you and Liz
and I did were it was sort of a get
to know you kind of format. But it's my job
to say no to people a lot. And when you're
(03:14):
inundated with product that's really incredible and projects that are incredible,
but they're not going to make the pages. The ink
isn't going to hit the paper, as we like to say,
and so, you know, saying no to people when this
is really a business that's about an art form, and
there's not maybe technically a right or wrong answer.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
It is subjective. You know.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
I get a lot of phone calls from designers asking
why a project of theirs wasn't selected, and it can
be so many variables. We're a national publication and thus
we need to cover as many regions and you know,
ideally states as possible, So there.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
Are so many variables.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
If we had too many projects from one location and
we need something that's from the Pacific Northwest, or we
need something from the southeast and we have a hole
to fill, then we're looking for that and there might
be too many beautiful projects coming from Texas, which is
a very real life problem at the moment. So I
guess that's the biggest challenge of my position is the
(04:21):
responsibility of it is to say no more than I
say yes, far more knows than yes is well.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
And that's difficult to do for sure. What makes you
turn a project down?
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Oh, that's a great question after those sort of variables
that a designer can't control, So say we have too
many houses from Texas, or we have too many locations
from Florida. If it's not something that they can control
like that, then it's oh, gosh.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
Not great.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Styling all the wrong angles, which is something that is
a regular challenge and hurdle at the magazine because we
have a lot of photography that designers do on their own,
but it's not editorial photography.
Speaker 4 (05:09):
And they don't know that. So they photograph.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
These locations and it's like, oh, you needed a stylist
and you needed somebody to direct you. Oh.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
I know another really big factor.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
This might be the biggest factor when I am looking
through images if I can name where several pieces come from,
like if I know, and I'm not going to drop
company names because these are all companies that I love.
But when I can say the lighting is from company ABC,
that desk is from company DEF, and that console table
(05:49):
is from here, it's what I a term that I've
coined within the industry that is well shocked versus well designed.
And there's nothing wrong with that, and I don't anything
critical or negative of that. It's just not been worthy
of being on the pages. We need to always deliver
(06:09):
content to our readers that is authentic and super personal.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
And you know, as you know, when all of.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
The new pieces are introduced from the different vendors, the
various showrooms, there's especially in the lighting world, there's.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
That it lighting.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
You know, I know that not just one person across
the country wants thousands of people want that same chandelier
and they see it in a magazine and they say
to their designers, I want that too. When we see
those repeat elements, I'm just like, no, it's been seen
too many times and we're we're not going to show it.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
So essentially, you want your readers contacting you, asking what
the sources and then you have to say one of
a kind or custom or a homeowner's collection in a.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Perfect world for traditional home and this isn't you know,
every magazine is a little different, but you just don't
want to see more of the same, and so that
authenticity really matters, and that's part of the story to
be told. It's not interesting when you have the statement
fabric that's seeing over and over and over again, and
(07:14):
because of social media, the problem is it's probably already
been seen online, so there's just no reason for us
to show it. So we do receive a lot of
projects that are kind of the greatest hits of all
of the showrooms that we know and love, and that
that doesn't cut it.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
So you spend a lot of time looking at houses.
Is that the primary task of your job? And how
many projects do you review and what does it take
to make a house land in the magazine?
Speaker 3 (07:43):
That's a great question, and I'm glad you asked that
because for any designers who are listening, I think sometimes
they don't think about the numbers and the slots that
we have available. So you know, we really only have
thirty houses that are select did a year, and we
receive anywhere from two hundred and seventy five to three
(08:05):
hundred projects a year. So again back to what I
said earlier about I say no far more than I
say yes. I say no ninety percent of the time.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
So it's difficult.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
It is difficult to hear, especially when you've got good
content and you just can't you don't have room for it.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Yes, and the good news is, I would say certainly,
reviewing those projects is the primary role of my job.
I mean, that's the need of the magazine. So that's
what we focus and pay our attention to. Again, developing
relationships with designers and architects so we know who to
(08:42):
reach out to. I spend a lot of time on
the phone during the day talking to designers and that's
what I love. But it is probably the most fun
part of the job too. Is you know, it's like
it's like going to a movie. I mean, we sit
in our conference room. We have a very skeletal staff
of three. That's what it's all about, is just reviewing
those those projects. And you know, going from one part
(09:05):
of the country to the next and seeing what design
looks like at each one of them.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
That's so interesting because I'm sure there is regional design
trends too, and certain styles are dominating in certain areas.
I'm sure variety is very important. I'd love to hear
about the range of locations that you show.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
Well, Megan, that's a great question because this count we are,
as I said in National Magazine, and I don't think
I've said the name of the magazine yet, that would
be a traditional traditional home for questions into this episode,
Traditional Home magazine, which is a luxury design publication. But
because this country is so vast, with so many geographical
(09:47):
differences just in the topography, traditional design looks very different
from region one region to another. I mean, if you
talk about, you know, New England, where you're getting the
best of colonial and Georgian design, we're sort of all
originated and there we're getting what I call antique houses
(10:08):
because we have so many homes that are more than
one hundred years old from those sorts of places. But
surprisingly that kind of design also exists in California. We
get a lot of that same design in bel Air
or the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, and a
lot of that from San Francisco to if you're talking
(10:29):
about Pacific Heights. So the sort of very traditional colonial
design shows up in a lot of different places, and
certainly it shows up in the South.
Speaker 4 (10:38):
But then there are other.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
Versions of traditional that speak more to what's going on outside.
And so for instance, I think of Colorado, where you
may get traditional design that sort of has an alpine
slant to it. We're never going to have a slot
in every issue that's from a super specific location like
(11:00):
Santa Fe for instance, where you have Adobe homes. We
maybe select an Adobe style home once every three years.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
So uh, and the theme.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
Is true for you know, just the desert. In general,
I would say that sort of traditional look isn't appealing
to the majority of our country, so you know, that's
not what people necessarily want to see. So the again,
the umbrella of what encompasses traditional design is so broad,
(11:34):
and it includes some modern as well. My tagline for
Traditional Home when I do a lot of public speaking
is that the magazine is the best of many eras,
not just one.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Well, and I think that's just good timeless design. And
that relates so well the traditional is because it's always
around and it's always relevant too. Yes, Chris, but you
mentioned that Traditional Home is a luxury magazine. Does a
high budget always equal a feature or the home or
how much does the budget for design actually matter?
Speaker 3 (12:04):
The budget is an element of design that matters, not
from the perspective of we want everything to be expensive.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
That's not the goal.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
It doesn't have to have a dollar amount attached to it.
That is a certain amount. However, it does have to
have authenticity. And why that matters is if it's a
historic home that's been to redo, that takes dollars to
achieve that. If it is a new build, we want
(12:38):
to make sure that they have an architect to give
all of those little architectural details and frills that you
may not get from a pick a plan abc sort
of home. If they are people homeowners who are serious
antiques collectors or serious art collectors, that's going to look
(13:01):
different than again, plucking furniture or specifying furniture out of showrooms.
And so I don't want it to sound like, oh.
Speaker 5 (13:10):
You have to have all of these you know, millions,
hundreds of millions.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
Billions of dollars to achieve that, but it requires a
commitment from the homeowners to deliver a budget to their
designers so the designers can be creative and sort of
stretch their design wings, flex their design muscles if you will,
to produce an end result that's really interesting and that
hasn't been seen before. And all designers, I think are
(13:38):
faced from this, from maybe new designers who are just
beginning their careers to the biggest A list designers in
our industry. Every designer needs to pay those bills. They
need to pay the electric bill and pay you know,
payroll too if they have employees, and so you have
to take all sorts of different types of Some are
(14:01):
your hero projects that are super editorial, where your homeowners,
your clients have allowed you to really bring in those
interesting layers or specify those interesting pieces of furniture that
may be more sculptural and bespoke and customized. And then
sometimes families just want a nice home. They want a
(14:22):
home that's polished, that's done, and they're not seeking the
level of design that it's required to be in a magazine.
So I think it matters to produce creativity. We're not
to do it your self magazine by any stretch of
the imagination. We're not a magazine where the homeowners have
(14:43):
done the design themselves, unless they're designers, which you know
because you've been in traditional home.
Speaker 4 (14:48):
So this is a.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
Situation where we are encouraging and supporting the design industry
by noting to designers. You know, it's about this relationship
with the designer and the architect and the landscape designer
and the kitchen designer and the builder and every person
who worked on that project. And the result is this
beautiful home where you can enjoy family memories and holidays
(15:13):
and sad times too sometimes so budget is needed to
produce a look that's editorial.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
And I think with that too, it's that collaboration, like
you mentioned, with a good team that they all come
together to get this end result. And obviously it's the
homeowner's vision as well to get it going and started
and then to trust this team. How much does the
homeowner show up in the magazine. Do you like to
have the story of the family and what that authenticity
brings to the story of your magazines.
Speaker 4 (15:42):
We always like.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
To have the story of the family, because again we're
trying to support the design industry, the professionals in the
design industry by telling the stories of these homeowners, so
people who are reading it understand this is the relationship
that developed because sometimes what happens, and again not calling
(16:03):
out or picking on any other magazines, but when you
don't hear the homeowner's perspective, you don't know is this
a ski chalet that they show up in, you know,
for two weeks out of the year, who lives there?
Speaker 4 (16:17):
And does anybody live there?
Speaker 3 (16:19):
And so you don't really get the clarity of how
a family or a couple, you know, how they live
in that home. Where if we tell their story, then
that shines through. And so the designer in a perfect
world is the supporting cast, not the lead role. The
lead role in our eyes is always that homeowner. However,
(16:41):
over time what that looks like has changed ever so slightly.
We used to always require when I say always, I
mean literally one hundred percent of the time, require that
our homeowners being named, photographed, and interviewed. Now people are
a little more hesitant for a variety. We have reasons,
and so we loosen the reins slightly on those policies. However,
(17:07):
even if a homeowner wishes to remain anonymous, we still
require that they give an interview so we understand the
story well.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
And I always like to see the picture of them too,
because you understand more about the story of how they're
using the space and if they've got young kids or pets,
and you know how each of those rooms that you're
photographing gets used to, especially the dog.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
And yes, he always wants to know about the dog.
And it used to be early in the days, we
would here's the family portrait and here's the dog, and
then we would get all of these reader letters saying
I want to know the breed and I want to
know the name. The dogs are people too, and like, okay, okay, okay,
we will name that dog and we will name the breed.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
So whatever your interview questions now, yes, definitely, always, yeah, always.
That's awesome. Well, Chris, one of the things I love
about following you on Instagram is you're always traveling. You're
always going to trade fairs and seeing everything that's new.
So when you attend to these what are you looking
for When it comes to the merchandise that you present
(18:05):
to your.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
Readers, First and foremost, it needs to be merchandise that
is of quality. Again, we are not a do it
yourself magazine. We are not a budget friendly magazine. What
I'm looking for when I am going to fares where
it's new merchandise, if it's not an antique fare, it
has to be of quality for me to endorse it
(18:28):
for my audience, because look, they don't give anything away,
right everything right aw, And so we want to make
sure that when we are talking about luxury, not luxury
in the sense of being shiny or expensive, but luxury
in the sense of being something of quality. It doesn't
have to be timeless, meaning it's always relevant, because even
(18:53):
pieces that are timeless go in and out of vogue,
for sure, But it needs to be something that always
a client, a reader, a home owner can hang onto
and if they decide at some point they no longer
love it, they can sell it or donate it, or
pass it along to somebody else who does love it,
and it will still remain true.
Speaker 4 (19:15):
To that quality. So that's really what I'm looking for.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
It is a little bit unfortunate for the trade shows
from the perspective of some products just don't photograph well,
and some products, when it comes to print photography, you
can't necessarily capture how it functions. So, for instance, I
will use a motion recliner. You can see that it's recliner,
(19:40):
you can see that it's a chair, right, but you
can't see if there's this super slick mechanism to make
it operate really smoothly. And so there are elements like
that when pieces function that don't show so well in
still photography, and that's when digital assets become mess And
(20:01):
then in addition to that, some things just don't photograph well.
I'll make this up off the top of my head,
but if I see a company that makes leather portfolio
envelopes and they come in beige, stone, and brown, it's like,
I'm not sure how we're going to make that look good.
So there are things like that. It may be the
(20:23):
most beautiful quality pebble leather, it may be something really extraordinary,
but some things just don't photograph well. And I know
how good it is. I know that it's of quality
and it's a lovely object, but it's hard to translate
that for things that are you know, where readers might say, oh, well,
(20:45):
I can what's special about that? I can go buy
something similar elsewhere or locally, and it's the same thing, So.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
That's interesting and something I wouldn't always think about of
just how it's going to photograph and why that makes sense.
Have you ever had a time when you initially passed
on an item because you didn't think it was the
right thing, and it later gained traction and became super popular.
Speaker 3 (21:07):
I think there have been situations like that, but that's okay.
I don't want to present something to our readers that
may or may not end up being popular. Again, that's
not what we care about for our reader. We're trying
to navigate them to a mindset of bringing things into
their home that are authentic and beautiful to them.
Speaker 4 (21:31):
So whether or not, in fact, I prefer to not
have objects that become popular.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
I want to tell people what's going to become popular,
and that is the beauty and largest responsibility that an
editor bears is we are the ones setting the trends.
We're the ones endorsing products, endorsing different styles of design
to say this is a way to look at something
(21:58):
that is interesting and what you should do or can do.
Speaker 4 (22:03):
If this is what you're attracted to.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
I never want something that I endorse in the magazine
to be popular already. It needs to be something that
I made popular, and that happens. I mean, I never
would have guessed until I was in this industry the
power of the press. It really does influence people. And
one of the biggest joys probably of my not probably
(22:29):
definitely the biggest joy of my position is when we
feature a designer who we've just discovered who then ends
up being a big designer or a product in its
early days with no press release or no publicist, when
everything's a little all of the assets are a little clunky,
and we recognize that is something special and that's worthy
(22:52):
of being shown, and then then it becomes popular because
we said so, then that's okay.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
Well, And as a designer, I know we are always
getting inspiration into leading into new projects and things like
that too. So it's a good way to be inspired
from the magazine and then taking it into the work
that we do as well. So you always have your
pulse on what's new it sounds like, so you are
inspiring the market and things like that. How do you
(23:19):
decide what is worth showing and what's worth leaving behind.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
I always want to take our readers on a magic
carpet ride it's about delivery and aspirations and inspirations and
dreaming for a while.
Speaker 4 (23:36):
Escapism, if you will.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
Even though I think at the back of everybody's head
as they're escaping, they're thinking, I.
Speaker 4 (23:42):
Really want to live in that house.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
How can I make my own house like that one
that I'm looking at. So there's that piece of it.
But I don't ever approach my job. And the thing is,
I've been in this position for a very long time,
so you know, back to one of the early questions,
the challenge of my position, it's to always make sure
that I'm on my toes to reinvent the wheel to
(24:06):
the degree at which I can. And you know, in
the business world, we always talk about thinking outside the box, right,
you want to be creative and think outside the box. Well,
it's my job to think inside the box. That's a
certain page dimension, and so how can I challenge myself
to give that reader a new experience? And there's subtle
(24:29):
differences that maybe the reader doesn't notice, but subconsciously they
do notice. In fact, the column that kicks off every
issue of our magazine is titled white Glove. And the
reason I came up with that title many moons ago
is because in our industry, if you order furniture and
(24:50):
it's white glove delivery, that means you're getting something special,
you're getting something extra. And so when I produce that
column that tends to be more furniture, you're driven. It's
all about products, you know, the furniture, the fabrics, the accessories,
the lighting. In our industry, that's what I'm trying to
deliver to the readers is that experience that is special.
Speaker 4 (25:12):
And it's not just you know.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
Products on a white page that are just silhouette shots,
but creating these environments that are dramatic and well designed
and presented to them in a luxurious way.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
Well, and it's such an interesting way of using your creativity,
like you said, like thinking inside the box and giving
the readers these experiences just makes it all so interesting.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
Right. But when you talk about when you ask about
what do we leave behind, we leave behind anything that
is sort of here today, gone tomorrow.
Speaker 4 (25:46):
It's important.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
Yes, we had an entire episode about trends that we
talked about already, but when it comes to trends by
way of editorial content, the trends naturally eventually end up
in the projects that we show. For example, Burlewood has
made a bit of a comeback. It's showing up in
(26:08):
new iterations that span far beyond those extraordinary English secretaries
where you would oftentimes see Burlwood historically and in antiques,
and now we're seeing it applied.
Speaker 4 (26:21):
To more modern forms.
Speaker 3 (26:24):
So eventually that furniture will be used by designers and
those projects will be submitted to us, and at that
point that Burlwood piece will show up. Is it trendy, No,
it's a movement. It's a style that's been brought back
by the marketing teams and the design teams at all
(26:47):
of the companies, and it's a friendly reminder like, oh,
burl would exist, and we haven't used this for a
couple of decades.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
Let's bring this in.
Speaker 3 (26:55):
But here's the modern day iteration of it. So what
we leave behind is anything that's just again here today,
gone tomorrow. Not interested in that for our reader. Our
reader wants the best of the best, timeless and quality.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Quality always, definitely, christ photo shoots are a big part
of your role. And I know what photo shoots look
like as a designer and how we use them, and
I'm sure you'res very quite a bit from the way
ours look like. We'd love to know more about what
happens during a photo shoot, walk us through the process
and the behind the scene details of what that looks like.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
Well, first of all, there's a lot of preparation.
Speaker 4 (27:34):
The photo shoot itself is.
Speaker 3 (27:36):
Fun, and I think when people hear photo shoot, that's
where they equate it to, Oh, that's so glamorous, that's
so cool, and they think of this photographer and they
probably automatically go to their minds, go to some fashion
photoshoot that they've seen with supermodels on a beach or
something like that. So I think that's what maybe naturally
(27:56):
goes into people's mind and then they apply that to
the home industry. But there's a lot of preparation that
goes into that photoshoot. First of all, my art director
and I create a very detailed shot list of those
images that we want, and what's interesting about that is
what we want and what a designer wants us to
(28:18):
photograph are oftentimes to very different things.
Speaker 5 (28:24):
There's a lot of handholding during photoshoots with designers, and
there's a lot of education about what our needs versus
their needs.
Speaker 3 (28:34):
It's like you put your needs on your website, on
your social media, But right now we're here for our
needs because we have a finite number of pages. This
isn't social media. We can talk about social media later,
but we have a limited space. When you're talking about
a magazine, and what's special about a magazine is the
(28:55):
story is being told by an outsider, right, That's what
I am. I'm an outsider and I'm going into these spaces.
So my lens is a little different. My art director's
lens is different. How he lays the story out and
how we want our readers to tour that location, and
then from my perspective, how I'm going to tell that
story is very different than maybe how a designer sees it.
(29:18):
So there's a lot of upfront communication about what is
the shot list going to be. There's all of the
ordering that needs to be done. Now, most of the
houses that we photograph are already chock full of the objects.
Speaker 4 (29:34):
There's not a lot, a whole lot that we bring in.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
We bring in sort of more ancillary elements, like making
sure there are enough throw blankets, or making sure that
there are lots of books, because sometimes the book collections
that people have may have you know, super jarring spines
that are super colorful that we want to temper a bit,
you know, books, vases, trays, throws, sort of those supporting
(30:01):
sorts of props we might bring in a little more of,
but most of the kinds of houses that we show
are already loaded and charged with beautiful objects that we
can move around, and we do a lot of moving around.
We eliminate furniture quite a bit. There's usually too much
furniture or it's in the wrong spot for the photograph
(30:22):
and the angle that we need. We're looking at things
from an editorial perspective. We're looking at elements, like what
sorts of shapes do we want those angles to be?
Do we want it to be a horizontal or a
vertical or a square? Because how is that going to
fit on our pages. We receive quite a bit of
(30:43):
photography that designers have spent loads of money on thousands
and thousands.
Speaker 4 (30:49):
And you know, like ten thousand.
Speaker 3 (30:51):
Dollars for a photoshoot, only to discover they've photographed all
horizontal images and it's like, that's lovely and it shows
your room. But a magazine is shaped vertically, so those
images don't work, and we have to reshoot, and sometimes
we can get back into that house, but a lot
of times we can't, and if we can't, it's a
no go. Behind the scenes. Additionally, you know, there's all
(31:14):
of the flowers that we order. We always order three
times more than we need, because if you don't order enough,
if you only order what you think you need, you
need three times the amount. If you order three times
the amount, then you only need what you thought you
needed to be.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
So it's the truth.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
It's a Murphy's law sort of situation. But then during
the day of the shoot again there's a lot of movement.
There's a lot of editing, reducing of elements, sometimes rearranging bookshelves.
You know, usually people have more objects around than are necessary.
So it's just eliminating and simplifying that photograph so it's
(31:51):
more clean and all of the elements read very clearly.
Speaker 4 (31:56):
And when we.
Speaker 3 (31:56):
Receive imagery that designers have done on themselves, what happens
is they get too attached to the different objects.
Speaker 4 (32:05):
They get too attached.
Speaker 3 (32:06):
To that tray that they bought at Round Top and
it's the coolest thing. It was the inspiration for the
entire shot, and they really want that to be in
or they get too attached to you know, the sideboard
that was flown over from Belgium and that was the
inspiration for the entire room, and it's like that piece
of information is interesting, but it's not interesting to the
(32:32):
hole envelope that is opened and unveils this beautiful project.
Speaker 4 (32:38):
It's not necessary for that.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
So you know, there's a lot of again handholding and
talking to designers about why we're not angling the camera
in one direction over another.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
I can totally see that, and I think it's probably
just because as the designer, you spent hundreds of hours
working on that room or home and so it's so
personal to you where you come in with just a
different eye and not knowing all the rest of it
and are just solely coming in for the image that
you need absolutely Now.
Speaker 3 (33:05):
Sometimes like let's say it's something that is a tray,
something small, or a beautiful chair, we may find another
spot for it. And that's that can be difficult for
designers too. They're like that's not where it goes.
Speaker 2 (33:18):
It's like, well that's where it's going to go today.
Speaker 4 (33:20):
Yeah, how it's.
Speaker 3 (33:21):
Going to be shown, But you can well put it
right back where it goes after it's done. So there's
there's just a lot of a lot of things that
happen for a photoshoot. Again, when you're reducing it to
a roughly eight and a half by eleven page, that
you know, we don't expect designers to know those sorts
of things, and we don't expect homeowners to know those.
Speaker 4 (33:40):
Sorts of things.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
But that's why we prefer that the homeowners not necessarily
be there if they don't know, so.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
They don't break out when to take over your house.
Speaker 3 (33:48):
Yes, definitely, it is an invasive process, so we're very
appreciative when people allow us to come in.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
And I'm sure you sound like you've got it streamlined
obviously and you've done hundreds of these, but I'm sure
it happens a case that unexpected challenges can arise during
a shoot. Does that happen sometimes? Oh?
Speaker 3 (34:06):
Yeah, there are lots of surprises. There are homeowners who
are so lovely and so gracious and so welcoming and
invite us into their homes with open arms, and they've
also invited their neighbors, their sisters there. It's kindergarten teacher,
(34:28):
all those sorts of things.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
To watch too.
Speaker 5 (34:30):
And so you know it's like, okay, we're working and
we I mean, I get it.
Speaker 3 (34:35):
You know, it's exciting for homeowners and it's their home
and they're super proud of it. And so you know,
we politely after the oohs and ahs have happened when
when guests are there, you know, maybe ask that they
go to a different.
Speaker 4 (34:47):
Room or leave.
Speaker 3 (34:50):
Or leave. So you know, that's their challenges like that
that I mean, oh goodness. And then you know then
there are people who aren't nice. And I won't even
elaborate on that. That's all I have to say about that.
So but there are challenges too, like it can there
can be a torrential downpour outside that you didn't know about,
and you know, we don't have the exterior shot complete
(35:12):
yet or any of the outdoor shots. If there's a
you know, a backyard with a pool area that.
Speaker 4 (35:18):
Sort of thing.
Speaker 3 (35:19):
You know, something can be broken, a fireplace can be
broken and inoperable, and.
Speaker 4 (35:24):
Then it's like, okay, you know we can that's.
Speaker 3 (35:27):
A relatively easy photoshop ad that we get that a
lot too people. We can you can just fix that
and photoshop. And I always say photoshop is lip gloss
it's not a facelift, so it's just there to maybe
nip and tuck a little bit.
Speaker 4 (35:42):
It's not there to make.
Speaker 3 (35:44):
You, you know, look like a supermodel if you're not one.
Those are some of the challenges that we have on
the days of the photo shoot.
Speaker 4 (35:52):
But there are always little surprises.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
And you know, we we get through them, definitely, and
I'm sure you get good surprises too that come along
the way too. The dog that shows up and we
do participates really well, we do.
Speaker 3 (36:04):
Get good surprises, and that the good surprises usually come
from the homeowners, I have to say, because they really
are setting the tone.
Speaker 4 (36:12):
For that photoshoot.
Speaker 3 (36:13):
And so we get some families who are just so incredible,
and you know, I kept in touch over the years
with so many of them because you end up being
after even though you're only there for forty eight hours,
you really do become friends with some of these people,
and so I have really long standing relationships that I've
built over twenty plus years, twenty five plus years with
(36:36):
some of these people, and that's sort of the best
part of it.
Speaker 2 (36:39):
The connection definitely, I think always is one of my
favorite parts too, of just getting to know and be
with this people. Well, christ I have to ask as
a designer because I think it's one of the biggest
questions out there, and it's kind of a mystery of
how to have your work published as a designer. And
I know we have a lot of the listeners that
are designers, so I'd love to share what are some
(37:00):
of the dues and domes to try and get your
work published?
Speaker 3 (37:04):
So this is funny, so I have to laugh when
I moderate panels at all of the trade shows and
different industry events. Of course we take questions from the
audience after we're finished speaking, and then after that there
are always those shy people who are sort of too
shy to raise their hand, and sometimes this question of
(37:25):
how to get published is relevant to the discussion, and
then sometimes it's not. So if it's not, I'll get like,
you know, twenty designers who secretly come up to me
afterwards and they'll say, hey, can you tell me how
to get publishers?
Speaker 4 (37:38):
Like why did you ask?
Speaker 3 (37:39):
Back?
Speaker 2 (37:40):
Yeah, everybody wants to know.
Speaker 4 (37:41):
Everybody wants to know.
Speaker 3 (37:43):
Yes, So I'm happy to address that. Some of the
biggest dues and dots. I guess the first one I'll
start with is the photography. I think it's better if designers.
And I can't speak for all of my editor colleagues
at all of the other magazines, but I don't have
a problem at all looking at scouting images from an
(38:07):
iPhone or an iPad. I mean, they're pretty darn good.
Technology's great in twenty twenty five for the most part,
so they do a really nice job. And what's good
about that is then we can direct a designer if
they're covering the cost of that photography because they want
to own it, we can kind of say, you know what,
(38:28):
we're really interested in this house, and here's what we'll
make it really good and possible to be published. And
that stands true sort of all across the board. So
it's not like if you are asking editor at this magazine,
their style of photography is so different that it's not
going to apply to this magazine over here. I think
if a house is photographed well and styled well. In
(38:54):
Part two is to hire a stylist. Every project needs
a stylist. Every product does not need an in person stylist.
And I know for designers who are listening, there are
lots of stylists out there who do less expensive pared
down more cost effective styling services that are that are digital,
(39:17):
myself included. And what that does it allows a designer
who has a project who's maybe just starting or only
has a rumor to to show. It allows them to
make that photography the best it can be. For that
I again, I think every project deserves a stylist. I
don't think that every project deserves the expense of having
(39:41):
an in person stylist. And you know a lot of
designers are told that, and I think that, you know,
save your dollars for those hero projects. That's that's when
you want somebody in person to do all of the
editorial styling for you. Because what stylists are looking for
is and what they're doing, they're not accessorizing. Styling for
(40:04):
editorial and accessorizing are not the same thing at all.
Speaker 4 (40:07):
They're just apples and oranges.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
Editorial styling is looking for things like plants growing out
the backs of sofas, or we get weird overlaps that
when they may look okay in person, legs that are
overlapping or all lining up. And when you're in person,
you're not standing at the same place the entire day
in a.
Speaker 4 (40:28):
Room, You're moving around. Even if you move your body
just an inch.
Speaker 3 (40:31):
Over, your view of a room is totally different than
if you move your body two inches in the opposite direction.
But we don't have that luxury in a photograph and
a still photograph, it is what it is.
Speaker 4 (40:43):
You only get the one angle.
Speaker 3 (40:44):
And so there are things like you know, legs underneath
tables that are crossing in odd ways that line up
with the trim too much and it looks very, very odd.
And then we're doing things like we always try to
identify places within a home where a cover might look good. Well,
a cover isn't just a beautiful vertical photograph. It's a
(41:08):
beautiful vertical photograph that allows space for the logo and
allows space for the god awful UPC.
Speaker 2 (41:17):
Symbol that has to go in the bottom of it.
Speaker 4 (41:19):
Your government says so, and it's that you know place.
Speaker 3 (41:25):
The blurbs are what cell magazines oftentimes, So those cover
blurbs are very important. And if there's a huge flower
arrangement on a coffee table in a living room situation,
that's not going to work because the blurb won't read
over it.
Speaker 4 (41:42):
It's difficult for blurbs to read over trees, so.
Speaker 3 (41:46):
If we're shooting toward the outdoors, you know, that's probably
not going to be a good cover tribe. But again,
we don't expect designers to know all of that. It's like,
why would you.
Speaker 4 (41:55):
Care to know?
Speaker 3 (41:56):
Frankly, you know, it's a whole other thing. And so
that's what a stylist does. A stylist is not there
to accessorize. They're there to style a specific image for
that moment in time, and they're there to accessorize it
for that specific image, but they're not just accessorizing it.
They're keeping in mind all of those other elements and
(42:18):
more too well.
Speaker 2 (42:20):
And when you do that remotely, are you just sending
that designer than a list of recommendations or actually how
to use the coffee table or what does that look like?
Speaker 3 (42:30):
It works out really well because a stylist can say
to a designer, you need to and I'm making these
things up. One common air is not pulling all of
the contents of cabinetry forward. And if they're glass front cabinets,
all you see is the glare and this dark shadow
(42:52):
of gray or black in cabinets. Well, you know, especially
if you have kids, you know, in kitchen cabinets, you're
pushing things back because you don't want them to fall
out when you open cupboards and things of that nature.
So we're pulling all of those things forward. We are
doing that on bookshelves, you know. I'll say to a designer,
(43:13):
make sure that you have a big, giant stock pot
on the back burner of the range.
Speaker 4 (43:18):
But then sometimes it needs to.
Speaker 3 (43:19):
Be pulled forward too, so we go over. I'm pretty
specific about what designers should or should not do.
Speaker 4 (43:27):
And is it the same as having in an in
person stylist.
Speaker 3 (43:32):
Not totally, but I've been very impressed, and I know
when I've spoken with other stylists who do the same thing,
we're so impressed by what people the direction that they take,
so it's super effective and will always make their shots
better than what they than what they could be. And
then the other common mistake that people had is just
not buying objects that are large enough. Too many small things,
(43:56):
too many things that don't make sense, too much styling
over accessorizing. That's what happens is people send scouting images,
they get marked up with a very thorough list of recommendations.
Speaker 4 (44:10):
This is not just oh, get.
Speaker 3 (44:11):
Some pink flowers for your living room cocktail table. These
are very specific directionals of where things should be placed,
the specifics on the photography angle and how to move
things around to make that image the best it can
be and communicate with clarity.
Speaker 2 (44:30):
Well, and I know I've made this mistake. I'm sure
a lot of designers have of have this beautiful den
and all these bookcases and you photograph it and you're like,
why does that not look good? And it's, like you mentioned,
it's lots of little stuff, and it's like, no, you
just need the impact of bigger items. And I've been,
like I said, disappointed when I'm like, this is a
stunning space and it's not showing because the bookcases just
(44:51):
look off. And that's so true.
Speaker 3 (44:54):
Well, and I think the issue is that all of
those little objects that we have that collect that's the
story of us, right.
Speaker 4 (45:03):
Those are our greatest hits that come back from.
Speaker 3 (45:05):
Travels or just little goofy things that we've collected because
it's a silly thing that we do for fun. Those
things tell our story. But when they're reduced down to
again roughly eight and a half by eleven piece of paper,
and then that's only if that image is full page,
then reduce it back down smaller. If it's you know,
(45:28):
one of a few images on a page, you really
can't see those things. And what our readers are looking
for is that overall presentation. That's the impact that they
are reacting to. Now, I will say, we do get
the letters, We do get the feedback where somebody wants
(45:48):
to know about the blue and white ceramic face that's
in the corner that's approximately one inchine size on the
piece of paper, and that's.
Speaker 4 (45:58):
The one thing they want they want to know where
can they get that. We do get that to a
little bit.
Speaker 3 (46:04):
But generally speaking, it's that general impact of the design
and the image that people are looking for, not that
little porcelain box that you brought back from Portugal in
you know, twenty ten. So that's what a stylist does,
is take away those little things that they look clunky
and they're not readable in an image, and they just
(46:26):
muck it up simple as always more impactful.
Speaker 2 (46:29):
Well, and Chris, that you talked about the storytelling and
how that differs between different things. I'm curious about the
difference between print and digital. Is there a difference? Does
one matter more or vice versa?
Speaker 3 (46:41):
Yes, print matters more. And here's the reason the digital
landscape is never ending. It can go on to infinity
and there's no lack of space. We can post all
day long. A website can accommodate as much content as
you want it to.
Speaker 4 (47:00):
It's not as.
Speaker 3 (47:00):
Exclusive as print, where editors have said your product, your project,
your fabric, your lighting piece is the best of the best,
and we think this is worthy of again that ink
in that paper, those tangible currencies that exist in the
publishing world. Print is an endorsement of you, of your product.
(47:25):
Digital can be an endorsement too, if it's coming from
a publication. However, it's not as exclusive because it can
go on forever. And I'm all for digital content because
I think digital content offers those wonderful little jolts of
inspiration that we get on a Friday afternoon and say, oh,
I'm going to do that this weekend, or it's a
(47:47):
small goal I have to execute. I think digital is
great for those sorts of things. They give you lots
of fun content. They corral like spaces. You could say
in an out oh, you know what, I'm going to
pull ten wonderful spaces that all use blue and white
in a coastal setting, and I can push that out
(48:08):
online in two hours and all of our readers will
be super happy, and they're just inundated with all of
this great blue and white material. But what they're not
getting that out of that is the story. They're not
getting the soul. They're not getting that relationship building again,
that happens between homeowner and designer, and those sorts of
(48:28):
elements are oftentimes what push the homeowner to say, you
know what, I want this from my family too, and
I'm going to call a designer and an architect to
produce something similar to me. That's what they're getting out
of print. They're not getting that out of digital because
digital is too it's too fast, it's moving. We're all clickers, right,
(48:49):
We click on one thing and that holds our attention
span for a little while, and then we're clicking on
to something else.
Speaker 2 (48:55):
You know, it moves so fast. And I think that
that is so true that the soul's missing. I think
that's a way to explain that and why the print
really does matter.
Speaker 3 (49:03):
The one other thing I will say about that, because
social media is such a wonderfully effective tool for designers
and architects and people who produce products, so vendors and
makers and artisans alike. For whole house projects, if they
are shown on social media, they probably will not land
(49:28):
in print because by the time they land in print,
they've just been shown too much. So that's sort of
a rule for designers. If you want your project, as
difficult as it may be, to hold that back and
not share it with your own followers. If you want
to be published, send it to a magazine first and
let them say yes or no, and then be respectful
(49:48):
of that. If they say yes, then don't post it anymore.
Or if that's their rule. Some people don't have their rule,
but whatever their rules are, then adhere to them.
Speaker 4 (49:57):
And oftentimes what.
Speaker 3 (49:58):
We do at this point we don't ask designers to
remove the project from their websites because from my perspective,
I don't know of anybody out there who's literally doing
nothing all day long but typing in individual designers' websites
and going through their entire portfolios. So the chances of
the general population seeing a project isn't super high, I
(50:22):
would say. So, you know, we want our designers to
continue to sign on new business, and so we certainly
allow them to keep those projects up online. It's really
social media that's become such the problem because not designers
aren't the only ones who are in control of their
social media accounts. If they're doing something that's super special,
(50:43):
those are getting reposted by other people and then everybody's
seen it. So there's no reason for you know, people
to buy us. But rent is sort of the gold
standard because it is an endorsement and somebody, you know,
a magazine, a newspaper, a local magazine.
Speaker 4 (51:00):
It certainly doesn't have to be national, but they're.
Speaker 3 (51:02):
Spending their assets, which is ink and paper, their physical
assets on your project or your product.
Speaker 2 (51:10):
Well, and I know it's so hard too, because you've
worked so hard on that project, many of them have
been over a period of a couple of years, that
you're so excited to unleash this baby you've been working on,
and then to have to stay patient and not share
it for a while. It's hard too.
Speaker 4 (51:24):
I know it's a hard decision.
Speaker 3 (51:26):
And somehow I like hats off to some designers because
some designers, like you know what, I don't need to
be published.
Speaker 4 (51:33):
I get plenty of work from social.
Speaker 3 (51:34):
Media, and I get it that's I think that's fantastic
and for designers who are in that position, there's nothing.
Speaker 4 (51:40):
Wrong with that at all.
Speaker 2 (51:42):
Well, Chris, this conversation has been fascinating. It's been so
interesting to hear how editorial decisions are made, how you
balance the luxury with accessibility, and just the thought process
behind every issue of traditional home You've You've given us
a great insight I think, especially as a designer, I
think who hope to see their work published one day.
You've shared some great things. So thank you.
Speaker 5 (52:04):
Thanks Megan, it's fun to talk about.
Speaker 6 (52:06):
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.
Speaker 2 (52:22):
Ross sund 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.
Rossbund 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
control one street at a time.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Boulevard Beat proves the one you should take. Chrisa, We're
diving into the world of editorial design today, and you're
someone who has a front row seat, so this will
be a great conversation.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Here I am talking about my job when I'm not
at my job, so I have to be able to
articulate what I do during the day.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Everyone wants a behind the scenes look at the editorial process,
and I know I've flipped through magazines and wondered how
do these homes get featured, or what it takes for
a project to get published, and how to navigate trends
while staying true to classic design. It's also an ever
evolving landscape, and so I think this will be a
good conversation. I know that it always looks like there's
(01:13):
a lot of glamour in your job. I think even
I would say that I feel that way, but I
know what goes into design, and I'm sure editorial design
is very similar that ten percents that glamor, and the
rest is all the sweat and computer work and work
behind the scenes that you're doing too. So talk to
us about what your responsibilities.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
Are as an editor, Megan.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
My primary responsibility is to deliver content that is relevant
to our audience.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
Our readers are.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
The most important people in this landscape, and we always
want to bring material to them that is fresh, relevant
and new to them. So that's an important quality is
new to them. But that's sort of the overarching responsibility
(02:03):
of my.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
Role as an editor.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
The other roles include, oh my gosh, photo shoots, trade shows.
I do a ton of public speaking at various types
of events throughout the country and some abroad as well.
But it's too develop relationships with designers, with makers, with
all of those people whose talents contribute to that content
(02:29):
that is necessary to make the magazine go.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
It's all encompassing, lots of different moving parts, for sure,
and it's neat to see, I'm sure in print. When
it all comes together and all the work that went
behind all of that too. Talk to me a little
bit about the challenges of your position in the everyday life.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
The biggest challenge of my position is the title of it,
and that is editor.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
It is my job to reduce and produce.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Meaning we get so much material that's thrown our way.
And I think that I maybe alluded to this a
little bit in my initial episode that you and Liz
and I did were it was sort of a get
to know you kind of format. But it's my job
to say no to people a lot. And when you're
(03:14):
inundated with product that's really incredible and projects that are incredible,
but they're not going to make the pages. The ink
isn't going to hit the paper, as we like to say,
and so, you know, saying no to people when this
is really a business that's about an art form, and
there's not maybe technically a right or wrong answer.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
It is subjective. You know.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
I get a lot of phone calls from designers asking
why a project of theirs wasn't selected, and it can
be so many variables. We're a national publication and thus
we need to cover as many regions and you know,
ideally states as possible, So there.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
Are so many variables.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
If we had too many projects from one location and
we need something that's from the Pacific Northwest, or we
need something from the southeast and we have a hole
to fill, then we're looking for that and there might
be too many beautiful projects coming from Texas, which is
a very real life problem at the moment. So I
guess that's the biggest challenge of my position is the
(04:21):
responsibility of it is to say no more than I
say yes, far more knows than yes is well.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
And that's difficult to do for sure. What makes you
turn a project down?
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Oh, that's a great question after those sort of variables
that a designer can't control, So say we have too
many houses from Texas, or we have too many locations
from Florida. If it's not something that they can control
like that, then it's oh, gosh.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
Not great.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Styling all the wrong angles, which is something that is
a regular challenge and hurdle at the magazine because we
have a lot of photography that designers do on their own,
but it's not editorial photography.
Speaker 4 (05:09):
And they don't know that. So they photograph.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
These locations and it's like, oh, you needed a stylist
and you needed somebody to direct you. Oh.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
I know another really big factor.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
This might be the biggest factor when I am looking
through images if I can name where several pieces come from,
like if I know, and I'm not going to drop
company names because these are all companies that I love.
But when I can say the lighting is from company ABC,
that desk is from company DEF, and that console table
(05:49):
is from here, it's what I a term that I've
coined within the industry that is well shocked versus well designed.
And there's nothing wrong with that, and I don't anything
critical or negative of that. It's just not been worthy
of being on the pages. We need to always deliver
(06:09):
content to our readers that is authentic and super personal.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
And you know, as you know, when all of.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
The new pieces are introduced from the different vendors, the
various showrooms, there's especially in the lighting world, there's.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
That it lighting.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
You know, I know that not just one person across
the country wants thousands of people want that same chandelier
and they see it in a magazine and they say
to their designers, I want that too. When we see
those repeat elements, I'm just like, no, it's been seen
too many times and we're we're not going to show it.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
So essentially, you want your readers contacting you, asking what
the sources and then you have to say one of
a kind or custom or a homeowner's collection in a.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Perfect world for traditional home and this isn't you know,
every magazine is a little different, but you just don't
want to see more of the same, and so that
authenticity really matters, and that's part of the story to
be told. It's not interesting when you have the statement
fabric that's seeing over and over and over again, and
(07:14):
because of social media, the problem is it's probably already
been seen online, so there's just no reason for us
to show it. So we do receive a lot of
projects that are kind of the greatest hits of all
of the showrooms that we know and love, and that
that doesn't cut it.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
So you spend a lot of time looking at houses.
Is that the primary task of your job? And how
many projects do you review and what does it take
to make a house land in the magazine?
Speaker 3 (07:43):
That's a great question, and I'm glad you asked that
because for any designers who are listening, I think sometimes
they don't think about the numbers and the slots that
we have available. So you know, we really only have
thirty houses that are select did a year, and we
receive anywhere from two hundred and seventy five to three
(08:05):
hundred projects a year. So again back to what I
said earlier about I say no far more than I
say yes. I say no ninety percent of the time.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
So it's difficult.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
It is difficult to hear, especially when you've got good
content and you just can't you don't have room for it.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Yes, and the good news is, I would say certainly,
reviewing those projects is the primary role of my job.
I mean, that's the need of the magazine. So that's
what we focus and pay our attention to. Again, developing
relationships with designers and architects so we know who to
(08:42):
reach out to. I spend a lot of time on
the phone during the day talking to designers and that's
what I love. But it is probably the most fun
part of the job too. Is you know, it's like
it's like going to a movie. I mean, we sit
in our conference room. We have a very skeletal staff
of three. That's what it's all about, is just reviewing
those those projects. And you know, going from one part
(09:05):
of the country to the next and seeing what design
looks like at each one of them.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
That's so interesting because I'm sure there is regional design
trends too, and certain styles are dominating in certain areas.
I'm sure variety is very important. I'd love to hear
about the range of locations that you show.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
Well, Megan, that's a great question because this count we are,
as I said in National Magazine, and I don't think
I've said the name of the magazine yet, that would
be a traditional traditional home for questions into this episode,
Traditional Home magazine, which is a luxury design publication. But
because this country is so vast, with so many geographical
(09:47):
differences just in the topography, traditional design looks very different
from region one region to another. I mean, if you
talk about, you know, New England, where you're getting the
best of colonial and Georgian design, we're sort of all
originated and there we're getting what I call antique houses
(10:08):
because we have so many homes that are more than
one hundred years old from those sorts of places. But
surprisingly that kind of design also exists in California. We
get a lot of that same design in bel Air
or the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, and a
lot of that from San Francisco to if you're talking
(10:29):
about Pacific Heights. So the sort of very traditional colonial
design shows up in a lot of different places, and
certainly it shows up in the South.
Speaker 4 (10:38):
But then there are other.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
Versions of traditional that speak more to what's going on outside.
And so for instance, I think of Colorado, where you
may get traditional design that sort of has an alpine
slant to it. We're never going to have a slot
in every issue that's from a super specific location like
(11:00):
Santa Fe for instance, where you have Adobe homes. We
maybe select an Adobe style home once every three years.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
So uh, and the theme.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
Is true for you know, just the desert. In general,
I would say that sort of traditional look isn't appealing
to the majority of our country, so you know, that's
not what people necessarily want to see. So the again,
the umbrella of what encompasses traditional design is so broad,
(11:34):
and it includes some modern as well. My tagline for
Traditional Home when I do a lot of public speaking
is that the magazine is the best of many eras,
not just one.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Well, and I think that's just good timeless design. And
that relates so well the traditional is because it's always
around and it's always relevant too. Yes, Chris, but you
mentioned that Traditional Home is a luxury magazine. Does a
high budget always equal a feature or the home or
how much does the budget for design actually matter?
Speaker 3 (12:04):
The budget is an element of design that matters, not
from the perspective of we want everything to be expensive.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
That's not the goal.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
It doesn't have to have a dollar amount attached to it.
That is a certain amount. However, it does have to
have authenticity. And why that matters is if it's a
historic home that's been to redo, that takes dollars to
achieve that. If it is a new build, we want
(12:38):
to make sure that they have an architect to give
all of those little architectural details and frills that you
may not get from a pick a plan abc sort
of home. If they are people homeowners who are serious
antiques collectors or serious art collectors, that's going to look
(13:01):
different than again, plucking furniture or specifying furniture out of showrooms.
And so I don't want it to sound like, oh.
Speaker 5 (13:10):
You have to have all of these you know, millions,
hundreds of millions.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
Billions of dollars to achieve that, but it requires a
commitment from the homeowners to deliver a budget to their
designers so the designers can be creative and sort of
stretch their design wings, flex their design muscles if you will,
to produce an end result that's really interesting and that
hasn't been seen before. And all designers, I think are
(13:38):
faced from this, from maybe new designers who are just
beginning their careers to the biggest A list designers in
our industry. Every designer needs to pay those bills. They
need to pay the electric bill and pay you know,
payroll too if they have employees, and so you have
to take all sorts of different types of Some are
(14:01):
your hero projects that are super editorial, where your homeowners,
your clients have allowed you to really bring in those
interesting layers or specify those interesting pieces of furniture that
may be more sculptural and bespoke and customized. And then
sometimes families just want a nice home. They want a
(14:22):
home that's polished, that's done, and they're not seeking the
level of design that it's required to be in a magazine.
So I think it matters to produce creativity. We're not
to do it your self magazine by any stretch of
the imagination. We're not a magazine where the homeowners have
(14:43):
done the design themselves, unless they're designers, which you know
because you've been in traditional home.
Speaker 4 (14:48):
So this is a.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
Situation where we are encouraging and supporting the design industry
by noting to designers. You know, it's about this relationship
with the designer and the architect and the landscape designer
and the kitchen designer and the builder and every person
who worked on that project. And the result is this
beautiful home where you can enjoy family memories and holidays
(15:13):
and sad times too sometimes so budget is needed to
produce a look that's editorial.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
And I think with that too, it's that collaboration, like
you mentioned, with a good team that they all come
together to get this end result. And obviously it's the
homeowner's vision as well to get it going and started
and then to trust this team. How much does the
homeowner show up in the magazine. Do you like to
have the story of the family and what that authenticity
brings to the story of your magazines.
Speaker 4 (15:42):
We always like.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
To have the story of the family, because again we're
trying to support the design industry, the professionals in the
design industry by telling the stories of these homeowners, so
people who are reading it understand this is the relationship
that developed because sometimes what happens, and again not calling
(16:03):
out or picking on any other magazines, but when you
don't hear the homeowner's perspective, you don't know is this
a ski chalet that they show up in, you know,
for two weeks out of the year, who lives there?
Speaker 4 (16:17):
And does anybody live there?
Speaker 3 (16:19):
And so you don't really get the clarity of how
a family or a couple, you know, how they live
in that home. Where if we tell their story, then
that shines through. And so the designer in a perfect
world is the supporting cast, not the lead role. The
lead role in our eyes is always that homeowner. However,
(16:41):
over time what that looks like has changed ever so slightly.
We used to always require when I say always, I
mean literally one hundred percent of the time, require that
our homeowners being named, photographed, and interviewed. Now people are
a little more hesitant for a variety. We have reasons,
and so we loosen the reins slightly on those policies. However,
(17:07):
even if a homeowner wishes to remain anonymous, we still
require that they give an interview so we understand the
story well.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
And I always like to see the picture of them too,
because you understand more about the story of how they're
using the space and if they've got young kids or pets,
and you know how each of those rooms that you're
photographing gets used to, especially the dog.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
And yes, he always wants to know about the dog.
And it used to be early in the days, we
would here's the family portrait and here's the dog, and
then we would get all of these reader letters saying
I want to know the breed and I want to
know the name. The dogs are people too, and like, okay, okay, okay,
we will name that dog and we will name the breed.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
So whatever your interview questions now, yes, definitely, always, yeah, always.
That's awesome. Well, Chris, one of the things I love
about following you on Instagram is you're always traveling. You're
always going to trade fairs and seeing everything that's new.
So when you attend to these what are you looking
for When it comes to the merchandise that you present
(18:05):
to your.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
Readers, First and foremost, it needs to be merchandise that
is of quality. Again, we are not a do it
yourself magazine. We are not a budget friendly magazine. What
I'm looking for when I am going to fares where
it's new merchandise, if it's not an antique fare, it
has to be of quality for me to endorse it
(18:28):
for my audience, because look, they don't give anything away,
right everything right aw, And so we want to make
sure that when we are talking about luxury, not luxury
in the sense of being shiny or expensive, but luxury
in the sense of being something of quality. It doesn't
have to be timeless, meaning it's always relevant, because even
(18:53):
pieces that are timeless go in and out of vogue,
for sure, But it needs to be something that always
a client, a reader, a home owner can hang onto
and if they decide at some point they no longer
love it, they can sell it or donate it, or
pass it along to somebody else who does love it,
and it will still remain true.
Speaker 4 (19:15):
To that quality. So that's really what I'm looking for.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
It is a little bit unfortunate for the trade shows
from the perspective of some products just don't photograph well,
and some products, when it comes to print photography, you
can't necessarily capture how it functions. So, for instance, I
will use a motion recliner. You can see that it's recliner,
(19:40):
you can see that it's a chair, right, but you
can't see if there's this super slick mechanism to make
it operate really smoothly. And so there are elements like
that when pieces function that don't show so well in
still photography, and that's when digital assets become mess And
(20:01):
then in addition to that, some things just don't photograph well.
I'll make this up off the top of my head,
but if I see a company that makes leather portfolio
envelopes and they come in beige, stone, and brown, it's like,
I'm not sure how we're going to make that look good.
So there are things like that. It may be the
(20:23):
most beautiful quality pebble leather, it may be something really extraordinary,
but some things just don't photograph well. And I know
how good it is. I know that it's of quality
and it's a lovely object, but it's hard to translate
that for things that are you know, where readers might say, oh, well,
(20:45):
I can what's special about that? I can go buy
something similar elsewhere or locally, and it's the same thing, So.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
That's interesting and something I wouldn't always think about of
just how it's going to photograph and why that makes sense.
Have you ever had a time when you initially passed
on an item because you didn't think it was the
right thing, and it later gained traction and became super popular.
Speaker 3 (21:07):
I think there have been situations like that, but that's okay.
I don't want to present something to our readers that
may or may not end up being popular. Again, that's
not what we care about for our reader. We're trying
to navigate them to a mindset of bringing things into
their home that are authentic and beautiful to them.
Speaker 4 (21:31):
So whether or not, in fact, I prefer to not
have objects that become popular.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
I want to tell people what's going to become popular,
and that is the beauty and largest responsibility that an
editor bears is we are the ones setting the trends.
We're the ones endorsing products, endorsing different styles of design
to say this is a way to look at something
(21:58):
that is interesting and what you should do or can do.
Speaker 4 (22:03):
If this is what you're attracted to.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
I never want something that I endorse in the magazine
to be popular already. It needs to be something that
I made popular, and that happens. I mean, I never
would have guessed until I was in this industry the
power of the press. It really does influence people. And
one of the biggest joys probably of my not probably
(22:29):
definitely the biggest joy of my position is when we
feature a designer who we've just discovered who then ends
up being a big designer or a product in its
early days with no press release or no publicist, when
everything's a little all of the assets are a little clunky,
and we recognize that is something special and that's worthy
(22:52):
of being shown, and then then it becomes popular because
we said so, then that's okay.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
Well, And as a designer, I know we are always
getting inspiration into leading into new projects and things like
that too. So it's a good way to be inspired
from the magazine and then taking it into the work
that we do as well. So you always have your
pulse on what's new it sounds like, so you are
inspiring the market and things like that. How do you
(23:19):
decide what is worth showing and what's worth leaving behind.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
I always want to take our readers on a magic
carpet ride it's about delivery and aspirations and inspirations and
dreaming for a while.
Speaker 4 (23:36):
Escapism, if you will.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
Even though I think at the back of everybody's head
as they're escaping, they're thinking, I.
Speaker 4 (23:42):
Really want to live in that house.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
How can I make my own house like that one
that I'm looking at. So there's that piece of it.
But I don't ever approach my job. And the thing is,
I've been in this position for a very long time,
so you know, back to one of the early questions,
the challenge of my position, it's to always make sure
that I'm on my toes to reinvent the wheel to
(24:06):
the degree at which I can. And you know, in
the business world, we always talk about thinking outside the box, right,
you want to be creative and think outside the box. Well,
it's my job to think inside the box. That's a
certain page dimension, and so how can I challenge myself
to give that reader a new experience? And there's subtle
(24:29):
differences that maybe the reader doesn't notice, but subconsciously they
do notice. In fact, the column that kicks off every
issue of our magazine is titled white Glove. And the
reason I came up with that title many moons ago
is because in our industry, if you order furniture and
(24:50):
it's white glove delivery, that means you're getting something special,
you're getting something extra. And so when I produce that
column that tends to be more furniture, you're driven. It's
all about products, you know, the furniture, the fabrics, the accessories,
the lighting. In our industry, that's what I'm trying to
deliver to the readers is that experience that is special.
Speaker 4 (25:12):
And it's not just you know.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
Products on a white page that are just silhouette shots,
but creating these environments that are dramatic and well designed
and presented to them in a luxurious way.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
Well, and it's such an interesting way of using your creativity,
like you said, like thinking inside the box and giving
the readers these experiences just makes it all so interesting.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
Right. But when you talk about when you ask about
what do we leave behind, we leave behind anything that
is sort of here today, gone tomorrow.
Speaker 4 (25:46):
It's important.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
Yes, we had an entire episode about trends that we
talked about already, but when it comes to trends by
way of editorial content, the trends naturally eventually end up
in the projects that we show. For example, Burlewood has
made a bit of a comeback. It's showing up in
(26:08):
new iterations that span far beyond those extraordinary English secretaries
where you would oftentimes see Burlwood historically and in antiques,
and now we're seeing it applied.
Speaker 4 (26:21):
To more modern forms.
Speaker 3 (26:24):
So eventually that furniture will be used by designers and
those projects will be submitted to us, and at that
point that Burlwood piece will show up. Is it trendy, No,
it's a movement. It's a style that's been brought back
by the marketing teams and the design teams at all
(26:47):
of the companies, and it's a friendly reminder like, oh,
burl would exist, and we haven't used this for a
couple of decades.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
Let's bring this in.
Speaker 3 (26:55):
But here's the modern day iteration of it. So what
we leave behind is anything that's just again here today,
gone tomorrow. Not interested in that for our reader. Our
reader wants the best of the best, timeless and quality.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Quality always, definitely, christ photo shoots are a big part
of your role. And I know what photo shoots look
like as a designer and how we use them, and
I'm sure you'res very quite a bit from the way
ours look like. We'd love to know more about what
happens during a photo shoot, walk us through the process
and the behind the scene details of what that looks like.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
Well, first of all, there's a lot of preparation.
Speaker 4 (27:34):
The photo shoot itself is.
Speaker 3 (27:36):
Fun, and I think when people hear photo shoot, that's
where they equate it to, Oh, that's so glamorous, that's
so cool, and they think of this photographer and they
probably automatically go to their minds, go to some fashion
photoshoot that they've seen with supermodels on a beach or
something like that. So I think that's what maybe naturally
(27:56):
goes into people's mind and then they apply that to
the home industry. But there's a lot of preparation that
goes into that photoshoot. First of all, my art director
and I create a very detailed shot list of those
images that we want, and what's interesting about that is
what we want and what a designer wants us to
(28:18):
photograph are oftentimes to very different things.
Speaker 5 (28:24):
There's a lot of handholding during photoshoots with designers, and
there's a lot of education about what our needs versus
their needs.
Speaker 3 (28:34):
It's like you put your needs on your website, on
your social media, But right now we're here for our
needs because we have a finite number of pages. This
isn't social media. We can talk about social media later,
but we have a limited space. When you're talking about
a magazine, and what's special about a magazine is the
(28:55):
story is being told by an outsider, right, That's what
I am. I'm an outsider and I'm going into these spaces.
So my lens is a little different. My art director's
lens is different. How he lays the story out and
how we want our readers to tour that location, and
then from my perspective, how I'm going to tell that
story is very different than maybe how a designer sees it.
(29:18):
So there's a lot of upfront communication about what is
the shot list going to be. There's all of the
ordering that needs to be done. Now, most of the
houses that we photograph are already chock full of the objects.
Speaker 4 (29:34):
There's not a lot, a whole lot that we bring in.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
We bring in sort of more ancillary elements, like making
sure there are enough throw blankets, or making sure that
there are lots of books, because sometimes the book collections
that people have may have you know, super jarring spines
that are super colorful that we want to temper a bit,
you know, books, vases, trays, throws, sort of those supporting
(30:01):
sorts of props we might bring in a little more of,
but most of the kinds of houses that we show
are already loaded and charged with beautiful objects that we
can move around, and we do a lot of moving around.
We eliminate furniture quite a bit. There's usually too much
furniture or it's in the wrong spot for the photograph
(30:22):
and the angle that we need. We're looking at things
from an editorial perspective. We're looking at elements, like what
sorts of shapes do we want those angles to be?
Do we want it to be a horizontal or a
vertical or a square? Because how is that going to
fit on our pages. We receive quite a bit of
(30:43):
photography that designers have spent loads of money on thousands
and thousands.
Speaker 4 (30:49):
And you know, like ten thousand.
Speaker 3 (30:51):
Dollars for a photoshoot, only to discover they've photographed all
horizontal images and it's like, that's lovely and it shows
your room. But a magazine is shaped vertically, so those
images don't work, and we have to reshoot, and sometimes
we can get back into that house, but a lot
of times we can't, and if we can't, it's a
no go. Behind the scenes. Additionally, you know, there's all
(31:14):
of the flowers that we order. We always order three
times more than we need, because if you don't order enough,
if you only order what you think you need, you
need three times the amount. If you order three times
the amount, then you only need what you thought you
needed to be.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
So it's the truth.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
It's a Murphy's law sort of situation. But then during
the day of the shoot again there's a lot of movement.
There's a lot of editing, reducing of elements, sometimes rearranging bookshelves.
You know, usually people have more objects around than are necessary.
So it's just eliminating and simplifying that photograph so it's
(31:51):
more clean and all of the elements read very clearly.
Speaker 4 (31:56):
And when we.
Speaker 3 (31:56):
Receive imagery that designers have done on themselves, what happens
is they get too attached to the different objects.
Speaker 4 (32:05):
They get too attached.
Speaker 3 (32:06):
To that tray that they bought at Round Top and
it's the coolest thing. It was the inspiration for the
entire shot, and they really want that to be in
or they get too attached to you know, the sideboard
that was flown over from Belgium and that was the
inspiration for the entire room, and it's like that piece
of information is interesting, but it's not interesting to the
(32:32):
hole envelope that is opened and unveils this beautiful project.
Speaker 4 (32:38):
It's not necessary for that.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
So you know, there's a lot of again handholding and
talking to designers about why we're not angling the camera
in one direction over another.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
I can totally see that, and I think it's probably
just because as the designer, you spent hundreds of hours
working on that room or home and so it's so
personal to you where you come in with just a
different eye and not knowing all the rest of it
and are just solely coming in for the image that
you need absolutely Now.
Speaker 3 (33:05):
Sometimes like let's say it's something that is a tray,
something small, or a beautiful chair, we may find another
spot for it. And that's that can be difficult for
designers too. They're like that's not where it goes.
Speaker 2 (33:18):
It's like, well that's where it's going to go today.
Speaker 4 (33:20):
Yeah, how it's.
Speaker 3 (33:21):
Going to be shown, But you can well put it
right back where it goes after it's done. So there's
there's just a lot of a lot of things that
happen for a photoshoot. Again, when you're reducing it to
a roughly eight and a half by eleven page, that
you know, we don't expect designers to know those sorts
of things, and we don't expect homeowners to know those.
Speaker 4 (33:40):
Sorts of things.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
But that's why we prefer that the homeowners not necessarily
be there if they don't know, so.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
They don't break out when to take over your house.
Speaker 3 (33:48):
Yes, definitely, it is an invasive process, so we're very
appreciative when people allow us to come in.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
And I'm sure you sound like you've got it streamlined
obviously and you've done hundreds of these, but I'm sure
it happens a case that unexpected challenges can arise during
a shoot. Does that happen sometimes? Oh?
Speaker 3 (34:06):
Yeah, there are lots of surprises. There are homeowners who
are so lovely and so gracious and so welcoming and
invite us into their homes with open arms, and they've
also invited their neighbors, their sisters there. It's kindergarten teacher,
(34:28):
all those sorts of things.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
To watch too.
Speaker 5 (34:30):
And so you know it's like, okay, we're working and
we I mean, I get it.
Speaker 3 (34:35):
You know, it's exciting for homeowners and it's their home
and they're super proud of it. And so you know,
we politely after the oohs and ahs have happened when
when guests are there, you know, maybe ask that they
go to a different.
Speaker 4 (34:47):
Room or leave.
Speaker 3 (34:50):
Or leave. So you know, that's their challenges like that
that I mean, oh goodness. And then you know then
there are people who aren't nice. And I won't even
elaborate on that. That's all I have to say about that.
So but there are challenges too, like it can there
can be a torrential downpour outside that you didn't know about,
and you know, we don't have the exterior shot complete
(35:12):
yet or any of the outdoor shots. If there's a
you know, a backyard with a pool area that.
Speaker 4 (35:18):
Sort of thing.
Speaker 3 (35:19):
You know, something can be broken, a fireplace can be
broken and inoperable, and.
Speaker 4 (35:24):
Then it's like, okay, you know we can that's.
Speaker 3 (35:27):
A relatively easy photoshop ad that we get that a
lot too people. We can you can just fix that
and photoshop. And I always say photoshop is lip gloss
it's not a facelift, so it's just there to maybe
nip and tuck a little bit.
Speaker 4 (35:42):
It's not there to make.
Speaker 3 (35:44):
You, you know, look like a supermodel if you're not one.
Those are some of the challenges that we have on
the days of the photo shoot.
Speaker 4 (35:52):
But there are always little surprises.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
And you know, we we get through them, definitely, and
I'm sure you get good surprises too that come along
the way too. The dog that shows up and we
do participates really well, we do.
Speaker 3 (36:04):
Get good surprises, and that the good surprises usually come
from the homeowners, I have to say, because they really
are setting the tone.
Speaker 4 (36:12):
For that photoshoot.
Speaker 3 (36:13):
And so we get some families who are just so incredible,
and you know, I kept in touch over the years
with so many of them because you end up being
after even though you're only there for forty eight hours,
you really do become friends with some of these people,
and so I have really long standing relationships that I've
built over twenty plus years, twenty five plus years with
(36:36):
some of these people, and that's sort of the best
part of it.
Speaker 2 (36:39):
The connection definitely, I think always is one of my
favorite parts too, of just getting to know and be
with this people. Well, christ I have to ask as
a designer because I think it's one of the biggest
questions out there, and it's kind of a mystery of
how to have your work published as a designer. And
I know we have a lot of the listeners that
are designers, so I'd love to share what are some
(37:00):
of the dues and domes to try and get your
work published?
Speaker 3 (37:04):
So this is funny, so I have to laugh when
I moderate panels at all of the trade shows and
different industry events. Of course we take questions from the
audience after we're finished speaking, and then after that there
are always those shy people who are sort of too
shy to raise their hand, and sometimes this question of
(37:25):
how to get published is relevant to the discussion, and
then sometimes it's not. So if it's not, I'll get like,
you know, twenty designers who secretly come up to me
afterwards and they'll say, hey, can you tell me how
to get publishers?
Speaker 4 (37:38):
Like why did you ask?
Speaker 3 (37:39):
Back?
Speaker 2 (37:40):
Yeah, everybody wants to know.
Speaker 4 (37:41):
Everybody wants to know.
Speaker 3 (37:43):
Yes, So I'm happy to address that. Some of the
biggest dues and dots. I guess the first one I'll
start with is the photography. I think it's better if designers.
And I can't speak for all of my editor colleagues
at all of the other magazines, but I don't have
a problem at all looking at scouting images from an
(38:07):
iPhone or an iPad. I mean, they're pretty darn good.
Technology's great in twenty twenty five for the most part,
so they do a really nice job. And what's good
about that is then we can direct a designer if
they're covering the cost of that photography because they want
to own it, we can kind of say, you know what,
(38:28):
we're really interested in this house, and here's what we'll
make it really good and possible to be published. And
that stands true sort of all across the board. So
it's not like if you are asking editor at this magazine,
their style of photography is so different that it's not
going to apply to this magazine over here. I think
if a house is photographed well and styled well. In
(38:54):
Part two is to hire a stylist. Every project needs
a stylist. Every product does not need an in person stylist.
And I know for designers who are listening, there are
lots of stylists out there who do less expensive pared
down more cost effective styling services that are that are digital,
(39:17):
myself included. And what that does it allows a designer
who has a project who's maybe just starting or only
has a rumor to to show. It allows them to
make that photography the best it can be. For that
I again, I think every project deserves a stylist. I
don't think that every project deserves the expense of having
(39:41):
an in person stylist. And you know a lot of
designers are told that, and I think that, you know,
save your dollars for those hero projects. That's that's when
you want somebody in person to do all of the
editorial styling for you. Because what stylists are looking for
is and what they're doing, they're not accessorizing. Styling for
(40:04):
editorial and accessorizing are not the same thing at all.
Speaker 4 (40:07):
They're just apples and oranges.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
Editorial styling is looking for things like plants growing out
the backs of sofas, or we get weird overlaps that
when they may look okay in person, legs that are
overlapping or all lining up. And when you're in person,
you're not standing at the same place the entire day
in a.
Speaker 4 (40:28):
Room, You're moving around. Even if you move your body
just an inch.
Speaker 3 (40:31):
Over, your view of a room is totally different than
if you move your body two inches in the opposite direction.
But we don't have that luxury in a photograph and
a still photograph, it is what it is.
Speaker 4 (40:43):
You only get the one angle.
Speaker 3 (40:44):
And so there are things like you know, legs underneath
tables that are crossing in odd ways that line up
with the trim too much and it looks very, very odd.
And then we're doing things like we always try to
identify places within a home where a cover might look good. Well,
a cover isn't just a beautiful vertical photograph. It's a
(41:08):
beautiful vertical photograph that allows space for the logo and
allows space for the god awful UPC.
Speaker 2 (41:17):
Symbol that has to go in the bottom of it.
Speaker 4 (41:19):
Your government says so, and it's that you know place.
Speaker 3 (41:25):
The blurbs are what cell magazines oftentimes, So those cover
blurbs are very important. And if there's a huge flower
arrangement on a coffee table in a living room situation,
that's not going to work because the blurb won't read
over it.
Speaker 4 (41:42):
It's difficult for blurbs to read over trees, so.
Speaker 3 (41:46):
If we're shooting toward the outdoors, you know, that's probably
not going to be a good cover tribe. But again,
we don't expect designers to know all of that. It's like,
why would you.
Speaker 4 (41:55):
Care to know?
Speaker 3 (41:56):
Frankly, you know, it's a whole other thing. And so
that's what a stylist does. A stylist is not there
to accessorize. They're there to style a specific image for
that moment in time, and they're there to accessorize it
for that specific image, but they're not just accessorizing it.
They're keeping in mind all of those other elements and
(42:18):
more too well.
Speaker 2 (42:20):
And when you do that remotely, are you just sending
that designer than a list of recommendations or actually how
to use the coffee table or what does that look like?
Speaker 3 (42:30):
It works out really well because a stylist can say
to a designer, you need to and I'm making these
things up. One common air is not pulling all of
the contents of cabinetry forward. And if they're glass front cabinets,
all you see is the glare and this dark shadow
(42:52):
of gray or black in cabinets. Well, you know, especially
if you have kids, you know, in kitchen cabinets, you're
pushing things back because you don't want them to fall
out when you open cupboards and things of that nature.
So we're pulling all of those things forward. We are
doing that on bookshelves, you know. I'll say to a designer,
(43:13):
make sure that you have a big, giant stock pot
on the back burner of the range.
Speaker 4 (43:18):
But then sometimes it needs to.
Speaker 3 (43:19):
Be pulled forward too, so we go over. I'm pretty
specific about what designers should or should not do.
Speaker 4 (43:27):
And is it the same as having in an in
person stylist.
Speaker 3 (43:32):
Not totally, but I've been very impressed, and I know
when I've spoken with other stylists who do the same thing,
we're so impressed by what people the direction that they take,
so it's super effective and will always make their shots
better than what they than what they could be. And
then the other common mistake that people had is just
not buying objects that are large enough. Too many small things,
(43:56):
too many things that don't make sense, too much styling
over accessorizing. That's what happens is people send scouting images,
they get marked up with a very thorough list of recommendations.
Speaker 4 (44:10):
This is not just oh, get.
Speaker 3 (44:11):
Some pink flowers for your living room cocktail table. These
are very specific directionals of where things should be placed,
the specifics on the photography angle and how to move
things around to make that image the best it can
be and communicate with clarity.
Speaker 2 (44:30):
Well, and I know I've made this mistake. I'm sure
a lot of designers have of have this beautiful den
and all these bookcases and you photograph it and you're like,
why does that not look good? And it's, like you mentioned,
it's lots of little stuff, and it's like, no, you
just need the impact of bigger items. And I've been,
like I said, disappointed when I'm like, this is a
stunning space and it's not showing because the bookcases just
(44:51):
look off. And that's so true.
Speaker 3 (44:54):
Well, and I think the issue is that all of
those little objects that we have that collect that's the
story of us, right.
Speaker 4 (45:03):
Those are our greatest hits that come back from.
Speaker 3 (45:05):
Travels or just little goofy things that we've collected because
it's a silly thing that we do for fun. Those
things tell our story. But when they're reduced down to
again roughly eight and a half by eleven piece of paper,
and then that's only if that image is full page,
then reduce it back down smaller. If it's you know,
(45:28):
one of a few images on a page, you really
can't see those things. And what our readers are looking
for is that overall presentation. That's the impact that they
are reacting to. Now, I will say, we do get
the letters, We do get the feedback where somebody wants
(45:48):
to know about the blue and white ceramic face that's
in the corner that's approximately one inchine size on the
piece of paper, and that's.
Speaker 4 (45:58):
The one thing they want they want to know where
can they get that. We do get that to a
little bit.
Speaker 3 (46:04):
But generally speaking, it's that general impact of the design
and the image that people are looking for, not that
little porcelain box that you brought back from Portugal in
you know, twenty ten. So that's what a stylist does,
is take away those little things that they look clunky
and they're not readable in an image, and they just
(46:26):
muck it up simple as always more impactful.
Speaker 2 (46:29):
Well, and Chris, that you talked about the storytelling and
how that differs between different things. I'm curious about the
difference between print and digital. Is there a difference? Does
one matter more or vice versa?
Speaker 3 (46:41):
Yes, print matters more. And here's the reason the digital
landscape is never ending. It can go on to infinity
and there's no lack of space. We can post all
day long. A website can accommodate as much content as
you want it to.
Speaker 4 (47:00):
It's not as.
Speaker 3 (47:00):
Exclusive as print, where editors have said your product, your project,
your fabric, your lighting piece is the best of the best,
and we think this is worthy of again that ink
in that paper, those tangible currencies that exist in the
publishing world. Print is an endorsement of you, of your product.
(47:25):
Digital can be an endorsement too, if it's coming from
a publication. However, it's not as exclusive because it can
go on forever. And I'm all for digital content because
I think digital content offers those wonderful little jolts of
inspiration that we get on a Friday afternoon and say, oh,
I'm going to do that this weekend, or it's a
(47:47):
small goal I have to execute. I think digital is
great for those sorts of things. They give you lots
of fun content. They corral like spaces. You could say
in an out oh, you know what, I'm going to
pull ten wonderful spaces that all use blue and white
in a coastal setting, and I can push that out
(48:08):
online in two hours and all of our readers will
be super happy, and they're just inundated with all of
this great blue and white material. But what they're not
getting that out of that is the story. They're not
getting the soul. They're not getting that relationship building again,
that happens between homeowner and designer, and those sorts of
(48:28):
elements are oftentimes what push the homeowner to say, you
know what, I want this from my family too, and
I'm going to call a designer and an architect to
produce something similar to me. That's what they're getting out
of print. They're not getting that out of digital because
digital is too it's too fast, it's moving. We're all clickers, right,
(48:49):
We click on one thing and that holds our attention
span for a little while, and then we're clicking on
to something else.
Speaker 2 (48:55):
You know, it moves so fast. And I think that
that is so true that the soul's missing. I think
that's a way to explain that and why the print
really does matter.
Speaker 3 (49:03):
The one other thing I will say about that, because
social media is such a wonderfully effective tool for designers
and architects and people who produce products, so vendors and
makers and artisans alike. For whole house projects, if they
are shown on social media, they probably will not land
(49:28):
in print because by the time they land in print,
they've just been shown too much. So that's sort of
a rule for designers. If you want your project, as
difficult as it may be, to hold that back and
not share it with your own followers. If you want
to be published, send it to a magazine first and
let them say yes or no, and then be respectful
(49:48):
of that. If they say yes, then don't post it anymore.
Or if that's their rule. Some people don't have their rule,
but whatever their rules are, then adhere to them.
Speaker 4 (49:57):
And oftentimes what.
Speaker 3 (49:58):
We do at this point we don't ask designers to
remove the project from their websites because from my perspective,
I don't know of anybody out there who's literally doing
nothing all day long but typing in individual designers' websites
and going through their entire portfolios. So the chances of
the general population seeing a project isn't super high, I
(50:22):
would say. So, you know, we want our designers to
continue to sign on new business, and so we certainly
allow them to keep those projects up online. It's really
social media that's become such the problem because not designers
aren't the only ones who are in control of their
social media accounts. If they're doing something that's super special,
(50:43):
those are getting reposted by other people and then everybody's
seen it. So there's no reason for you know, people
to buy us. But rent is sort of the gold
standard because it is an endorsement and somebody, you know,
a magazine, a newspaper, a local magazine.
Speaker 4 (51:00):
It certainly doesn't have to be national, but they're.
Speaker 3 (51:02):
Spending their assets, which is ink and paper, their physical
assets on your project or your product.
Speaker 2 (51:10):
Well, and I know it's so hard too, because you've
worked so hard on that project, many of them have
been over a period of a couple of years, that
you're so excited to unleash this baby you've been working on,
and then to have to stay patient and not share
it for a while. It's hard too.
Speaker 4 (51:24):
I know it's a hard decision.
Speaker 3 (51:26):
And somehow I like hats off to some designers because
some designers, like you know what, I don't need to
be published.
Speaker 4 (51:33):
I get plenty of work from social.
Speaker 3 (51:34):
Media, and I get it that's I think that's fantastic
and for designers who are in that position, there's nothing.
Speaker 4 (51:40):
Wrong with that at all.
Speaker 2 (51:42):
Well, Chris, this conversation has been fascinating. It's been so
interesting to hear how editorial decisions are made, how you
balance the luxury with accessibility, and just the thought process
behind every issue of traditional home You've You've given us
a great insight I think, especially as a designer, I
think who hope to see their work published one day.
You've shared some great things. So thank you.
Speaker 5 (52:04):
Thanks Megan, it's fun to talk about.
Speaker 6 (52:06):
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.
Speaker 2 (52:22):
Ross sund and at Liz Legit. We'll be back next
week as we take a stroll down another boulevard
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