Trade Tales

During her first career in marketing, Keisha Gilchrist slogged through a series of bad jobs. Between unlivable wages and male-dominated workplaces, the experiences gave her the fuel she needed to take the dive into design—now, as a real estate broker, design principal and general contractor, she’s finally in the driver’s seat on all fronts. The Washington, D.C.–based designer shares her journey as a woman working in construction, the client exercise she uses to manage sticker shock, and why she’s building in a cushion for the “what-if’s.”

This episode is sponsored by Universal Furniture and Chelsea House

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Keisha Gilchrist
Kaitlin Petersen
Business of Home

Peggy Haddad had every intention of hiring an interior designer to transform her own home—until she made a few calls and realized just how expensive full-service design can be. She launched her e-design business in 2019 with the idea that good design could be for everyone, but the Denver-based designer struggled at first to make the business model work. Then she discovered a suite of tech tools that changed everything. She explains how she found a new way to monetize product sales, why she’s constantly reminding herself to let go, and how she built a portfolio without ever setting foot in a client’s home. 

This episode is sponsored by Universal Furniture and Chelsea House

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Peggy Haddad
Kaitlin Petersen
Business of Home

A career in design was the only route Stephanie Sabbe ever considered. In this episode, the Nashville designer gets candid about how the unexpected challenges she’s faced along the way—navigating everything from her social media presence to her firm’s structure—have paved the way for greater authenticity and a stronger brand.

This episode is sponsored by Gabby and Currey & Company.

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Stephanie Sabbe

Kaitlin Petersen

Business of Home

With an early knack for aesthetics, Traci Zeller seemed destined for design from a young age. Instead, she took a substantial detour, finding success in accounting, law and business consulting before pursuing her passion for interiors professionally. Now, as her firm grows, the North Carolina designer explains how she invested her early profits back into her business, why she’s always finding new ways to improve client communications, and how she plans to strike a balance between the big-picture vision and staying involved as her firm grows.

This episode is sponsored by Gabby and Currey & Company. 

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Traci Zeller

Kaitlin Petersen

Business of Home

After turning a house-flipping side hustle into a budding design practice, Sean Leffers started to grow his team—and reconsider his definition of leadership. By letting go of some responsibilities and empowering his team to master their own skills, the Los Angeles–based designer has created an environment based on autonomy and mutual respect. He explains how he stepped out of the scarcity mindset and developed solid processes, and why he’s designing for a world he wants to see.

This episode is sponsored by Buildlane and Chelsea House

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Sean Leffers
Kaitlin Petersen
Business of Home

After leaving a job with tons of creative freedom to start her own firm in 2018, Eneia White had one speed: busy. The New York–based designer was saying yes to everything, but barely making ends meet. When the pandemic forced her to push pause, she finally had a moment to evaluate what was working in her business, find ways to compensate for what wasn’t going right, and lay the groundwork for landing bigger, better projects. The result? A new design package to offer clients, a new employee—even a new office. And best of all, a luxury clientele that is willing to pay her what she’s worth for an experience that feels like it’s worth it.

This episode is sponsored by Buildlane and  Chelsea House

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Eneia White
Kaitlin Petersen
Business of Home

Heidi Caillier didn’t take the traditional route into the home industry. Instead, she pursued careers in public health, as a scuba diving instructor, and running a coffee shop before her nascent design blog helped her realize that actually creating the designs was her passion. Now the principal of her own firm, the Seattle designer is cultivating ever-better projects and looking to grow—though not necessarily in size. She explains why not all press is good press, how a “yes” person can learn to say no, and where she draws the line when small projects become a big hassle.

This podcast is sponsored by Buildlane and  Gabby Home

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Heidi Caillier
Kaitlin Petersen
Business of Home

Alison Giese has never followed a conventional design career path—she did medical sales and studied law before her husband’s career took the couple to Brazil and she fell in love with design. It's no surprise, then, that the growth of her firm hasn’t followed traditional lines either. On this episode of Trade Tales, Giese shares with host Kaitlin Petersen how she manages a staff of remote employees to scale up and down as the need arises, how she turned an Instagram hobby into a revenue stream, and why she embraces virtual services.

This podcast is sponsored by Buildlane and  Gabby Home

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Alison Giese
Kaitlin Petersen
Business of Home

Everick Brown is no stranger to reinvention. His career began in the retail sphere, working for several luxury labels before a round of executive layoffs prompted a pivot. From there, Brown launched his own home accessories store, which enjoyed runaway success until the market crash. Finally, Everick Brown Design was born, bolstered from the start by the operational support and marketing expertise of Brown’s wife and business partner Lisa Walker-Brown. In this episode of the podcast, the couple tells host Kaitlin Petersen about enlisting the help of a business coach to hone their brand and better understand how to attract new clients.

This episode is sponsored by Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams and Universal Furniture.

Following first careers in different industries, Christina Samatas and Renee DiSanto joined forces to found their firm, Park & Oak, with a flexibility that could work with their schedules as busy parents. After posting a few early project photos on then-budding social media site Instagram, the client inquiries started flooding in—and almost overnight, the Glen Ellyn, Illinois–based duo found themselves faced with the challenges of newfound success. Since then, they’ve used each experience to refine their process and create a better design experience for their clients, employees and themselves—all on their own terms.

This episode is sponsored by Universal Furniture and Mitchell Gold Bob Williams

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Park & Oak
Kaitlin Petersen
Business of Home
 

When Noz Nozawa left her 9-to-5 marketing job to start her design business, she took a major gamble with her career. It was in that precarious state that the San Francisco designer grabbed hold of what she could control, namely by tightening her purse strings. The firm’s slow, incremental growth worked to a point—until suddenly, Nozawa switched gears. In this episode of the podcast, she tells host Kaitlin Petersen about abandoning that scarcity-focused mindset, investing in her team’s wellbeing, and envisioning a future in which the industry starts to disclose its pricing.

This episode is sponsored by Universal Furniture and Currey & Company

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Noz Nozawa
Kaitlin Petersen
Business of Home

Victoria Sass had a bustling career as a commercial designer—a job she liked, but didn’t love. After the birth of her second daughter, the Minneapolis-based designer took a critical look at what the next 40 years might hold and realized she wanted more. More, as it turned out, was a residential firm, Prospect Refuge, focused only on projects that fulfilled her. In this episode, Sass tells host Kaitlin Petersen about how she found her ideal clients, the connection between anthropology and interior design, and how she uses the power of storytelling to make decorating more than just shopping.

This episode is sponsored by Universal Furniture and Currey & Company

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Victoria Sass/Prospect Refuge Studio
Kaitlin Petersen
Business of Home

Max Humphrey’s first career didn’t exactly lend itself to well-designed spaces. As a musician in a touring band, Humphrey spent most of his time traveling the country, crashing on couches and staying in dingy motels. When he finally settled down in his first solo apartment in Los Angeles, the bare walls staring back at him led to a creative firestorm—soon he was decorating. Since launching his own firm five years ago in Portland, Oregon, the designer has run his business with an unconventional playbook: No growth. No bad jobs. No compromises. It’s a story of taking a creativity-first approach—and writing your own definition of success.

This episode is sponsored by The Shade Store and SideDoor.

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Max Humphrey
Modern Americana
Kaitlin Petersen
Business of Home

Just as San Francisco–based designer Eche Martinez was putting the finishing touches on a small pool house project, he began to hear about the client’s master plan for redeveloping her 10,000-square-foot home. Before he had a chance to pitch himself for the job, he realized that he’d actually spent the past six months designing doing just that. The hands-on client who was obsessed with options put Martinez’s pragmatic approach to the test, but taught him to adjust his process to meet his clients where they are—and even let them come along to pick out slabs at the stone yard. It’s a story of finding value in the human factor.

This episode is sponsored by  The Shade Store and SideDoor.

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Eche Martinez
Kaitlin Petersen
Business of Home

It took designing her own home in earnest to make Irvington, New Jersey–based interior designer Beth Diana Smith realize that, despite working her way up in the finance world, she was destined for a creative career. But that strong business foundation has shaped the way she built her firm, from the processes and order that help her thrive to the way she’s able to translate industry terminology for her clients. It’s a story about finding your creative voice and defining your creative process.

This episode was sponsored by The Shade Store and SideDoor.

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Beth Diana Smith
Kaitlin Petersen
Business of Home

For years, Menlo Park, California–based interior designer Amanda Teal did what many designers do—she charged an hourly rate for her services, plus a markup for the products she procured. Eventually, a growing firm and a loss of passion for her day-to-day role in it led Teal to reevaluate her whole business and outline new parameters for the kind of work the firm would take on. It’s a story about growing a firm on your own terms, and how a fresh start can be the best thing for a business.

This episode was sponsored by The Shade Store and SideDoor.  

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Amanda Teal
Kaitlin Petersen
Business of Home

Philadelphia-based interior designer Nile Johnson scored a dream client, one so good that she recommended him to all her friends. One in particular reached out to Johnson for a project, and he took it despite knowing the chemistry wasn't quite right. The project got off to an awkward start and never improved—but after the dust settled, Johnson revamped his firm, drawing on lessons he'd learned. Today, he's rebuilt his process in a way that allows him to be creative while letting the client feel in control of the process. It's a story about learning what to let go of, and what to hold on to.

This episode is sponsored by The Shade Store and SideDoor

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Nile Johnson
Kaitlin Petersen
Business of Home

Business of Home, the interior design industry's daily news source of record, is launching a new podcast. Hosted by BOH's editor in chief Kaitlin Petersen, the biweekly show will feature interviews with interior designers  about nurturing creativity, finding a firm’s financial footing, setting goals—and setting boundaries, too. Every other week, Kaitlin will be back with a new guest who has a great story about trying something new, taking a risk, and discovering their own version of success as a result.

Links
Business of Home
Kaitlin Petersen