Business of Home Podcast
Episodes
The most famous wallpaper in the world with Katy Polsby of CW Stockwell
24 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
You may not be familiar with the name CW Stockwell, but you know its most iconic pattern: Martinique, the banana leaf print that graces the walls of t...
Designing the White House with Michael S. Smith
17 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There are dream clients, and then there’s the young family that interior designer Michael S. Smith helped settle in at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue back...
Jill Cohen made your favorite design book
10 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve fallen in love with an interior design book over the past twenty years, chances are Jill Cohen had something to do with it. A veteran publ...
How performance fabric took over the world with Ann Sutherland of Perennials
03 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the late 90s, Ann Sutherland went from long-time interior designer to first-time entrepreneur. Alongside her husband, outdoor furniture magnate Dav...
Mikel Welch on bridging the gap between TV and high end design
27 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The world of high-end design can feel very far apart from the big-tent appeal of home makeover shows, but interior designer Mikel Welch has managed to...
Retail is broken. Michele Varian and Jay Norris aim to fix it
20 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Michele Varian and Jay Norris are the founders of Guesst, a tech platform that allows brands, retailers and landlords to connect in new ways. In addit...
Breaking down the cost of fabric with Stephane Silverman of Castel
13 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Stephane Silverman literally grew up in the fabric business—his parents brought the French textile company Boussac to America, and as a child, he wo...
How R. Hughes became the coolest showroom in America
06 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan Hughes and Steven Leonard are the creative team behind Atlanta showroom R. Hughes. In a time when some in the industry are questioning the multil...
Brad Hargreaves, founder of Common: Co-living will outlast COVID
29 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week’s guest is Brad Hargreaves, the founder of co-living company Common. Co-living is a relatively new phenomenon, sometimes oversimplified as...
Goodee's founders think the time has come for an ethical design marketplace
22 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dexter and Byron Peart are the founders of Goodee—an e-commerce site focused on design products and home goods with an ethical mission. The Pearts a...
How will real estate bounce back from COVID-19?
15 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s hard to think of two fields more closely intertwined than interior design and real estate—where one goes, so goes the other. On this week’s...
Knoll CEO Andrew Cogan: The office isn't going anywhere
08 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Andrew Cogan’s history with Knoll stretches back thirty years—he’s been with the company through changes of ownership, recessions, and now a pan...
Alexandra Champalimaud and CEO Ed Bakos on reinventing their firm
01 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Over the course of almost forty years, the name Alexandra Champalimaud has become synonymous with exceptional hospitality design—her firm has worked...
Ken Fulk always starts with a story
25 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Calling Ken Fulk an “interior designer” doesn’t do him justice—Fulk’s San Francisco firm does everything from weekly floral arrangements to ...
Publishing in a pandemic: Leaders at Apartment Therapy, Domino and Luxe react to COVID-19
18 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It was already a tough time for magazines and digital publications—now, with advertisers on the run, and new challenges, like socially distanced pho...
The man who makes everything: Rochdale Spears's Geoff Hawkes
11 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
You may not know Geoff Hawkes by name, but you know his furniture. For almost two decades, his manufacturing company, Rochdale Spears, has combined hi...
Herman Miller's new president on the past, present and future of retail
04 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Debbie Propst joined the furnishings giant Herman Miller as president of retail this January, after seven years at One Kings Lane—within a matter of...
"Nimble, humble and aggressive." How one design firm is navigating the pandemic.
27 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Andrew’s Kotchen’s design and architecture firm, Workshop/APD, has always taken a creative and thoughtful approach to business—and a pandemic is...
Manufacturing in a pandemic
20 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As COVID-19 continues to spread, stay-at-home orders, disrupted supply chains and a rattled marketplace all present unique challenges for the companie...
How to survive a recession
13 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s too soon to say precisely what the economic fallout from COVID-19 will be, but many in the design industry are preparing for a challenging time...
Kyle Bunting goes it alone
06 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Kyle Bunting began his decorative hide rug business in 2001, and the product took the market by storm—soon his inventive creations were in showhouse...
Peter Dunham on serendipity and staying positive
30 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Raised in France, educated in England, and currently based in Los Angeles, interior designer Peter Dunham has had a charmed life and career—to chat ...
The design industry reacts to COVID-19
23 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The spread of COVID-19 has created no small amount of uncertainty in the world, and the design community is no exception. On today’s episode of the ...
Chic & Awe is bringing laughter back to design
16 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sara Ruffin Costello and Chassie Post are the dynamic duo behind Chic & Awe, a new home tour video series that brings a much-needed dose of surreal hu...
Marc Thee on how to scale an interior design firm
09 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve spent any time in South Florida, you’re likely already familiar with Marc Thee’s work. Over the past 35 years the co-founder of Marc-M...
A glimpse into the future with trend forecaster Piers Fawkes
02 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Piers Fawkes' job is, quite literally to see the future. The founder of consumer forecasting agency PSFK collects innovations from around the world an...
The maker movement shifts into high gear
24 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dave Dawson, founder of the Urban Electric Company, and Scott Hudson, founder of Henrybuilt, are leaders of a modern makers renaissance—one that’s...
Cheryl Eisen and the secrets of staging
17 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The woman behind home staging firm Interior Marketing Group, Cheryl Eisen, has been building her empire over the last decade. This self-made CEO start...
Kathryn M. Ireland is always looking for the next thing
10 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s difficult to concisely sum up interior designer Kathryn M. Ireland’s charmed career —she’s been everything from an art director for music...
Sheila Bridges is always reinventing herself
03 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Designer and author Sheila Bridges started her career in fashion, but soon found her true calling in interiors, where she rose to prominence and went ...
[Rebroadcast] Bunny Williams on navigating change
27 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As Bunny Williams Home celebrates its 10-year anniversary, founder and renowned interior designer Bunny Williams is in search of new ways to remain re...
[Rebroadcast] Nina Campbell on how the interior design profession has changed
13 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If there’s anyone who fits the model of a great mentor, it’s British interior designer Nina Campbell. Shaped by her apprenticeship at renowned fir...
[Rebroadcast] Becoming Holly Hunt
06 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Holly Hunt made headlines four years ago when she sold her eponymous company to Knoll for $95 million. But it’s never been about the money for the...
[Rebroadcast] How Ralph Pucci Became the Master of Visual Merchandising
30 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Whether it’s preserving his iconic mannequin label or curating his next gallery exhibition, Ralph Pucci leads by one rule: “If everyone’s going ...
Holland & Sherry's Bryan Dicker on working with what you've got
23 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Bryan Dicker began at Holland & Sherry when it was purely in the apparel business, offering tweeds, wools and cashmere to individual tailors. He devel...
Kate Verner on how licensing works now
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Over the course of nearly twenty years as an advisor on licensing deals and business strategy, Kate Verner has worked with some of the most prominent ...
David Netto on a life in design
09 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
As a child, David Netto became immersed in the world of design through his father, who owned storied fabric house Cowtan & Tout. After dropping out of...
What's the future of design centers?
02 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Six years ago, the real estate development firm Jamestown purchased the Boston Design Center and began a long-term project to revitalize the space by ...
Carleton Varney on a colorful career
25 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Over the course of a storied career, legendary interior decorator Carleton Varney has worked with everyone from Joan Crawford to Jimmy Carter—not to...
From artists to entrepreneurs: The founders of Fort Street Studio share their story
18 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Janis Provisor and Brad Davis were established artists, displaying their work in museums and galleries across the world. Then a recession hit in the n...
Charlotte Moss is a legend, not a brand
11 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Across the scope of a storied career, legendary interior designer Charlotte Moss has written ten books, won numerous awards, and through her work on c...
Think the fabric industry will change overnight? Not so fast
04 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Fabric industry veteran David Klaristenfeld has spent sixteen busy years at Fabricut, but 2019 has been particularly eventful. This summer, his compan...
Food52 conquered the kitchen. The rest of the home is next.
28 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Founded as an online resource for recipes in 2009, Food52 has evolved into a unique and wildly popular hybrid of editorial content and e-commerce that...
Elle Decor’s Whitney Robinson wants to solve design’s image problem
21 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Whitney Robinson, the editor in chief of Elle Decor, is a young man, but he's already a veteran of the publishing industry. Having risen through the r...
Rebecca Atwood is setting her own pace
14 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Rebecca Atwood started small. The RISD-educated textile designer began by creating a line of pillows out of her own apartment, dyeing fabrics in a ti...
Christofle's new CEO is thinking big
07 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Before coming to Christofle, Nathalie Remy was a McKinsey consultant for over two decades, advising luxury and fashion houses on corporate strategy. N...
Cheryl Durst of IIDA: Design is more than just Instagrammable moments
30 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Cheryl Durst, the CEO of the International Interior Design Association, has been a lifelong evangelist for the power of design—she even got married ...
Havenly’s Lee Mayer wants to expand the audience for design
23 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Lee Mayer began by trying to get other people to start her company. It was 2013 and she needed a quick, affordable design service to help with a new h...
Ryan Korban: Designers should think more like brands
16 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Interior designer Ryan Korban began his career creating stores for fashion brands like Aquazurra and Balenciaga. After moving into the residential wor...
Poshmark has built an audience of 40 million for fashion. What can it do in the home?
09 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
After nearly a decade of building a community of 40 million that buys, sells and shares fashion online, Poshmark co-founder Tracy Sun is moving the...
The Urban Electric Company's Dave Dawson is betting on good design
26 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Dave Dawson started The Urban Electric Company as a small retail business in 2002—it’s since grown into a powerhouse of modern American craftsmans...
Christopher Peacock's leaps of faith
19 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
After a picturesque childhood in England and a brief career as a drummer, Christopher Peacock chanced into the cabinetry business and he hasn't looked...
From suburban castles to Hudson Yards: Tony Ingrao's epic career
12 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Tony Ingrao's clients—a mix of celebrities, financiers and captains of industry—often make headline news, but he himself is more likely found just...
Chad Stark on the innovation mindset
05 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
After a brief post-college career in the startup world, Chad Stark joined the family business as a young man, eager to modernize Stark Carpet’s oper...
Why it's always a great day at Phillip Jeffries
29 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In the early aughts, brothers Philip and Jeffrey Bershad took over the family wallcovering business from their father and have since grown it to emplo...
Feather’s Jay Reno on why the time is right for subscription furniture
22 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a commonly cited statistic: Moving is more stressful than divorce. And—chasing freedom and flexibility—millennials are moving a whole lot. ...
Vicente Wolf reflects on 45 years in the industry
15 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
After fleeing Cuba with his family as a child, Vicente Wolf had anything but a traditional path to building a 45-year run as a designer. On the latest...
Angie’s List founder Angie Hicks on the importance of the ‘trust factor’
08 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In 1995, Angie Hicks lent her name to her new company, a service that crowdsourced reviews of local businesses. “It seemed like one of those inconse...
Samuel & Sons' Michael Cohen thinks the trade will thrive—if it gets more transparent
01 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Twenty years ago, Michael Cohen left a career in corporate finance to join the family business, a somewhat old-school seller of high-end tassels and ...
Amanda Lindroth on the challenges of turning a design business into a brand
24 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Nassau-based interior designer Amanda Lindroth has a knack for evoking the breezy elegance of island life, wherever she goes—including Guangzhou, Ch...
East Fork is quietly challenging the direct-to-consumer playbook
17 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Ceramics are having a moment, and East Fork is at the center of it. Founded by husband-and-wife team Connie and Alex Matisse along with their friend ...
Why The New Traditionalists' Philip Erdoes always plays offense
10 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Philip Erdoes is a study in contradictions. Though the founder of The New Traditionalists and ducduc spends his days occupied by the particulars of ma...
Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams on the secrets of a healthy partnership
03 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What began as a small upholstery company in a rural corner of North Carolina has grown into a furniture empire. Celebrating their 30th year in busines...
Peter Sallick on how to future-proof design
20 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Peter Sallick doesn’t have a lot of free time. A restless innovator, savvy dealmaker and the wearer of many hats, being the CEO of Waterworks is onl...
Wendy Goodman and the power of yes
13 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Wendy Goodman is the poet laureate of Manhattan’s design world. As the longtime design editor of New York magazine, for decades she’s chronicled t...
Kit Kemp on why designers should stick to their guns
06 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
For over thirty years, interior designer Kit Kemp has been at the forefront of the boutique hospitality revolution, bringing color, craft and vibrant ...
Jack Lenor Larsen defined the 20th century textile industry
29 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Not many designers can count Frank Lloyd Wright, Eero Saarinen and Marilyn Monroe as clients, but Jack Lenor Larsen is no ordinary designer. A legend ...
Sean Juneja of Décor Aid on why interior design can’t be Uber-ized
22 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
After 20 years in finance, Sean Juneja decided to risk his stable career to found Décor Aid, a start-up that offers clients an entry point into the w...
Bernie de Le Cuona’s “unpopular ideas” may be just what the industry needs
15 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Bernie de Le Cuona’s fabric company had humble beginnings—in the early 1990s, she launched the business out of her own home after learning to weav...
Christophe Caillaud on the challenges of succession at Liaigre
08 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
By the time he was 32, Christophe Caillaud had abandoned a promising career in mergers and acquisitions to become the managing director of Jean Paul ...
Bobby Berk has paid his dues
01 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Now famous to millions as the resident design expert on Netflix hit Queer Eye, Bobby Berk left home at a young age, eventually ending up in New York w...
Jamie Drake takes it personally
25 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In 1978, Jamie Drake graduated from Parsons and fell right into two plum gigs designing apartments in 800 Fifth Avenue—the same building where newly...
David Sutherland on where opportunity exists today
18 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Since opening his first multi-line showroom more than 40 years ago, David Sutherland has had a front-row seat to industry shifts and emerging opportun...
How Allied Maker went from woodworking garage to a $10 million business
11 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In less than a decade, Ryden and Lanette Rizzo have turned a humble woodworking studio into a $10 million business. Allied Maker, which launched in 20...
How Catherine Connolly saved American textile maker Merida
04 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Catherine Connolly made the move from tech to textiles in 2007, when longtime Merida owner Dr. Hiram M. Samel asked her to join the Fall River, Massac...
The Inside's Britt Bunn on meeting modern consumer expectations
25 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Bringing down the home industry’s barrier to entry has been the mission at The Inside since its launch in 2017. Doing so has meant meeting the expec...
Nina Campbell on how the interior design profession has changed
11 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
If there’s anyone who fits the model of a great mentor, it’s British interior designer Nina Campbell. Shaped by her apprenticeship at renowned fir...
Joanna Saltz explains her vision for the new House Beautiful
04 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
When magazine veteran Joanna Saltz pitched the idea of a new home brand to Hearst executives, she had no idea she’d be spearheading a gut renovation...
Inside Rifle Paper Co.’s next big phase of growth—into home
28 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Launched by illustrator Anna Bond and musician turned businessman Nathan Bond in 2009, Rifle Paper Co. has evolved from stationery maker to full-fledg...
How Anna and Gregg Brockway became digital leaders in home
21 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
When Anna and Gregg Brockway launched vintage and antique furniture e-marketplace Chairish, people told them consumers would never buy furniture onlin...
Ippolita Rostagno wants to save Italian craft with American-style entrepreneurship
14 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Acclaimed jewelry designer Ippolita Rostagno grew up in the Oltrarno neighborhood of Florence, a place where artisans have practiced their trades for ...
Why Annie Selke values company culture above all else
07 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In 1994, Annie Selke began fine linens company Pine Cone Hill with an industrial sewing machine at her dining room table. Today, the company—which ...
Bunny Williams on navigating change
17 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
As Bunny Williams Home celebrates its 10-year anniversary, founder and renowned interior designer Bunny Williams is in search of new ways to remain re...
How the Matouk family business evolved for the next generation
10 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Rumor has it there’s a curse against the third-generation business owner—one fed by outdated systems and a lack of product innovation. Yet the tal...
The surprising trait that's made Clodagh most successful
03 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
When you don’t know the rules, it’s easier to break them. At least that’s the thinking of my guest this week, internationally renowned interior ...
Why Blu Dot wants to make good design democratic
26 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Making good design democratic has been at the core of modern furniture company Blu Dot since its founding in 1997. Co-founders John Christakos, Mauric...
Jonathan Adler “keeps it 100” about the struggles of running a creative business
19 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan Adler went from a potter teaching night classes to a retail mogul running seventeen retail locations, a wholesale and e-commerce business, ...
Ethan Allen’s Farooq Kathwari on how to remain relevant
12 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
One of the few vertically integrated furniture companies remaining in the industry, Ethan Allen has waded the challenges of a manufacturer and retaile...
Meet Sandow's Robot-Powered Designer Tool Ready to Disrupt the Home Industry
01 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It's an industry disruptor that’s been years in the making. Sample library Material Bank is one part digital platform, built to save designers time ...
How Brad Ford Cultivated a Community of Modern Makers
24 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Growing up in small town Arkansas, Brad Ford did not think of interior design as a career path until after college. He moved to New York on the recomm...
BDDW’s Tyler Hays is the Uncle of the Maker Movement
17 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Whether it’s digging clay for his tile collection, harvesting barley for his brewery, painting and weaving textiles for his clothing line, milling h...
Why the Home Industry's Retail Strategy Isn't Working
10 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
There are few, if any, retailers in the home category that haven’t been under the journalistic microscope of Warren Shoulberg. In this episode, the ...
Industry West’s Secret to Scaling—Without the Help of VCs
27 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to furniture companies, commercial design favorite Industry West is an anomaly. Since its launch in 2009, the Jacksonville, Florida-base...
How Nicole Gibbons Went From Blogger to VC Darling
17 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Detroit-born interior designer Nicole Gibbons has been chasing her business goals—be it a PR exec, design studio, or television series—long before...
Inside Parachute Home’s Community-Focused Expansion Plans
10 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The term ‘retail store’ isn’t in Ariel Kaye’s vocabulary. The founder and CEO of Parachute Home prefers to use “community centers” when re...
From Bankruptcy to IPO, How Shawn Nelson Built the Country's Fastest-Growing Furniture Retailer
03 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a coming-of-age business tale that reads more tech startup than furniture manufacturer. More than two decades ago, Lovesac began as a zealous i...
How Ralph Pucci Became the Master of Visual Merchandising
27 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Whether it’s preserving his iconic mannequin label or curating his next gallery exhibition, Ralph Pucci leads by one rule: “If everyone’s going ...
Why Schumacher Is a 128-Year-Old Startup
20 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Driven by KPIs and constant product launches, Schumacher operates more like a 128-year-old startup than a legacy brand. That’s no coincidence, expla...
How Data Helped 1stdibs Dominate the Luxury Market
29 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Before becoming CEO of 1stdibs, David Rosenblatt spent more than a decade heading up an internet company that, in 2008, sold to Google for $3.2 billio...
China is the Next Frontier for Interior Design
22 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Campion Platt believes China is the land of opportunity for interior designers and furniture manufacturers—but only for the next 10 years. In an ex...