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Wellness & Design Thought Leadership Series | 311 | The Business of Design

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This is Convo By Design with something you need right now, business strategies that will help you take your design business to the next level. Wellness and design thought leadership presented by ThermaSol.

I wanted to give you something to start the year off right and in doing so, partnered with ThermaSol to bring you a series covering high concepts with actionable strategies you can use starting today. As we enter 2021 and think to the future, we should also take some time to consider our business model, executing those brand extensions we have been pondering for the past 10 months. Let’s do that smartly. Let’s deconstruct the many different business models and ideate best practices, expectations from trade partners and manage the expectations of clients. Can we promote with intellectual property integrity, extend our services beyond the traditional word of mouth without overextending the small but loyal team? Expand delivery window, promote research and development, eliminate getting shopped by clients and expand our creative horizons.

This conversation features Dirty Girl Construction’s Joan Barton, John McCulley of McCulley Design Lab and designer, Ray Langhammer. I enlisted the skillful and incredibly talented Christopher Grubb to moderate this conversation. This is The Business of Design, part of the Wellness and design leadership series presented by ThermaSol.

Thank you Joan, John, Ray and Christopher, thank you Walker Zanger for your continued support of Convo By Design, thank you ThermaSol for presenting the Wellness and Design Leadership series, and thank you for listening, without you, what’s the point. If you are not already a subscriber to the show, what are you waiting for, it’s easy. You can find Convo By Design everywhere you find your favorite podcasts. Ask your smart speaker to play Convo By Design, it’s really that easy. Follow along on the socials and check out our YouTube channel for videos form some of your favorite episodes, like this one from ThermaSol’s Wellness and Design Thought Leadership series. Thanks again for listening to the show, be well and until next week, keep creating.

Lone Star House of Design | Kyle Bunting

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This is Lone Star House of Design, a podcast about legendary design from the great State of Texas featuring creative icon, Kyle Bunting.

Kyle Bunting transformed the idea of Hide rugs into a symbol of luxury. Such a simple idea, but not easily done. The original source for rugs and decor that Bunting has reimagined into objects with intricate design, shocking colors, masterful production and turned into bespoke objects of design luxury. This is truly an example of something so simple turning into something truly unique and wonderful. This is a conversation with Kyle Bunting about crafting objects of art for the home, true Texan style and building a design business.

Speaking of building your design business, you need to get new perspectives so you can see, in real time how the industry is changing so quickly. Please make sure you are subscribing to the podcast so you don’t miss a single episode of Convo by Design, Lone Star House of Design or some really exciting and entertaining new shows coming your way later this year. You can find the show everywhere you find your favorite podcasts, and now you can find Convo By Design and other design and architecture podcasts at DesignNetwork.org .

Thank you, Kyle, this was fun. Thank you Walker Zanger and ThermaSol for your support and Thank you for subscribing and downloading the show. Please subscribe to the show so you catch every episode of Lone Star House of design and Convo By Design, ask your smart speaker to play Convo By Design.

You can also follow along, ConvoByDesign.Com and @ConvoXDesign with an “X” on Instagram. For show inquiries, sponsorship and guest inquiries, email me ConvoByDesign@outlook.com. Be well and until next week, keep creating.

Sandra Vlock | 310 | Transformation, Following Your Passion and Taking A New Path

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What if you decided to abandon your profession to follow your passion, what would happen? You know you’ve thought about it. Who hasn’t thought about ditching the job to do what you love. I say that knowing most of you listening are in the design and architecture industry and having spoken with so many of you, know that you love what you do, even so, I also know many have that secret talent, that passion to do something else. Yes, It’s scary.

Sandra Vlock is an architect by education and an artist by choice. She had a moment of clarity after receiving 2 58” mooring bouys and then sculpting them into highly detailed fire pits. Crafting one thing into another, and watching that craft a feeling, an experience with fire. This is a conversation about personal and professional growth and following your passion where it takes you.

Thank you, Sandra. Thank you Walker Zanger for your extraordinary partnership and thank you for listening. My goal is to bring you the stories behind sublime design wherever that may be. To share those stories, bring you business strategies to help you build a stronger firm and inspire you to do your most creative work.

For more, please follow us on Instagram @ConvoXDesign with an “X”, check us out at Convo By Design dot com. Until next week, be well and keep creating.

Lone Star House of Design | Yates Desygn, Traci Connell Interiors & Bandd Design

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This is Lone Star House of Design, a showcase of amazing design and architecture from the Great State of Texas. This is a look back at some of the talent making Texas a hotbed for new, amazing, and world-class design.

Mike and Bryan created Yates Desygn in 2015 and have been practicing in Dallas ever since. Important to know, and you will hear how they hung a shingle in Texas without knowing anyone in Texas. They are going to share how they networked and built their firm from scratch. This is one of those rare firms that offer both interior and landscape services with equal mastery. You will find both southern charm and big-city sophistication in their work. I think that is important right now. I believe that the renewed interest in those moving from highly congested cities like LA, New York and Chicago is growing. I think in the next 3-5 years you will see an absolute explosion in the Texas population. Dallas being its biggest beneficiary. Folks moving in will be looking to blend their contemporary sensibilities with southern charm and The Yates’ are in a very good spot to benefit. This is Mike and Bryan Yates of Yates Desygn.

Luxury living and livable design can both share the same space and designer Traci Connell shares her strategies for making sure both concepts get equal focus in her work. Traci shares her design philosophy and walks us through a few of her projects. You are going to hear how high-end luxury meets easy living. Traci also shares some time and money-saving strategies. Enjoy this conversation with Traci Connell of Traci Connell Interiors.

Sara Malek Barney, founder of Bandd Design. Sara is a remarkable talent who brings a number of unique elements to her incredible rise in design, that of a first career in sports and entertainment. She worked for Hollywood powerhouse talent firm CAA, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and then came home to Austin to launch her design firm, Bandd Design. Sara and I talk about her journey and her work, work that is influenced by her Hollywood experience and Texas roots, equally and balanced which makes her work truly unique.

Thank you, Mike, Bryan, Traci and Sara, that was fun and I truly appreciate the time. Please subscribe to the show so you catch every episode of Lone Star House of design and Convo By Design, ask Alexa or Siri, say, “Hey Siri, Play Convo By Design” and she will.

You can also follow along, ConvoByDesign.Com and @ConvoXDesign with an “X” on Instagram. For show inquiries, sponsorship and guest inquiries, email me ConvoByDesign@outlook.com. Be well and until next week, keep creating.

The Showroom featuring The Brownstone Boys | 309 | Restoring Beautiful Brownstones

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We’re taking you on a virtual trip to New York for a visit with The Brownstone Boys in another episode of The Showroom, a partnership between Convo By Design and Walker Zanger.

This is a deep design dive with Barry and Jordan, The Brownstone Boys. I love what these two are doing, they brought their passion for design and brownstones to a boil and focus exclusively on bringing traditional brownstones back to their original glory. They started with their own Brooklyn Brownstone and blogged about the process they went through to painstakingly bring this classic up to modern standards with amazing design while still respecting the origins of the space. The Showroom, as previously mentioned, is a partnership between Convo By Design and our sponsor, Walker Zanger.

By the way, are you subscribing to the podcast, if not, please do so you get every episode automatically when they are published. You can find Convo By Design everywhere you find your favorite podcasts and now, you can find us on DesignNetwork dot Org, a destination dedicated to podcasts, all things design, and architecture so make sure to check it out. Okay, Let’s get to it…

Thank you Jordan and Barry, thank you, Erika, thank you, Walker Zanger, for your continued support, and thank you for listening, without you, what’s the point. If you are not already a subscriber to the show, what are you waiting for, it’s easy. You can find Convo By Design everywhere you find your favorite podcasts. Ask your smart speaker to play Convo By Design, it’s really that easy. Follow along on the socials and check out our YouTube channel for videos from some of your favorite episodes, like this one with The Brownstone Boys. Thanks again for listening to the show, be well and until next week, keep creating.

#ConvoByDesign #WalkerZanger #TheBrownstoneBoys #Brownstone #TheShowroom

Lone Star House of Design | Kim Armstrong, Abbe Fenimore & Ann Edgerton

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This is Lone Star House of Design, a showcase of amazing design and architecture from the Great State of Texas. This is a look back at some of the talents making Texas a hotbed for new, amazing, and world-class design.

Ann Edgerton is an interior decorator and stylist from Austin and we spoke about wide-open spaces that seem appropriate when talking about ideas emanating from Texas. Ann has a very unique design signature that maximizes space, proportion, and product blending to create unique environments. We talk about her approach to this blending of large spaces and cozy design, modern lines with rustic materials, cosmopolitan ranches, and living room offices. I think Ann has a unique talent for blending and molding space, materials, and color to achieve unique moments in design.

Kim Armstrong is a designer out of Dallas. She is fearless with color, surgical in her blending of materials and styles. I became familiar with Kim’s work through a friend in Dallas who is also a designer. When one designer tells me that I have to check out the work of another designer, that is a suggestion to which I cannot say no. And I am glad that I followed up because our conversation was fun, colorful and I think you are going to enjoy it. This is Kim Armstrong in episode number 5 of Lone Star House of Design!

Studio|Ten|25 is the Dallas based firm owned and operated by Abbe Fenimore. Abbe has earned a reputation for her playful style and unique interiors. She has earned the nickname, “queen of sorority houses.” I have never before spoken with a designer who specialized in sorority houses. I can tell you, having lived in a fraternity, college housing can take some serious abuse. Abbe has figured out how to preserve the beauty and high performance. She applies these same ideas to her residential and office projects. Abbe and I had a very cool chat about these and other issues that shape design and architecture in the Great State of Texas.

Thank you, Ann, Kim, and Abbe, that was fun and I truly appreciate the time. Please subscribe to the show so you catch every episode of Lone Star House of Design and Convo By Design, ask Alexa or Siri, say, “Hey Siri, Play Convo By Design” and she will. Thank you for listening to this episode of Convo By Design.

You can also follow along, ConvoByDesign.Com and @ConvoXDesign with an “X” on Instagram. For show inquiries, sponsorship, and guest inquiries, email me ConvoByDesign@outlook.com. Be well and until next week, keep creating.

Paul McClean | 308 | A Master of Modern Architecture

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This is Convo By Design with an architect that is single hardly redefining what is possible in modern residential architecture, this is Paul McClean…

Paul McClean is one of those rare individuals who knew what he wanted to do at a very young age. Rarer still is growing up to change that space into your vision of what it should be. McClean grew up in Ireland and made his way to Southern California by way of Sydney, Australia. His work uses clean lines, site-specific features that make the most of water features, and the given space available, sometimes more, sometimes less. Always distinct, you can see McClean’s fine lines woven through space and structure in the most seamless and unapologetically spectacular ways. McClean’s work is inspirational, aspirational, and if nothing else, makes you wonder, ‘what if’.

Thanks for downloading, streaming, and subscribing to this episode of the podcast. If you haven’t subscribed yet, please do so you don’t miss a single episode of the show, like this one with master architect, Paul McClean.

Thank you, Paul. Thank you Walker Zanger for your extraordinary partnership and thank you for listening. My goal is to bring you the stories behind sublime design wherever that may be. To share those stories, bring you business strategies to help you build a stronger firm and inspire you to do your most creative work.

For more, please follow us on Instagram @ConvoXDesign with an “X”, check us out at Convo By Design dot com. Until next week, be well and keep creating.

Lone Star House of Design | 3 Design Firms Changing The Way We Think About Design in Texas

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This is Lone Star House of Design, a showcase of amazing design and architecture from the Great State of Texas. This is a look back at some of the talents making Texas a hotbed for new, amazing, and world-class design.

The first episode featured an amazing designer and a really good friend. Tracy Martin Taylor is the principal designer behind Eleven 11 Design. She is also a former boss of mine when I lived in Dallas. Tracy is a creative mind like none I have met before. Her creativity is immense, her compassion, even greater and her skill as a business owner is why Tracy is so successful in this, her second career. Tracy and I discuss our past which led to her design firm, the tough choices she made to get where she is and how the state of design is growing across the Metroplex and beyond.

Cindy Aplanalp-Yates is the Principal of Chairma Design Group, an award-winning design firm in Houston. Cindy goes into the game a bit later than most. The family came first, then the business. Cindy and I sat down at the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show in Las Vegas to talk design, trade shows, and the uniqueness of Texans which makes designing in Texas so much fun. This is Cindy Aplanalp-Yates.

I had a great chat with Allison Crawford, founder and principal designer of her eponymous firm Allison Crawford Design in addition to HOTELette, a design/ vacation-rental company. Allison is a highly praised, Austin based designer with a truly unique background and a story about design, business, and real estate. Allison is active in design and real estate investment. She is both a creator and entrepreneur. I truly enjoyed this conversation with Allison and I hope you do as well. Allison is a master creator who blends and bends style to create livable luxury.

Thank you, Tracy, Cindy, and Allison, that was fun and I truly appreciate the time. Please subscribe to the show so you catch every episode of Lone Star House of design and Convo By Design, ask Alexa or Siri, say, “Hey Siri, Play Convo By Design” and she will. Thank you for listening to this episode of Convo By Design. Please make sure you subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss a single episode.

You can also follow along, ConvoByDesign.Com and @ConvoXDesign with an “X” on Instagram. For show inquiries, sponsorship, and guest inquiries, email me ConvoByDesign at outlook.com. Be well and until next week, keep creating.

The Showroom featuring Gail Davis | 307 | From Fashion to Interiors with a Focus on Balance & Perspective

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Gail Davis is an extraordinary designer. She is equally talented a conversationalist. I don’t say this lightly. If you know me, if you have been listening to the podcast for any amount of time you know that I take great pride in bringing you conversations that inspire you, challenge my guests, and provide takeaways that showcase the stories behind sublime design. That being said, Gail is sharp as a tack, she and I share a low tolerance for BS and a fondness for a good bourbon. Sometimes, they go very well together. While no bourbon was consumed during this conversation, it might be in the future, we’ll see.

This is another episode of The Showroom, a partnership between Convo By Design and Walker Zanger featuring conversations with extraordinary design talent and a deep dive into their work and the business of design. Enjoy this conversation with designer, Gail Davis. A publisher’s note, due to tech issues, this conversation was abruptly and shockingly ended due to a Zoom collapse. Whatever, it happens. Fortunately, it was at the end… Honestly, you might not even notice it.

Thanks for downloading, streaming, and subscribing to this episode of the podcast. If you haven’t subscribed yet, please do so you don’t miss a single episode of the show, like this one with designer Gail Davis.

Thank you Gail, loved this. Thank you Walker Zanger for your extraordinary partnership and thank you for listening. My goal is to bring you the stories behind sublime design wherever that may be. To share those stories, bring you business strategies to help you build a stronger firm and inspire you to do your most creative work.

Lone Star House of Design | Ashley Moore of Moore House Interiors on Intentional Design

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What does that really mean, intentional design? Isn’t all design, ‘intentional’? I really thought so prior to speaking with Ashley, but, as I always do through these conversations, I learned something. Intentional has many different meanings to different people. The intent of crafting space with a purposeful goal of blending old and new while crafting a unique space specifically with the individual for whom the space is crafted is an art form that requires a great deal of focus and applied craft. This is Ashley Moore.

Thank you, Ashley, I appreciate you. Thank you for listening, I appreciate you as well. Please subscribe to the show so you catch every episode of Lone Star House of Design and Convo By Design, ask Alexa or Siri, say, “Hey Siri, Play Convo By Design” and she will. You can follow the show on the socials as well, @ConvoXDesign with an “X” on Instagram, and check out the YouTube channel for videos from some of your favorite episodes. Thank you for listening and until next week, be well and keep creating.

@MooreHouseInteriors @ConvoXDesign

#ConvoByDesign #LoneStarHouseofDesign #AshleyMoore #MooreHouseInteriors #Texas #InteriorDesign