Part One – Pitch to Published: Best Practices and Strategies to Get Your Projects Published
Learn what the pros know about getting projects published and how professional photography, narrative creation and knowing your audience can set you apart. Learn how can brand partnerships help get your designs promotion and exposure to potential new clients as well as new branding and revenue generating opportunities.
This is a comprehensive conversation for design and publicity professions that details and outlines ways to get designers projects into the public media. Topics include;
Process (prep)
Strategy – Photography, story, client approvals, art clearances, etc.
The Pitch
Creative deliverables, photography, re-shoots, etc.
Words matter. They are important not just for the sake of clear communications but to showcase the specific skillset one has in an effort to attract a suitable client. Suitability. If you are a regular listener to Convo By Design you know what I am talking about. If not, first, hopefully you will be a regular listener, second, the idea of suitability in all endeavors is more important now than ever before.Suitability means vibing and open to new ideas through a mutual trust. A mutual trust allows someone to communicate with another, without having to masque every idea under the veil of “correctness”, in whatever form that may take.
No, we are not going to be talking about politics or anything that might make anyone uncomfortable. Today, you are going to hear my conversation with Paulina Hospod with Aha!Interiors about design vs. renovation and subtle details. Sometimes, subtle details make all the difference between the overused, overplayed looks you can find while doomscrolling on the socials. Design should make us happy, and were going to explore that idea with Paulina, right after this.
Thank you, Paulina. Loved our chat. Thank you to my incredible partner sponsors, ThermaSol, TimberTech, Pacific Sales, and Design Hardware. Amazing companies and great friends to the trade so please give them an opportunity for your next project. And, thank you for listening, subscribing the show and sharing with your colleagues. If not already subscribing, please consider that so you receive every new episode automatically to your podcast feed. Until next week, thank you for sharing this time together, until the next episode, be well, stay focused and now that it has arrived in earnest, try to rise above the chaos. – CXD
For the past 12 years, it has been a mission to bring you voices and stories of talent in design, architecture and the arts. There have been so many twists and turns over these past 12 years and many of you have been with me since the early days of the show. A few ideas that often come back to me when presenting these conversations. Two major themes are authenticity and suitability. Two words that you don’t hear often. The first being authenticity in design and the other, which you never hear, except here is suitability. Were going to drill down on both this week.
Today on the show, you are going to hear from Bailey Todd of White Cliff Studio. Bailey and her Midwest minded, Illinois based firm deals in authenticity in all her projects and we will dig in a bit. It’s the suitability idea that I have been focused on lately. For years, I have been non-plussed by the trades, magazines and social media prognosticators alike and this is the perfect way to draw the correlation between the influencer and the influential. The influencer will tell you just how great they are and because they know, here are the things with which you should surround yourself. Influentials on the other hand, this is experienced based knowledge shared with you by people who know because they have experience. I really enjoyed my conversation with Bailey and I think yo will too. She knows her industry, she understands her business and she is willing to chop it up and share. Love that. And, it’s coming up, right after this.
Thank you to my incredible partner sponsors, ThermaSol, TimberTech, Pacific Sales, Monogram and Design Hardware. Amazing companies and great friends to the trade so please give them an opportunity for your next project. And, thank you for listening, subscribing the show and sharing with your colleagues. If not already subscribing, please consider that so you receive every new episode automatically to your podcast feed. Until next week, thank you for sharing this time together, until the next episode, be well, stay focused and now that it has arrived in earnest, try to rise above the chaos. – CXD
In one week from today, KBIS will be hitting Las Vegas with the force and impact you might expect from the worlds greatest kitchen and bath show. Yes, there are others. And, yes, they are great… But this one is my favorite. And you’re about to find out why.
I have a personal connection to KBIS, the kitchen and bath industry show. The NKBA does a magnificent job presenting this event each year. For me, this is a homecoming, an opportunity to network with friends, colleagues, past guests and meet future guests, and partners. It’s an important show for the industry because designers, architect, builders, contractors, remodelers, all specifiers really get the opportunity to see what’s new, next and on the horizon. They have the opportunity to hear about ways the most innovative creatives in the industry are using these products in new and unconventional ways. Its a time for innovation and discovery. Surprise and delight in over one million square feet of convention space when combined with the Industry Builders Show.
Today, you are going to hear from Brian Pagel, Executive Vice President at Emerald. He oversees the residential and commercial connections portfolio which means he oversees the production of KBIS, which you will see, is an extraordinary feat that brings together the most influential brands in the world from appliances, lighting surfaces, plumbing… Basically, if it goes in a kitchen or bath, you’ll find it represented at KBIS. You also find some exceptional programming, I’m honored to be a part of that this year on the next Stage as well as the podcast studio. So when you are at the show this year, please do come by and say ‘hello’. You are going to hear all about the show, why you should attend and how to make the most of the experience. Right after this.
Thank you Brian for taking the time to talk, I’m looking forward to catching up with you at the show!
Thank you to my incredible partner sponsors, ThermaSol, TimberTech, Pacific Sales, Monogram and Design Hardware. Amazing companies and great friends to the trade so please give them an opportunity for your next project. And, thank you for listening, subscribing the show and sharing with your colleagues. If not already subscribing, please consider that so you receive every new episode automatically to your podcast feed. Until next week, thank you for sharing this time together, until the next episode, be well, stay focused and rise above the chaos. – CXD
It’s a challenge and I’m not going to pretend that it isn’t. Often times, I will be producing an episode of the show as there are unspeakable tragedies happening around the world and in my own backyard. As I produce this episode of the show, I am still in contact with many of my industry friends as well as family who have been directly impacted by the wildfires in and around the Los Angeles area. Thoughts and prayers just are not an acceptable response any more. And let’s be honest, that hasn’t been a suitable response for a very long time. As we get into our episode today with Erika Cross, I would love for a few things to happen. First, if this podcast can serve as a respite for those who are suffering, even if it’s only for a few minutes to think about something else and second, to provide an opportunity to think differently about what we know and what is possible. What do I mean by that?
I believe that we need to reimagine what we know if we want to change things for the better. I also believe that creatives are the ones who manifest it, create it and make those changes real for the rest of us. A while back, you heard an episode of the show discussing Venetian chimneys. These were crafted centuries ago by creative types who suffered the types of fires that demolished entire communities. Beautifully crafted chimneys that also served as spark arresters in the highly dense communities of Venice, Italy. Is art going to keep California from wildfires or floods, or landslides that follow fires and floods? No. But looking to creative types allows us to think differently about things which often puts us in the right mental space to address new ways to approach these challenges. It’s certainly not going to be the politicians. SO, for a few minutes, sit back, drive carefully, enjoy your workout or whatever you’re doing while you listen, do it safely and we’ll be right back with artist, Erika Cross.
Thank you, Erika. Loved our chat, love your work. Thank you to my incredible partner/ sponsors; ThermaSol, Design Hardware, pacific Sales, Monogram and TimberTech for your support for the show and the industry as a whole. We are a stronger because of industry partners like you. And of course, thank you for listening to the podcast, subscribing to the show and sharing it with friends and colleagues. Please keep the show and guest suggestions coming, I do appreciate them and do my best to respond to every one.Convo By Design @ Outlook dot com and on Instagram, convoXDesign, with an “X”.Thanks again for listening. Happy New Year, make this the year you’ve been hoping it would be. Until the next episode, Stay focused and rise above the chaos.
Over the years, I have spoken with many clients who really don’t understand the process behind design. I think there are many beginner and mid-level designers that don’t fully understand process, means and methods. If a client wants their projects completed quickly, they can always find a designer who will do it for them. It’s their replacement who has to pick up the pieces. I can hear many of you nodding in agreement as I say this. It’s the journey, like that of a runner. You don’t decide to run a marathon, buy a pair of shoes and run it. There is a process. A very long and challenging process. The same is true when trying to become the best at what you do in any endeavor. Just like design.
Today, you are going to hear from Holly Hollenbeck. Holly and I discussed the parallels between long-distance running and project management. Holly, an experienced ultra-distance runner, shared her lessons learned from participating in challenging races, emphasizing the importance of strategic planning, determination, and experience. She also highlighted how these experiences have influenced her approach to project strategy and risk management.
Holly shares some of the challenges she faced in her design and client management roles due to the Covid-19 pandemic and economic fluctuations. She emphasized the importance of clear communication with clients, setting expectations upfront, and being flexible to pivot when necessary. We also discussed the differences in real estate design and mentality between the United States, Europe, and Asia, with a focus on the concept of the ancestral home and the shift towards renovating existing homes rather than moving due to high housing costs. There is an overwhelming need to adapt to constantly changing market conditions and client needs.
Holly shares her experience of having her kitchen design featured on the cover of California Home and Design in 2007, which she attributed to serendipity and connections with friends. Holly and I discussed the pitfalls of designing homes based on current trends, emphasizing the importance of creating cohesive, functional spaces rather than focusing on individual, trendy elements. They highlighted the risk of a design becoming outdated and the need to balance trendy elements with timeless pieces. Holly shared her approach to navigating clients’ desires for trendy features by ensuring these elements are used in unique and personalized ways. And you are going to hear all about it, right after this.
Thank you Holly, loved our chat. Keep on truckin.
Thank you to my incredible partner/ sponsors; ThermaSol, Design Hardware, pacific Sales, Monogram and TimberTech for your support for the show and the industry as a whole. We are a stronger because of industry partners like you. And of course, thank you for listening to the podcast, subscribing to the show and sharing it with friends and colleagues. Please keep the show and guest suggestions coming, I do appreciate them and do my best to respond to every one.Convo By Design @ Outlook dot com and on Instagram, convoXDesign, with an “X”.Thanks again for listening. Happy New Year, make this the year you’ve been hoping it would be. Until the next episode, Stay focused and above the chaos.
I just thought since this is the Friday after Thanksgiving, almost everyone is home, eating, drinking and enjoying time with family, I would give you an opportunity to slip away for an hour or so for some alone time. You’re welcome. This is another installment of Drinking About Design. This episode features Butler Armsden leadership team or Glenda Flaim and Federico Engel. We are talking about some really obscure topics, drinking while we do it and I hope you enjoy it.
Fernando Engel is sharing stories about his homeland, Argentina, as well as the Capanopolis, and Francisco Salamone and Glenda will be sharing her thoughts on Venetian Chimneys. Never heard of Venetian chimneys? Well it’s a story on invention. As the proverb goes, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” And that perfectly describes Venetian chimneys. Think about fire suppression in overcrowded cities, adding ornate design. Cool right, now date them back to the 13th century. Ideas in technological spark arresting and fire suppression. We’re going to get right to this. Special thanks to Glenda and Federico from Butler Armsden for joining me and for my incredible partner sponsors; Pacific Sales, ThermaSol, TimberTech, Monogram and Design Hardware for making it possible and allowing me to share these stories with you. With that, I give you another installation of Drinking About Design.
That was so much fun. Thank you Federico and Glenda, so appreciate the storytelling and the time. Thank you to my partner sponsors ThermaSol, TimberTech, Pacific Sale, Monogram and Design Hardware for your continued support and thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to join me for these conversations. This was a fun one, right? There are more episodes of Drinking About Design in 2025 so subscribe to the podcast and get every episode, brand new, right to your feed. Until next week. Happy Thanksgiving, Be well, and take today first. -CXD
I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design with a detailed conversation about why it is just so hard to build in California. It’s important to say in advance with listeners all over the world that picking California is the canary in the coal-mine. Which is to say that it is an early indicator of potential issues elsewhere because I think it is fair to say that California tries things first, as a rule.
It’s somewhat comforting to know that the Golden State remains a place where new ideas are tested. Unless you happen to be one of the brave individuals who is testing those boundaries. My friend Joan Barton is the founder of Dirty Girl Construction and SheSpoke Studio, a place for creative women to tell their stories. So today, this a Convo By Design takeover featuring Joan and an amazing group of women general contractors telling their war stories about building in Los Angeles in particular and California in general. And if you are in New York, Miami, Atlanta, Texas, well, maybe not Texas, but everywhere else, the concepts are on their way to your town soon so give this a listen. Thank you Joan for lading this amazing talk with some extraordinary GC’s, all women and some of the best in the business including; Shannon Sheehan, Laura Howley,Catherine Springer, and Catie Casazza. This was recorded live during the winter 2024 Day of Design event at Design Hardwareand you are going to hear all about it.
My friend and the moderator of the following conversation is Joan Barton of Dirty Girl Construction. Not only is Joan a multi-hyphenate creative. She a GC, musician, creative thinker, futurist, but she is also a terrific person. Wonderful and talented people are often surrounded by other wonderful and talented people, birds of a feather… as the saying goes.I’m not going to get into introductions , I’m going to let Joan do that part, but here’s what II will say about the following episode of the show. This is an important conversation because many of the reasons it is so challenging to build in California are due to the popularity of the state. This popularity and resulting overcrowding combined with a movement toward self-preservation combine with over zealous governance and natural disasters have led to bloated yet dysfunctional metropolitan management and over-regulation combined with material shortages. It’s a lot and it takes someone very special to articulate it and get to the bottom of it and you’re going to hear from her, them actually, right after this.
Thank you, Joan, Catie, Shannon, and Lauren for taking the time to share your thoughts. Thank you to my partner sponsors, ThermaSol, Pacific Sales, TimberTech, Monogram and Design Hardware. These partners are amazing companies all who have made a concerted effort to support the design community through education, incentives, events, media and exposure, not to mention a collection of extraordinary products and service to match. Check the show notes for links to each of them so you can see first hand how they can make your design business thrive and your projects exceed expectations. Thank you for listening, downloading, subscribing and sharing the show with your friends and colleagues. Thank you for your emails, show and guest suggestions. Please keep them coming, convobydesign at Outlook dot com and on Instagram @ConvoXdesign, with an “x”.Until the next episode, be well and take today first. -Convo By Design
I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design with a fresh take on design from the ATL, Atlanta, Georgia. This is a city making a huge impact on design due in large part to designers like Gabriela Eisenhart, founder of Silo Studios.
Gabriela shared her background in video production and its influence on her approach to her current work. Gabriela confirmed that her strong visual narrative in her work stems from her intuitive understanding of how a space should make people feel and her background in production. We also discussed the intricacies of the design process, emphasizing the importance of problem-solving and flexibility. Gabriela highlighted the delicate balance between respecting the architecture of a space and the lifestyle of their clients, while also creating functional and durable designs. Gabriela shared the importance of visual storytelling in her work and the need to maintain a balance between imagination and attention to detail in their presentations and designs.
Visual storytelling and the narrative surrounding the lives and interests of the clients themselves is what remains one of the greatest opportunities in the design industry. The storytelling within the work itself is what makes design so impactful on those who reside in the spaces. For years, i have been speaking with set decorators on some of the most impactful TV and film production and a constant through-line within those conversations is the importance of storytelling derived from the words on a script and a set decorators ability to transfer the essence of a character into the design of the set to adequately reflect who that character is and why they are that way. This is very much the same in interior design except instead of taking words from a page, insightful designers listen to the clients with whom they’re speaking to get to the true essences of who they are and to crafta design concept around that client and their friends, family, work, hobbies fur-babies.
Some of the best and most insightful creatives with whom I have spoken all share this ability to ask insightful questions, really listen to the responses and then read between the lines to capture the characters of their clients. Then to intuitively, instinctively craft spaces that further the narrative to the point where, and I have experienced this firsthand, a client will walk into a completed space and feel as though they have either been there before or, more commonly, feel a sense of comfort as if the space was created specifically for them. Because it was. This is connectivity at a deeper level.
These are topics with a huge impact on design today. I think in large part because we are talking about the impactful design emanating from a city like Atlanta and not just projects in the usual locales like New York, LA and Miami. Atlanta is a hotbed for groundbreaking design, because of designers like Gabriela and firms like Silo Studios. And you are going to hear from Gabriela, right after this.
Thank you Gabriela. Thank you for taking the time to share your story. I enjoyed our conversation and cannot wait to see what you do next. Thank you to my partner sponsors, ThermaSol, Pacific Sales, TimberTech, Monogram and Design Hardware. These partners are amazing companies all who have made a concerted effort to support the design community through education, incentives, events, media and exposure, not to mention a collection of extraordinary products and service to match. Check the show notes for links to each of them so you can see first hand how they can make your design business thrive and your projects exceed expectations. Thank you for listening, downloading, subscribing and sharing the show with your friends and colleagues. Thank you for your emails, show and guest suggestions. Please keep them coming, convobydesign at Outlook dot com and on Instagram @ConvoXdesign, with an “x”.Until the next episode, be well and take today first. -Convo By Design
I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design with a conversation about architecture. Modern architecture, large and small but all spectacular with architect Scott Specht of Specht Novak Architects.
On a recent city visit to Kansas City, I bought a book in a used bookstore. The book is called The Paris Architect. Published in 2013 by Charles Balfoure. It takes place in 1942 Paris and revolves around an architect and creative architecture used to save Jews from the Nazis. Of course there is more to it and perhaps I will give it the full Booklook treatment at some point. That is for another day, but it got me thinking about the Bauhaus, modern architecture in all itswonderful forms from France’s Art Deco, German Bauhaus and Brutalism through concrete forms. It also got me thinking about creative ways architecture can and is used to make life better for those who inhabit, live, work, love in these spaces. I had a conversation with Scott Specht of Specht Novak Architects and we discuss all of this. Specht’s work and that of his firm is exceptional examples of Modern Architecture at its absolute best. Per usual, we walk through Scott’s projects so check the show notes for a link to their project page and follow along. Everything from the sublime Weston Residence in Connecticut to the fun and funky Carpenter Hotel in Austin. From the Austin Cliffside Residence which is an absolute specimen in creative use of space to the experimental, Next American House. You are going to enjoy the ride. I guarantee it. And you are going to hear all about it, right after this.
Thank you, Scott. Amazing. I enjoyed our conversation and cannot wait to see the Next American Home in person. Thank you to my partner sponsors, ThermaSol, Pacific Sales, TimberTech, Monogram and Design Hardware. These partners are amazing companies all who have made a concerted effort to support the design community through education, incentives, events, media and exposure, not to mention a collection of extraordinary products and service to match. Check the show notes for links to each of them so you can see first hand how they can make your design business thrive and your projects exceed expectations. Thank you for listening, downloading, subscribing and sharing the show with your friends and colleagues. Thank you for your emails, show and guest suggestions. Please keep them coming, convobydesign at Outlook dot com and on Instagram @ConvoXdesign, with an “x”.Until the next episode, be well and take today first. -Convo By Design
