Diamonds

Hey there thank you so much for joining me, and welcome to another episode. A fun fact about me is that I recently left my corporate job as a commercial interior designer and I've started my own business! I used to design huge offices for big institutions like banks, insurance companies, some tech firms, and the occasional government agency. I also worked on renovations for major hospitals, mostly here in New York City. It was a lot of fun, but I knew I was ready for a change, and so now I’m mainly focusing on residential interiors, aka your home, but I know I’ll get back into commercial work one day. But I wanted to talk a little bit about why I made the decision to strike out on my own, and why I've made this shift now. A big part of it is when it comes to the big shot corporate interior design world, I don't fit in. I think the experience of feeling othered is normal in any industry and all walks of life, but I have come to find that the things that make me feel like an outsider are actually huge advantages that make me stand out in a good way. So, I wanted to share a little bit of my story because it may help you if you feel like you don't fit in your industry, and most importantly embracing who we truly are is a critical step in getting the home of our dreams. When we’re trying to please other people or fit into certain boxes, it’s easy to make decisions that ultimately don’t make us happy. This episode will also give you a little peak behind the curtain into the commercial interior design industry for better or worse.

Before I get into today’s topic, I wanted to take a moment to tell you that this episode is brought to you by Soft Landing Studio. The same design studio that creates this podcast. If you enjoy this podcast and want to work with me directly, you can select from a variety of one-on-one virtual consoltations about your specific home, office, or retail interior design project. Whether you want a quick brainstorming session, a series of regular check-ins during your renovation, or to work with my full interior design services; you’ll get amazing design ideas, life changing solutions to problems you’d never thought you could resolve, and a space you feel proud to call your own. And just in time for the very start of the holiday season, and yes I count Halloween as part of the holiday season, you can now purchase gift certificates for the 45 minute Creative Consultation brainstorming sessions. This is the perfect gift for the design lover or brand new home owner in your life. Go to www.softlandingstudio.com to schedule your experience now. And while you’re there, don’t forget to download the absolutely free Guide to Getting Started. This fun-fill PDF quiz will orient you at the very beginning of your interior design journey. If you know you aren’t 100% happy in your space, but you don’t know what to do about it, this guide is for you. You will be directed towards big idea solutions, so you’ll know what to do, and most importantly, what not to do. Visit www.softlandingstudio.com for you free copy today.

Also, I wanted to introduce a new segment for the podcast which is called Color of the Week. I loved talking to you about trends in last week’s episode, and I wanted to keep the energy going by identifying the color that stole my heart for the week, whether it’s something in a viral news story, ad campaign, or the art world. And today being the first week of October, naturally the color of the week is Pumpkin Spice. You can put in it your latte, burn a candle scented with it, or paint an accent wall in your living room with this extra rich warm brown that announces the official arrival of autumn. And if you’re a fall lover like I am, you can keep that feeling 365 days of the year by incorporating this color in your sofa upholstery and artwork. Don’t worry about being basic, just embrace it, and let yourself luxuriate in the reason for the season. Pantone color 18-1163 can be your guide in all things color this week. Enjoy it!

So, I spoke about how I became an interior designer, my process of education, and getting started in the field of interior design in episode 17, but really that's just the beginning. I absolutely loved being in design school, it was one of the best experiences of my life. I loved being with other designers, learning about design history, design concepts, the whole thing brought me so much joy. But once I got into the professional world, even though I had done several internships prior to graduating, there were a lot of things culturally, and a lot of things from the business aspect of the field that didn't feel very aligned with me and who I am. Not all of it was revealed at once, and it took over a decade for me to realize these were true patterns within the industry and not just one-off random occurrences.

One of the very first things that I noticed when I started working was that the design work being produced was very bland in my opinion. And I was working at one of the most creative, edgy, dare I say wacky companies at the time, but the projects I worked on felt incredibly conservative and honestly, pretty boring in terms of what was being designed. I loved getting to know the clients and understanding their needs, that part was always endlessly interesting to me. But, I have always been so passionate about the use of color in projects to enhance shape, depth, express uniqueness, and create joy. And there I was, at one of the most creative companies in the country, and we were putting together gray palette after gray palette. I wanted to innovate with color and texture and do things that were unusual and create spaces that no one had ever seen before and the type of work that was being rewarded was by leaps and bounds so much more traditional and mostly neutral. I mean obviously, the people creating these designs thought it was interesting, but I just could not get on board the bland bus. Lack of color in general in the industry was such a big disappointment to me. I love using color to bring vibrancy and joy to a room. I think some of my colleagues may have actually been colorblind it to a small degree. I mean I would have conversations with them and just feel like they didn't have a basic understanding of high school level art class color theory. And I totally understand that color can be scary to use when you don't understand it, but I was in a company full of professional designers with college degrees and years of experience and it still felt like no one really understood or felt comfortable using color. And I'm not talking about having a neutral space with pops of red like we see a certain gigantic design firm use all the time. I’m talking about being exceptionally intentional with the tones, shades, and hues of everything, not just contrast, but vibrancy too. Not shying away from neons, not labeling pastels as infantile, not not acting like charcoal gray is an accent color.

I felt like I was designing uptight, boring spaces that leaned in the direction of looking like cigar lounges. That was due, in part, to the company powers that be, who were all about the same age, same gender, same demographic. If you guessed middle aged white male, you’re right! It’s ironic, because interior design is generally seen as a women's work. However, looking at the hierarchical structures of big design companies, there are a lot of women designers in more junior positions, but not when it comes to the people at the top. The farther up the ladder you look, the less diversity. Starting at the beginning, enrollment in undergraduate studies for design, it's fairly diverse. Colleges and universities could still be more diverse, but the most diversity in the industry shows up at the undergraduate level. But then, looking at the folks who actually get jobs in interior design and architecture, to those who keep their jobs in the industry through economic downturn and constant rounds of layoffs, and the folks who get promoted in the industry, by the time you get to the top - you are not looking at a diverse group of people. It’s like all the character and interest has been filtered out over the years. That was something that never got mentioned in my studies or any of my classes in college. It was frustrating to discover.  I personally have tons of privilege being an able-bodied, cis-gendered, white woman coming from the middle class. My needs were pretty much always met as a child in terms of being fed, clothed, and sheltered. There are a lot of forms of discrimination that I just don’t have to deal with at all. But once I got into the corporate design world, even I felt like an outsider. There was definitely still a boys club mentality happening. The first couple of years in the industry, I thought, well I'll just try harder or I'll just double down, work longer hours, and I'll emulate the behaviors I'm seeing around me from the people who seem to be favored. And boy that was probably one of the worst mistakes I made in my entire career, not only because I was betraying myself, but also because it wasn't these peoples’ behaviors that were getting them ahead. It was just the personal preference of the powers that be. And today, so many large design companies are having constant conversations about diversity, trainings, committees, awareness events. And yet the stronghold at the top doesn’t budge. 

This goes hand in hand with another big issue for me which is designers and firms that only focus on incredibly wealthy clients. I totally understand the draw to work clients that have healthy budgets, that’s undeniable. It’s also undeniable that you can do more interesting design work with a larger budget, theoretically.  But for me personally, I believe that quote, whose original author I can’t confirm, but the quote goes “if it’s inaccessible to the poor it’s neither radical nor revolutionary.” My goals for my business always included a tier that is pretty much free, whether it’s my Guide To Getting started that you can download from my website at no cost, to listening to this very podcast. From there I have low commitment 45 minute sessions that are completely customized and pretty affordable.  I offer a four session package which is the medium tier, and then I have my full interior design services which is for people who are looking to make a serious investment in the design of their space, and unload a large portion of the actual work to me. It’s all about making lots of things for lots of people, at all price points, no matter where someone is in their journey. And I have big goals for my company over the next year to offer even more options of ways to work with me that I’m super excited about, so stay tuned for that.

One of the things I love to tell people is that architects and interior designers work the same kind of hours as lawyers or doctors but get paid like restaurant managers. There might be a little hyperbole in there, but it’s not that far off. You may hear from proponents of long work hours that designers are just super passionate, and that’s definitely true. But none of us want to cancel plans, vacations, or work on holidays. When I first started working, I was pretty shocked at how inefficient the design process was. There was so much redesign happening. We would design things, it would get rejected, and we would re-design it. It was like the team had no idea exactly what the client wanted or how to sell them on the ideas they were proposing. I was working on one project for a solid 12 months for a hotel - it ended up being put on hold and basically had to start over because the operator sold the hotel to another company. It seemed like a free-fall into chaos, even the leaders on the team seemed completely clueless.

That discovery was a discouraging first design project experience to have. In my mind, I thought maybe it was the nature of the hotel and restaurant industry. Maybe that wasn’t the right type of design for me, even though going into it I felt really excited by the idea of luxury and cool boutique hotels. So I switched industry focus and worked on a variety of projects like corporate events and office design. I definitely liked the pace of those projects more, I saw more get built in 9 months than I had in the 18 I worked in hotel design. I was also introduced to the idea of front end strategy sessions with our clients - we would spend a few hours with different groups, running through exercises that helped the client describe their ideal space, who they were as a company, and what their goals were. This was pretty radical and I didn’t understand why this wasn’t implemented on every project. It took away so much of the murky guesswork that caused all the chaos I ran into before. But some inefficiencies still happened from time to time. And what was worse, designers were still expected to work long hours. I may have gone down from 14 hour days to 10 hour days, but it was still way too much for me. The most frustrating part of it was that it didn’t seem like we were ever properly prepared for any project, hence the long hours and re-do’s. Our teams would get feedback from different members of our own company’s leadership team that steered us in conflicting directions, and it never seemed like communication was a strong suit for anyone. I had a co-worker tell me this anecdote once - with any job there’s three options, interesting projects, good pay, or reasonable hours. You can only have two in any situation. 

For me, communicating needs, wants, identifying clear goals, planning for deadlines, under-promising and over-delivering are all super important fundamentals of business. My business incorporates upfront strategy sessions for any project type to help clarify goals, identify weakness, and forge a path forward that everyone feels good about. This can mean that clients who want me to come in without doing any strategy aren’t a good fit, but for me, it’s a critical step that cannot be skipped. Any project that creates conditions where anyone involved is not getting adequate time to recharge, is doomed. That’s probably a pretty bold thing to say in an industry that is constantly racing against the clock for leases, signed mortgage papers, move-in dates, and hourly union labor. But in my experience, projects that are charged with a frantic, chaotic energy that creates lots of running around and panic, end up being bad for all parties involved. Successful projects are the ones where everyone is doing their best to communicate fully, clearly, and consistently. There’s no finger pointing, tantrum throwing, or throwing anyone under any buses, there’s just a unified team who is constantly problem solving, and that’s how I like to work with my clients.

I care deeply about sustainability, environmental awareness, and making decisions that have low impacts on our planet. I hear this identified as a focus for most corporate design firms as well, but one thing I haven’t seen is the implementation and use of vintage furniture. This can certainly be difficult with large scale projects, but with homes and residences, for me, it’s a no brainer. Vintage furniture is not only sustainable, it’s unique, most of it is one of a kind, and often it’s better made than something brand new. I love getting clients to consider vintage and connecting them with great second hand sources. It’s a huge win/win.

The final thing that has always made me feel like an outcast is that my personality veers towards people pleaser at worst and power beta at best. I have been in multiple job situations where I felt like the feedback I received from bosses was to be basically more of an alpha type, to take control and be really fierce and maybe even sometimes bully my subordinates or clients. That's just not in my nature, that's not who I am and when I started to get that feedback is when I knew I had to make a change. I am a big proponent of kindness and I feel like that word has been super tainted by a certain talkshow celebrity who uses it in their slogan and doesn't practice in real life. Maybe kindness isn’t the right word. Because sometimes clients have to get their bubble burst on an idea that isn’t working, and that isn’t always an experience that feels kind. What I can say it that in order to do good work, I have to operate from a place of deep empathy and understanding. I have to treat my clients as co-creators and collaborators.

I see so many designers around me that have an agenda. There’s an underlying or hidden goal that they're not communicating to the client. That agenda might be for the project to look a certain way, please a certain boss or get published in a specific publication. Whatever it is, it isn’t always to give the client what will achieve their goals. That may be because the designer knows that what the client wants won’t work, but it isn’t always communicated in a kind, clear way. I always prioritize those types of conversations, if my client is saying they would like to do XY&Z; part of my job as an interior designer is to say, listen this isn't going to turn out the way you think. It's not going to be worth the investment, or it’s going to look disorganized, whatever it is. But when there's real irreconcilable differences between a designer and a client, which happens all the time, that designer has to ask themselves if they're really the right person for the project. But I see so many designers who strong-arm their way through the project when it isn’t a good fit. I know that works for some people. Some of the most talented and successful designers take this approach and I can't really be too critical of it because it obviously has some level of success or you wouldn’t see it happen all the time. I think there is that idea of the black cloak designer who comes in, scowls at everything, and knows exactly what MUST be done, but to me I see that as bravado and overcompensation for let’s just say lack of true confidence. But the point is,  I don't think that that personality is a requirement to be successful in the design industry. I do think that personality has a strong hold on the industry right now, and to some extent has a strong hold on the world right now. But I also see the tide turning.

Now that I have my own company, I'm completely permitted use my intuition to find clients that match well with me. I only work with clients that are the right fit. Not every client is going to be a match for me and that's OK in a lot of instances it's almost like dating. There a lot of people out there, not all of them are a match.

So what do you think? Do you have trouble fitting in in your industry too? What are some personality assets that you have that no one else has? Don’t forget - what makes you unique, different, and potentially out of the loop is also what makes you interesting and magnetic. Don’t forget to celebrate it.