To-The-Trade with Interior Design Community

To-The-Trade S3E28 Marcy Sagel Built Designer Bank to Teach What School Didn't

Marcy Sagel, CEO of MSA Interiors and Designer Bank in Baltimore, has spent 25-plus years building a commercial design practice focused on multifamily, affordable housing

To-The-Trade S3E27 Yvonne Christensen on Building a Design Partnership That Actually Works

Yvonne Christensen didn't plan to build a design partnership. She and her now business partner, Nicole (Nikki), ran separate solo practices for about ten years before an

To-The-Trade S3E26 How Jaclyn Isaac Is Fixing Freight and Receiving for Interior Designers

Jaclyn Isaac, an interior designer at Donnie Douglas Designs, built Nest Freight, a new freight-and-receiving platform for the trade, after two costly wake-up calls. Whil

To-The-Trade S3E25 Christie Leu on Why Flat Fee Designers Still Need to Track Hours

Christie Leu spent fifteen years as a self-employed fine craft artist before a contractor called her a serial redecorator and asked her to help style his clients' homes.

To-The-Trade S3E24 "Is That a Deal Breaker?" Karen Laos on Negotiating Without Apologizing

Karen Laos learned to negotiate at six, when her dad handed her a few dollars at a flea market and told her to have fun but never pay full price. Twenty-five years into a

To-The-Trade S3E23 Stop Posting the Final Photo. Shannon Ggem on What Actually Pulls Clients In.

You get maybe twenty good photos of a finished install in a year. There are 365 days in the year. What fills the rest? Most designers cycle the same images or go quiet, w

To-The-Trade S3E22 Susan Jamieson from Bridget Beari Designs, a Paint Line, and a Color Rules Book

Susan Jamieson founded Bridget Berry Designs, a Richmond, Virginia-based design firm named after her rescue dogs rather than herself, a branding choice she made so the bu

To-The-Trade S3E21 The Real Cost of Not Knowing Your Numbers as a Designer with Tara Kelley

Laurie Laizure and Nile Johnson talk with Tara Kelley, founder of TJK Bookkeeping and a longtime friend of Laurie's, about one of the biggest struggles in the design indu

To-The-Trade S3E20 Morgan Finley on Video, Authenticity, and Getting Clients to Trust You

Laurie Laizure talks with Morgan Finley of Morgan and Hatch Design about the reel series that put Morgan on Laurie's radar, "Who's Gonna Clean That," and what it revealed

To-The-Trade S3E19 Architect to GC: Building Houses That Actually Last with Chris Laumer-Giddens

Chris Laumer-Giddens joins Laurie Laizure to talk about building science, the study of why homes fail and how to build them so they last for generations instead of twenty

To-The-Trade S3E18 Jameelah Watkins-Mallett Says It's Time Designers Talked Real Numbers

Jameelah Watkins-Mallett, founder of Lauren Wesley Designs and creator of the CASE Collective conference, talks with Laurie Laizure and Nile Johnson about trust between d

To-The-Trade S3E17 Stop Selling Me: Sharon Sherman on What Designers Want from Brands and Showrooms

Sharon Sherman of Thyme and Place Design has 40-plus years of experience across interior design and kitchen and bath, and that dual perspective gives her an unusually cle

To-The-Trade S3E16 Beyond the Showroom: What Brands Really Want from Designers, with Jenny York

Jenny York, VP of Marketing at Currey & Company, joins Laurie for a conversation about what it actually takes to build a brand that designers want to work with. Currey i

To-The-Trade S3E15 Renovation Decision: Architecture, Process, and Market Trends with Kimberly Kerl

Kimberly Kerl is an architect and designer based in South Carolina with thirty years of experience, and her episode with Laurie and Nile covers a lot of ground: client pr

To-The-Trade S3E14: Tracee Murphy on Psychology for Smarter Design Firms

Tracee Murphy has spent 26 years in luxury residential design, runs her firm Trademark Interiors, and teaches designers and brands how to leverage psychology for a compet

To-The-Trade S3E13 The Content Goldmine Every Interior Designer Is Sitting On with Eric Dillman

Eric Dillman started in interior design school, moved into sales and digital marketing, and now works directly with designers to help them show up consistently on social

To-The-Trade S3E12 What Finally Going to High Point Market Changed About Rhobin DelaCruz's Business

Rhobin DelaCruz has been designing for over 18 years, but he didn't attend High Point Market until about 2.5 years ago. The turning point was business coaching, specifica

To-The-Trade S3E11 with Juliana Ewer - Why Serious Designers Don't Skip High Point Market

Houston designer Juliana Ewer has been going to High Point Market almost every year since 2018. In this episode of To-The-Trade, she and host Laurie Laizure make the prac

To-The-Trade S3E10 Know Your Worth and Say the Number: Pricing Confidence with Jill Erwin

Jill Erwin started her interior design business in 2006, survived the recession, and recently hit the 20-year mark with a rebrand: Just Jill Home. She joined Laurie and N

To-The-Trade S3E09 Style Over Trend: Artisan Collaboration and High-End Design with Maria Khouri

Maria Khouri grew up in Beirut during Lebanon's 15-year civil war, moving 12 times in 10 years. She has spent her career making homes in San Francisco that feel like exac