Advertise on podcast: Plot Twist Design Business Podcast

Chanae Richards, CEO & Principal Designer of ọlọrọ interiors is sharing her journey with us today. Her firm is based in Philadelphia with a second location in New York. Chanae walks us through how her journey began, her experience with starting her business with family members, and the importance of having the right people in positions where they fit best. She shares insight on why and how multiple streams of income are important to her and the value in having a team to support each separately. We talk about her personal aesthetic style and the way it reflects who she is as a minimalist, how she niches her clients, and her ideal clients. Aside from interior and set design; Chanae also serves as the Managing Director of Philadelphia Housing Authority’s Entrepreneurial Resource Center, a groundbreaking initiative providing residents with free business resources and support for community innovation. Her curated spaces and design expertise have been featured in major magazines such as Elle Decor and Business of Home, Apartment Therapy, and major syndicates like MSNBC, National Geographic, and more. Chanae is an insightful business woman blazing her own trails in the industry and beyond. Tune in!

Marie Cloud, Principal of Indigo Pruitt Design Studio is sharing her journey with us today. Her firm is located in Charlotte, NC. Among numerous features, Marie has been recently been featured on TV via the local news on Spectrum News 1 and on their website showing her home and discussing the growth in business since the pandemic began. She was also appointed the first Diversity and Inclusion Officer for High Point By Design (HPxD) before 2021 ended. HPxD is an organization committed to making High Point an all year around hub for interior designers. Marie shares why she embraces the position, yet voices that increasing equity isn’t just resting on her shoulders alone. Rewinding the tape we talked about her educational path that let her to an earlier career in management with Sherwin Williams. Marie quickly realized her love for the creative side was best for her. As a wife and mother who enjoys her family immensely, she shares how important it is to maintain a healthy balance of time for herself; as well as her favorite ways to decompress. Marie walks us through her design style at home, how client’s interiors should reflect who they are, and much more. Tune in!

Claudia Steer is an amazing serial entrepreneur located in Brooklyn, NY and sharing her journey with us today. Claudia is Owner and Principal Designer of NW10 Interiors and Founder & CEO of Rentid, a tech-enabled home design platform for renters that transforms interior design into an amenity that benefits both sides of the market. And she also has a strategic consultancy, Steer Strategies, delivering brand and creative strategy to brands such as P&G and American Express. As a self titled ‘rebel renter’, Claudia walks us through her story of breaking rules to design her home and her beliefs that everyone ought to see themselves reflected in their spaces in order to create a greater sense of belonging, whether they own a space or not. She shares her design aesthetic values, the inspiring story behind designing Issa Rae’s Airbnb in L.A. at the top of this year her views on social media. We also took a deep dive into social media and design industry behaviors that many will find very relatable. With over a decade’s experience in brand and experiential strategy and seven plus years as an interior designer, Claudia has studied both the art and science of design and its impact on people. She incorporates a lot of the psychological benefits of design into her work, and has created both commercial and residential projects that speak to her ethos on belonging in design. This packed conversation is filled with great insight, transparency, and good laughs. Tune in!

Nicole White, President & Principal Designer of Nicole White Designs Interiors (NWD Interiors) is sharing her journey with us today AND sharing first publicly here about her new furniture line with TOV debuting this year! Nicole also recently moved into her new firm’s brick & mortar location in South Florida! Rewinding the tape, she is walking us through how she transitioned from her career in journalism into the interior design industry. Having over ten years of design experience, Nicole has navigated through working with partners early on to being hands on in renovation projects. She talks about how balancing entrepreneurship with motherhood has been accomplished throughout the years, owning her super powers in being well known for designing extraordinary kitchens and the colorful, ‘extra’ wow factors in her design aesthetics come naturally being part of her heritage. We talked about her experiences with designing two spaces for Kips Bay Show House, the BTS story how a feature in House Beautiful magazine turned into a cover story, women owning their value, and much more. Tune in!

Kirsten Wilson and Morgan Marshall, Principal Interior Designers of KIMO Interiors are sharing their journey with us. Kirsten and Morgan are sisters, as well as business partners. Kirsten is located in Delaware, and Morgan is located in Maryland. These two are walking us through how their business originally started in 2018 to how they’ve worked to establish their design brand that exists today. They’re sharing how partnerships can work well with each having clear roles and expectations set. Kirsten drops gems on how juggling family works for her and the business side of things. Morgan shares gems about running the creative side of things, the power in taking creative risks, and the importance of being okay with partners giving each other feedback. Both of these ladies also balance their personal lives and the business with full time corporate careers they each love. This is a fun, informative conversation filled with design process transparency and more. Tune in!

Bailey Li of Bailey Li Interiors is sharing her journey with us today. Bailey is located in Newark, New Jersey. She’s a self-realized Interior Artist and Interior Designer well known for her creative painted walls, her amazing, unexpected fashion style and stunning projects like her colorful living room shared on NBC Open House Tours NY and her ‘Lover and a Figher’ vignette created for Design on a Dime for the New York Design Center (NYDC). Bailey shares how her previous career in sales and real estate led her to where she is today. We discussed how fulfilling it is to have creative control with client’s trust in her talent and having the courage to try some things early on with paint. While working and building her business she also raised three boys. Bailey shares here first with us the amazing about her new wallpaper line and transparency with the process in making it happen. Her store is inspiring on multiple levels, and her positive energy is contagious.

Breegan Jane, The Home Maker! Interior Designer, HGTV Host, and Lifestyle Expert. Breegan Jane is located in Los Angles, CA. Breegan is sharing her journey with us today. She has been on multiple TV shows and an Interior Design Influencer for High Point Market as a Style Spotter (twice), among many other accomplishments. She wears multiple hats as a woman in business, in addition to being the Mother of two children. Breegan shares about her childhood experiences and the path that led her to where she is in her career today. She shares about her design aesthetic growth, transparency with her feelings about acting, and how important philanthropy is to her. Breegan is also a huge believer in women empowerment and truly walks the walk.

Kiyonda Powell, Creator in Chief of Kiyonda Powell Design Studio is sharing her journey with us today. Kiyonda’s love for interior design began in her childhood years and led her to an educational path to do exactly what she loves. She walks us through what it was like to goto school and work at one time and the start of her career in hospitality design. Kiyonda shares about the start of her own firm and navigating the challenges that come with being an entrepreneur. We also discussed her amazing space designed for Aspire House McLean 2020 (Designer Show House) while being pregnant amidst the pandemic, how she now balances motherhood, and much more!

DuVal Reynolds, Principal of DuVal Interiors is sharing his journey with us today. DuVal walks us through how his earlier career led him to the design world and how he navigated starting his own firm. We discussed business processes, his aesthetic logic, his participation in the AD Iconic Home 2021, our experience in being WNWN 2021 Design Ambassadors for NYDC, and what we both look forward to being named High Point Style Spotters for 2022. He is a wealth of business knowledge and shares a ton of transparency, design business gems, and welcomed humor!

Christina Marie Kairis, Principal of Tina Marie Interior Design is sharing her journey with us. From her career pivot, to the path that led to her now having her own firm. Christina also owns her own receivership, Stash; which is a huge benefit to other designers in Florida. She shares her ‘how’ and ‘why’ for this added business, how she balances motherhood, how she defines her livable luxury design brand, and reveals something new with us that she’s working. It’s such an honor to be the first to hear and share amazing designer news. Tune in and enjoy!

David Quarles IV, Principal and Owner of Concept 417 is sharing his journey with us. David’s firm is based in Tennessee. His colorful eclectic, mid century home aesthetic and beautiful plants throughout his home have been featured for home tours with Apartment Therapy and HGTV. He facilitates virtual fitness classes, and designs jewelry. David walks us through how his journey of how his design journey started and how past career steps led him back on this path. We’re discussing best practices for balancing entrepreneurship, his latest big commercial project, and more!

Whitney Jones, Principal and Owner of Whitney J Decor is sharing her journey with us today. She’s walking us through how she quickly realized her ability to be an entrepreneur after finishing school, jumping in with two feet. Whitney gives insight to how she runs her design firm that includes decor retail via within her brick & mortar location, as well as online. We discuss navigating contractors, the part we play in educating clients, and more!