Business of Home Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Jean Lin on walking the fine line between idealism and business May 09, 2022

Show notes

Driven by idealism and a desire to support independent makers, Jean Lin started the New York design gallery Colony in 2014 with a uniquely cooperative model. Over the years, she’s helped her clients grow their studios into thriving businesses—and refined her own approach along the way. On this episode of the show, she speaks with host Dennis Scully about finding a way to balance ideals and economics, coaching makers to charge their worth, and what she thinks needs to change about American design fairs.

This episode is sponsored by Room & Board and Modern Matter.

LINKS
Colony
Dennis Scully
Business of Home

How Alexa Hampton learned the language of design May 02, 2022

Show notes

Alexa Hampton is, by any definition, a lifer in the trade. The daughter of celebrated designer Mark Hampton, she grew up in the business, and took over her father’s firm at the age of 27 after his untimely passing in 1998. Since then, Alexa has never slowed down, earning endless plaudits for her work, appearing regularly on industry best-of lists, authoring books and columns, and designing product for everyone from Kravet to Theodore Alexander to The Shade Store. On this episode of the podcast, she speaks with host Dennis Scully about how interior design is like a language, why her ideal firm size is 11 employees, and why it’s important to embrace—not turn away from—transparency and change.

This episode is sponsored by Room & Board and Modern Matter.

LINKS
Alexa Hampton
Dennis Scully
Business of Home

What do venture capitalists think of the design industry? Apr 25, 2022

Show notes

Forerunner Ventures is one of the premier venture capital firms in Silicon Valley, having led major investments in companies like Glossier, Bonobos, Serena & Lily, Outdoor Voices and Warby Parker. Partner Nicole Johnson has been there since the very beginning, and now she’s leading a round for buzzy online design platform The Expert. On this episode of the podcast she chats with host Dennis Scully about ow venture capital works, what Forerunner is looking for in new companies, and why The Expert was the first interior design startup she said yes to.

This episode is sponsored by Thibaut and Hartmann & Forbes

LINKS
Forerunner Ventures
Dennis Scully
Business of Home

Why Veranda is betting big on print, with Steele Marcoux Apr 18, 2022

Show notes

Though Veranda has moved from Atlanta to New York then back to the south in Birmingham Alabama, the publication has never lost sight of its graceful take on traditional design. Steele Marcoux, the magazine’s editor in chief since 2018, is currently overseeing a redesign to celebrate Veranda’s 35th anniversary. On this episode of the podcast, she speaks with host Dennis Scully about the book’s unique audience, the challenge of getting designers to wait to be published, and why, in the midst of the digital media revolution, Veranda is betting on print.

This episode is sponsored by Thibaut and Hartmann & Forbes

LINKS
Veranda
Dennis Scully
Business of Home

Holly Hunt's second act Apr 11, 2022

Show notes

In 1983, Holly Hunt took over a struggling showroom, and over the course of three decades transformed it into a powerhouse of the industry. After selling to Knoll for 95 million dollars in 2014, she stayed on for a while, but in 2020 Hunt finally left her namesake company. Now she’s back with a new venture, House of Hunt, a design and architecture firm. On this episode of the podcast, Hunt talks about what it’s like to be a designer after so many years running a showroom business, the competition between trade and retail brands, and how she feels about the industry’s shift towards transparency.

This episode is sponsored by Thibaut and Hartmann & Forbes

LINKS
House of Hunt
Dennis Scully
Business of Home

Kerry Joyce on the balance between beauty and business Apr 04, 2022

Show notes

It’s hard to find a designer more celebrated than Kerry Joyce—his work has landed him on the cover of top shelter magazines and earned him a regular spot on industry who’s who lists—not to mention his Emmy for set decoration. Kerry also runs a bustling product business, which includes everything from furniture and lighting to award-winning textiles and rugs. On this episode of the podcast, he chats with host Dennis Scully about finding the balance between creative passion and business, why the furniture industry is in such a state of flux, and the secrets behind a successful fabric line.

This episode is sponsored by Thibaut and Hartmann & Forbes

LINKS
Kerry Joyce
Dennis Scully
Business of Home

Gachot Studios on putting design first Mar 28, 2022

Show notes

John and Christine Gachot are the husband-and-wife team behind the design studio that bears their name, Gachot Studios. The two first met while working together for iconic designer Bill Sofield in the late 1990s, but it took them a long time to start their own firm. First, Christine spent a decade with hotelier Andre Balazs, while John acted as design director for David Easton and then Thad Hayes. In 2012, the Gachots finally started working together, and their studio has been on a tear ever since, designing everything from magazine-ready homes; to the Shinola hotel in Detroit and the Pendry in New York; to a line of fixtures for Waterworks.

In this episode of the podcast, John and Christine speak with host Dennis Scully about taking on different kinds of work to stay creatively engaged, why they don’t charge markups on product, and their approach to thoughtfully growing—and keeping—a large design team.

This episode is sponsored by The Shade Store and Crypton.

LINKS
Gachot Studios
Dennis Scully
Business of Home

Modsy CEO Shanna Tellerman on how technology and design fit together Mar 21, 2022

Show notes

Shanna Tellerman, the CEO of e-design platform Modsy, has a background in tech. She worked at Autodesk and Google before the frustration of decorating her own home led her to an idea: why not use 3D rendering to power the design process and bring it to a wider audience? Seven years later, Modsy has raised more than seventy million dollars, employed hundreds of e-designers, and executed thousands of projects for clients all over the world. On this episode of the podcast, Tellerman speaks with host Dennis Scully about what artificial intelligence can and can’t do in design, how Modsy could work with high-end designers, and what the future holds for technology in the home industry.

This episode is sponsored by The Shade Store and Crypton.

LINKS
Modsy
Dennis Scully
Business of Home

Summer Thornton starts with a dream and designs backwards Mar 14, 2022

Show notes

A rising star of Chicago’s design scene, Summer Thornton has won national acclaim for her bold, playful take on traditional style—her work has been featured extensively in top tier shelter magazines, and she’s on the verge of debuting her first book: Wonderland, Adventures in Decorating. On this episode of the podcast, she speaks with host Dennis Scully about her ‘five F’ system for vetting potential clients, what she’s hoping to get out of publishing a design book, and why she’s taking a careful approach towards growing her firm in a time of booming demand.

This episode is sponsored by The Shade Store and Crypton.

LINKS
Summer Thornton
Dennis Scully
Business of Home

Backdrop wants to reinvent paint from scratch Mar 07, 2022

Show notes

Natalie and Caleb Ebel are the husband-and-wife team behind direct-to-consumer paint brand Backdrop. The Ebels started Backdrop in 2018, inspired by a frustrating experience buying paint for their newborn’s nursery. In a few short years, they built a unique brand, driven by clever color names, stylish marketing, and surprising collaborations with the likes of Madewell and Dunkin’ Donuts. Last year, they made another surprising move, when the Ebels announced that Backdrop had been acquired by the parent company of fabric house Schumacher.

On this episode of the podcast, the two speak with host Dennis Scully about what it means to start a company from first principles, what millennial consumers want, and why a 100-year-old trade brand was the perfect partner for a buzzy startup.

This episode is sponsored by The Shade Store and Crypton.

LINKS
Backdrop
Dennis Scully
Business of Home