Design Perspectives

Latest Episodes:

EPISODE 133 - RAQUEL LANGWORTHY Apr 28, 2023

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Raquel Langworthy has been taking photos and telling stories since childhood. She earned a BFA in art history from the University of Michigan, as well as an M.S. from the VCU Brandcenter (a program that marries strategy, creative and business). After working in advertising as an art director for brands such as Chobani, Amazon Kindle, CNN, Denny's and Kotex she decided it was time to take a leap of faith and follow her heart to pursue visual storytelling through photography in 2011. Within three short years she had the pleasure of working with many commercial brands, including Discovery Channel, Boden Clothing, Canon Cameras, the TV show Cake Boss, and a host of other small business clients. Most recently she has worked with securing a niche in the the interiors and decor world by helping interior designers capture the essence of their designs both through photography and styling assistance. She has been published in print as well as a various web publication for her photos of interiors, children, food and decor. Raquel has always loved to to travel and forever learns from the people and places she encounters. In 2014 and 2015 she had the opportunity to tour the U.S. documenting the unique mornings and evenings of 30 different families.

https://www.raquellangworthy.com/

https://www.instagram.com/raquellangworthy.photo/

EPISODE 132 - AMY FLURRY Apr 21, 2023

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Amy Flurry operates a boutique communications and brand development firm in Athens, Georgia. Along with her team and advisor, they partner with companies in the home furnishings industry to develop and and implement focused communication plans, expand marketing strategies to connect to the interior design trade and apply trend direction to product development.

Amy has two decades of editorial experience, producing features and writing for top print and online publications. In 2011 Amy authored Recipe for Press (Pitch Your Story and Create a Buzz,) and is a nationally recognized speaker on the subject of DIY PR. Recipe for Press (Designer Edition) is her newest book with the tools interior designers need to take advantage of the press opportunities available to creative professionals. The book took shape after two years as creative director of the first-of-its kind project management app for interior design professionals.

Amy is co-founder of Paper-Cut-Project, a company that conceives highly crafted installations for fashion houses including Hermes, Kate Spade, Valentino, Christies and the Victoria & Albert Museum. She is also principal in aloka, a home accessories company with an emphasis on limited-supply vintage pillows and throws thoughtfully styled for today’s living.

https://amyflurry.com/

https://amyflurry.com/product/recipe-for-press/

https://www.instagram.com/amyflurry/

EPISODE 131 - BROOKE LANG Apr 14, 2023

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Brooke Lang graduated from the University of Illinois with a Masters of Architecture degree. Her design career began in 2006 while working for some of Chicago’s top architecture firms including Brazley, Epstein Global and Harding Partners. Brooke studied overseas at the Sede di Roma facilities in Rome and won the Donald E. Bergeson Sustainable Design Award for the “Office of the Future” design concept.

Since 2008, Brooke has been involved in a number of organizations including the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, Interior Design Peer Alliance (IDPA), NOMA (National Organization of Minority Architects) and Grove3547, a Bronzeville community organization. In addition, she also taught architecture history classes for City Colleges of Chicago Center for Distance Learning program.

https://www.brookelang.com/

https://www.instagram.com/brooke.lang.design/

EPISODE 130 - GAIL M DAVIS Apr 07, 2023

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What is it going to take to allow children to feel safe in school again? The real reason why 2 of the Tennessee 3 was expelled.

https://nyti.ms/37JLWkZ

https://www.paulimurraycenter.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/211888.Where_Do_We_Go_from_Here

EPISODE - 129 RENEE BUSH Mar 31, 2023

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Renee founded Tandem to address the conflict that often arises in the space between creativity and structure in business. She knew there was a better way to achieve success– by creating a sharp vision and building systems that work in tandem with the design process instead of trying to control it. Tandem puts design at the center of everything we do. We look at each client, business, and vision individually to find the best possible solution to align with our client’s values and desired goals.
Renee is the business-minded problem solver. She understands the interior design industry, knows how to get straight to the heart of any issue, and always has a creative solution up her sleeve. https://with-tandem.com/

EPISODE 128 - DAVINA OGILVIE Mar 24, 2023

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Davina Ogilvie is founder of Wovn Home, a direct-to-consumer custom window treatments company based in New York.

After growing up in Bangkok, Thailand surrounded by beautiful custom window treatments, Davina was surprised to find a lack of options to choose from when she was decorating her own Manhattan apartment. When she turned to local upholstery shops, she found they were incredibly expensive and also required months-long lead times. On the other hand, big box retailers only offered standard sizes that were often poor quality. Rather than choosing either of these less-than-desirable options, she decided to use her previous experience from working in the New York fashion industry to create her own custom window treatments. From this experience, she created and launched Wovn Home in September 2019, offering designer-quality custom window treatments at an accessible price point.

Wovn Home’s fabrics are made of luxurious linens sourced from premium textile mills in Belgium, while the patterns are designed exclusively for Wovn and screen printed in Los Angeles. The brand’s drapes, shades and pillows are produced in North Carolina through family owned workrooms that have generations of experience and knowledge in the industry to ensure a quality product. Through Wovn Home, Davina hopes to enable consumers and designers alike to create beautifully customized spaces that complement and reflect their own style and preferences.

EPISODE 127 - DARCY GUTTWEIN Mar 17, 2023

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Darcy Guttwein is a season world traveler with a passion for lifestyle improvement. She has spent over two decades designing at-home luxury lifestyle experiences that exemplify “Hotels to Home” living.

What if you could live the luxury hotel experience at home, every day? Hotels to Home answers that question by creating a new lifestyle template that bridges the gap between your fondest hotel memories and everyday living.
Imagine stepping into your entryway with the eager anticipation as when entering your favorite hotel lobby, defining your family's hotel brand as a lifestyle strategy, finely orchestrating room service for your household, or celebrating the end of each day with personalized turndown service. Taking what might have once been considered ordinary homelife and making your address a highly coveted destination.
Less memoir, more guidebook. Peek into the author's travel essays and enjoy prompts to excavate your own vacation preferences that reveal a holiday lifestyle at home. Welcome to the Hotels to Home lifestyle!

https://www.tohomelifestyling.com/

EPISODE 126 - GAIL M DAVIS Mar 10, 2023

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I am back and, I will be slightly pivoting the message. Racism is an important part of the fibers of this country. While I will still discuss design...I will also address yt supremacy as it is designed into the fibers of this country. While I am a proud American...I am also disappointed with the death grip that yt folks have on their privilege. This is NOT an attack (although it may FEEL like it) but what it is, is an observation on casual racism.

Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.

EPISODE 125 - AMY FLURRY Dec 23, 2022

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Here are a few questions that I had for Amy:

What is my “why?”

I am a creative person and a business owner and I understand the necessity and the difficulties of communicating your own story well. Given my background in editorial, I felt I could demystify and simplify what it means to be “press ready" from that perspective, which is just one perspective but an important one when trying to get your message out there!

Who is my clientele?

Mainly interior designers. Increasingly small manufacturers and brands in the interiors industry. The communications component that is now so closely bound to business continues to express itself in new ways within the design community, whether with showrooms, design centers, or large design markets.

How to be “pitch perfect”?

First, understand that writers and editors look for the special in your work, a point of view. You can learn what it means to communicate that in my book, Recipe for Press: Designer Edition.

But in a nutshell, pitching requires clarity, reliability, consistency and reciprocity. It is a process that takes time and valuing the process of creating relationships within the design community.

Elevator pitch in three seconds.

You be you, with conviction! I treasure people’s story. I always have.

https://amyflurry.com/

https://amyflurry.com/products/

EPISODE 124 - GAIL M DAVIS Dec 16, 2022

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This is the kitchen renovation episode! My kitchen renovation to be exact! I have been toiling away for the past 4 months working on my kitchen. I have learned A LOT and will share my journey. This kitchen was designed with the grown & sexy in mind! I want it to feel like you are experiencing your favorite restaurant whose dining area is sultry & moody. I wanted it to be a visceral tactile experience.

Thank you to House Beautiful and the following sponsors for being so AMAZING to work with:

Emtek - https://www.emtek.com/

Monogram - https://www.monogram.com/

The Tile Shop - https://www.tileshop.com/

Fabuwood - https://www.fabuwood.com/

Leeor Zorel - https://www.thezorelgroup.com/