Business of Home Podcast

Kathy Kuo got started in the aftermath of the great recession, back when selling furniture online was still something of a novelty. Over the past decade she’s grown her business by taking a nimble, catch-all approach: when customers come to her site shopping for a few sconces, often they end up buying an e-design package. And if they come looking for an e-design package? Well, Kuo’s company is happy to recommend a few good sconces too. On this episode of the podcast, she speaks with host Dennis Scully about the challenges of reaching clients who don’t know they need an interior designer yet,  why she thinks trade pricing will disappear someday, and why she’s betting that, post-COVID, the demand for home goods is going to get even stronger.  This episode is sponsored by The Shade Store and SideDoor.  

Artist and activist Malene Barnett and designer and artist Leyden Lewis are two of the twenty-two creators behind the Black Artists and Designers Guild’s new project, Obsidian, a virtual concept house designed to celebrate innovation from black creatives—and to craft a home around the past, present and future needs of black families. On this episode of the podcast they chat with host Dennis Scully about why the Obsidian House is more like an innovation-driven car show than a typical designer showhouse, the challenges of creating meaningful partnerships with sponsors, and why the design industry needs to get beyond diversity as a goal, and start focusing on equity. This episode is sponsored by Chairish and Universal Furniture.  

As a young art student on a trip to India, John Robshaw fell in love with the technique of hand block printing. He began learning the craft and making his own fabrics, and almost by chance, they were discovered by blue chip designers like Peter Marino and Michael Smith—Robshaw’s career took off. He still makes fabric today, but his company has since expanded into bedding, art, apparel—and he’s revamping its furniture line in the coming year.On this episode of the show, Robshaw speaks with host Dennis Scully about standing out in a crowded market for fabric, working with artisans from around the world, and why he’s opening up a new shop that he hopes will bring back a quirky, personal approach to retail. This episode is sponsored by Chairish and Universal Furniture. 

Roman Alonso of Los Angeles design firm Commune got his start in the world of fashion, working for Barney’s and Isaac Mizrahi. Seeking a change of pace, he and three friends started a truly unique company, one that did a little bit of everything: interiors, products, branding, graphic design and more. Today, Commune is known as one of the country’s most influential interior design firms, but Roman has kept the company true to its multidisciplinary roots, and he still likes to take on projects that stretch the definition of what design can do. On this episode of the podcast, he speaks with host Dennis Scully about how he carried on after a split with his original partners; why he craves more input from clients, not less; and how Commune creates feelings, not looks. This episode is sponsored by Chairish and Universal Furniture.

For decades, Alessandra Branca has been a fixture in the upper echelons of the interior design profession, with her buoyant style gracing shelter magazines and showhouses alike. Now she has a new venture, Casa Branca, a brand and e-commerce platform that sells fabric, wallpaper, tableware and vintage pieces. In this episode of the Business of Home podcast, she speaks with host Dennis Scully about what it’s been like to launch a new business in the midst of a pandemic, why the convenience of online shopping can’t replace personal relationships, and why she advises young designers to slow down, take their time, and learn something new every day. This episode is sponsored by Chairish and Universal Furniture.To stay up to date with design industry news, browse jobs or check out the latest product, visit us online. 

Not many designers can count Frank Lloyd Wright, Eero Saarinen and Marilyn Monroe as clients, but Jack Lenor Larsen is no ordinary designer. A legend of the textile business, Larsen started his own studio in New York in 1952. His vivid early work convinced a once-skeptical Florence Knoll, who commissioned Larsen to create fabric for her furniture. From then on, Larsen’s business  and reputation grew and grew. Drawing on extensive travels around the globe, he introduced ikat and batik to the American public, designed upholstery for Pan Am, authored over a dozen books and championed traditional craft wherever he went. Today, his work is studied in textbooks and displayed in museums around the world. At 92, Larsen has a lifetime's worth of stories—in this episode of the Business of Home podcast, he shares a few of them. 

Tapping into an overseas manufacturing boom, Andy Singer started Visual Comfort in the mid 80s, but it wasn’t until he partnered with master lighting designer Sandy Chapman ten years later that the company took off—now it’s one of the industry’s most recognizable brands, producing well known collaborations with designers like Thomas O’Brien, Alexa Hampton, Kelly Wearstler and many more. His sister Gale worked with Andy in the early days, but in the 90s split off to form Circa as a separate showroom business, which has also grown explosively—she’s opened eight new locations in 2020 alone. In this episode of the podcast, the Singers discuss using data to make design decisions, the opportunities and challenges of selling trade products online, and why Visual Comfort wants to be the Frank Sinatra of lighting companies. This episode was sponsored by Rebecca Atwood Designs.

Syd and Shea McGee, the married couple behind design firm Studio McGee, are enjoying a period of phenomenal success. Their debut book is a bestseller, their new Netflix show is a hit, and their e-commerce business McGee & Co. is experiencing explosive growth. On this episode if the podcast, they talk about how what looks like an overnight success has actually been a long journey, the resistance they’ve encountered from an old-school industry, and how confronting their own limitations led to their biggest breakthrough.  This episode is sponsored by Rebecca Atwood Designs.

Frank Eybsen started online custom furniture platform Buildlane after working in a furniture factory himself and seeing firsthand how frustrating and opaque the experience could be for designers. He made it his mission to bring the process entirely online, and has built a network of factories and a digital platform that connects the trade to the craftsmen who build their furniture. In this episode of the show, Eybsen and COO Heather Zeilman talk about why makers have been slow to embrace change, what it’s like to pitch investors who may never have even heard of the interior design industry, and what Domino’s Pizza has to do with ordering a custom sofa online.  This episode is sponsored by Rebecca Atwood Designs.

For an interior designer known for classic American style, Barry Dixon’s childhood was surprisingly international—his father’s career took the family all around the world, and as a young man he lived everywhere from India and Pakistan to South Africa and New Caledonia. Today Dixon is one of the profession’s most respected designers, with high-profile collections through Arteriors, Fortuny, Vervain and others. In this episode of the Business of Home podcast, he chats with host Dennis Scully about the COVID adaptations he’s planning to keep forever, his unique philosophy on product licensing, and what it’s like to work for both republicans and democrats in a charged political atmosphere. This episode is sponsored by Rebecca Atwood Designs.