Trade Tales

Jaksot

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  Ask Us Anything: Dan Rak on improving your profit margins 16.09.2026 48min

  Dan Rak on why the right sourcing strategy is crucial to improving profit margins, levelling up through a designer-friendly accounting software, and the importance of regularly examining your firm’s cost structure.
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  Ali Faulkner on building a team that’s passionate about the client experience 09.09.2026 1t 15min

  Ali Faulkner on the outsourcing efforts that helped her firm grow, the value in hiring employees whose experience outweighs your own, and how being her authentic self helps capture ideal clients.
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  Ask Us Anything: How Shaun Crha presents product pricing to clients 02.09.2026 54min

  Interior designer Shaun Crha of Long Beach, California–based firm Wrenstead Interiors offers advice on using a budgeting guide to prepare clients for prospective room costs, an alternative approach to fully itemized pricing, and why some information always remains internal to his firm.
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  How Kelly Finley is building a firm that brings her joy 26.08.2026 1t 2min

  Kelly Finley of Oakland, California, and Atlanta, Georgia–based design firm Joy Street Design on creating a custom database for her firm’s backend, using AI to catch ordering mistakes and why she decided to launch a nonprofit that operates alongside her design firm.
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  Ask Us Anything: Erica Vassalotti’s guide to photo rights 19.08.2026 49min

  Interior designer Erica Vassalotti of Philadelphia-based design firm Bergman Vass shares tips on the value in teaming up with your photographer to strategize about media coverage, how usage rights are akin to art commissions, and why it's important to also represent clients in a photo shoot.
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  Why Molly Torres Portnof hands every prospective client an investment guide 12.08.2026 59min

  Molly Torres Portnof on the value of publicity in a changing media landscape, why she sends an investment guide to every prospective client, and the process she swears by to find the most qualified leads.
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  Ask Us Anything: Tina Ramchandani on attracting your ideal client 05.08.2026 39min

  New York-based interior designer Tina Ramchandani on finding the messaging that authentically conveys your firm’s value, tactics for filtering out unqualified leads, and the annual reset that helps crystallize her ideal client.
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  Erica McLain on bridging the gap between science and design 29.07.2026 58min

  Erica McLain on the “design potential report” she prepares for prospective clients, her firm’s unique B2B offering, and the toolkit she is developing to analyze a home’s impact on clients.
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  Ask Us Anything: Dane Austin on taking design presentations to the next level [Rebroadcast] 22.07.2026 47min

  Dane Austin on bringing a theatrical edge to big-picture design planning, a strategy for physically packaging ideas that invokes the world of luxury shopping, and the value of refining the decision-making process through three levels of presentations.
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  Why Mandy Cheng won't delegate her firm's finances [Rebroadcast] 15.07.2026 59min

  Mandy Cheng on why she’s not delegating the firm’s finances, the best methods for decoding a client’s taste, and the client education document that’s transformed the way she vets potential new projects.
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  Ask Us Anything: Melissa Oholendt’s go-to interview questions for new hires [Rebroadcast] 08.07.2026 40min

  Melissa Oholendt of Minnesota- and Colorado-based firm Oho Interiors on how to reveal a candidate’s true ambitions, evaluating skillset through a key question, and knowing when to call for backup.
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  Why Ali Budd wants to do design TV differently [Rebroadcast] 01.07.2026 53min

  Ali Budd on how she sets her firm apart in the competition for clients, what it takes to create a safe space for employees and finding the sweet spot where she can play a role in every project.
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  Ask Us Anything: Blair Moore on protecting your firm from shipping issues 24.06.2026 29min

  New York and Rhode Island-based interior designer Blair Moore on reckoning with a decline in shipping quality, how thorough channels of communication can help catch issues before they arise, and—when all else fails—establishing your own in-house receiving operation.
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  How Angela Harris put wellness front and center in her business 17.06.2026 59min

  Angela Harris on what it takes to fully inhabit the role of design visionary, how overhauling her firm’s infrastructure helped the team claw back creative time, why she’s pursuing a PhD centered on the concept of design as an ethical imperative.
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  Ask Us Anything: Lucy O’Brien on designing around order minimums 10.06.2026 24min

  Philadelphia-based interior designer Lucy O’Brien of Tartan & Toile on finding a second life for extra material, the value in troubleshooting with sales reps, and being transparent with clients about unexpected fees during the procurement process.
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  Rayana Schmitz on tapping outside experts to transform her firm 03.06.2026 48min

  Rayana Schmitz on the showhouse experience that pushed her creative boundaries, how a fractional CFO saved her firm’s finances and why she maintains strict hours of communication with clients.
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  Ask Us Anything: Lauren Caron’s process-driven approach to far-away projects 27.05.2026 51min

  Seattle-based interior designer Lauren Caron on billing clients for travel time, how she maximizes site visits before the transition to remote work, and the value in an exhaustive scope of work document.
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  How Audrey Scheck established her firm’s C-suite 20.05.2026 1t 4min

  Audrey Scheck on her growth mindset as she expanded her team, how a bandwidth tracker helps the firm determine whether it's time to take on new business, and the questions that help clients step outside their comfort zone.
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  Ask Us Anything: Zoë Feldman on how to measure an employee’s design skills 13.05.2026 37min

  Washington, D.C.–based Zoë Feldman on how to hire for aesthetic alignment, the metrics she uses to measure an employee’s progress at the firm, and how a team member with their own style can sometimes save the firm from adopting a formulaic look.
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  How Hema Persad built ‘the smallest, most efficient’ team 06.05.2026 57min

  Los Angeles–based designer Hema Persad on how managing a team shifted her perspective on business growth, why she’s been a fast adopter of AI tools, and what to expect from celebrity clients.