Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery or so the saying goes and I suppose copycats are par for the course when you’re successful in creative business but I’m not going to lie, they bug me. One of my clients recently had her design ripped off by a fellow blogger. Now that design had already […]

My mentor Michael Maschio was the Production Executive in charge of The A-Team in the 80s. He rolled his eyes when I gushed. He’s old Hollywood. His dad was the packaging agent for Casablanca, so piecing together epic creative projects was in his blood. He managed all kinds of personalities with ease, dealt with situations […]

The one thing that’s standard among interior design professionals is that pricing their services isn’t. Whether you charge hourly, by the square foot, with markup or without, or as a percentage of the overall budget, every job and every client is unique and coming to consensus can be tricky. You’ve probably heard a lot of […]

I remember interviewing Directors for the first film that I wrote and produced. One in particular argued with such certainty that he knew what my film was about and that it couldn’t work without his bigchanges to the father character, that I almost forgot that I’d written it. Another wanted me to change the relationship […]

When it came out in 2003, filmmaker Nancy Meyers’  Something’s Gotta Give sparked a wave of requests from American renovators wanting a dream kitchen just like the one in the Hampton’s house Diane Keaton’s character owned in the movie. At the opening of West Week in March 2013, Meyers joked that there were definitely kitchens more […]

I’ve never watched BRAVO’s Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills but I have heard about Yolanda’s Fridge. This is the fridge. This is Yolanda. This is Yolanda inside her fridge. Yolanda Foster, wife of composer David Foster, is billed as a “domestic goddess” and her fridge has become a supporting  character  in the popular reality series. It’s likely […]

Because so many of my clients have had huge success this year, occasionally I’ll attract folks who think I’m some kind of magic bullet. And while I do love the seemingly magical opportunities that are sparked when a client’s vision is aligned with a strategic plan of action, I also know how much work was […]

As some of you know, I spent two years covering KBIS (The Kitchen & Bath Industry Show), first in Las Vegas and then Chicago. 400 interviews, at least 250 draft scripts and 85 packaged episodes later, I think it’s safe to say I know how to tell a story about a faucet. My Operations Hat […]

Chances are if you’re overwhelmed, you’re in the middle of something big, a big shift toward exactly where you want to be. But come on, are you really completely defeated or drowning beneath a huge mass?    No, no you’re not. Tough Love My own business advisor – yes I have one too – told me she […]

I kicked off my week at the Design Bloggers Conference 2013with a slew of awesome design folk from across the United States.  POV was a big theme.  In fact, having one is a key component in Charlotte Moss’ “Blogma”… …be original… …be informed… …be selective… …be kind… …be accurate… …be respectful… …be inspiring… …be provocative… …have a […]