When it comes to doing business and doing life, we are schooled from a young age on the importance of other people’s opinions and perceptions. Many of us live in fear of negative feedback and reviews, staying silent in the face of mistruths so that we can avoid confrontation, not look like a bitch, be good, perfect, nice and all of those other things mostly women are taught to do.

We’ve had some big news in the design industry over the last few weeks, starting with High Point and North Carolina’s HB2 bill, which revokes the protection of many in the design community. Leaders like Mitchell Gold of Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, one of the most prominent furniture makers in the country and leadership […]

Earlier this week one of my interior design clients, who recently went through a massive brand transformation, including a name change, told me she was feeling worried because business seemed a slower than it was last year at this time. “I’m busy”, she said.  “But not busy like I’m normally busy.” Although the feedback on […]

I hear this a lot from interior designers, I need a really strong marketing plan. When I ask, What do you want to achieve with that plan? The responses are usually excited and passionate. I want bigger jobs! I want to get myself out there! I want to be visible! I start by getting specific […]

Although I prefer to lurk in online groups as a rule—unless I run them—I recently saw a thread about a publication I used to love and it’s offer for cheap design services so I found myself chiming in. It started out interesting and potentially educational but like a lot of online talk, a couple of […]

I hope your 4th of July (Canada Day for those of you who live in the North) was spectacular and that you took a moment to think about how lucky you are to be free to run a business that is an expression of what you were called to do. Philanthropy and social responsibility are important […]

In 1905, at the age of 40, Miss Elsie de Wolfe gave up her struggling acting career for good and set up residence at the historic Washington Irving House with Miss Elizabeth Marbury, a prominent theatrical agent. The combination of de Wolfe’s style and Marbury’s connections transformed Irving House into the American version of a […]

In 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights. It was the culmination of unrest and critical debate that had been occurring with the expansion caused by industrialization at the start of the 1900s. A year later, on the 28th day of February, the first National Woman’s […]

Recently a client of mine was going through the hiring process for her team. She had narrowed it down to the final two and told me she was going to check references. I suggested that she pay each of the gals to come in for a day, or even two, to get a sense of […]

I move quickly. I think fast. I talk fast and for the most part, I solve problems fast. I’ve always been this way. It’s probably why I was drawn to production. In one of my early Supervising Producer roles in LA, I took over mid-season and had to manage a team of people I didn’t […]