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 […]

Most designers are educated enough about the design process to know that getting published is an important part of building their brand. But often in the rush to be seen, they forget that the fastest way to get the media to notice you, is to actually have something to say. I was reminded of this […]

According to Census Bureau data, only 20 percent of American households ever break the six-figure mark. When you do, you join the ranks of a segment dubbed the mass affluent, new rich or HENRYs (high earners, not rich yet). This group is the professional and entrepreneurial class that drives the economy. They’re relentless strivers who […]

I finally gave in and bought another pair of sunglasses.  Earlier this year I had invested in my first pair of Chanel’s. I thought the price was ridiculous at first, until I prorated the daily cost based on my usage living in Southern California, which turned out to be less than $1/day. They came numbered, with […]

Wouldn’t it be nice if every decision you made, every change you experienced and absolutely everything else you ever did, was right? In other words, perfect, high-five, fantastic, ideal.Life would be a whole lot easier wouldn’t it?I’m not going to lie, the moment you realize you made a mistake, a bad choice, went in the […]

Some people won’t get the value of what you do no matter how well or often you explain it. You don’t have to worry about those one-off conversations; sometimes it’s not about you. But if you find yourself having the same conversation — sales, employee, spouse or otherwise — over and over again, guess what? […]

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 […]

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 […]