AVD INSPIRE with Aly Velji

Season 3 of AVD Inspire continues from the heart of High Point Market. This week, Aly sits down with Juliana Ewer—the award-winning powerhouse behind J Squared Home Designs, President of the Interior Design Society (IDS) Houston Chapter, and a 2026 HPMKT Style Spotter. In this lively and insightful conversation, Juliana shares her fascinating pivot from a background in communications to building a...

Season 3 of AVD Inspire continues from the heart of High Point Market. This week, Aly sits down with Rhobin DelaCruz—founder of Rhobin DelaCruz Designs, co-founder of the award-winning nonprofit The Design Besties, and one of High Point Market's newest Style Spotters. In this candid conversation, Rhobin shares the decisions that shaped his entrepreneurial journey, the importance of building ge...

Season 3 of the AVD Inspire podcast continues from High Point Market! In this episode, Aly is joined by Anastasia Casey—the powerhouse founder and CEO of The Interior Collective, IDCO Studio, Kwin Made and Design Camp. Anastasia has dedicated her career to helping interior designers transition from passionate creatives to highly profitable, system-driven CEOs. In this candid conversation, Aly and...

Season 3 of the AVD Inspire podcast continues from High Point Market! In this episode, Aly is joined by Jen Dean—the founder and principal designer of Utah-based luxury interior design studio, Jede Interiors, and a featured creator on this market's Design Influencers Tour. Jen’s path to building her studio is rooted in a powerful, perspective-shifting defining moment that reminded her just how sho...

Season 3 of the AVD Inspire podcast continues live from High Point Market! Aly is joined by Arianne Bellizaire—interior designer, television personality, and co-host of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Arianne's career journey started in marketing strategy before she fell in love with the art and science of creating spaces. Today, she sits at the vibrant intersection of design, business, and me...

Season 3 continues with an exclusive look into the heart of a design empire! We are coming to you live from the High Point Market, tucked inside the stunning Moe’s Home Collection Showroom. In this episode, I’m joined by the sibling duo and Co-CEOs driving the brand forward: Sara Samieian and Moe Samieian Jr. From their roots as a family business started by their father to becoming a North America...

Season 3 is officially here, and we are kicking things off with a bang—live from the High Point Market! I’m hanging out in the gorgeous MOE’S Home Collection lounge with the fabulous Danielle Chiprut, founder of the Long Island-based Danielle Rose Design Co. Danielle is a powerhouse who made the leap from visual merchandising and store design to launching her own firm six years ago, and she is dro...

The Season 2 finale of AVD Inspire is extra special — we took AVD Inspire on the road to IDS Vancouver and recorded live on the Main Stage. And joining me for the finale is the incredibly talented Maura Dineen, Creative Director at Moe's Home Collection. Maura pulls back the curtain on what it really means to shape a design-forward furniture brand – from in-house product development and global...

Award-winning Vancouver interior designer Kelly Deck joins Aly live at IDS Vancouver to talk tranquil luxury, the renaissance of decoration, and the launch of her new wallpaper brand, Odette by Kelly Deck. They dive into how the best rooms evolve in layers, why “happy accidents” become defining design moments, and how to hold a vision while staying fluid on site. Kelly also shares the career pivot...

Vancouver artist Zoë Pawlak joins Aly Velji to share her journey as an artist , creative collaboration , and how she pushes herself to expand herself beyond the traditional canvas. We get into original art vs. planned obsolescence, fashion and rug collaborations, collecting with intention, and why creative discipline matters as much as inspiration. Recorded live at IDS Vancouver inside our custom...

Award-winning Vancouver designer Karin Bohn —founder and creative director of House of Bohn and host of Netflix’s Restaurants on the Edge —joins Aly Velji live from IDS Vancouver to talk about creativity, collaboration, and the courage to scale back to move forward. This conversation dives into the highs and lows of being an entrepreneur, creative burnout, and how to build a business with soul. In...

This week, my fellow design lover and friend Sophie Burke , joins me for another AVD Inspire episode inside our custom recording booth by Bureau x IDS Vancouver. She is the founder of Sophie Burke Design , an award winning Vancouver interior designer known for West Coast interiors with quiet luxury, subtle sophistication, and beautiful restraint. We talk about human centered design, heritage home...

Season 2 of AVD Inspire continues live from IDS Vancouver inside our custom recording booth by Bureau and this one’s a total glow-up! Aly sits down with Matthew McCormick , the brilliant mind behind Matthew McCormick Studio , to talk about all things light, creativity, and collaboration. Known for his sculptural lighting and quietly powerful presence in the global design scene, Matthew opens up ab...

We’re keeping the Design Confessions rolling, recorded live from IDS Vancouver inside our custom recording booth by Bureau. Today I’m joined by the incredibly talented Ema Peter - an award-winning architectural and interior photographer whose images make you feel something. Ema’s work has that rare, emotional pull - the kind that stops you mid-scroll and makes you want to step right into space. We...

Season 2 is here, design lovers! And I couldn’t be more excited to kick things off with someone who has been such a champion of my work and the Canadian design scene: Anicka Quin . She’s the VP of Content at Canada Wide Media and the powerhouse behind Western Living , Vancouver Magazine , BC Business , BC Living , and TV Week . Basically, she’s the woman keeping Western Canada on the design map —...

For our season finale of  AVD Inspire , I’m joined by someone who’s not only curating Canada’s biggest design stage but also shaping where the industry is heading:  Will Sorrell , National Director of the Interior Design Show (IDS). Will’s journey is a story of global vision meeting Canadian design. Raised in London by designer parents, he spent 20 years curating and producing exhibitions across 1...

This week on AVD Inspire , I’m joined by the brilliant Laura Noriega — Founder and Creative Director of TRIBUTO, a design brand that celebrates Mexico’s cultural heritage through timeless, handmade objects. Laura’s story is all about leaving, returning, and rediscovering her creative roots. She studied and worked in Barcelona, Milan, and even Kyoto — chasing inspiration all over the world. But whe...

This week on AVD Inspire, I’m joined by the inspiring and grounded  TJ Edmondson  — President & Owner of  Windsor Workshop  and Co-Founder of  Local Made Market . His story is a masterclass in following your gut, taking the leap, and building a life with your hands, your heart, and a whole lot of sawdust. TJ’s journey began in the world of management consulting, racking up hotel loyalty points...

This week on AVD Inspire , I’m joined by the brilliant and bold Simone Elizabeth Saunders , one of Canada’s most celebrated contemporary textile artists. Her hand-tufted portraits are more than art — they’re powerful statements rooted in Black womanhood, visual storytelling, and ancestral connection. Simone's rise from a decade-long career in theatre to becoming a globally recognized fiber art...

This week on AVD Inspire , Aly sits down with lighting designer and creative entrepreneur Kate MacNeill , founder of Concord Custom Lighting — the all-female Canadian studio known for crafting bespoke light fixtures for luxury residential and high-end hospitality interiors. In this episode, we dive into: How Kate built a women-led lighting design studio from scratch The behind-the-scenes process o...

This week on AVD Inspire , I’m sitting down with one of my oldest (and most fabulous) friends — Stanley Sun , Co-Founder and Creative Director of Mason Studio . Before he was designing hotels, restaurants, exhibitions, and retail spaces around the world, Stanley was deep in the world of neuroscience. That’s right…he almost became a doctor! But thankfully for all of us, he followed his heart (and h...

This week on  AVD Inspire , Aly Velji sits down with Jonathan Sotto — Director of Business Development at the Global Creative Design Studio  Yabu Pushelberg  — for a conversation that’s equal parts  style, soul,  and  show-stopping resilience . From cold-calling firms straight out of school to now leading business across Asia and the Americas, Jonathan shares the behind-the-scenes story of how gri...

What happens when you step away from something safe to pursue something soulful? In this inspiring episode of AVD Inspire, Aly Velji sits down with Toronto-based contemporary artist  Murray Duncan  to talk about creativity, courage, and the choice to start again—this time with purpose. After years of running his beloved retail store  Hardware in Toronto, Canada,  Murray followed an inner pull towa...

What is style, really? In this vibrant, heartfelt and hilarious conversation, Aly Velji sits down with legendary stylist and creative force Peter Papapetrou to talk about how fashion, identity, and creativity evolve across decades, cities, and life chapters. From the basement fashion shows of his youth to styling for The Marilyn Denis Show and working with couture houses like Giambattista Valli ,...

To launch the AVD INSPIRE Podcast , Aly Velji sits down with none other than Canadian media legend Marilyn Denis — in a heartfelt, full-circle moment that’s as personal as it is powerful. From her 49-year reign across Canadian radio and television to her timeless wisdom on reinvention, legacy, and self-worth, Marilyn opens up like never before. The two dive into everything from therapy and persona...