Business of Home Podcast

From creating a line of tableware to design projects that landed him on the AD100, Billy Cotton ’s career has seen him apply his talents to a wide range of pursuits. Recently, after a short stint as Ralph Lauren Home’s creative director, he’s returned to the role that keeps calling him back —interior designer. On this episode of the show, he speaks with host Dennis Scully about why he likes to hir...

Founded in 2010 by Connie Matisse , her husband Alex, and their friend John Vigeland, East Fork began as a small pottery studio. The company has since evolved into a thriving direct-to-consumer brand, with a bustling manufacturing operation in North Carolina. On this episode of podcast, host Dennis Scully speaks with Matisse about her complicated relationship with social media, the leadership less...

John Edelman and John McPhee met by chance while working for Edelman’s brother, Sam in the footwear business—their partnership would ultimately reshape the design industry as we know it. Together, they exponentially grew the Edelman family leather business, which they ultimately sold to Knoll for $67 million. They then went on to pull off a dramatic rescue job on then-struggling retailer Design Wi...

With stints at Domino , House and Garden , and Martha Stewart Living , Stephen Orr is a publishing veteran who has seen most sides of the shelter media industry. In his current role as editor in chief of Better Homes & Gardens , he’s working on a new challenge: to steer a 100-year-old publication that reaches not just the affluent and design-obsessed, but all Americans, across the country, from al...

A decade ago, Zak Profera started his company—Zak & Fox—a decade ago as a small line of printed linens. Through great design, determination and a relentless obsession with details, he’s grown it into a thriving independent brand, beloved by designers and represented by the industry’s best showrooms. On this episode of the podcast, he speaks with host Dennis Scully about the pros and cons of design...

After years in the textile industry, Brian Erden had a series of innovations: One was to weave metals like bronze and brass deeply into the background of rugs. The other was to establish his own operations overseas, rather than relying on a dubious network of middlemen. In six short years, Erden product has become a hit in the industry, represented by top showrooms and used by star designers. On t...

After a breakup left Shanan Campanaro in a near-empty apartment, she decided to tap into her fine art background and create some bespoke wallcoverings. The project led her to found the New York textile design studio Eskayel. On this episode of the podcast, Campanaro speaks with host Dennis Scully about how her unorthodox beginnings, coupled with her outsider perspective and experiences watching he...

Jonathan Miller, the president and CEO of real estate appraisal and consulting firm Miller Samuel, discusses what rapidly rising interest rates will mean for the housing market.  This episode is sponsored by Serena & Lily and the Future of Home conference. 

Originally founded as a wallpaper maker in the 19th century, Thibaut has grown over the decades to become a powerhouse brand that now produces wallcoverings, fabric and even furniture. Despite a surge of growth in our digital era, Thibaut remains proudly old-school. While other brands explore virtual visualization tools and selling online, it produces sample books and relies on a network of showro...

A truly cosmopolitan interior designer, Martin Brudnizki was raised in Sweden, started his business in London, and now operates an office in New York. If you’re familiar with the finest restaurants and hotels in the world, you know his work—he’s designed everything from the Beekman in New York to Annabel’s in London to Soho House in Miami. On this episode of the podcast, he speaks with host Dennis...

The daughter of singer Paulette McWilliams, interior designer Brigette Romanek was always destined for a creative path, but it was a winding one. She tried her hand at music and fashion before finally landing on interior design—ever since, she’s been on a tear, landing celebrity clients, a spot on the AD100 and a major collection with Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams.  On this episode of the podcast,...

Lighting designer Lindsey Adelman went out on her own in 2006 and scored a hit right away. Her debut piece, the now-iconic branching bubble chandelier, was a huge success—only the first of many. Sixteen years later, she’s built a thriving bicoastal business, with top designers and celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow among her enthusiastic patrons. On this episode of the podcast, she speaks with host...

Launched in 2018, Material Bank offered designers a unique promise: Order samples from an online platform and they’d show up on your desk the next morning, all for free. In four short years founder Adam Sandow has rapidly grown the company to feature 500 brands serving nearly 100,000 users—and raised more than 325 million dollars in the process. On this episode of the show, Sandow speaks with host...

An interior designer, product designer, author and HGTV star, Leanne Ford has carved out her own unique path in the design industry. From the beginning, she’s taken an approach driven more by gut instinct than a grand vision—she’s always chosen to do what feels exciting and inspiring, come what may. On this episode of the podcast, Ford speaks with host Dennis Scully about the power of saying no, w...

Sebastian Brauer, the senior vice president of product design at Crate & Barrel, was recently given a new task: helping Crate & Barrel explore the metaverse. On this episode of the podcast he talks with host Dennis Scully about his interest in all things crypto, NFTs and Web3, and what they might mean for the home industry. He also discusses creating product with designers in mind, the future of w...

Founded in the late nineties, Four Hands was originally a modestly sized furniture importer. After starting to design its own pieces, the company grew and grew—now it’s a powerhouse of the industry, supplying furniture to designers and blue chip retailers, and bringing in over half a billion dollars in annual revenue. On this episode of the podcast, CEO Matthew Briggs speaks with host Dennis Scull...

Designer, stylist, blogger, influencer and author, Emily Henderson is the wearer of many hats. Her big break came after winning the fifth season of HGTV’s competition show, Design Star. Since then, she’s built a sizable following both on social media and through her own website. In this episode of the podcast, Henderson shares an inside look at what it’s like to be a successful design influencer,...

Driven by idealism and a desire to support independent makers, Jean Lin started the New York design gallery Colony in 2014 with a uniquely cooperative model. Over the years, she’s helped her clients grow their studios into thriving businesses—and refined her own approach along the way.  On this episode of the show, she speaks with host Dennis Scully about finding a way to balance ideals and econom...

Alexa Hampton is, by any definition, a lifer in the trade. The daughter of celebrated designer Mark Hampton, she grew up in the business, and took over her father’s firm at the age of 27 after his untimely passing in 1998. Since then, Alexa has never slowed down, earning endless plaudits for her work, appearing regularly on industry best-of lists, authoring books and columns, and designing product...

Forerunner Ventures is one of the premier venture capital firms in Silicon Valley, having led major investments in companies like Glossier, Bonobos, Serena & Lily, Outdoor Voices and Warby Parker. Partner Nicole Johnson has been there since the very beginning, and now she’s leading a round for buzzy online design platform The Expert. On this episode of the podcast she chats with host Dennis Scully...

Though Veranda has moved from Atlanta to New York then back to the south in Birmingham Alabama, the publication has never lost sight of its graceful take on traditional design. Steele Marcoux , the magazine’s editor in chief since 2018, is currently overseeing a redesign to celebrate Veranda’s 35th anniversary. On this episode of the podcast, she speaks with host Dennis Scully about the book’s uni...

In 1983, Holly Hunt took over a struggling showroom, and over the course of three decades transformed it into a powerhouse of the industry. After selling to Knoll for 95 million dollars in 2014, she stayed on for a while, but in 2020 Hunt finally left her namesake company. Now she’s back with a new venture, House of Hunt, a design and architecture firm. On this episode of the podcast, Hunt talks a...

It’s hard to find a designer more celebrated than Kerry Joyce —his work has landed him on the cover of top shelter magazines and earned him a regular spot on industry who’s who lists—not to mention his Emmy for set decoration. Kerry also runs a bustling product business, which includes everything from furniture and lighting to award-winning textiles and rugs. On this episode of the podcast, he cha...

John and Christine Gachot are the husband-and-wife team behind the design studio that bears their name, Gachot Studios. The two first met while working together for iconic designer Bill Sofield in the late 1990s, but it took them a long time to start their own firm. First, Christine spent a decade with hotelier Andre Balazs, while John acted as design director for David Easton and then Thad Hayes....

Shanna Tellerman, the CEO of e-design platform Modsy, has a background in tech. She worked at Autodesk and Google before the frustration of decorating her own home led her to an idea: why not use 3D rendering to power the design process and bring it to a wider audience? Seven years later, Modsy has raised more than seventy million dollars, employed hundreds of e-designers, and executed thousands o...