Business of Home Podcast

Like so many leaders in the design industry, Thomas O’Brien began his career working for Ralph Lauren. When he went out on his own in the early nineties he found quick success with Aero, a buzzy shop in SoHo that led to designing stores for Donna Karan and Giorgio Armani. O’Brien also found great success in product—his lines for Waterworks, Hickory Chair and Visual Comfort have all been runaway be...

In a special bonus episode of the Business of Home podcast, we're sharing  the first episode of BOH 's new show, Trade Tales. Hosted by editor in chief Kaitlin Petersen , the podcast features interviews with interior designers about nurturing creativity, finding a firm’s financial footing, setting goals and discovering their own version of success as a result. In the first episode, Philadelphia-ba...

On this episode of the podcast, host Dennis Scully speaks with Business of Home ’s editor in chief Kaitlin Petersen . Petersen began her career in journalism covering everything from food and culture in Chicago, to true crime in Texas. She ended up in New York in the design media world at Hearst, working for Veranda and helping to relaunch Metropolitan Home before decamping to BOH . Now Kaitlin is...

Asad Syrkett studied architecture in school but soon found himself more comfortable writing about it. After stints at Architectural Record, Architectural Digest and Curbed , he briefly decamped to the brand side to work for Swedish furniture brand Hem. Now Syrkett is back in media in the top spot at Elle Decor , and the first issue he’s supervised cover to cover just hit newsstands. In this episod...

Jim Druckman grew up in the furniture industry. As a young man he followed his father into the family distribution business and learned the trade. Then, in the 1990s Druckman took over at the New York Design Center and began transforming the building into the high-end, design-driven destination it is today. In that role, and as president of the board at Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, he has helped bu...

Founded in San Francisco in 1948, Kneedler Fauchere was among the first multiline showrooms in the country. By elevating future icons like Jack Lenor Larsen as well as burgeoning giants like Clarence House and Glant, it came to define the look and shape of the 20th century design industry. Today, Kneedler Fauchere is still going strong, with showrooms in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Denver, and...

Kathy Kuo got started in the aftermath of the great recession, back when selling furniture online was still something of a novelty. Over the past decade she’s grown her business by taking a nimble, catch-all approach: when customers come to her site shopping for a few sconces, often they end up buying an e-design package. And if they come looking for an e-design package? Well, Kuo’s company is hap...

Artist and activist Malene Barnett and designer and artist Leyden Lewis are two of the twenty-two creators behind the Black Artists and Designers Guild’s new project, Obsidian, a virtual concept house designed to celebrate innovation from black creatives—and to craft a home around the past, present and future needs of black families. On this episode of the podcast they chat with host Dennis Scully...

As a young art student on a trip to India, John Robshaw fell in love with the technique of hand block printing. He began learning the craft and making his own fabrics, and almost by chance, they were discovered by blue chip designers like Peter Marino and Michael Smith—Robshaw’s career took off. He still makes fabric today, but his company has since expanded into bedding, art, apparel—and he’s rev...

Roman Alonso of Los Angeles design firm Commune got his start in the world of fashion, working for Barney’s and Isaac Mizrahi. Seeking a change of pace, he and three friends started a truly unique company, one that did a little bit of everything: interiors, products, branding, graphic design and more. Today, Commune is known as one of the country’s most influential interior design firms, but Roman...

For decades, Alessandra Branca has been a fixture in the upper echelons of the interior design profession, with her buoyant style gracing shelter magazines and showhouses alike. Now she has a new venture, Casa Branca , a brand and e-commerce platform that sells fabric, wallpaper, tableware and vintage pieces. In this episode of the Business of Home podcast, she speaks with host Dennis Scully about...

Not many designers can count Frank Lloyd Wright, Eero Saarinen and Marilyn Monroe as clients, but Jack Lenor Larsen is no ordinary designer. A legend of the textile business, Larsen started his own studio in New York in 1952. His vivid early work convinced a once-skeptical Florence Knoll, who commissioned Larsen to create fabric for her furniture. From then on, Larsen’s business  and reputation gr...

Tapping into an overseas manufacturing boom, Andy Singer started Visual Comfort in the mid 80s, but it wasn’t until he partnered with master lighting designer Sandy Chapman ten years later that the company took off—now it’s one of the industry’s most recognizable brands, producing well known collaborations with designers like Thomas O’Brien, Alexa Hampton, Kelly Wearstler and many more. His sister...

Syd and Shea McGee , the married couple behind design firm Studio McGee, are enjoying a period of phenomenal success. Their debut book is a bestseller, their new Netflix show is a hit, and their e-commerce business McGee & Co. is experiencing explosive growth. On this episode if the podcast, they talk about how what looks like an overnight success has actually been a long journey, the resistance t...

Frank Eybsen started online custom furniture platform Buildlane after working in a furniture factory himself and seeing firsthand how frustrating and opaque the experience could be for designers. He made it his mission to bring the process entirely online, and has built a network of factories and a digital platform that connects the trade to the craftsmen who build their furniture. In this episode...

For an interior designer known for classic American style, Barry Dixon ’s childhood was surprisingly international—his father’s career took the family all around the world, and as a young man he lived everywhere from India and Pakistan to South Africa and New Caledonia. Today Dixon is one of the profession’s most respected designers, with high-profile collections through Arteriors, Fortuny, Vervai...

Born in Paris and raised by his grandparents, interior designer and architect Robert Couturier is a living embodiment of a more formal, genteel era. He came to New York in the seventies, and after working for Adam Tihany, established his own firm and began working on projects that would land him on the covers of magazines and take him around the world. In this episode of the podcast, he shares a p...

With a focus on e-commerce and no showrooms or traveling reps, at first glance Saltwolf looks like any number of online furniture startups. But there’s a twist: it’s a to-the-trade company founded by interior designers, for interior designers only. On this episode of the podcast, founders Lindy and Jordan Williams talk about the frustrations they experienced in their own firm that led them to star...

Started in 1946 in Dorset, England, Farrow & Ball makes paint that has become known for its chalky matte finish, its use on historical British estates, and quirky color names, like Elephant’s Breath, Nancy’s Blushes or Sulking Room Pink. In this episode of the Business of Home podcast, CEO Anthony Davey and head of creative Charlotte Cosby tell host Dennis Scully about their quest to highlight Far...

As a former Lehman Brothers associate and Stanford MBA, Eric Edelson was an unlikely candidate to take over Fireclay, a small tile company struggling through the 2008 recession. However, he led it through a rough patch, and has grown the company into a thriving operation. In this episode of the podcast, he speaks to host Dennis Scully about the “Jerry McGuire” moment that led him to completely rei...

Originally started by academics Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason as a blog in 2007, over time Aphrochic has grown into a lifestyle and media brand including an interior design studio, product lines, a podcast and a magazine that celebrates black creatives in the home industry and beyond. On this episode of the podcast, they spoke with host Dennis Scully about how their growth has been organic—not easy...

Back in April, when the coronavirus pandemic was still in its early stages, host Dennis Scully spoke to three makers and manufacturers to hear how they were weathering the disruption. Six months later much has changed. In this episode, he checks in with the same three— Sara Fritsch of lighting and lifestyle brand Schoolhouse, Jonathan Glatt of handmade furniture company O&G studio and Andrew Crone...

For those unfamiliar, Furnitureland South is both a local North Carolina institution and a world-record holder: at 1.3 million square feet, it’s the largest furniture store on the planet. On this episode of the podcast, host Dennis Scully chats with CEO Jeff Harris about the lessons his company shares with interior designers, why he’s skeptical that High Point will become a year-round destination,...

Amra Tareen is the founder of ALL3D, a new startup that aims to bring affordable 3D modeling to the design world. Tareen's background straddles the line between technology and home. She helped build e-design platform Decorist, and acted as the head of innovation at Bed Bath & Beyond—two experiences that convinced her of the transformative power of digital renderings. On this episode of the podcast...

Semihandmade started as a small woodworking shop in LA, but after founder John McDonald experimented with making custom doors for IKEA kitchen cabinets, it grew explosively, becoming a national brand with over seventy employees and millions in revenue. Now McDonald is thinking beyond IKEA, with a new direct-to-consumer brand he’s betting will change the way Americans buy kitchens.  On this episode...