This Sought-After LA Designer Has So Much Going On (Your Head Will Spin)
But she is THRIVING.
“Take a deep breath and listen, practice some restraint.”
Those are the words of current breadwinner, mom, and captain of a design business that’s rapidly expanding: Justina Blakeney, founder of The Jungalow. The interior design boss is the first to admit that “no one knows how it’s going to go," but handling uncertainty is a big part of entrepreneurship. "There are days when I feel like things aren’t balanced or chill, when I have to work a lot and travel,” but, she says, “I think it’s important to understand in what type of environment your thrive. I flourish in the multi-hustle world.”
Her environment is lush. Full of color, vibrant patterns and plants; it’s a design style that says no to minimalism. In a way, it’s a multi-hustle of its own.
Images via The Jungalow
And with a New York Times bestseller, The New Bohemians (which, she wrote and shot in less than three months), as well as her new release (as of yesterday!) The New Bohemian Handbook, collabs with Living Spaces and Beyond Yoga, a Sunset Magazine cover, a booming design business and blog, a tot at home, multiple employees at her office space, and plenty more in the works, Justina has reached a point where she gets her gig. “Having a lot going on at one time really suits my personality,” she notes.
"I flourish in the multi-hustle world.”
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Most Jungalow income still comes from social media and the blog, but the business is expanding rapidly. What exactly is in the works? “The Jungalow world takeover.” NBD. And it’s moving fast— a pace she is most comfortable with. “People need to be able to keep up,” she says, “and I have no patience for people who work slowly. Being able to be fast is how you can make money. You have to be quick.”
Justina says, “I worked really hard to not be known as a blogger. I wanted to be known as a designer first.” The plan with the furniture line is to develop the wholesale side of the business first. That way, “by the time we get into a retail we’ll be a brand name.” She describes ecommerce as “an intimidating whole new universes.” Citing the customer service, sales tax, and returns. “But what I keep telling myself,” she explains, “is that it’s not hard, it’s just a lot. And the hardest part is making the leap.” Especially when you're conditioned to think business is a man's game. “There was this moment,” she explains, “where it became very clear to me that being good at business was not about being good at numbers, or understanding the Dow Industrial— that’s what I thought being ‘good a business’ meant.”
“As women,” she says, “we’re trained to think that business is not a woman’s game— it’s not left-brained. But being able to relate to people has proven to be a much bigger asset than I knew.”
Developing her brand meant make hard choices, like passing on 50k opportunities because they “didn’t make sense,” both aesthetically and in her gut. She’s driven by authenticity, while also understanding that “businesses are machines that are created for profit. You can’t depend on someone else for your well-being. It’s something I always have in the back of my mind— to make sure I have my own back.”
Still, her support for other women and women of color is unwavering. “Female empowerment is about having your own back and having the back of your sisters,” she insists. “It’s so hard for me to watch women not supporting other women and men not supporting women. As a woman of color and as a woman, it’s painful for me to see. It’s so easy to be catty and jealous, but it’s so counter-productive. It’s so much easier to be supportive.”
Styling provided by Reservoir LA. Hair and makeup provided by Glamsquad. Photography courtesy of Light Lab and Woodnote Photography.
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Entrepreneur: Justina Blakeney, The Jungalow
Welcome to her Jungalow.
This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Entrepreneur List Here.
Welcome to her Jungalow.
“Take a deep breath and listen, practice some restraint.”
Those are the words of current breadwinner, new mom, and captain of a design business that’s rapidly expanding: Justina Blakeney, founder of The Jungalow. The interior design boss is the first to admit that “no one knows how it’s going to go," but handling uncertainty is a big part of entrepreneurship. "There are days when I feel like things aren’t balanced or chill, when I have to work a lot and travel,” but, she says, “I think it’s important to understand in what type of environment your thrive. I flourish in the multi-hustle world.”
Her environment is lush. Full of color, vibrant patterns and plants; it’s a design style that says no to minimalism. In a way, it’s a multi-hustle of its own.
And with a New York Times bestseller, The New Bohemians (which, she wrote and shot in less than three months), a Sunset Magazine cover, a booming design business and blog, a tot at home, five employees at her office space, and plenty more in the works, Justina has reached a point where she gets her gig. “Having a lot going on at one time really suits my personality,” she notes.
"I flourish in the multi-hustle world.”
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At the moment she has five people who work for her. They are all part time and she runs a single member LLC. “That’s all going to change next year,” she says, joking, “in part because I don’t want to break any labor laws.” It’s also because she knows she needs full time commitment from her employees. “I’m ready for my business to be at the forefront of my employees minds and I can’t expect that to be the case if it’s not their full time job.”
And it has become very full time.
Most Jungalow income still comes from social media and the blog, but the business is expanding rapidly. What exactly is in the works? “The Jungalow world takeover.” NBD. And it’s moving fast— a pace she is most comfortable with. “People need to be able to keep up,” she says, “and I have no patience for people who work slowly. Being able to be fast is how you can make money. You have to be quick.” At least in her business, where iteration is not the name of the game.
Justina says, “I worked really hard to not be known as a blogger. I wanted to be known as a designer first.” The plan with the furniture line is to develop the wholesale side of the business first. That way, “by the time we get into a retail we’ll be a brand name.” She describes ecommerce as “an intimidating whole new universes.” Citing the customer service, sales tax, and returns. “But what I keep telling myself,” she explains, “is that it’s not hard, it’s just a lot. And the hardest part is making the leap.” Especially when you're conditioned to think business is a man's game. “There was this moment,” she explains, “where it became very clear to me that being good at business was not about being good at numbers, or understanding the Dow Industrial— that’s what I thought being ‘good a business’ meant.”
“As women,” she says, “we’re trained to think that business is not a woman’s game— it’s not left-brained. But being able to relate to people has proven to be a much bigger asset than I knew.”
Developing her brand meant make hard choices, like passing on 50k opportunities because they “didn’t make sense,” both aesthetically and in her gut. She’s driven by authenticity, while also understanding that “businesses are machines that are created for profit. You can’t depend on someone else for your well-being. It’s something I always have in the back of my mind— to make sure I have my own back.”
We circle back to the election. “Trump won because he was bold and didn’t care what people think. It was a messaging nightmare. But as much as Trump is deplorable, he’s authentic; he’s an authentic dickhead.”
The Bernie supporter is considerably angry about the country's new POTUS but her support for other women and women of color is unwavering. “Female empowerment is about having your own back and having the back of your sisters,” she insists. “It’s so hard for me to watch women not supporting other women and men not supporting women. As a woman of color and as a woman, it’s painful for me to see. It’s so easy to be catty and jealous, but it’s so counter-productive. It’s so much easier to be supportive.”
Styling provided by Reservoir LA. Hair and makeup provided by Glamsquad. Photography courtesy of Light Lab and Woodnote Photography.
STEM: Leura Fine, Laurel & Wolf
Found a hole in design. Patched it right up.
This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full STEM List Here.
Democratizing design.
Leura Fine, CEO and founder of Laurel & Wolf, the interior design company that offers its services online only, has come a long way and is bringing the design world along with her.
A Jewish, southern girl who grew up in Alabama, Leura moved to Montreal to study at McGill University. But she graduated early, moved to LA where she worked for a world famous Burlesque dancer, all the while building a career as an interior designer. Then, she started a tech company. All before the age of 30.
An innovator in the online design space, Laurel & Wolf has developed a platform and software to allow for easy communication between a client and a designer, from anywhere. The entire service takes place in the digital world, and has opened the industry of interior design to people who never thought they could afford such services.
Luckily her experiences in the interior design world made a few things quite clear to the budding techie.
First, “the days of physical style boards and long, unproductive in-person meetings,” needed to go. “The future of design could be digital.”
Second, she noticed that most designers could not afford to support themselves because their were not enough people who could pay traditional industry rate.
And third, and most important, people wanted interior design help, but couldn’t afford it. There was a design hole.
“It was time to figure out a path to allow designers to earn a living doing what they love,” says Leura, “and for far more people to be able to afford access to those services. It was time to democratize design.”
In January 2014 Leura began concentrating full-time on Laurel & Wolf. The first version of the site was up that month. "I was the algorithm" she says about the company's beta site, a very bare-bones version of what exists today. Instead of spending 100k on a website build out, she paid a local LA-based developer 5k to build out eight pages with no backend. "I started spreading the word through friends and friends of family, putting it out on social media, saying, 'Hey who is looking for interior design services that only cost 300 dollars?'"
She had about 1,500 people sign up over the course of six weeks. The first iteration of Laurel & Wolf took users through a "style quiz,"-- that had no outcome. What Leura was testing was the public's interest. The BIG question: Would people be willing to pay for an interior design service online?
It's a simple, but brilliant idea-- take a service that only a small percentage of households can afford, and open it up to more people. More people=more work=more revenue.
And then there were more questions, more late nights, and the step of raising money.
“There are all sorts of moments you have as a founder and CEO where you might question the path you are on,” says Leura. “However, usually after a good venting session, a good cry, a few glasses of wine, I feel refreshed and ready to conquer the world.” Feeling failure she explains is an important part of the process, but you can’t dwell. “Take a deep breath and move on! You will realize that you are a lot stronger than you think.”
You’d have to be to work her hours. “My career has evolved from having a job to being the job. My life life is Laurel & Wolf, which is how it should be when you start your own company.”
But she says she can rely on herself more than ever before. “In my job, I’m constantly having to push myself harder to learn more, do more, be more, and as fast as possible. For the first time, I’ve realized I can actually meet those demands along the way.” That doesn’t mean she always gets it right, nor does she have the expectation she will, but knows if she’s willing to fight for it, there’s nothing she won’t accomplish. Which includes taking Laurel & Wolf public.
Beyond democratizing design, Leura wants to level the playing field for dreams as well. “Little girls should dream of being scientists, designers, or CEOs and they should have women to look up to in every single field.When I was a little girl, I never dreamed I could be a CEO because I never saw one. We have the power to change that and therefore change the course of history.”
Styling provided by Reservoir LA. Hair and makeup provided by Glamsquad. Photography courtesy of Light Lab and Woodnote Photography.
How to Recreate the Look of Create & Cultivate at Home
Transform any room in your house.
Create & Cultivate and High Fashion Home are aesthetically a great fit. And we can never get enough of the vignettes created at our conferences. If we could transport them into our own living rooms, we would. (And you can.)
We checked in with HFH co-founder Dolley Frearson about the company's presence at C&C, best sellers, and how to transform any room in your house.
What about High Fashion Home speaks to the C&C girl?
I think HFH speaks to the C&C girl because we offer them the freedom to choose from a large section of high-style and high-design products that caters to her intelligence, creativity, and individuality. The C&C girl knows how to create her own look; she just needs the right selection/mix of products ranging from timeless and modern to bohemian and eclectic. She loves being fashion-forward and different, but the space must be practical and functional as well.
Who is the ‘High Fashion Home' woman?
She is a confident, worldly woman who loves high-design home décor that suits her modern, eclectic lifestyle. Home décor is important to her because her home/space is her sanctuary that brings her joy and allows her to create memories with family and friends. She loves inspiration and to get lost in her discoveries. Decorating is a journey to her. She is also a savvy shopper who will not compromise on quality and enjoys a seamless, transparent and authentic customer service experience.
"The C&C girl knows how to create her own look."
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We create little vignettes on site at C&C that end up being the most photographed, but what is the best way to update a room? What pieces can we add to create updated “vignettes” at home?
I would say artwork, rug, pillows, and accessories...or any combo of these.
What are your favorite items on the HFH site?
Current faves: Camino Swivel Chairs, Celfie Vases, Revelation II Artwork, Gigi Mongolian Fur Chair, Gold, Wildwood Candleholder, Brass, Chloe Fossil Clam Lava Coffee Table, and Solo Dining Chairs.
What are some of the best sellers?
Camino Chair, Adagio Buffet, Gigi Mongolian Chair, Allura Bench, light gray, Teak Block Coffee Table, Alexa Desk, Gold, Twilight Glow Artwork, Amelia Bed, Duet Natural, William Sofa, Vance Emerald, Ian Sofa, Duet Natural, and Miller Sectional, Crevere Cream
And what makes the store both online and the Houston brick and mortar unique?
What makes our online store and brick and mortar unique is our carefully curated selection of furniture and home décor accessories and how we create room ideas to inspire our customers. Our store is 125,000 square feet and four stories and for those who have shopped in our Houston store, they will tell you that is like a home décor mecca. It would take hours to walk through the store which is a good thing and a bad thing. But the best part is our layout and merchandise mix. We really love to mix it up and it's our goal and mantra to inspire our customers. It's wonderful when you hear first-time or long-time customers say that our place is so inspirational and their favorite place to go and wander. It's so flattering because we know how important their time is and the fact that they want to spend it in our "home"...that just makes me feel so proud of our work and our team.
We are also very proud of our wonderful manufacturing partners and eco-initiatives. We take the time to seek out products made from salvaged or sustainably harvested wood, plant-based materials, recycled fibers, and USA-made upholstery. About 95% of our upholstery products (sofas, sectionals, beds, chairs, etc.) are bench-made in the North Carolina. We are also committed to our partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation; For every piece of furniture sold at our store and online, we plant a tree -- so far, that's over 120,700 trees planted!
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3 Ways to Innovate & Stay Creative After 30 Years In Business
Tammy Price of Fragments Identity shares her tips.
For interior and product design veteran Tammy Price, owner of Fragments Identity, "pillows are like art. They can transform a space, they can make a plain sofa come to life, they can change the texture of a chair." But when you've been in the interior design game for 30 years, and the work is a reflection of things you love, how do you continue to innovate and stay ahead of game?
We asked Tammy the three ways Fragments continues to maintain its unique look and stand out in a saturated design market.
DON'T FOCUS ON TRENDS, ANCHOR THE BRAND TO YOU
Even after 30 years in the design business, we still use a tone on tone and neutral palette as the anchor to all of Fragments Identity brand products. Rather than focusing on short-lived trends, we keep it true to ourselves and our own aesthetic. We then, will go in an implement or edit our collections in very specific ways that fit with the market of the particular time. Rather than chasing the newest trends, we stay true to the timeless, classic, monochromatic vibe that is Fragments Identity.
DON'T SKIMP ON QUALITY
Quality and product fabrication of the highest level is just as important to our brand as the design is. In order to stand out in a saturated market, we are committed to providing impeccable goods of the highest quality. Not only do we design in house, but we also control and oversee all manufacturing from the beginning selection process of the textiles and furniture frames to the last tissue paper fold in the customer's packed order.
THERE NEEDS TO BE HEART AT THE CORE OF THE BRAND
Fragments Identity is not commercially driven, but rather comes from a deep place of passion for design. To us, this passion never stops, and design flows 24/7. That's what we believe, truly sets us apart, and reflects in every aspect of the Fragments Identity brand.
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This Designer's Boss Encouraged Her to Leave Her Job
But that job loss catapulted her career. We talk candidly with Amber Lewis of Amber Interiors.
Multi-hyphenate Amber Lewis of Amber Interiors is interior design #goals. Have you seen her #shelfie game? Or the way she mix and matches patterns? She didn't always think she'd be a business owner.
It was a former boss who encouraged her to break out on her own, and from that point she didn't look back. Currently, she has more ideas than time-- and is in the midst of designing her dream home-- so what else can she take on? Plenty.
There’s no such thing as perfect in the beginning (or middle) of launching your business. When you decided to launch Amber Interiors where were you in life? What was going on?
I was fortunate enough to have an amazing job working with a really gifted interior designer for a few years. When my husband and I had our daughter and bought our first house at 28 years old, I decided to start my blog as a way to share the process of our remodel. I thought I had some semi-decent content and thought it would be fun to at least start the blog and share with family and friends. We definitely didn't have a lot of money, so we tackled a lot of the projects on our own and I was a bit of a DIY fanatic. I am not sure if it had to do with luck, timing, or what, but I got some attention from a few really big bloggers, and what felt like overnight, my name started to get out there a little. My old boss picked up on my enthusiasm for all things design and was kind enough to tell me she thought it was time I went out on my own. The rest is history. I was definitely scared and didn’t feel “prepared” but I was laser focused on making something happen…even though I wasn't quite sure what that was and was kinda “winging-it” for a while.
Why was then the right time?
I don’t know, but when I lost my job, that kinda catapulted me to do something bigger. I was a "work from home" mom, so I would literally be feeding my little and commenting on blogs, and when she would nap or go to sleep at night I would stay up for hours blogging, pintresting, and creating my business. It felt like I was on autopilot for a while just making small steps forward in a direction where I would have a couple clients, or start to get noticed for my style etc. I didn't know it was the right time, I was just moving forward, and doing what I could, when I could. I basically had no clue, I just had an insane drive and a lot of blind faith.
I basically had no clue, I just had an insane drive and a lot of blind faith.
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From day one, what were you thinking about that you’re still thinking about now? What has been a through-line in your business?
I have always thought, "What’s next?" Social media and Pinterest is mostly a blessing, but it can be aggravating, especially in the beginning. I think because there is so much saturation now, it's really hard to determine where an idea or design style originates from. I remember feeling so stoked to have my work out there in the world and feeling like it was so unique to me, and then I would go on Instagram or Pinterest and see someone completely do the exact same thing after me and watch commenters congratulate them on their talent etc. In the beginning it bummed me out, because I was like, “hey thats MY IDEA” but then I just started telling myself it was an amazing compliment to have someone like what you did so much they wanted to re-create it themselves. Now I always strive to do “what’s next” and do better than my last job and the spotlight of social media forces you to push the envelope with each project.
[Related content: How to Handle Competition In a Creative Field.]
"The spotlight of social media forces you to push the envelope with each project."
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How do you differentiate yourself as a designer?
I don’t think there is a definitive answer to this, however I hope I have established my style and brand enough that it can be recognized as my work. I think maybe the use of patterns and how I mix styles in almost every project I do differentiates me to other designers. I can take a big box sofa, and make it look unique with fabrics and pillows etc. I love to mix, thats my jam!
For new designers, what do you think is more valuable? School or experience? You did a little of both.
90% experience and 10% school. I never mastered CAD, so I have to rely on my team to do computer drawn technical drawings for me, which can suck when I think faster than I can draw. So I say, go to school and learn CAD and Photoshop, and the usual stuff like excel etc. and then get yourself a job! Even if you're just getting coffee for a design firm for a while, thats OK as long as you immerse yourself around creative people and absorb everything you can. I learned way more in the field working for a designer than I ever did in school.
What’s your favorite part about being a designer?
EVERYTHING. I swear I LOVE my job so much, I pinch myself that I get to make a living doing what I love. It’s always changing, and I get to be creative in so many different ways. I would not work so hard if I didn't truly enjoy every single second of it. Even the crappy days aren’t so bad.
What’s one aspect of the business you would change if you could?
Budgets! Haha!!!! No but actually, budgets suck but they are part of the job. So I tolerate the challenge, but work on managing clients' expectations with what their budgets can realistically do for them. I don’t know if I would change anything, but I hope to get to a place where I can be extremely selective with the projects I work on. Unfortunately, I have to pay the bills, but I am so lucky to have such rad roster of clients so far!
Sometimes as an entrepreneur your biggest strength is also your largest challenge. Would you say this is true for you and what would that be?
I feel a great expectation to do something different with each project. Unfortunately, some clients want you to just do what you did last time and don’t want to do much different than what they have already seen. That can be such a challenge because like I said….I am always thinking “Whats next?”!! As a business owner with multiple employees, I need to make sure I look out for the growth of the business, as well as balance what pays the bills with jobs that are super fun, but maybe a little less money. Those are usually the ones I am most fond of in the end!
You opened Shoppe, Amber Interiors last year. How are you feeling about the move into a physical location?
It’s so great! I have heard so many horror stories about retail locations and opening an actual brick and mortar, but knock wood, my husband (also my biz partner) and I love it and have had some really positive feedback. We feel like we are a part of the local community but also are proud of going for it and throwing caution to the wind! We kept asking ourselves “whats the worst that can happen” and so we feel good about the big jump. As crazy as this sounds we haven't even been opened a year and are already expanding and making it larger! Again, I pinch myself daily….but we are just going for it!
Do you think it’s important for your business to have an offline shop?
Totally! We have tons of items in store that are not online. There are lots of vintage pieces, and higher end antique rugs, that I think need to be touched and seen in person rather than on a computer screen. Plus we have some vignettes in the store and have an amazing sales team to help you pull pillow combos, or pick the perfect accessories and rugs.
So, now we have to ask "What’s next?"
Oh, my favorite question! Well I am writing a book, and developing a product line to sell in the Shoppe. I am also designing and starting to build our dream house, which I am so flipping excited about! At the moment I have more ideas than time, so I am trying to work smart on my passion projects and seizing the growth opportunities available to me now. At the moment the future looks bright!
Arianna Schioldager is Create & Cultivate's editorial director. You can find her on IG @ariannawrotethis and more about her on this site she never updates www.ariannawrotethis.com
How Design Star Emily Henderson Really Feels About Working for Free
And changing her mind about the color brown.
NAME: Emily Henderson
OCCUPATION: Designer, Stylist, Boss
ONE DEGREE OF C&C SEPARATION: She designed panelist Oh Joy’s studio!
HOURS SHE’S CLOCKING: Probably six during the day and three most nights, with shopping/writing on the weekends. So maybe 50? With kids taking priority of daytime hours.
SOCIAL PLATFORM OF CHOICE: Instagram for the business, but FB for myself because it’s the best way to keep up on good articles/current events.
PHOTOS SHE’S HEARTING ON IG: I heart what I try to create myself - anything that is both personal and beautiful. Ultimately - if it makes me smile, I double tap that shit.
"If it makes me smile, I double tap that shit."
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Emily Henderson, the HGTV host and designer, stylist, writer and editor of Style By Emily Henderson, thinks perfection is boring. In fact, it’s part of her design philosophy: "I believe that a perfect house is like a perfect person; no one really wants to be around them and everyone secretly hates them."
We tend to agree.
It's this kind of candor that has propelled Emily's career from dog walker to winner of HGTV's Design Star to Target Home spokesperson. Hers wasn't a straight shot to success (because it never is), but from clocking long days, spending time with her 5-month-old baby girl, and son, Charlie, while continually growing her taste and brand, it's success that is hard-won.
We checked in with the incredibly frank entrepreneur to get the scoop on creating a brand, changing her mind about the color brown, and the only time she'll work for free nowadays.
How do you create a brand that stands out? How do you come to understand what your “brand” is?
You need to have a product that is both unique and universal. There are too many people doing interesting things these days, you have to make a product that stands out, BUT at the same time it has to have enough universal appeal that you aren’t selling to 10 niche customers. I always think about Jennifer Lawson. Sure, she is a person, but she is someone that everyone likes and yet she is totally unique (which is why everyone likes her). This is extremely hard to do, but the people I know who are successful have done a pretty good job at it. Give your product a personality and ask yourself everyday, “Do I want to hang out with that person??” If the answer is no, then tweak it because if you are feeling that way, then everyone else is too.
"Give your product a personality and ask yourself everyday, 'Do I want to hang out with that person??'"
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How do you create a “voice”with an image?
It’s all storytelling. You need think about what overall story you are trying to tell every time you produce any content - it's basic marketing. But most of us (small brands) don't have a marketing person or team controlling all platforms. It’s our job to weave in elements of our story through all brands. I am by no means saying that I am queen at this and I think I could be doing a WAY better job. However, here is what I try to do: Show a happy, colorful image (whether it's an interior or my life) with copy that feels personal, informational OR inspirational. If I’m funny I get literally twice the likes, but I’m so busy that it's hard to produce good, funny, beautiful content all day. But that is the goal - pretty and entertaining.
You’ve called it the best marketing tool. But what else about the blog platform was attractive to you?
It’s all mine. Sure we have sponsors, but even they know it's all mine. And sure I have three people that work just on the blog, but there is still a sense of autonomy that we have with the blog that we don’t have with our design clients or my major partnership work. It has such a large audience now, so we really feel like our work is heard, and we have an influence. I know you can have an influence on many platforms, but with a blog you have more real estate to write and share than on social media so your audience is more engaged and reads and listens so much more.
Part of having a successful brand is fluidity. How do you go about introducing new styles to your audience when they’ve come to know and love your style?
It’s hard and people call me out all the time saying ‘but you said you don’t like brown!’ And sure, I didn’t like it, five years ago. But luckily most people are on the zeitgeist train with you and sense the trends and shifts too, and are happy to see someone they know embracing them and showing them how to use them. I started the blog when I was 29 and broke. I’m 36 now so my life has changed - I have two kids, and frankly I kinda want nicer things than I used to. That combo can be resisted by some people who want me to be thrifty and eclectic like I used to be. I’m still the same person, but I've grown up, which is now embraced by an entirely different community.
Have there been times when you’ve done something and thought, that was off-brand? But, you really liked it?
When your brand is yourself then in a way anything that you like is on brand. WAIT. YES. I recently did a sponsored post for a pre-owned luxury handbag website. My mantra has always been - don’t promote anything you wouldn’t buy yourself. I’m from a coastal town in Oregon. My parents are both teachers. In other words I’m not buying $3k handbags both on principal and the money. But before I said ‘no’ to it, I polled my staff and friends and sure enough a lot of people are into handbags - at least the idea of them. So I figured I’d style some outfits with some bags and if nothing else people could see what I’m into fashion-wise these days. I wrote about the brand/bags very honestly - saying it’s a luxury, it’s certainly not for everyone, while letting them know that this site exists if they happen to be handbag people. I really liked the post, the brand got a ton of traffic and purchases and ultimately the readers (even those who had sticker shock) liked the post. So yes, I guess I do things that are technically off brand but still work. It’s a risk though and you have to be very careful because trust is #1. Well, staying in business is #1, trust is #2.
"Trust is #1. Well, staying in business is #1, trust is #2."
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What would you say sets your work apart from others?
I know I’m not the best designer or writer, certainly, but I do think that I write about design and style in a digestible, approachable, and entertaining way. The site feels small even though it’s big, and people know that they are getting real opinions from a real person who is out in the field designing every day.
You’ve said “work for free” when you’re just starting. Do you still agree with that statement?
Hmm. Regarding working for free … I think i’d like to edit that and say ‘collaborate for free’. A large company should not be asking you ever to work for free - no matter how big or small you are. The only time I do work for free now is for magazines. Their model is simply to not pay you for makeover or design content because you will get notoriety and press out of it. But otherwise, I don’t “work” for free.
I also collaborate with other influencers and do their homes for press/portfolio and exposure to a new audience, but I definitely see it more as a collaboration and I make sure that everyone is clear on social media expectations. Most of the time I try to not go out of pocket and get all my assistants’ time paid for - so iIm just volunteering my time but they are covering all costs.
You have to weigh the amount of labor versus compensation and make sure you are being compensated somehow - whether it’s exposure, customers, high res photos of your work and press. IF someone has reached out to you and asked you for your work then they should offer to cover your out of pocket costs.
In short -If you are starting out, think about whether or not the exposure is worth it to you (ask for social stats and get all social requests on paper). If you are already established make sure they aren’t benefiting more from you than you are from the exposure.
Five years from now, where do you see your business?
Digital media is too fluid these days to know what is going to happen next, so we just try to work our asses off, be flexible, and keep our eyes open.
"We just try to work our asses off, be flexible, and keep our eyes open."
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We could go in the brick and mortar direction, we could go licensing lines all over the place direction, and when the kids are a little older I do want to go back into the TV (design show) world. Or maybe it's all of them. I know I want the blog to be both a personal documentation as well as a much larger resource for interior design.
Photos by Mike Garten for Good Housekeeping Magazine.
Arianna Schioldager is Create & Cultivate's editorial director. You can find her on IG @ariannawrotethis and more about her at www.ariannawrotethis.com
Get to Know the Colorful Creative World of Oh Joy
Building a brand, one colorful idea at a time.
"Oh Joy! is a community as much as it is a brand."
NAME: JOY CHO
CURRENT CITY: LOS ANGELES
HOW YOU KNOW HER: CREATIVE DIRECTOR AND BLOGGER AT OH JOY
STARTED BLOGGING: 2005
SOCIAL PLATFORM OF CHOICE: INSTAGRAM
Over a decade ago Joy Cho had just moved from New York to Philadelphia with her fiancé, now husband. She began blogging as a place to store inspiration during the transition. Oh Joy! was full of color and patterns, attracting the eyes of both designer and enthusiasts, but, there was no silver bullet success. In the beginning it served as a great marketing tool for her client-based design business, but it was a few years until she felt confident that the site found its world wide web sea legs.
A lot has changed in the last ten years-- geographically, she's now LA-based with two kids, and she wears multiple business hats, all of which inform the other: graphic designer, blogger, and entrepreneur offering specialty services in portfolio development and brand brainstorming. She's also published three books, worked with hundreds of brands, and continues to inspire creatives around the world. NBD.
How does she do it? We chatted with the lifestyle maven to find out.
Describe to us the ah-ha moment of when you knew your blog wasn't just a creative outlet anymore and started to evolve into a brand?
Within 6-12 months of starting my blog, it began to serve as an incredible marketing tool for my then client-based design business. But I didn’t really feel like the blog itself was anything that could stand on its own until a few years later. When Time Magazine featured Oh Joy! as one of the top websites in the “Design 100” issue in 2008, I really felt like it might be more legit. It was truly an honor. Getting that kind of recognition really made me realize that more than just a handful of people were reading it.
How has your business strategy shifted from when you first started your blog in 2005 to today?
When I first started my blog, it was very much just a place for me to keep all my inspiration and design work in one place (Pinterest didn’t exist yet!). Once my readership grew, I was able to create a design business from people who read my blog that then turned into design clients. I made it a goal to work with and design for brands that I love, like Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, and eventually, Target. Now, we’re able to focus on mostly Oh Joy! projects and I have more flexibility to really choose the work I love most to move forward with. I think your business strategies grow with you as your business grows and evolves.
"Your business strategies grow with you as your business grows and evolves."
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You have made the best of such an amazing collaborations with Target and Urban Outfitters. What piece of advice would you give someone who is looking to collaborate with big brands?
My biggest advice for anyone is to keep putting yourself out there and show work that you want to be making (even if no one is hiring you to do that work yet). I think the biggest misconception is that these things fall into my lap, and that’s not true. 90% of the bigger projects I’ve worked on were from me reaching out and pitching my work and ideas to a brand.
When you work with larger clients and companies, it can be really exciting because you get to reach a bigger audience. I started my business and career working with boutique companies—who I love and continue to enjoy working with. So larger companies just provide a nice change and a wider customer base to interact with. Another tip is to just do your thing and be true to your style. It's easy to try and change your style in the hopes that a certain customer or client will come your way. But every brand—whether big or small—is looking for you to be uniquely you and will hire you for that reason.
The Oh Joy! brand has thrived off of collaboration, yet there are many other brands that refrain from collaborating to keep their brand linear. What would you say to those brands that have yet to introduce collaborations in their strategy?
Collaborations aren’t for everyone. For me, I want to design so many different things that licensing collaborations make the most sense because I can partner with a retailer who already is an expert at producing and selling certain items, and by working together we can create Oh Joy! items that fit well with their customers. For me, collaborations are a great way to expand your audience and partner with someone who has a different expertise other than your own. And together, you can make something new and wonderful.
"Collaborations aren’t for everyone."
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The design world is very crowded, and yet Oh Joy! manages to stay ahead of the pack when it comes to branding and product. What strategies have you implemented to make sure the competition doesn't catch up to you?
The Oh Joy! brand is all about adding happiness and inspiration to your everyday life. It's colorful, fun, and happy. But what I’ve realized most recently is that in order to succeed, you need to know who you (and your brand) are and stay true to your gut. I don’t really think about competition because we are all just trying to make it and do our thing. I just think about what I and what my team at Oh Joy! can do to keep providing amazing ideas, wonderful products, and ideas and images to inspire people and add a bit of joy to their day.
Let’s talk about trends outside of the design world. 2014 was disruption, the word was everywhere. 2015 was innovation. And now culture and community are the new hot button words. How are you working to build community?
Being an online brand, building community with our readers is so important. We work hard to make certain our readers and fans are heard and answered. Oh Joy! is a community as much as it is a brand. For me, this job wouldn’t nearly be as fun without all the amazing people I get to connect with both in real life and virtually. I attempt to inspire them with a small slice of Oh Joy but they also inspire me by sharing moments from their lives with us as well.
Finally, what is your social platform of choice?
Instagram! It allows me to mix various parts of my life and my brand. And community there is more intimate and immediate than any other social media right now. But I’m also really getting into Periscope right now, too. I love the conversations that can happen there and the interactivity of it.
A Natural Eye: Tammy Price of Fragments Identity
For interior and product design veteran Tammy Price, owner of Fragments Identity, "pillows are like art. They can transform a space, they can make a plain sofa come to life, they can change the texture of a chair." Which may not be true of every pillow, but the detail of the textiles Tammy choses make spaces feel special in a way that mass produced goods can't. She has an eye, and it's one that caught our attention.
We checked in with the designer to find out where she catches that inspiration train and the story behind the piece of furniture that got away.
TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND. HOW YOU CAME UP WITH FRAGMENTS IDENTITY, AND HOW THE BUSINESS FITS INTO YOUR IDENTITY.
I have been an interior designer, showroom owner and interior home product developer for the past 29 years. Design was my passion and when I created new products it was always a “piece of this, with a piece of that”, which I felt were the “fragments” of different elements. It is a complete reflection of things that I love. A mix of old and new, crispness and awesome textiles. I am a lover of all textiles!
WHAT IS IT ABOUT INTERIOR TEXTILES THAT APPEALS TO YOU?
Absolutely everything! Tone, texture, the way they fabricate. In a way they are a blank canvas that you can create into many many things. They can become incredible art!
WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION?
I think that when you are so deeply passionate about something, you can find inspiration in absolutely everything. There is no shortage.
WHEN YOU RUN YOUR OWN BUSINESS IS IT POSSIBLE TO SEPARATE WORK AND PERSONAL?
Well, design flows 24/7 for me, but I still make sure that I always take the time to prioritize for my family. It’s really great to surround yourself by people who understand your creativity and let you be who you are.
WHAT'S THE MOST SURPRISING ELEMENT--SO FAR-- OF BEING A FEMALE ENTREPRENEUR?
By being a female entrepreneur, you can find a way to make everything happen and open every door you want to go through.- there is always way!!
WHAT'S A SURPRISING PAST JOB YOU HAD THAT BENEFITS YOU TODAY?
During college, studying for my degree in design, I worked retail management and visual merchandising. While it wasn’t interior design, that job really gave me the platform and opportunity to learn about design and product development.
WHAT'S THE BIGGEST MISTAKE MOST PEOPLE MAKE WITH INTERIOR DESIGN?
Not being patient enough to wait for it to all come together. The designer has the whole vision, but it takes time for it to all come together and you have to wait for it to unfold.
YOUR BEST PIECE OF ADVICE FOR YOUNG FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS?
Never let somebody tell you that you can’t do something, because you can. Just do it and go for it.
"Just do it and go for it."
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WHAT'S A PIECE OF FURNITURE YOU FOUND, DIDN'T PURCHASE, AND HAS HAUNTED YOU FOREVER?
While I was driving through Napa, I spotted a vintage club chair that I had to have! At the time, I was driving a rental car and I tried to fit this chair in that car every way possible until I had to give up :( I still want that chair!
Be sure to check out Fragments Identity in the Create & Cultivate Office and Guest Bedroom!
The Bright & Busy World of Designer Jolene Kraus
Most people say separate work and pleasure, but when your husband is your partner — in both life and business— how do you draw a line between the two? For Jolene Kraus, who co-founded Park Studio, an LA-based lighting and interior design company, with husband Ben, the answer is simple: "We like that our lines are blurred. I think that’s what makes us successful."
The duo are also parents to 13-month-old Arden, and work out of the studio in their backyard. But, according to Jolene, when you love what you do "it's not really work," so negotiating this territory is easier. "Yes, we have to physically make every fixture, box it, answer all emails, work in quickbooks, etc," she says, "but I am beyond proud of the business Ben and I built in under two years." Beyond that Jolene notes that creativity doesn't operate on a 9-5 schedule, so bringing business home is part of the job. "It's impossible for us to automatically shut off our creative thinking caps at exactly 5 pm.” Based on the designs Park Studio is putting out, we wouldn’t want them to.
We checked in with the multitasking maven to find out more about those blurred lines, busy days, and Park Studio’s bright future.
HOW IMPORTANT IS COLLABORATION WHEN IT COMES TO CREATIVITY?
We are often building custom fixtures for our clients and we rely heavily on collaborating during that process. I truly believe every fixture has been the result of a successful collaboration. This could happen over months or just weeks, but we generally work from sketches to mock-ups to the final production run. We each speak up during the process.
IS THERE A DESIGNER (OR TWO) YOU'D LOVE TO COLLABORATE WITH?
Of course we would love to collaborate with commune. My product and color heroes are Scholten + Baijings--I would love to work with them!
HOW DO YOU BALANCE MOM LIFE AND WORK LIFE?
Our nanny works 9-5, so we are with Arden from when she wakes up until our nanny gets here. And the same in the evenings—when the nanny leaves at 5, we are with her until bedtime at 7. That doesn’t mean that one of us won’t take a phone call or answer an email. I want our daughter to see the importance of hard work and make sure she understands that mommy and daddy have businesses to run. Hopefully we are setting up a legacy for her.
THAT SAID: MOM, WIFE, AND SMALL-BUSINESS OWNER--WHICH JOB IS HARDER?
That’s a tough one. They all have their challenges, but they are all also very rewarding. I am beyond proud of the business Ben and I have built (in just under 2 years); and our daughter is our obsession (also under 2). Ben makes it easy to be his wife. He would do anything for us, so thankfully that job is the easiest. Being a mom is hard knowing that she is at an impressionable age-- she’s now starting to say what we say (yikes) and we are really seeing her Scorpio personality these past couple of weeks. Being a mom also means I don’t get a lot of me time-- thank God for dry shampoo and granola bars. Being a small business owner is very hard. we don’t just wear many hats, we wear every hat. from dropping off packages at fed ex to writing every email reply to designing and building the fixtures. all of that said, we are very grateful for what we have and wouldn’t change a thing!
"We don’t just wear many hats, we wear every hat."
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HOW ESSENTIAL IS LIGHTING TO SETTING THE TONE OF A ROOM? WHAT GOES INTO CONSIDERING THE LIGHTING IN A ROOM?
Lighting is the most important aspect of a room, and I’m not saying that just because we have a lighting company. we can always remember that time we went into an overly lit room and could only think about how we must look in that harsh light (though maybe it’s a girl thing). lighting for a room needs to be the right scale and the right output. you don’t want a small fixture in a large room and you definitely don’t want too much light/output in a small space. That’s why we make multiple styles of fixtures that create adequate amount of ambient light to accommodate the majority of room sizes.
The Sonoma Chandelier, $1300. This chandelier hangs in the Create & Cultivate office.
"Thank God for dry shampoo and granola bars."
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HOLIDAYS AND NYE PARTIES ARE HERE. WHAT IS THE BEST DINNER PARTY LIGHTING?
We always tell our clients to put their lights on a dimmer. The ability to create mood lighting is always a good thing.
WHAT'S THE BIGGEST INTERIOR DESING MISTAKE PEOPLE MAKE?
Scale and proportion. From too small of an area rug, to too large of a sofa. Scale and proportion are challenges for the untrained eye.
WHAT ARE SOME TIPS FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE THE "EYE" FOR INTERIOR DESIGN?
I think it’s important to hire professionals who do have expertise in the field. Though, if you are on a budget (as all of us are), there are definitely great resources that can help with that process. Homepolish is one of our favorite design consulting services.
In general we like to follow these tips:
+Chandeliers should be 30” - 36” above a dining table. That helps create an intimate setting.
+Drapery should just skim the floor. 1/4” above the floor to be exact.
+Paint all of your walls, not just an accent. If you’re brave enough to paint one wall black, paint them all—or it will look like you ran out of paint.
WHERE DO YOU SEE PARK STUDIOS EXPANDING?
Very soon we will be more than a lighting studio. We are in the process of manufacturing hardware (think drawer pulls and knobs) and updating our pillow offering. More than anything I would love to design furniture and rugs. We want to be a one-stop shop for affordable, great design.
FINALLY, TELL US! YOUR SECRET LA FURNITURE SHOP SPOTS?
A+R on La Brea, Noir / CFC, all of the local flea markets, St. Vincent de Paul, and we are craigslist lovers.