How Alfredo Paredes went from behind the scenes to the spotlight

Summary

Business of Home Podcast: How Alfredo Paredes Went from Behind the Scenes to the Spotlight

Release Date: April 21, 2025

Introduction

In this episode of the Business of Home Podcast, host Dennis Scully engages in an in-depth conversation with Alfredo Paredes, a seasoned interior designer who transitioned from a long-standing career at Ralph Lauren to establishing his own design firm. The discussion delves into Alfredo's professional journey, the lessons learned from his time at Ralph Lauren, the challenges of launching an independent practice, and his vision for the future of his design business.

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Early Career and Introduction to Design

Alfredo's foray into the design world began inadvertently while working at Laura Ashley. At just 19 years old, Alfredo secured a position as a salesperson and soon found himself handling visual merchandising due to staff shortages.

• “I walked in, they hired me on the spot, like no man ever walked in there.” [03:27]

This early exposure to visual design ignited his passion and set the foundation for his future endeavors.

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Joining Ralph Lauren: A Transformative Experience

Alfredo joined Ralph Lauren in New York in the mid-1980s, where he played a pivotal role in shaping the brand's stores, restaurants, and home collections. His tenure at Ralph Lauren spanned over three decades, during which he was instrumental in creating iconic spaces such as the Polar Bar in Manhattan.

• “He really appreciates people, that that's what Ralph wants you to do. He wants you to take the initiative.” [09:18]

Alfredo attributes much of his growth and success to the mentorship he received, particularly from a VP of Creative Services who recognized his potential and appointed him to lead creative initiatives.

• “He pulled me aside as he was dying. He said, you know what? You're going to run the whole thing.” [08:33]

Under Ralph Lauren’s guidance, Alfredo honed his ability to think big and execute comprehensive design visions, integrating various elements from store layouts to product design seamlessly.

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The Decision to Venture Out

After 34 years with Ralph Lauren, Alfredo felt a compelling urge to explore his own creative freedom and step away from the corporate structure. The company's growth into a publicly traded Fortune 500 entity brought about changes that limited his creative autonomy, prompting him to seek new opportunities.

• “More corporate and very publicly oriented company. Less time being creative.” [13:23]

Alfredo realized that to continue growing personally and professionally, he needed to establish his own firm where he could have greater control over his projects and creative direction.

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Launching His Own Design Firm

Starting an independent practice presented Alfredo with numerous challenges, including redefining his professional identity outside the shadow of Ralph Lauren. To bridge this gap, he embarked on creating a personal brand through a book that showcased his design philosophy and personal projects.

• “Someone said to me, you're one of the best known, unknown people out there.” [23:43]

The book, supported by a foreword from Ralph Lauren, served as an autobiography of sorts, highlighting Alfredo's personal life and design work beyond his corporate achievements.

• “It's like an autobiography in a weird way. Without really leaning into my years at Ralph either.” [27:00]

Alfredo also focused on building a lean yet effective team, emphasizing quality over quantity and collaborating with trusted freelancers to maintain flexibility.

• “I admire what people are doing and I think that would be. I like that part that appeals to me.” [29:43]

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Creating a Personal Brand Through Publishing

Alfredo’s book became a pivotal tool in establishing his presence in the design world. By showcasing his renovated home and personal design projects, he provided potential clients with a tangible sense of his style and capabilities.

• “I hired a PR company. I hired a social media company. I started spending money on putting myself out there in ways that... could afford to do all that.” [24:44]

The publication allowed Alfredo to present himself not just as a behind-the-scenes visionary but as a prominent designer with his own unique voice.

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Overcoming Industry Perceptions

Despite his extensive experience, Alfredo encountered skepticism about his standing in the interior design community. An incident at an AD100 event highlighted the industry's initial reluctance to recognize his contributions outside the traditional design firm structure.

• “You're not a designer.” [41:54]

This moment was a catalyst for Alfredo to assert his identity as a designer, reinforcing his commitment to creating impactful and authentic spaces independently.

• “Anybody can be an interior designer, just like anybody could be, you know, say that they're a florist.” [45:01]

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Vision for the Future

Looking ahead, Alfredo is focused on selective, high-impact projects that align with his creative passions. He expresses a particular interest in designing restaurants, boutique hotels, and clubs, steering clear of retail projects that no longer resonate with his vision.

• “I love doing restaurants. I mean, that's a fun.” [50:34]

Alfredo aims to maintain a balance between innovative design and personal fulfillment, ensuring that each project reflects his distinct aesthetic and creative vision.

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Conclusion

Alfredo Paredes's journey from a young salesperson at Laura Ashley to a revered interior designer exemplifies the power of creativity, mentorship, and the courage to pursue one's vision. His transition from a corporate giant like Ralph Lauren to establishing his own firm underscores the importance of personal growth and creative freedom in achieving professional fulfillment. As Alfredo continues to build his brand, his story offers invaluable insights for designers and entrepreneurs navigating similar paths in the ever-evolving interior design industry.

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Notable Quotes

• “You're going to run the whole thing.” — Alfredo Paredes [08:33]
• “He really appreciates people, that that's what Ralph wants you to do.” — Alfredo Paredes [09:18]
• “I had a lot of friends and people who worked for me who went out on their own, and I observed how they, what their struggles were.” — Alfredo Paredes [29:02]
• “It's like an autobiography in a weird way. Without really leaning into my years at Ralph either.” — Alfredo Paredes [27:00]
• “Anybody can be an interior designer, just like anybody could be, you know, say that they're a florist.” — Alfredo Paredes [45:01]
• “I love doing restaurants. I mean, that's a fun.” — Alfredo Paredes [50:34]

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Final Thoughts

Alfredo Paredes’s narrative is a testament to the enduring impact of visionary leadership and personal resilience in the world of interior design. His ability to adapt, innovate, and redefine his professional identity serves as an inspiring blueprint for aspiring designers aiming to leave their mark on the industry.

Transcript

[Dennis Scully]

This is Business of Home. I'm your host, Dennis Scully. Every week I'll be speaking with leaders and innovators from all corners of the home industry. My guest this week is Alfredo Paredes. You know Alfredo's work even if you don't know his name. For more than three decades he worked behind the scenes at Ralph Lauren, shaping the company's stores, restaurants and home collections, not to mention spearheading iconic spaces like the Polar Bar in Manhattan. In 2019, Alfredo stepped out on his own, quickly making his own name as a designer of both products and interiors. I spoke with Alfredo about the lessons in big thinking he learned from Ralph Lauren, why his own firm is small but not tiny, and why his special talent has always been to take a vision and run with it.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Foreign.

[Dennis Scully]

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[Alfredo Paredes]

Okay.

[Dennis Scully]

Okay. Because at one point you worked for a brand that I love and have a soft spot in my heart for. Laura Ashley. Okay, so I was once the stock boy at the Madison Avenue for real Laura Ashley. Yes. Loved it.

[Alfredo Paredes]

I know that store. I almost worked there. They had offices above, right?

[Dennis Scully]

Exactly. Offices were upstairs. And so I was mostly downstairs in the basement getting beautiful Emma covered wallpapers.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Yeah, like they were little chits. They called them chits.

[Dennis Scully]

Yes.

[Alfredo Paredes]

The little everything had a chit. Yes, I remember.

[Dennis Scully]

But it Was. It was such a beautiful store and brand and place. And it sounds like much like the experience you had. Of course, it was all these lovely women running around in the shop. And I was one of the few male.

[Alfredo Paredes]

I was the only male on the staff of about 30 women in Atlanta. Yeah. And it was unbelievable. It was great. I mean, I had no idea. From an MD35 to glazed chintz or whatever, I had no idea. But I figured they had me working in the home department at first in the back, and that's when Laura was alive. And they would make me aprons out of the fabrics and ties to match. Ah, okay. So I, you know, because all the women wore the different dresses, Right? The leg of mutton dresses. Remember those with the squares and the petticoats? Yeah, yeah. And I was in the back. In the back home area. It was really serendipitous. It was a total accident. And I was in art school and I needed a job. They had a sign in the window for a salesperson. I walked in, they hired me on the spot, like no man ever walked in there. And I was 19 years old, and I think I worked after school at 2 o'clock almost six days a week in that store. And then there was a visual English lady that worked, did the visuals there, who got ill and went back to England. And the manager said, well, you're in art school, you go do it. I was like, okay. It was not hard. I don't know. I just had a knack for it. I just knew how to do it.

[Dennis Scully]

So you got your first taste of.

[Alfredo Paredes]

I want to say, Anglophilia, maybe. I mean, guess so. I was immersed right into it. Right. And then there was a store in that center. This was Lenox Square in Atlanta, and my school was across the street. And there was a store, a men's store in that center called Britches of Georgetown, which was the sort of, you know, the ultimate in prep men's clothes, you know, at the time. And I. They had beautiful windows. And every time I'd walk by, I'd see the windows. I was always into it, whatever. And I met them, you know, people doing the team, the creative director. Cause my windows, what I was doing was getting noticed by them. So they would engage me. And then they offered me a job to move to Washington when I graduated, to move to Georgetown to work for the company in Georgetown.

[Dennis Scully]

Okay.

[Alfredo Paredes]

And I was the only kid in my class that had a job leaving art school. It wasn't necessarily what I was studying, but what I had studied But I had a job. I moved to Washington. They set me up in my own apartment. They moved my stuff and I worked for them for about a year. And then the man that had hired me took a job with Ralph Lauren in New York to open the Mansion. So I left because it was no fun without him. It just sort of changed. So I took a job completely opposite. There was a store in Washington D.C. in Dupont Circle called Uzzolo, U Z Z O L O. And I got to know all the people there. And then the guy just said to me, well, why don't you start doing our windows? I was like, I'll pay you cash. Okay, here's $500 cash. Come doing once a week. I was like, okay. I'm like, meanwhile, it's a high tech houseware store. So I was like, okay. I would go, tonight we're going to fill the windows with Pyrex vases and lemons and oranges or piles of umbrellas lit like halogen, whatever. And it would end up in the Washington Post in the south section. Nina Hyde was, oh, right, right. And so you see, it was like, meanwhile, I'm 22, 21, 22. Just sort of how I survived. And then Stephen Brady who went to New York kept saying to me, you need to come to New York and work with us. Come to the Mansion, we're opening the Mansion, blah, blah, blah. I was like, eh, I don't know.

[Dennis Scully]

And did you know what he was referring to?

[Alfredo Paredes]

I knew Ralph Lauren, of course I knew Ralph Lauren, but I didn't know what they were up to. This huge Rhinelander mansion that they were transferring. Finally he convinced me. I came up, I interviewed and they hired me on the spot. And the rest was history from that point on.

[Dennis Scully]

And they hired you on the spot and then you go right to work.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Well, I think I was hired, I think February of 86, the store opened in the spring and I worked to get it open and trained. And I was the guy who worked on the men's floors changing all the visuals, which were really elaborate. And I worked with the teams there. And the windows were changed every week. It was some crazy overnight every week. The flowers, the windows, everything was changed all the time. That store was crazy and it was fun and I was into it. Then there was a guy there who was the VP of Creative services at the time, who was Steven's boss, who was like my mentor. He's whose photo I have out in the entry there.

[Dennis Scully]

Oh, okay.

[Alfredo Paredes]

He passed away at 40 of 8 and I was 26. And the funny thing is, he pulled me aside as he was dying. He said, you know what? You're going to run the whole thing. I was like, what are you talking about? I was so weirded out by that.

[Dennis Scully]

Wow.

[Alfredo Paredes]

He said, you're going to run the whole thing. And within two years, I was made VP of store development and creative services for Global, which was great. The company was booming.

[Dennis Scully]

Well, so what do you think he saw?

[Alfredo Paredes]

I don't know.

[Dennis Scully]

What had you done?

[Alfredo Paredes]

I don't know.

[Dennis Scully]

How had you made this impression on him?

[Alfredo Paredes]

I have an innate sense of. I just know. I don't know. I can't explain it. It's just. I knew what they were looking for.

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah.

[Alfredo Paredes]

I could understand, and then I could create. I could make it happen. And I also have this ability that I think frustrates my clients, but I have a vision and I run with it. It's like. And Ralph, that was like. He really appreciates people, that that's what.

[Dennis Scully]

He wants you to do. He wants you to take the initiative.

[Alfredo Paredes]

And go, well, I'm run with the football. I threw the football. Let's make it great. Run the field.

[Dennis Scully]

Right?

[Alfredo Paredes]

Yeah. Like, I remember when we launched the Fragrance Safari. It was right after out of Africa. And I remember that I had this crazy idea to fill the store with bird cages with lovebirds in them, all covered in netting and flowers and whatever. And there were everywhere. And they were like, okay, let's do that. You know, it was like anything was possible. It was a great. For creative people. And there were a lot of really talented creative people that have worked there, both in design and in creative services. Was a great place to just go for it.

[Dennis Scully]

And when you think back. So, I mean, for listeners that might not know, you were there for 33, 34, 34 years. Okay.

[Alfredo Paredes]

My whole adult life.

[Dennis Scully]

Exactly.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Till now.

[Dennis Scully]

Right. And walking into this company that was already so. Well, no. But was about to just take off.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Right.

[Dennis Scully]

And go in all sorts of different directions. And you're gonna go work all over the world and bring the brand.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Right.

[Dennis Scully]

I mean, when you think back of some of those moments in time, what sticks out for you as just an impression?

[Alfredo Paredes]

There's so many.

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah.

[Alfredo Paredes]

I mean, Ralph's like a dad. Was like my father. He's like, yeah. I mean, my relationship with him was very. Almost psychic. Like, I didn't have to talk a lot. He didn't have to communicate a lot about what he was thinking. We just sort of had this. I understood. And with that, I could. I mean, it was Just, it's like an MBA in design. I mean, when I was 20, I think when maybe 33, I took over the home design studio. So all of a sudden, he's like, I want you to do home and store design and creative. And I'm like, you want me to do what? Yeah, you can do it. You'll figure it out. All those model rooms and all those collections and all those photo shoots and all the. And it all made sense because I, as the person designing the store, was also buying the props that was also ordering the fabrics that was also designing the window. Like, it all made sense if it was all intertwined. And eventually I got it to that place where it was all. It was. It congealed. It all came together. And I worked on his homes, screening rooms, the garages. I mean, there was a lot. It was a lot of intensive creativity and design. So it's wonderful.

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah. And as you say, it's an MBA in design.

[Alfredo Paredes]

And so now sometimes people say, what are you doing now? And I'm like. I'm like, steer in the headlights. Like, nothing compares to. Like, nothing compares to the amount of what I was churning out.

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah. The home collection, which I don't even know what originally was supposed to be the vision for the home collection. What was articulated to you about what it needed to be and what it. I mean.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Well, he will explain to you today. He would shop for. When they were younger, he was shopping and he couldn't find anything. And then he's like, created oxford sheets, put the buttons on the pillowcase. He started simply, and then he started with the sheet license, and then it got into furniture and all the different categories. And as that got bigger, more ideas came and more inspiration and more thought process. So it was how to sort of take the best of all of it and make it come together. For me, I never got tired of it. I never hit a wall, like, what am I doing? And I was explaining to somebody else, working within one brand. It never got old because he was always reinventing or pushing for some other idea or something new, you know? But as it got really big and corporate and became a publicly traded Fortune 500, I'm just like, this is not so much. Sort of not so much fun.

[Dennis Scully]

So that's when it really started to feel like a different place for you. It got so big.

[Alfredo Paredes]

I mean, it was more like. I don't know if it was just that I was starting to realize myself personally. It's like, is this it? This is all I'm going to keep doing? This till. What else can I say or do or find out about myself? And I'd been there long enough that I felt like I'd done everything that I could do. I felt in the context of what I was delivering and what I was doing at the company, I wasn't designing clothes. That's all Ralph. That's his wheelhouse. And he'll say to me, you know, the world of interiors and design, like, that is my bag. So we shared. He had a passion for it, but it wasn't a passion like he had for, you know, the shoulders on that jacket.

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Like, his passion is in fashion. So I felt like I could, over time, as I was able to deliver and develop all these ideas that he would put out there. I was developing them the way I would do them. So it was sort of. I couldn't separate. Like, it was like, he's not telling me what to do.

[Dennis Scully]

Right. So you didn't feel confined in that way. He wasn't limiting.

[Alfredo Paredes]

No, no, no. And he trusted me. Trust me still. And it was just like, you know, he said, make it great. Make it great.

[Dennis Scully]

Right?

[Alfredo Paredes]

You know, two dreamers together. Like, he would say to me, what should we do there? Like, I went to the store in Paris, the Saint Germain, and he always wanted a store in Saint Germain. And I was tasked with looking at locations. And I went to see it the first time. I was like, no, it's not big enough. They were only offering one floor. Then it became available, and I was like, okay. He goes, well, what do you want to do? I was like, I'm not doing this without you. So we went to Paris to see the location, and the back where the restaurant is was garages. They had little garage doors, and they kept those little French cars back there. And I was like, well, I guess we could put kids back there. I'm like, so depressing. Really cross the courtyard back there to a little kid shop. Let's put a restaurant in it. So I was able to sort of, like, the boom, like, big idea. He would really embrace it, and we were able to create all that stuff, which was great. I mean, it was wonderful.

[Dennis Scully]

And the Polo Bar.

[Alfredo Paredes]

The Polo Bar, that was gonna be a kids department. That was gonna be kids. I was like, that's not. No, I think we. I think, you know, it came as part of the lease, but it wasn't really connected to the other piece. It was weird. You know, that used to be the Kobasque.

[Dennis Scully]

Mm, right. Oh, right.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Like the Kobasque, which I never went. I'm Assuming the restaurant was upstairs, right?

[Dennis Scully]

Yes.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Yeah. So it was a beautiful space, but this was, the space was downstairs. I was like, ah, downstairs. And I'd been to enough places with him in London that there were a lot of restaurants or clubs in the basement. I was like, well, just let's figure it out, let's try it.

[Dennis Scully]

That's what I'm always wondering when I talk to. I mean, so many incredible designers and just talented humans have come out of Ralph Lauren.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Right.

[Dennis Scully]

And household names. What is it that you walk away with with that mba? What comes with. Is there a certain confidence that you have knowing that you've.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Well, for sure. I feel like what I walk away with is Ralph has this sort of, you think big. You have to think big. He doesn't think small. It's like there's nothing small. So think big. Think completely. Like, see a complete vision. Don't just. You can't get excited about a button on a. So you got to look at the whole thing and then be. Feel confident that you're going to. That you'll figure it out, you'll make it happen. And I really operate like that. It's a kind of manifestation.

[Dennis Scully]

I don't know, seeing it and then.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Making it and knowing it's going to. I just move forward. I don't know how it happens. I just do it. I don't know how this showed up in my life. I just put it out there.

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah. You know, but at the same time, you were saying, is this it? Is this all I have to.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Well, it sort of became, it became sort of more like my first child was born when I was 50. It's starting to become very corporate, very publicly oriented company. Less time being creative. And I was just like, I don't know that I want to. I don't know, I want more freedom to do what I want. I don't want to go to Hong Kong anymore. I don't want to do 7:00, 7:00am Management meetings. You know what I mean? It's like. And it was hard because my identity was completely embedded in the company and having that relationship with Ralph, which I still have that relationship, but it's not, you know, not working there, so. Right. You know.

[Dennis Scully]

We're taking a quick break to remind you about Hartman and Forbes. This spring, Hartman and Forbes unveiled a new collaboration with internationally renowned designer Barbara Berry, celebrating the artistry of light texture and the timeless beauty of nature in a collection of hand woven window coverings and natural wall coverings. If you're attending high Point Spring Market. Experience this collection in person along with their latest spring summer 2025 designs at the Wesley hall showroom. To discover other unique collaborations by Hartman and Forbes and register for your trade account, visit Hartman, Forbes. And now back to the show. So when it was time to go, did you agonize for.

[Alfredo Paredes]

For about five years.

[Dennis Scully]

For about five years, yeah. Really?

[Alfredo Paredes]

Yeah.

[Dennis Scully]

And you're. And you're thinking, what. What am I going to say? How am I going to do this?

[Alfredo Paredes]

Just. Just. It wasn't even what I was going to say. It was just that I was getting pushed. There was my limits. My limits were. There was a sense of being pushed up and out a little bit. Do you know what I mean? You know what I mean? And I don't mean it was my own thought process. I was just feeling like it was coming to an end. Nothing lasts forever, right?

[Dennis Scully]

Right, sure.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Nothing lasts forever. And I loved the company and I loved the people I worked with, and I kind of loved everything we were doing, but my body clock was telling me that I needed to go if I was ever going to do anything else.

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah.

[Alfredo Paredes]

And finding out about yourself, by the way, that's the other thing. It's like, what do I want to say? Like, what would I do?

[Dennis Scully]

Well, so to that point. Well, so let's wrap up. You leaving. So tell me. So five years, it's in your consciousness somehow.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Right.

[Dennis Scully]

Finally, the day comes. Was there a moment? Was there a meeting?

[Alfredo Paredes]

Was there a phone call? That's a lot of. There was just. I just decided that it was time. I triggered it with the 50th anniversary, Central Park. I thought I'd get it through the 50th anniversary, be there for him, do all that. And then it was time.

[Dennis Scully]

And did he have an inkling that you were.

[Alfredo Paredes]

I don't know. Maybe. I don't know. We didn't really talk about it. He was very supportive when I said that I was ready to go. And he said, I understand.

[Dennis Scully]

Okay. And as you were just saying, you in part wanted to go and see what your voice was. Right. And if I recall, you took some time.

[Alfredo Paredes]

I took a year off.

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah. And what was that like?

[Alfredo Paredes]

I went to Big Sur, camping by myself. No, it was great. I mean, my children were a huge part of where I filled the time. I was able to sort of focus on them. And then I realized that I wanted to keep designing, not on the grand scale that I was designing ever again. I don't. I mean, it got to a point where I was designing stores across the globe. There were gigantic stores that were duplicates of each other, and I couldn't tell you where I was.

[Dennis Scully]

Right.

[Alfredo Paredes]

And it's a sort of strange feeling where it's like the stores look the same, the people move, because then people are all traveling. So you're like, I know you from somewhere.

[Dennis Scully]

People seem to be speaking a different language here.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Wait, I thought you worked in Milan. No, I'm here now. I've moved. Oh, I thought you looked and you just start to lose a little. It's just intense. It was intense.

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, no. I mean, I can totally imagine. And so you're able to take some time. You're able to spend time with the kids who are little and be there at such a important time in their life. Yes.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Yeah. And then Jen, who's here. Jen Segaris was my head of finance in my division since she was. For 25 years. And she had left. And I called her and I said, let's open a business. She said, okay. And Covid happened four months after, which, in a way, was a blessing. A lot of it was a blessing, and a lot of it wasn't. And it allowed me to think. That was the other thing. I was able to stop to think how to extricate myself, like, if I was moving away. This is the first time, I think I've actually had an interview where I talk about it, the Ralph thing, that company like this. Because I just didn't even want to talk about it. I felt like I got to not. I can't die on that rock. Do you know what I mean? And I was able to see beyond what the possibilities were going to be.

[Dennis Scully]

When you started to be able to see what it might be, what seemed most appealing to you? What did you want to have happen for you next? I mean, sure, design, but what?

[Alfredo Paredes]

Well, I started to realize a. That nobody knew who I was. You were, like, behind the wizard of Oz. And I was comfortable not being known, by the way.

[Dennis Scully]

Well, so I was gonna ask. I mean, that didn't seem to bother you, that people.

[Alfredo Paredes]

I mean. I mean, I was inside a huge, beautiful company. I was validated every day by him. I was well taken care of. None of the issues. We were comfortable doing that. It was about him. Right. So when you're out on your own, you're like, now I have to get up front, and now I have to start explaining myself, and what is your story going to be? And I'm dealing with peers of mine, people that worked for me who now have been out there for 20 years and have all sorts of brands and people know who they are and whatever. I was like, how do I stop that now? Do you know?

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah.

[Alfredo Paredes]

And in that Covid period, I started to get a sense of what I could do and how to target it and what I wanted to say and how to do it. That's why the book.

[Dennis Scully]

Right.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Because I felt like someone said to me, you're one of the best known, unknown people out there.

[Dennis Scully]

And could you say to people, oh, well, are you familiar with this store or for that location?

[Alfredo Paredes]

Yeah, but, I mean, this restaurant, I realize people, new clients, want to know, what are you doing now? Right. I don't know. It's just like, you don't want to lay in those laurels forever.

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah. Well, so as you began to formulate that game plan, if you will, and you had your longtime colleague with you, right. That trusted Jen, who was going to.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Help you save my life, help you.

[Dennis Scully]

Set up the new business, and how did you think about, okay, how am I going to tell people who I am? How am I going to talk about the kind of work I want to do? And the book, I mean, to your point. And we'll talk about the book, but often a way in for a lot of people is, oh, well, let me show you my own home or various places I've been.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Or, you know, listen, when I was a Ralph Lauren, we had no social media. We weren't allowed to have social media about what you did.

[Dennis Scully]

Right. Okay.

[Alfredo Paredes]

I mean, you could have your own personal. But it was not condoned that you. At least now it's different. But I think at the time, it was not about that.

[Dennis Scully]

Right.

[Alfredo Paredes]

And it was about Ralph. It's his company. So I started to come out, and I hired a PR company. I hired a social media company. I started spending money on putting myself out there in ways that. And that the relationship and doing the furniture was a way. I didn't know if it was gonna be successful or not. But it put me out there in ways that I needed to start doing. So all of that has helped, and it has escalated. It has sort of gotten more that way. And then I bought this house in Locust Valley that I was going to renovate. And I thought, you know, I should photograph it. It should be photographed, because, you know, it's a renovation story, whatever. And when that happened, I decided I wanted to do a book. I got Jill Cohen to do it. And that was, you know, how we pulled it together. And Rizzoli wanted it to be about my houses, which I was like, okay. Didn't really think of that. I didn't know what it was going to be about because my clients. Projects take forever. That's the other thing. In interior design, things take a lot longer than in the world I was living in. That was. Things really were much more. Faster tracked.

[Dennis Scully]

Right.

[Alfredo Paredes]

And then when I was putting the book together with the art director, Doug Turshen, he kept going back to my personal Instagram and saying, let's take this picture. I'm like, that's a bunch of tomatoes that I. And these are my kids on a swing. This is mine. He goes, no, it makes it. And then I realized it was becoming a lifestyle book, which is much more comfortable to what I always did. My desire to leave Ralph was around the time Carolina was born, which is what these first houses were started. So all of that transitioned in the context of those houses.

[Dennis Scully]

So often when I talk to designers about what a book represents for them, I mean, this had a lot heavier lift for you. This needed to serve as a vehicle.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Right.

[Dennis Scully]

To tell people who you really are and the kind of work that you.

[Alfredo Paredes]

It's like an autobiography in a weird way. Yes. Without really leaning into my years at Ralph either.

[Dennis Scully]

Right. No, no. And he very graciously. Right. Gives this lovely foreword and talks about what a great hire you were and that.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Which I really appreciated.

[Dennis Scully]

Yes. And how lovely and obviously speaks to the relationship and the continuation of that. But it's not all about your time at Ralph Lauren. It's about your other life.

[Alfredo Paredes]

My personal life. Yes. And the way I live. And it's an extension of what I did every day. That's it. I wasn't working in finance. I worked in the design part and I came home.

[Dennis Scully]

Right.

[Alfredo Paredes]

And I was very successful in it, so I could afford to do all that.

[Dennis Scully]

Yes.

[Alfredo Paredes]

You know what I mean? And that was. And. And. And when I was a Ralph, it was really. I mean, I was published, it was an ad and whatever, but it was sort of. You kept everything. You're an exec. Kept it private, Right?

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah.

[Alfredo Paredes]

So, you know, and that's why when the idea came up for me and Rizzoli wanted to do it, I was very excited, and I think it was. I'm very happy with how it turned out finally.

[Dennis Scully]

Well, I mean, it's a beautiful book. And as I say, this whole notion of using it, Using your own home as a way to show the level of work that you're capable of doing and the kind. Right. The whole thing. Tell me when you thought about setting up Shop. And I don't know how many lovely people were downstairs when I came in. 12. Okay, so tell me about how you thought about how big a firm you wanted to have and what you wanted.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Well, I mean, it's funny, it's like I had a lot of friends and people who worked for me who went out on their own, and I observed how they, what their struggles were. I mean, Listen, I had 300 people working for me at Ralph. It was ridiculous and I never want that ever again. I know.

[Dennis Scully]

So that's too big. 300?

[Alfredo Paredes]

Well, it's like, it's amazing because you had all the levers you needed to be able to do something. I could just pull this one and pull that one. They were all there and you could figure it out. But it came with a level of like, that's too big. And then I thought, but you have to be able to have enough of a team, enough of a bench to get something accomplished at that level. Some of the people I friends, I'd see they have no one. And then they couldn't get the job. They couldn't do the job. So I was like, well, it depends on. Let's see who shows up. Let's see what the kind of work is coming and the work is. You know, it's not nothing. I've got big projects. So do I want a 30 person firm? Probably not.

[Dennis Scully]

But this feels right.

[Alfredo Paredes]

This feels right. I mean, you know, I like the product part. I like the doing. You know, I'm doing rugs with Patterson Flynn that are coming out in May. I'm doing fabrics with Kravitz. So a design studio and a retail part of it. I like, I admire people like Nikki Kehoe. He worked with me, Todd. Nikki worked with me.

[Dennis Scully]

Right. Yeah.

[Alfredo Paredes]

So I admire what people are doing and I think that would be. I like that part that appeals to me. Interior design part. I'd rather do quality over quantity.

[Dennis Scully]

Okay, so not taking out a lot of projects, but the right projects.

[Alfredo Paredes]

I mean, if you came to me with a 5,000 room hotel in Vegas, I'd say no. But a hotel particular In Paris, it's 300 rooms. I'd say yes, but then I'd have to ramp up for it. I don't have the team to do that.

[Dennis Scully]

Right, well, so how much of the team is working on to your point? Product, furniture, the rug?

[Alfredo Paredes]

Well, let's see, I have a. Most of it is their interiors. There's architects, interiors. There are two people that handle the product stuff. More of the, what I call, more of the visual part of it, like the shoots and the people that help me work on the book. Because when I'm working with furniture and stuff, I have people out the outside, freelancers and stuff that I work. That used to work with me.

[Dennis Scully]

Ralph.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Which makes it so much easier. We'll just say, remember when we tweak this and turn that on the side.

[Dennis Scully]

Well, so speaking of that, tell me how you originally thought about a furniture collection. Because that was one of the things you seemed to do right away when you.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Well, when they approached me. Cause I didn't think of it. They approached me. Who? E.J. victor.

[Dennis Scully]

E.J. victor, originally.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Cause I used to do Ralph Lauren with those. And I was like, really? Furniture collection? Who's gonna buy? Like, why would I. Why would they know me? And how.

[Dennis Scully]

Again, they don't know me. Why are they gonna buy my life?

[Alfredo Paredes]

Well, I wasn't sure. And they said, no, no, no. John Jochinen, who's amazing, said, no, no, no. They know who you. We'll figure it out. Don't worry. And I thought, okay, well, how do I approach this? Because at Ralph Lauren, it was all in context of some idea, right? South of France, equestrian, whatever. And I thought, all right, I'm going to put it in my East Village apartment that was very well documented. If it can fit in there in that lifestyle and be photographed in there, then it works. And also learning. There were a lot of mistakes when I was at Ralph. There were a lot of things that didn't work, and I learned from them. I knew that I didn't want to do that. And I would say to John, I don't want to do that. Let's not go.

[Dennis Scully]

So what kind of things? What were things that you learned from that?

[Alfredo Paredes]

Don't get too esoteric. Make sure it's made in America. Make sure that it's. Don't get too. You know, I would say that they're not the best with things like steel or tubular metal or any kind of. Stay away from that stuff. Because it becomes. They have to outsource it and then get complicated.

[Dennis Scully]

Okay.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Don't get too slick. You know, I've done slick. I don't want to be slick, you know, So I just. Just all the various iterations that I was involved with, things that felt more natural to me and the things that felt totally. They bombed.

[Dennis Scully]

Do you find yourself thinking like a merchant as original? Always.

[Alfredo Paredes]

So the first market was Covid. I did this. I had the first two rooms at EJ Victor, whatever it was the old Kelly. Werstler space show. I did it, styled it, and I styling the pieces. I'm like, okay, let's do this stain and brown and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I'm watching the people walk in because it's Covid. They're all from the south and they're all from Florida. I'm like. And they're all kind of going, it's a little dark. And I'm sensing that, knowing I'm from Miami, I'm like that. So the next market, I bleached everything. And it totally appealed to them.

[Dennis Scully]

Right.

[Alfredo Paredes]

It was a different. It was a sensibility that they seemed to like. And that was a merchant of mine watching, observing. And the same desk, stained brown, stained black, Bleached is three different things.

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Which I learned. I learned that at Ralph because we were always like, what do you mean? I can't. Why do I have to introduce another sku? Can't I just use this desk again?

[Dennis Scully]

Right.

[Alfredo Paredes]

And it was always a back and forth. So it's just. Yeah, I was a merchant. I mean, I set up all the stores, all the home departments, all the, you know, every floor plan.

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah, no, no. I mean. And they were so massive. I mean, again, those introductions at High Point were just massive. And so here you are this time kind of tiptoeing in with a furniture collection.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Right.

[Dennis Scully]

Not all those skus. Right. And very specific and experimenting, it sounds like.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Right. Well, I mean. And it wasn't too edgy.

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah.

[Alfredo Paredes]

It wasn't rocket science. I'm like, I'm not. This isn't rock. It's things that I like. Things that I think the market will like. And I knew that it was universal enough. Do you know what I mean? So then they wanted me to. Then they wanted me to move into the big Ralph Lauren showroom that I didn't want to move into. Oh, it was the old Ralph Lauren space. I was like, that's just too much bad. That was too much for me. But I did it. And you know, and they've been amazing. I mean, it's terrible what's happened to their factory, the flooding and insurance issue.

[Dennis Scully]

And all of that.

[Alfredo Paredes]

So we're turning a new chapter now.

[Dennis Scully]

We're taking a quick break from the show to remind you about Ernesta. Elevate your clients, homes and your business with Ernesta's custom size rugs. From soft, 100% New Zealand wool and lattice pattern handmade styles to UV protected outdoor rugs and playful family friendly options. Ernesta's new spring arrivals are available and ready to deliver in as little as two to four weeks. Join Ernesta's trade program today to explore all of these new arrivals and more. Apply [e-mail] BOH that's ernesta.com BOH and now back to the show. Well, so let's talk about the new chapter. So tell. Because, I mean, this show is going to come out literally the week before High Point, and you've got a big new showroom.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Well, it was like all of this was going on with the company J. Victor there, and the future was very unclear. And I was like, we're a little befuddled because even that part of town in High Point seems to have changed. It doesn't seem that active. And I was sort of like, I don't. If they close, do I just close? If BJ Victor stops running, do I stop running? All these. So we went to look around and we went to the 313 space, and literally my head went like that. Because High Point, to me, has been notoriously boring and notoriously dated. You know, you're just like. Everyone complains about it, right? It's not hip enough. It's not this. And I walk into this place and I'm like, foaming at the mouth. I'm like, foaming at the mouth, and I'm like, what? And I felt like I was at home. And so I'm walking around, walking around. I'm with Jen, and she's like, all right. All right already. She's like, you know, like. Cause I'm like, you know, and Ralph and I were very much that way. Like dog with a bone, right? It's like, I can't stay there, and I don't want to close, so we have to. So I'm walking around and I see somebody I used to work with, me. Do you know Stephen Earle?

[Dennis Scully]

Oh, yeah.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Stephen worked with me. I was like, alfredo, whatever. We were talking, okay. And I said, oh, my God, I love this place. And then he introduces me to the person who's responsible for all the creating. She says, I've been trying to reach you for about a month.

[Dennis Scully]

Really?

[Alfredo Paredes]

I have a space for you. That was like that. And I went upstairs and I said, I'll take it. I didn't know what. I didn't know what was happening with the business at EJ Victor. But I was like, we can't stay there, right? Cause I don't even know what they're doing. I mean, they might be selling. They were selling the building. There's too many things. And the whole vibe is just much more pleasant and much hipper. And they were totally embraced. Were embraced. So we're very excited to go.

[Dennis Scully]

This lovely Belgian couple, Right. They're all about hospitality. And there's a wine bar downstairs.

[Alfredo Paredes]

And it just feels like, where am I? Yes. And I was just super enlightened, like, I can do this. We can do. We'll give you. You can have the space. Da, da, da, da, da. And I was like, great. Again, serendipity.

[Dennis Scully]

Right. And so you're gonna have this space and you've got this collection that various people are making.

[Alfredo Paredes]

I mean, who's doing production? We have various people doing. We have various people doing it. And it's actually working out in a way that for now, I mean, we're very excited about making it happen. You know, it's been a couple of months trying to figure it out.

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah.

[Alfredo Paredes]

But. But I think we're ready to go.

[Dennis Scully]

Well, I mean, it. We're talking at this crazy time where tariffs are making it impossible for anyone to really plan or have a vision. Of course, we've been speaking to so many people who are getting ready for High Point. They don't even know what pricing they're going to be able to put on their floor models because so much is coming from Vietnam, China, elsewhere. Right. Anywhere really outside of the country. You don't actually know what the final numbers are going to be.

[Alfredo Paredes]

It's a crazy time. Fortunately, all of ours is made here, so it's scary, but it feels creative. The place feels creative. I'm going to have vintage pieces there. I'm going to have stuff that I. And it's just. We'll see what happens.

[Dennis Scully]

So you're going to bring in vintage pieces and mix them in with everything.

[Alfredo Paredes]

And I'm excited because most of my stuff is made in America, so I don't have to worry about the tariffs.

[Dennis Scully]

Right. As it turns out, yeah.

[Alfredo Paredes]

It's all made. Look. Made in different factories here. Few things are being made in South America, but we'll see. I don't even know if I like them when they come. And also a lot of these pieces are the samples. Are the samples that I will carry forward, but they're the samples from the EJ Victor days. So I'm going to make them better for the next market. These are the samples from before. So we'll hopefully explain that to people that we're moving on from some of this stuff.

[Dennis Scully]

Did you ever feel to that point of entering the interior design world from a different place? Did you ever feel a lack of acceptance from a certain part of the community.

[Alfredo Paredes]

I'll tell you a story.

[Dennis Scully]

Please do.

[Alfredo Paredes]

And this is the story. And I tell Steve Gambrel this tutorial at the time, okay? So about when the women's store on Madison Avenue opened that I designed with a team from the ground up. It was on the COVID of ad. Ralph's apartment was on the COVID of AD that year. Cindy Crawford and Randy Gerbert's house was on the COVID ad, and so was my apartment. Four covers that year. Nobody knew. After four covers, I went to an event with Brad, my partner. So we go to an event at the Guggenheim for AD100. And Brad was working at. Was writing for AD100 at the time with Peggy Russell and whatever. And it's late, and I'm tired and it's raining, and I'm like, I don't want to go to the Guggenheim. I'm kind of in a terrible mood. And I remember going to the Guggenheim. And there was. What I remember was the exhibit was a horse hanging in the middle, like a taxidermied horse hanging in the thing. And it's the AD100 party. And I'm standing there, and I'm seeing Mark Cunningham, who worked with me, and this one and that one, and all these. And they're all A.D. 100s. And I said. And I said to Stephen Gambrell, I don't even know what I said. I said, Are you AD100? He goes, of course. Like, yeah, like that. He's a friend of mine, right? And he said. I said, well, I'm not. He goes, you're not a designer.

[Dennis Scully]

Ouch. You are kidding.

[Alfredo Paredes]

No. And I was like. It was like a cold bucket of water thrown on top of me. And I thought, oh, yeah, I guess not. And that triggered me to think, as things got more complicated and I didn't want to get involved, I was like, I could just go design, right? I'll just go design, you know? And that was sort of like. And I mean, I joke with him about it. He didn't do it, but he meant it like, well, you're not in the design. You're not in a firm, right? But I was on the COVID of 84 times that year.

[Dennis Scully]

Sure felt like a designer. I sure felt like a designer.

[Alfredo Paredes]

I mean, it was just. It was a moment. It was a little bit. He did me a favor.

[Dennis Scully]

He did you a favor because he opened your eyes.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Well, he sort of, like, just sort of, you know. Yeah, yeah.

[Dennis Scully]

And you saw. Okay, this is how some people see it. Or some people think it.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Or in the reality of I'm investing all this time and energy doing this behind the scenes.

[Dennis Scully]

Right.

[Alfredo Paredes]

And what's that about? Yeah, I'm afraid of.

[Dennis Scully]

Right.

[Alfredo Paredes]

You know, other than it's been amazing and incredible ride and he's amazing and none of the river. But in the context of that, it sort of started to get in my crawl.

[Dennis Scully]

Okay. And so how do you refer to yourself today? Do you tell people, hi, I'm an interior designer, or what do you.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Designer?

[Dennis Scully]

You're a designer?

[Alfredo Paredes]

Yeah.

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah.

[Alfredo Paredes]

I don't need to get into what are the elements of what I design. Right.

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Because I don't really feel like that. There have been moments where I get asked to do things with other interior designers, and I feel like a square peg in a round hole, like I don't fit the same mold. You know, just from my experience. Not maybe we're all doing the same thing, but it's just. I don't. I've not come up. Like, I went the other night to the. To a Kips Bay, the 50th anniversary, like, whatever that. Were you there?

[Dennis Scully]

The President's dinner? Yeah.

[Alfredo Paredes]

I went. I went. It was my first time. And so I went with Patterson Flynn. They invited me and I. And I. And I said. Brad said, how was I? I said, well, it's like all my peers were there, but they've all acted like they'd been there for 30 years.

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah.

[Alfredo Paredes]

And for me, I was sort of felt a little like an outsider in that situation.

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah.

[Alfredo Paredes]

You know, which is cool. And I kind of. I was good with it. I was like, you know, I think. I think the newness is what's exciting. Do you know what I mean? Experiencing new things, two new chapters.

[Dennis Scully]

Well, it's just interesting. And it's so interesting to hear you. You tell that Stephen Gambrell story, because lately this issue of do we need to be protecting the interior design industry somehow are interlopers like you coming in and confusing people about what true interior designers do or are or maybe. I don't know.

[Alfredo Paredes]

I mean, certainly.

[Dennis Scully]

Do you feel you're a dangerous force, Alfredo, That's a cover.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Well, I mean, I mean, listen, there's only so many projects, for sure. There's that sense of territorialness. But no, I mean, anybody can be an interior designer, just like anybody could be, you know, say that they're a florist. Right. You create what you want to create.

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah.

[Alfredo Paredes]

And you manifest what you want to manifest. And I'm amazed when I'm at High point of all places where it's like, oh, my God, these are all interior designers from where? From where? And they're from all over.

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah.

[Alfredo Paredes]

And they're doing the work in different places. And I think so. I think it's all the level that you're working at and the projects you get. But that goes back to the early part about having to introduce myself.

[Dennis Scully]

Right.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Who are you and what did you do? Yes. And getting Ralph to write the foreword. Heat that up, you know. And he did me a great favor. Yes.

[Dennis Scully]

That's what. And that's pretty nice.

[Alfredo Paredes]

You know. And it wasn't like. Did I ever feel like, gosh, I should have left 20 years earlier? No, never. Never. Because a. I was doing amazing work building the most beautiful things in the world, getting whatever, getting paid probably more than if I'd gone out and done my own thing. Working for an amazing man, amazing company, super glamorous. I mean, all of it was perfect. In my 20s, I flew the Concord six times. In my 20s, I went to Europe to build a store in London with Terry Despont 400 times. I mean, like, it was very glamorous and yet very low key, very chill, very low key. I mean, hardcore.

[Dennis Scully]

Hardcore.

[Alfredo Paredes]

But overall, like, it's a. And a complete vision. I feel like sometimes people have no vision, which is the worst. You gotta have an idea, a vision of what you wanna be and don't and kind of stick to it. And I learned that from Ralph. You know, Ralph had. He. He didn't reinvent himself. He was always that. He'll tell you, I was always that guy. I just. Everything around me grew.

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah. In thinking about that and to our earlier conversation about finding yourself separate and apart from Ralph. What did you find turned out to actually be a little bit different about how you saw things. If there was anything major.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Well, it's funny, like, when I got to. When I left my family in Miami, I don't want to say that I walked away from my Cuban roots because I didn't even think about it. I'm like first generation Cuban American. But Cubans in Miami have that generation, like very Cuban. Yes. And so much of my heritage is built. Is my creativity. And my heritage is built around that. And at Ralph, it didn't even really matter. I didn't even. I didn't really. That didn't play off. Like I didn't feel particularly Hispanic or particularly Latin or particularly anything. Now I sort of embracing it. I like it. Do you know what I mean? It's a view of the World that I can't really articulate. But it's how I do certain things in design. It's hard to explain.

[Dennis Scully]

So you can lean into your lack of.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Yeah, it's a little bit more that I don't. That was new. I didn't really think about it while I was there, but so much changed. I became a dad. I became a father. It's, like, different. So I don't know. That's a good question. I haven't separated it enough to. I remember when I walked into that house, I was like, okay, I cannot have tartan drapes and horses and prison rugs and, like. Cause that's what would be expected. Right. And that's not what I would do. And it's not me. You know, it's not my thing. And so I was like. And Brad was like, what do you think? I was like, I don't know. A little Axel Lavo? A little Montecito? Well, I don't know. I'll figure it out.

[Dennis Scully]

Just, you know, it just can't be that. It just can't be the branch that.

[Alfredo Paredes]

I helped build all those years. Yeah, that's not who. I'm not that guy. So. Yeah, though the house was crying for that.

[Dennis Scully]

It would have been the perfect. I mean.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Yeah. And I was just like, yes, there's not going to be that sensibility there. I like it a little bit more. I would say more Playboy Mansion.

[Dennis Scully]

Well, in thinking about. As we sort of wrap up the conversation, as you think about some of the challenges of stepping away to your earlier point, huge staff, hundreds of people working with me, able to just have them doing a million different things. Suddenly I'm starting a small firm. I got to sort of navigate all of this myself, hire these people and all of that. What has been the most challenging part of stepping away and then building this firm and kind of mapping out your vision?

[Alfredo Paredes]

Well, I mean, first you make me think is like. Making me think is like when the carousel stops. And like, now you can't even figure out how to turn on your iPhone because there was like 30 it people walking around you or Jen. And I would joke, are you going to take the trash out tonight or not? Yes. You know, all of that. So it's like stopping the sort of, wow, I'm not in the first class lounge at Emirates. I'm going through normal. Just all of the padding that came with being an executive at that level that kept you away from things in a bad way. To me, I started to feel very removed and isolated. So that has been very helpful to get back to the ground. Do you know what I mean?

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, and when you think about. You were talking about saying no to great big hotel project, but great smaller boutique hotel in Paris. Great. When you think about where you'd like the work to take you, what would be some of the dream projects that you want to start manifesting and have?

[Alfredo Paredes]

I really. I love doing restaurants. I mean, that's a fun. Like, I love giving the experience. Like an experience, like a place. I don't know. I'd love to do hotels in California. Like, I think LA needs better hotels. I like doing clubs. And I never want to do retail again.

[Dennis Scully]

You don't.

[Alfredo Paredes]

No one will ever do it like Ralph does it. And at this point, I don't want to really figure out, like, talk to somebody else about how to hang socks or belts. Like, I don't, I don't. In other words, I would do what I always do, and I don't think anybody's going to do that, you know?

[Dennis Scully]

Well. So again, is that a matter of just being better known, being on more people's radars?

[Alfredo Paredes]

Ralph Lauren is giving me a book signing event in May. Cindy Crawford is hosting it with me. And it's the same.

[Dennis Scully]

That's very nice.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Yeah. Design week in la.

[Dennis Scully]

Okay.

[Alfredo Paredes]

And, I mean, I would like to be there.

[Dennis Scully]

Right.

[Alfredo Paredes]

If I head my way, I'd open an office there tomorrow, though. I don't know that I have the bandwidth now to do all that as far as. But I think my team would love to do that. So I just. I think, like you said, I think that the plan now is to figure out how to get my toehold over there. I'm doing Texas right now. Finished Miami, doing some things in Connecticut. So. Bedford, right? Yeah, yeah.

[Dennis Scully]

Well, so, interestingly, I mean, it feels like it's early days then, for you, right? In this whole introducing you to the world, I mean.

[Alfredo Paredes]

But I have, like, 10 projects, so it's not like we're not doing anything but on a bigger scale. This restaurant we're doing in Houston's gonna be quite beautiful. And I was always worried I was gonna be a little typecast, like, oh, he does. Polar bar, thoroughbred mahogany and cheer. Like, no, I do it all right. You can do it all. Just different aesthetics. And it's fun because as some clients that kind of push me out of that comfort zone. And sometimes I'm like, whoa. Like, I'm not comfortable where I'm going right now, but that's where the edge is.

[Dennis Scully]

And do you like that? When that feeling comes.

[Alfredo Paredes]

It takes me. I don't know that it's because I have 35 years of experience of doing it another way, but I'll try to go with it. I'll go with it, and then I won't say that I'm not sure, but I realize that they're pushing me to do something else.

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah.

[Alfredo Paredes]

So, you know, and I'm 61, about to be 62. So do I imagine that in 20? I don't. I don't want to. I don't compare myself.

[Dennis Scully]

You don't want to work forever.

[Alfredo Paredes]

No, but it's sort of about the brands that you built. Like, I know other people. Like, I'm not going to be Robert Stern. I'm not going to be Michael Smith. You know, it's like, I don't have those S. I don't see that. Do you know, that doesn't mean I might not be pleasantly surprised, but it's not where I'm trying. Trying to build. Right.

[Dennis Scully]

It's not the trajectory you're imagining at the moment.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Yeah, yeah. That's why I say to you, should I have done this 10 years earlier, 20 years earlier? No.

[Dennis Scully]

You've got your identity. You know who you are.

[Alfredo Paredes]

I think so. Right?

[Dennis Scully]

Yeah. Now you'll see where it takes you.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Yeah, exactly.

[Dennis Scully]

All right, well, I'm excited for all that's coming. I can't wait to see the collection in High Point and see your space at 313. It's going to be great and I'm so glad that I could come and visit.

[Alfredo Paredes]

Yeah. I appreciate it. Thank you.

[Dennis Scully]

Thanks for listening. If you'd like to keep up with the latest design industry news, visit us [e-mail] where you can sign up for our newsletter, browse job listings and join our BoH Insider community for access to online workshops, a free print subscription, and much more. If you have a note for the podcast, drop us a line at Podcast Business. If you're enjoying these conversations, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps others to discover the show. This show was produced by Fred Nicholas and edited by Michael Castaneda. I'm Dennis Scully. Thanks again for listening and I'll see you next week.