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Business of Home Podcast
The Thursday Show: What can designers do when showrooms go dark? Plus: Trump's new tariffs target Europe
00:33:52
Host Dennis Scully and BOH executive editor Fred Nicolaus discuss the biggest news in the design world.
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- [00:08]
Dennis Scully
This is Business of home. I'm Dennis Scully and welcome to the Thursday Show. Today we're gonna catch up on the news, including the latest on tariffs, an update on Charles Cohen's legal drama and what designers can do when showrooms go dark. To do all that, I'm joined by Business of Homes executive editor Fred Nickelhaus. Hi, Fred. Welcome back.
- [00:29]
Fred Nickelhaus
Hi, Dennis. Good to be back. How you doing?
- [00:32]
Dennis Scully
Great to have you back. I'm doing well. Missed you while you were away on vacay. Tell me you had a wonderful time.
- [00:38]
Fred Nickelhaus
I definitely, I had a wonderful time. I really enjoyed Caitlyn's fill in spot. You guys did a wonderful job. And it was very necessary for me to listen to it because I spent two weeks very far away from the design industry. Remember at the beginning of COVID there were all these people who had gone on like river rafting trips and came back a month later and were shocked to find out what had happened. That's kind of me. Copper tariffs, what? Wandering blindly through the world trying to figure it all out. But it's good to be back.
- [01:05]
Dennis Scully
Well, I'm glad you got away and you could clear your head and that you are ready for an exciting show today.
- [01:13]
Fred Nickelhaus
Ready would be an exaggeration. I hope listeners will forgive a little fogginess, but it's great to be back. And let's look back on Monday's episode, a conversation with Krista Nye Nicholas and Tammy Ramsay of I know them as cloth and kind, but they've also recently rebranded their design firm to be Ramsey Nye. So good conversation. A lot of topics, very in the weeds on a lot of trade stuff. I thought it was a good one.
- [01:34]
Dennis Scully
A lot of fun conversations. And we actually got to do something that we love when we can connect a conversation we've had on the Thursday show and bring it to the Monday show. We did that with this great article that our producer Caroline Burke had written about markups. And we got into that conversation in a meaningful way which was very fun and felt very of the moment, but also got to hear about this really interesting business that they have built in the Midwest, a design firm in two different locations. One of them's in Ann Arbor and one of them is in Athens, Georgia. And those places are by no means close to each other. And so they've been working remotely since before it was cool and making it work. And they also have a multi line showroom with now multiple locations. We got to talk about some boutique textile lines and some other issues that we enjoy. It was a really Good conversation. I always say. Oh, it was a wide ranging conversation. It really was a wide ranging conversation.
- [02:41]
Fred Nickelhaus
It was. You didn't even mention that they'd met on Pinterest, which I really loved.
- [02:45]
Dennis Scully
Yes.
- [02:46]
Fred Nickelhaus
That was really fun. Yeah, just a lot of fun topics in it. It's always interesting to hear from people who have seen both sides of the industry, both on they know what it's like to be a showroom and interacting with designers. They know what it's like to be a designer interacting with showrooms. People who that 360 view are always really worth listening to. So I love that component of it. I also just love their. They just have a good energy. You know, I think at one point they said we're both a lot, but are a lot like each other. But in all seriousness, like a lot of business relationships are like, they're emotional, they're friendships. One of them was talking about how like, it was almost like she didn't want to tell her husband about this business partner she met because it was so intimate, you know. And I do think there's, you know, their chemistry really comes through on the show in a great way.
- [03:26]
Dennis Scully
Yeah, it was fun to hear how quickly they hit it off with one another and then decided to go into business after knowing each other for really just a few months. And so it's a fun story. They are both just smart and full of energy and insight. So I was really glad to finally get them on the show. You and I have known them for a while, but I was glad to get them on and have, as I say, quite a fun conversation. I hope people will enjoy it. We're going to take a quick break and then we'll get into the news.
- [04:03]
Caroline Burke
This podcast is sponsored by June Laloy. You likely already know Laloy, a prominent name in the design world known for rugs. Now meet its sister brand, June Laloy, a total home furnishings destination that expands on Laloy's expertise, adding furniture, lighting, decor, and, of course, more rugs. If you know Laloy, you know their collection leads with quality craft and great design. And June laloy follows suit. With June laloyloy's trade program, designers receive exclusive pricing priority, customer support, and a seamless online sourcing experience. Visit junelloy.com today to explore the collection and sign up for a trade account. That's J-O-O-N L O L-O I.com and now on with the show.
- [05:02]
Dennis Scully
And we're back. First up, Fred. I'm so sorry to hit you with this on Your first day back from vacation. But we're gonna talk about tariffs.
- [05:09]
Fred Nickelhaus
Rough reentry. The past week has seen a barrage of trade news with President Trump threatening to impose a 50% tariff on copper, 30% on goods from the European Union and Mexico, and 50% on Brazil, all slated to go into effect Aug. 1. In addition to all the stuff you talked about last week with Cait and what's going on here, Dennis?
- [05:30]
Dennis Scully
Well, he's added Europe to the mix in a big way. And I think those who were not concerned when it was Vietnam that we were talking about, they said, oh, who cares? Vietnam, who cares about all that furniture being made over there? But suddenly Europe, they thought, wait a sec, what about all of my international fabrics? So the design industry woke up, I feel. But what's your sense?
- [05:55]
Fred Nickelhaus
Yeah, I don't know. This is just to step back and have a meta convers about tariffs here. I think this is so complicated because these are a really big deal if they go into effect. I mean, 30% on the European Union, as you said. Think about 30% on top of what you already pay for Pierre Frey. Not that it's not worth it. It is. But you add 30% on top of that and suddenly it's a different proposition. It will have a huge effect on the design industry. The problem, as is always the case with these tariff stories, is that there's such big news. They get us talking. We spend 20 minutes at the top of the show talking about them. But are they really going to happen? It like Wall street doesn't think so. What do you think?
- [06:34]
Dennis Scully
You're right that the market seems remarkably complacent about all of this. We're at all time highs, not all time highs for home related stocks, we should point out, because they have taken a meaningful hit and many of them did not bounce back since the since the big tariffs were announced back on Liberation Day back in April. But I think people have begun to detach themselves from this, but nonethele. Nonetheless, it's creating enough confusion where it seems a lot isn't moving forward.
- [07:09]
Fred Nickelhaus
One of the complicated pieces of this is that there was much more of a run up to the tariffs on China. And so I think all the people in our industry who manufacture furniture in China and import it did a huge order in January, brought over as much as they could, which is allowing them to keep prices relatively low right now, although maybe not much for longer. But let's keep that aside for now with Europe. The idea that we're going to see a 30% tariff in two weeks. I don't think there's anyone in the industry who can sudden bring over tons and tons of fabric to make up for that. I don't think people are really gonna do anything around this. I think they're just gonna wait and hope that it blows over. And you know, I hesitate to say this is a tempest in a teapot because if it happens, it is certainly not that. But I doubt that there's many people in the industry who are reacting quickly and suddenly and decisively to this news. But maybe you've heard differently. I don't know. What are your French friends saying, Dennis?
- [07:58]
Dennis Scully
Well, I mean, I think the European Union. Let me just speak for the whole European Union. Yeah, Fred. And tell you how they're all feeling. You know, I. Everybody feels much the same way that you just outlined. What's interesting though is that despite everyone not believing it's really going to happen, you have seen both meaningful money coming into the treasury from the tariffs already that are in place. Billions and billions of dollars has actually been collected. And you have seen in the recent, and I don't want to get too wonky here, but in the recent CPI inflation numbers, we have seen inflation tick up when it comes to guess what Furnit ticked up actually in a meaningful way. And, and some other areas as well. And so it's not as though it's not having an impact. It is.
- [08:48]
Fred Nickelhaus
I was hoping to wait at least a week being back from vacation to hear to hear cpi, but. But indeed the latest CPI print did, as you pointed out, show some inflation in furniture. And you know, anecdotal evidence like shows that that's obviously the case. People are raising prices. Every designer listening to this has gotten some kind of notification from a vendor over the past couple of months saying that they are either considering RA prices, they had already raised prices. I saw an article saying that Jonathan Charles had raised its prices even more after the news about Vietnam maybe possibly being 20%. So, you know, prices are coming up and I think that as I said earlier, people brought over so much stuff at the beginning of the year that they were able to keep prices down. That stuff is running out and now we're gonna see if it really is gonna send inflation running up and that's gonna have all kinds of knock on effects. So I hope you're not too bored of hearing us talk about this because I suspect it will come back next week and maybe the.
- [09:43]
Dennis Scully
Exactly. I mean, and unfortunately we're playing all sorts of games with what the word inflation really means. It's undeniable. Things are getting more expensive. If there's anything we can say decisively, it's this just in. Things are more expensive. That's what we can say for now. More on that later, because we've got to move on to talk about Charles Cohen. A perennial topic here on the show. The design center landlord Charles Cohen's troubles are mounting. Last week his super yacht was seized by an Italian court and a new ruling cleared the way for foreclosure. His tower at 750 Lexington Avenue. I think it's the superyacht part, though, Fred, that hits me especially hard.
- [10:23]
Fred Nickelhaus
I understand you've been doing some reporting on the superyacht. What can you bring back from your.
- [10:27]
Dennis Scully
Well, the Seasense, Fred. The Seasense, the beautiful 220 foot yacht. She's got an elevator, she's got a pool, she's got a pizza oven. She's, you know, I didn't get to spend any time on her myself, but she sure does look like a boat that I would hate to lose to an Italian cork.
- [10:46]
Fred Nickelhaus
FRED yes, me too. That's the kind of problem I want to have. This is an interesting one. You know, we've been talking about Charles Cohen for, for a while now, of course, if you know, just to get people up to speed. He's the landlord who owns the D and D building here in New York, the pdc. For now, he owns the Decorative center Houston in Houston, although there's been some speculation that will get foreclosed on and he recently lost the Dakota and in Florida. So he's a big landlord in the design industry and there's all kinds of lawsuits going. There was an article in the Real Deal that explained all the various problems he's got with all his lender fortress. One of the big ones is after him for umpteen million dollars. And as part of it, they've seized this super yacht in Italy. But just as importantly, they're going after 750 Lexington, which is a tower that he owns, which is the headquarters of his company, Cohen Brothers Realty. So we've talked about Charles Cohen being in trouble before, but this seems very real to me. I don't know. What's your reading of the tea leaves, Dennis?
- [11:42]
Dennis Scully
Well, exactly, Fred. I think we used to tiptoe around these issues in the past saying, no, no, this can't really happen to Cohen. He'll find a way out of this. No. And it was interesting to see he had transferred the super yacht and the house in Greenwich to his wife and he argued in some court documents that it was in recognition of a nearly 20 year marriage. She deserved the yacht and the house in Greenwich. And I don't know why you think I'm trying to move those around so you can't seize those assets, but the court wasn't going for it. What's interesting is the armor has really, really been peeled away and they are going after him on multiple fronts. And interestingly, as I was processing this and thinking about what we could say about all of this on the show today, looking at all of the troubles that Charles Cohen is having, they are so clearly tied to the COVID impact and what it has done to his business. Yes, he clearly turned out to have been wildly overextended and placed personal guarantees on all sorts of loans that we didn't know about before. But all of this is happening because Covid emptied out those buildings of his. Covid wiped out WeWork, which was such a huge tenant in his own headquarters building. And this is so much a Covid related story.
- [13:16]
Fred Nickelhaus
Well, first of all, I'm extremely surprised that you're skeptical of his explanation about the super yacht because everyone knows that the 20th anniversary is the super yacht anniversary.
- [13:25]
Dennis Scully
Absolutely. My wife is not expecting a superyacht or a mansion in Greenwich.
- [13:30]
Fred Nickelhaus
My question is kind of what happens next here? The DCH in Houston has been on or has been headed for the foreclosure auction block twice. Now, if he loses it, my question is, who steps in? And if he loses the D and D building and the pdc, who steps in there? It's interesting because the Dakota, the building in Florida, has actually had what appears to be a happy ending. Jamestown has taken over management of it. And according to the tenants there that I speak to, they appear to be doing things. And there's toilet paper and music and flowers and, you know, all the things that you need in the design center. But I, I hope that if indeed Cohen, you know, maybe does lose control of these design centers, that there's an equally happy fate in the other buildings. Because I don't think it's as much of a guarantee. You know, each building is different. Each one has its own set of pressures and, you know, strength. So I don't know, I'm really curious to see what happens next. Cause things are happening.
- [14:22]
Dennis Scully
I agree. And I think, to your point, Fred, I think this dramatically increases the likelihood of there being a change of landlord for the D and D building for the PDC in the future. He's been given permission to sell off three of his buildings himself. And he's going to be doing that. And we'll see, and we'll see what his balance sheet looks like after all of that happens. But you have to imagine with traffic levels being down as dramatically as they are in these buildings over the years, that that seems a logical move. And I'm beginning to believe that transfer of ownership much more than I ever did before. So we will definitely have to stay tuned because I would be surprised if we were not reporting on that in the next year or two. But in the meantime, we've got another showroom. Related story. Fred?
- [15:14]
Fred Nickelhaus
Yes. Designer David Netto, a friend of the show, recently shared on Instagram an issue he was having with his showroom in la. He paid for his order but never received it. The response to his post revealed a broader problem in the industry, and our producer Caroline Burke and Aiden Taylor wrote a great feature about it. It's online at business of home.com right now. Check it out and read it. Hit pause and come back and press play. And we're back. Great story, Dennis, what'd you think of it?
- [15:40]
Dennis Scully
Yeah, a great story. And, you know, I, I have to say, shout out to, to David Netto, who, who texted me and said, I've got a story for you. And, and, and I love the fact that he went on Instagram and said, hey, this is happening. Guess what? Are any of you having this problem too? Because I think so often designers don't. You don't hear about problems or issues. And I'm thrilled that Caroline and Aiden got as deeply into it as they did in this article, because what this piece really talks about is how vulnerable everybody is in these situations. And there was a great deal of detail about some other related stories and what can happen. And it's an important conversation for us to have.
- [16:25]
Caroline Burke
Have.
- [16:26]
Fred Nickelhaus
Yeah, for sure. So just to break it down a little bit, so David placed this order with this company called Diva in Los Angeles, which is a dealer for a lot of the Floss BnB Italia Group brands like Casina. That was who, you know, David bought a casino piece and, you know, it didn't arrive. Communication with the showroom got kind of, you know, fewer and far between. And then he eventually found out that the showroom had not even passed on the deposit to casino, so they had taken his money and not even given it to the company who was manufacturing it. So Diva didn't really respond to a request for comment. It's not totally clear to me what's going on there, what Caroline and Aiden's piece really gets into Is this broader phenomenon that keeps happening? I'm curious, have you seen examples of, you know, you're a little bit longer in the tooth than I am in the industry? Dennis, has this always been. I'm so not to throw. Not to come out swinging.
- [17:12]
Dennis Scully
Interesting, interesting.
- [17:13]
Fred Nickelhaus
Okay, but has this been a perennial problem? Do you feel like it's getting worse? Do you feel like it's getting better? What's your take on that?
- [17:18]
Dennis Scully
I think it is a perennial problem. There used to be, you know, you'd show up at a design center sometimes and there'd be a padlock on the door. Right.
- [17:29]
Fred Nickelhaus
I mean, I've seen a few of those.
- [17:30]
Dennis Scully
Yeah. I mean, and, you know, and I have to say, I mean, the D and D building and the Cohen brothers, they were, they were pretty strict about it. You started to fall behind on your, on your rent, and they weren't, they weren't taking much time before they, before they took action. So usually found out pretty quickly from that perspective. But this has always been a problem. And part of it is that these aren't often big corporations that are behind these showrooms. They are entrepreneurs. And, and many of them run their business as though it's their own personal checking account. And so I think that's one of the things that we often lose sight of, is that there is much more of a mom and pop element to our business than often, I think people realize. And with that comes the need to figure out how do we get a better sense of what is really going on for some of these businesses?
- [18:32]
Fred Nickelhaus
Yeah, I mean, I think it's more mom and pop than some people realize. And that gets clouded because it's very luxurious and high end. So people have the sense that there's big infrastructure behind things, but in reality, it's not necessarily. And I think also, like, one of the thing is these situations always get framed as, oh, it's a scam. I think much more common is the fact that the showroom or the vendor just gets into financial trouble and they get into a tight spot and all they can do is delay the order because they're having issues with cash flow. It just looks like a scam because, of course, they're not being honest about it. But I think another big problem here is just like the lead times in the industry are so long, you give some money six months later. Six months is a long time in the business. A lot can happen in that six months, and a company can hit really dire straits. And as you pointed out, people don't like to talk about Issues, things going wrong. There's kind of like an unofficial code of silence to some degree in the industry because everyone wants to talk about the good things and put on a front. And so it's a combination of long lead times which increase the risk of something going wrong, and also that people don't talk, I think, as openly as people like David Netto do. So these stories don't always get reported in terms of what to do about it. It's very difficult. Every time we talk about one of these issues, I always say pay by credit card. And I think that that's still good advice. But as Caroline's piece really points out, it's not a quick fix that doesn't always work well.
- [19:55]
Dennis Scully
Exactly. And as Caroline's piece and Aidan's piece points out, is that some showrooms, first of all, they don't want you to pay by credit card. Y and often if you're in a little bit of a financial pinch, you start asking people to not pay by credit card so that you can get your hands on some greater cash without having to pay that fee. And again, this goes back to the listen, you're having some cash flow issues. You start to create a strategy for what do I do? How do I delay the issues? And so showrooms start asking you to wire transfer or they start asking you for ACH deposits. And often these are quite large sums of money that are moving around in our industry, as you well know. And again, I touched on this a little bit bit last week, interestingly enough, because our industry hasn't always been known for such great service in the first place. Often it's not unusual to not hear anything about your order for several weeks or for quite some time. Right. If you've got something with an especially long lead time, your sales rep might not be checking in with you regularly. And you might not have any idea that weeks have gone by and your order hasn't even been placed, despite the fact that you wire transferred $30,000 as the case in Caroline's piece. What is interest, Fred, that I was thinking about and you talk about how long I've been in this industry. Fred, back in the day, we all used to talk about Dun and Bradstreet.
- [21:16]
Caroline Burke
We used to talk about credit reports.
- [21:18]
Dennis Scully
Back in the day, if you were some new designer showing up in some highfalutin showroom, they wanted bank references, they wanted, where's your credit report? Where are some references? And the same thing went for the showrooms. Show me your most recent financial statement. Give me some indication that you're paying your bills, and I'll show you that I'm paying my bills. My bills. And you don't hear about that as much today. People used to subscribe to Dun and Bradstreet and used to give regular updates about your business so that everyone knew you were on the up and up. And that doesn't come up today as much.
- [21:55]
Fred Nickelhaus
Yeah, that's really interesting. Well, maybe that's another story to report on. I mean, I think, as you pointed out, like, you know, and Caroline's piece has some good advice about looking for red flags. And I think every designer should do that. And if communication is getting spotty, that's a red flag. If you feel pressured into doing an ACH transfer, that's a red flag. Part of the problem, though, is that it's not so uncommon to have a vendor be a little bit uncommunicative. And most people don't immediately halt the project just because the vendor doesn't return an email overnight. So I think no matter what, you're always going to be a little bit vulnerable in this business. The point about credit reports is an interesting one. I think that the reality is the industry's gotten a lot more. It's gotten bigger, and there's more people in it. And I also think that more transacting is done online. And I often hear from designers, even really established ones, that, you know, they just kind of. They see that other people, like, are doing business with this other company on Instagram. Like, that's, that's. That is kind of the vetting process for. For a lot of vendors. And, you know, it's tough. I don't want to say that you should mistrust your vendors, because I think the vast majority of them are doing a great job. And I think not wanting to, you know, pay credit card fees is totally relevant. It just adds to the cost of doing business. And certainly asking for an ACH or wire transfer is not automatically a bad thing. But I do think this is getting more prevalent, and it's something that hopefully we can come up with as an industry to fix, because it's really too bad, and it really puts designers in such a tight spot.
- [23:16]
Dennis Scully
No, I agree. Not that we want to make everyone be on high alert about every vendor that they're working with, but I think this story makes it clear that there are just a lot of things that designers need to be paying attention to. And again, particularly because such large sums of money. Money Are changing hands. You can imagine how much David Netto was putting down to order to place.
- [23:39]
Fred Nickelhaus
That order and just try and front load the try and communicate as much as possible early on because the problem is you get the red flag too late to do anything about it. But if you really dot all your I's and cross your t's in the beginning of the transaction, you're more likely, hopefully to catch a red flag. I just think it's one of the sad realities of this business that there's always going to be the vulnerability given the lead times. But we will stay on top of it. We will report on this stuff as soon as we see it. So my very last Tip is read.
- [24:06]
Dennis Scully
Businessofhome.Com always and everywhere. And thanks again to David Netto for giving us a heads up on that one. Moving on. We're going to talk about. Wait a sec. We're going to talk about podcasting, Fred. That's right. In El Decor, Andrew Zucker explored the phenomena of interior designers creating bespoke podcasting studios for popular shows. And I hope that they're coming to us soon.
- [24:33]
Fred Nickelhaus
Fred, are we popular enough to get, I don't know many interior designers, so it's going to be hard for me to get someone to come in and redo my studio. But yeah, this was just a fun piece because one thing that has happened recently in the world of podcasting is that it's become less and less of an audio medium and more and more of something that you see on YouTube. So many podcasts are kind of like YouTube first. And whether anyone is really sitting there watching the entire hour and a half of Joe Rogan talk about alien conspiracies or whatever, I doubt it. But there is a video component, and that video component component needs furniture for people to sit on. And it's become a little bit of a cottage industry to design these podcast sets. Should we describe our own podcast sets for the benefit of the audience here, Dennis, what do you see behind me?
- [25:20]
Dennis Scully
Well, you know, what I want to say is that what I saw in this article, Fred, was a lot of ivory boucle.
- [25:28]
Fred Nickelhaus
Yes, exactly right.
- [25:29]
Dennis Scully
And I thought, no, no, that I will not allow. And I am, I want to make it clear to listeners that neither of us are sitting in a room filled with ivory boucle. But the video pressure. Are you feeling the video pressure, Fred? Are you feeling like we, we have to start decorating our space and getting ready for that? Because, I mean, a lot of, a lot of it is moving there.
- [25:51]
Fred Nickelhaus
I'm more consulting with my dermatologist and trying to. I'm less concerned about what's behind my face than my face itself. But yes, there, there is pressure to do video. We, you may, you may see us on YouTube in the not too distant future. But I think what's kind of interesting about this is like, you know, we talked about this during COVID is how, you know, people's homes became so much more of their identity. You know what I mean? It became a way to convey because everyone's posting it from Instagram. Of course you're at home because it's Covid. And so your home becomes much more of a part of the image that you project to the world. And I think this is just sort of like another knock on example of that. A lot of these podcasters have huge audiences. They have sort of an aesthetic and having a studio that reflects their aesthetic is another way for them, them to convey personal brand. And I think who better to do that than an interior designer? I don't think this is a very lucrative gig. I think the budgets are not necessarily huge for these projects, but it's just a cool, yet another place where designer services can be implemented. And if you're wondering if this entire segment is just a plea for us to get a budget to get a podcast studio, it might be. But I think it's also a valid business opportunity for anyone out there who has any podcast studio.
- [27:01]
Dennis Scully
We're going to play this back for our overlords and hopefully you're going to be seeing us come from a beautiful podcast studio in the near future. Designers, we welcome your input on this and I'd be so curious to hear from designers whether they are getting hired for this gig. All right, that's it for the news, but there's plenty more to check out on businessofhome.com including a look at a design magazine that focuses on one chair and Sean Lowe's advice for managing linites fees. We'll be back in a minute, but.
- [27:30]
Caroline Burke
First, a quick break.
- [27:37]
Dennis Scully
We're taking a quick break to tell.
- [27:38]
Caroline Burke
You a little bit more about June laloyloy. As a sister brand to Laloy, June laloyloy maintains the same design acumen, high standards of quality and value, offering furniture, rugs, lighting and decor for today's home, the June laloy trade program is designed to make doing business a breath breeze, offering exclusive benefits to designers that include special pricing priority, customer support and a seamless sourcing experience.
- [28:08]
Dennis Scully
Visit junelloy.com today to explore the collection.
- [28:11]
Caroline Burke
And sign up for a trade account. That's J-O-O-N L O L-O I.com and now back to the show.
- [28:30]
Dennis Scully
And we're back. We're getting to the end of the show here, but before we go, we'd like to take a second to highlight anything that caught our eye in the industry. Fred, what caught your eye?
- [28:38]
Fred Nickelhaus
A couple things caught my eye. First of all, Magazine C. Now, you mentioned it earlier in the show very briefly, but this is a South Korean magazine where every issue is dedicated to one chair and one chair only. It's not a slim magazine. This is a.
- [28:54]
Dennis Scully
No, there is a lot to say.
- [28:56]
Fred Nickelhaus
About this chair, apparently, but I actually, you know, just to throw it back to the happy days of being in Copenhagen for three days of design. I met some of the editors of Magazine C there, and they, you know, gave me a copy of the magazine, and Haley did a great interview with him. It's a really fun concept. They really do deliver on the premise. It's. It's quite a delight. And, you know, I got the one on the Prouve standard chair. I knew it, but I did not know as much as I do now that I've read an entire magazine about it. So. Really fun concept. I'd recommend people check out our article about it and also the magazine itself. Secondly, on 71st street in Manhattan, there is a house that has long been a source of fascination for me. It's not really a house. It's a townhouse. Dennis, you must know this house. This is informally known as the bubble house. It's. I would always walk by with people and tell them that an alien lived there. It's just a kind of crazy, weird plexiglass bubble windows in the middle of a row of otherwise normal townhouses. Is this a landmark for you as it is for me?
- [29:55]
Dennis Scully
It absolutely is. And I know this house very well as I grew up on East 71st Street.
- [29:59]
Fred Nickelhaus
Oh, my gosh.
- [30:00]
Dennis Scully
And my mother still lives in the very apartment that I grew up in, so I spend a great deal of time on East 71st Street. And that house was just right down the street.
- [30:09]
Fred Nickelhaus
This is, like a local oddity. And it's going on sale for the first time in, I don't know, 10 tens of years at the very least. So I was excited to see the. The inside of this house that I. That I'd long worried about. And it kind of made me wonder, like, can we get Kips Bay to show up the Buffalo House like that? You know, how exciting would that be?
- [30:27]
Dennis Scully
I love that idea. I. I think it would be a fun house. It is a fun house. And it's a really. You have to turn those windows. Windows, those bubbles sideways to open them. And. Yeah, no, it. It has long stuck out like a sore thumb on that block.
- [30:41]
Fred Nickelhaus
It's not. It's not really Scully aesthetic. It's not Scully coated, but I like it.
- [30:46]
Dennis Scully
It is very, very curious, but. Yes.
- [30:48]
Fred Nickelhaus
What caught your eye this week, Dennis?
- [30:49]
Dennis Scully
What caught my eye was there was a piece on the House Beautiful site that said I quit my job and I opened a home store in Minnesota. And I thought, oh, you know, good for whoever that was. And then I. And then I jumped into the story and discovered it was Alexander, formerly from the marketing department at Samuel and Sons, and Alexander Widener has opened up Widener Co. Store, interior shop, and a guest cottage in Maine. And I am heading up to Maine this very weekend. So Alexander look for a visit from me. But huge congratulations to Alexander and his and his husband for, I guess, quitting their day jobs and pursuing their dream of opening up a shop and a little guest cottage. And. And who better? Because Alexander just has such fun taste and a great sensibility and is just a warm, hospitable guy. He's exactly who you want taking care of you when you show up to Wiscasset, Maine. So I'm looking forward to seeing it this weekend.
- [31:58]
Fred Nickelhaus
Is this your next chapter, Dennis? To quit your job and start a home store in Maine? When I leave, the Lords don't come through with the podcast studio.
- [32:06]
Dennis Scully
Exactly.
- [32:06]
Fred Nickelhaus
You're gonna leave it all behind.
- [32:07]
Dennis Scully
If our bosses do not cough up that budget for a nicely designed studio, Fred, I am off to Maine. Well, who knows? Stay tuned for that. All right, that's all the time we have today. Thanks so much for listening. If you want to keep up with the latest news, browse job listings or take a workshop, visit us online@businessofhome.com if you want to get in touch with the show, write to us@podcastusofhome.com this episode was produced by Fred Nicholas and Caroline Burke and edited by Michael Castaneda. I'm Dennis Scully. Have a great weekend, and we'll be.
- [32:41]
Caroline Burke
Back with you on Monday.