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- [00:00]
A
Hello, everyone. Welcome to Dear Alice and Merry Christmas. If you're celebrating Christmas today, we're happy to be with you and to be recording.
- [00:09]
B
I know.
- [00:09]
A
Yeah. We wanted to sort of take a look back at the year and just share a few highlights as we're sitting around the campfire in our pajamas enjoying.
- [00:18]
B
Christmas, eating a donut, no doubt.
- [00:22]
A
Something of sorts. Yes. So this will be, I think, a fun one. It'll be a short one, but we wanted to just get on here and celebrate with you because it happens to be a Thursday and. And we didn't want to not show up for you because we always do. So happy holidays and thank you for being here. If you guys are planning on doing any refreshing in your home in 2026, you've got to check out our free design consultation service. It's called Home Furnishing Design. It is a really amazing, comprehensive furnishing service. We have interior designers that have degrees that are working in AutoCAD and they're doing it complimentary. They're going to take your floor plans in, or just your dimensions if you want, and photos of your room and your wish list, and they are going to go about helping you populate that room with whatever you need. They know sectional math, they know all of the different clearances and codes to be able to get you the most comfortable, beautiful space. Plan and choose fabrics that are going to agree with your lifestyle. I cannot recommend it enough. It's called home furnishing Design, Corey. Where do they find it?
- [01:24]
C
So if you go to alicelanehome.com There's a design Services tab. Drop down on that to Home Furnishing Design and then fill out that form and one of our designers will get back to you.
- [01:33]
A
Perfect.
- [01:34]
C
Like Jess mentioned, this episode is coming to you on Christmas Day. So I just wanted to hear from you guys. What are some Christmas traditions or just activities that you guys like, typically do around the holidays or on Christmas Day specifically?
- [01:48]
A
I love it. Well, Susan's answer is going to be so fun and cute because she has little kids still at home. My. My little kids turned into 20 year olds. And so it's like adults sitting around at Christmas time. But it's funny how you still revert back. You're like, no, this is what we do. And I feel like what we do is the same as what my parents made us do because it's tradition, after all.
- [02:10]
B
Yeah.
- [02:11]
A
And our. Probably one of our biggest traditions comes from my grandpa, whose birthday was on Christmas Eve. And so every year, grandpa would open up all of his presents. And they'd celebrate his birthday and then the kids would be mad and he got to open the gifts because they didn't understand because there's all these gifts under the tree. So then the parents would say, okay, go choose one gift and then you can open it up for grandpa's birthday. And so we continue to open a gift every Christmas Eve in honor of Grandpa.
- [02:37]
C
That's cool.
- [02:37]
A
Even though he's been gone for a long time now. And to celebrate Grandpa on Christmas Eve, which is really fun, and just kind of give a tip the hat to him every year, which is great. Of course, the matching pajamas. And we have a fun tradition where my parents have. They've always had like a timeshare up in Park City since I was probably in middle school. And we've always had it the week before Christmas. So we've always skied together the week before Christmas. And that means now that we're all married, we don't have to battle for the holiday. If you're at the in laws or not.
- [03:08]
C
It's like a pre Christmas party.
- [03:09]
A
So now we're always together for a week doing winter sports and playing games at night and doing puzzles and eating all the food. And my mom, of course, gets Christmas pajamas for everybody at the beginning of the week. So all of the 22 grandkids are dressed alike. And it really just sort of brings you all together. Like you're all wearing the same jersey, if you will, because you're all wearing the same pajamas. And there's like bingo and different games and things that go on and, you know, dinners and it's just really fun. It's a small space and there's too many people in it. But when I think of, when I think of the holidays, I think of the people, just so many of us. And there's a million conversations going on and so many pictures to be had of winter sports or, you know, nighttime games. And it's just, it's always family. So, yeah, those are two things. How about you guys? I love that.
- [03:57]
B
So my family, so I'm the youngest of five kids and we still all get together like the night of Christmas and we still have sleepover with all of our Christmas Eve Christmas. On Christmas morning, Santa comes to the place that we all are at and we all open our gifts together. So I mean, like, there's a lot of us. There's four, usually four of the five kids are always together. And we sleep over. At my sister's house, we used to sleep over.
- [04:19]
A
So the four of five kids is now turned into eight to 10 adults. Yeah.
- [04:24]
B
With, like.
- [04:25]
A
And then how many grandkids?
- [04:26]
B
Gosh, there's like 12.
- [04:27]
A
12 grandkids?
- [04:28]
B
Yeah. Because the other four in New York.
- [04:29]
A
Everybody, including your parents, do they sleep over?
- [04:32]
B
Yeah. Yeah, they do. We used to do it in my mom's house. And, like, that was magic. Street magic, because I lived in the attic, which was so darling. And all the kids would go up there while Santa delivered presents downstairs. And, like, that was so fun for, like, all the kids to sleep up in the attic. Now we all. We do Christmas at my sister's house, but it's really fun because all the kids, like, they kind of congregate and hud together, and then when it's, like, time and ready, like, for them to see what Santa brought them, they all come up the stairs and, like, and we still go. They see their Santa stuff, but then we still go. I love. Okay. Pet peeve of mine is when everybody opens their gifts at the same time.
- [05:08]
C
Yeah.
- [05:10]
B
And it makes me so mad that I don't get to see what grandma got them or your aunt. And so, like, yeah, that's. You just slow down. You have the whole day. Like, what else are we doing?
- [05:19]
C
Like, let it last.
- [05:20]
B
Just. Yeah, just, like, going to circle.
- [05:22]
A
You guys have a best practice at your house.
- [05:24]
B
Youngest to oldest. And we go around and we, like, the kids, they all open up theirs, and then the adults, they open up theirs because the kids can't handle themselves. So that's what we do. And it's just really fun to just like, see the excitement and celebrate with their cousins, like, what they got and. Or, you know, or just, like, what they gifted them, and it's really fun.
- [05:42]
A
I have a question for both of you, because I'm curious how you do this. Does Santa Claus wrap gifts or does he just leave the gift out? And that's how you know it's from Santa and Mom and dad wrap the gifts.
- [05:52]
C
Yeah.
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B
What do you do?
- [05:53]
C
It depends. If it's like, we got Grady a bike for Christmas, that's gonna be. Yeah. This is coming out Christmas. So we already know anyway. Stuff like that we leave out. Or if it's fun to set it up. You know, we do that. But we also have, like, wrapped Christmas presents, honestly.
- [06:11]
A
But are the wrapped ones from Santa? Yes, because at our house, that's how we knew it was Santa is because he just took the bike out of his bag and. And put it. Santa can't wrap bags. Wrap. Wrap. Gifts are.
- [06:22]
C
Santa can. Apparently, we learned something our first couple, like, Christmases, we. Everything was from Santa. There was nothing from mom and dad. And then, like, you know, mom and dad wanted credit. No, I mean, but it also is like, hey, Santa can't get you everything. And then like, Grady's like, yeah, he's magic. He can. I'm like, oh, okay. Yeah. So we're like, hey, Mom's gonna. Mom and dad are gonna get you some things this year too. So that's how we're doing that. And so I don't know, we'll have to out a system like that now. But everything comes from Santa.
- [06:53]
A
How. How you can always. I mean, Santa can't use the same wrapping paper as mom and dad because at some point they get smart.
- [06:59]
C
Oh.
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A
So I didn't know if you guys had wrapping codes or if. If your kids are there yet. What do you guys.
- [07:04]
B
I'm stringent on this stuff. Like, I feel very passionate about this. Santa does not rap. He drops it off. He, of course, like, displays it. Cute. Because that's Santa. That's the magic of the elves. So they. They put it there. And then they put like. Because you have multiple kids, they put a sign with the kid's name to just say like, this group of is like Grady's dummies or Nolan's or whatever. And that's that way they know. And like, he does the same thing. He does not wrap stocking stuffers.
- [07:27]
A
No, absolutely. They just go in the stocking. Yeah.
- [07:30]
B
I had a sister in law and she wraps everything because she's like, we were just poor and so we had to just like, everything single thing.
- [07:35]
C
We.
- [07:35]
B
My mom would, like, wrap it, which I love. That's so sweet. But our Santa does not. Yeah, he just puts things in there. And then that's like your quick party favorite after you've opened your gifts.
- [07:44]
A
Yeah.
- [07:45]
B
So, yeah, that's how we do it. But it's fun. And then just like the rest of the day, you just like, you eat and you nosh and you, like, fall asleep. And we're usually cooking something in the background, but we stay out all day together. And we stay in our jammies all day. Sometimes we'll go to a movie, but often we'll just like hang out and let the kids just, like, open up their stuff and play with each other.
- [08:03]
A
Cute.
- [08:03]
B
It's really fun.
- [08:04]
A
Yeah.
- [08:04]
B
I love Christmas so much.
- [08:05]
A
Yeah, it's the best.
- [08:06]
C
It really is.
- [08:06]
B
It's our very best.
- [08:07]
A
So good.
- [08:08]
C
Okay, like Jess mentioned at the beginning, wrapping up 2025. So we're just gonna this episode is gonna be about, like, some of our favorite moments highl that, you know, we accomplished as a team, and then also some personal ones as well. Jess, why don't you start it off?
- [08:22]
A
Yeah. So I. When I think about 2025, I think this is the most product we've ever launched in a year on the product development side of things with the Jay Bennett line. And we launched in January, we launched in February, we launched in March.
- [08:36]
C
We.
- [08:37]
A
We launched again our pot collection right after very best sale in May. Yeah, in May, we launched so much. And one of the learnings that I had, and some of you guys are in the interior design business, and even if you're not, this will still be an interesting learning because I feel like one of the number one game changers for any business owner is marketing. And you're just constantly learning, obviously, the algorithms of whatever platforms you're on, which is constantly changing, and then you're evolving to that in people's style. And this was the year that we had said we've got to figure out how to tell our story. And people love storytelling. Probably two years ago, our president of our company was like, Jess, you've got to get. You've got to become the face of the company. Like, you obviously own the company, but I just always have been more shy and more behind the scenes and was why we named it Alice Lane and not Jessica Bennett Design. You know, So I was like, no, no, no, that wasn't the point of this. I didn't want to be the face of this. I mean, even with the podcast, I'm like, let's all get together and talk about it and let's. All the design team is working on this. I'm very much a team player, and so this was a hard thing for me, but that was one of the directives that the team really felt like I needed to get more on camera and obviously talk about the product because we designed it and we have the why for. For why we wanted to create it. And so we had to tell all of that story besides designing it, also being on the creative marketing department of telling the story of it. So this year I got on camera more to share more of why we were creating these things and the story behind them and how we created them and what they're made out of and the finishes of them. I think it's been really big learning year for me and. And being able to launch the most products gave us more and more opportunities to talk about the things. One of my interesting learnings that I Don't know if you guys will find this interesting or not. We started out by calling things much like in fashion, it'll be like, you know, your winter launch, your spring launch, your summer launch. And we got to spring volume two and launching all these things, and we were like, well, but the, the items themselves aren't seasonal. So when we go to go and talk about them, they seem like now they're out of date because it's summer and we're talking about spring. And you're like, no, these things don't go out of style. It's for the home. It's permanent decisions that you're making. So we should really change the way that we call these launches. So we decided our next launch wasn't going to be called Summer or Midsummer. We were going to call it a collection name. And after really studying the collection for a while, we had come up with the name House Candy. If you guys remember our House Candy launch from the summer, we were no longer going to be calling things by seasons but by collection names. So that's been one of the really fun parts for me is getting to think and ideate on what these collection names should be. And I think that was one of the most successful launches. It's not only fun to think of and say it's super buzzy and it fit the collection so well. It just, it did really well. There was a lot of color in it. And I know for 2025 and obviously in 2024, we're seeing this too in all of the magazines, is that people want to start using more and in their homes and maybe they're in an all white home or maybe they're in an all neutral home. And House Candy gave them the opportunity to start to bring color in and glossiness in. Because what we're seeing now is the higher gloss paints, more colorful rooms, the color drenching. And this is a way to add an accessory level, bring in some of those feelings as you start to get plans together to bring and evoke more color in, which is really fun. Speaking of color, on a personal note, I decided to finally remodel some rooms in my home. I built a house about 10 years ago and you can see it on YouTube. We did. I painted my grass cloth in my living room. It was this really beautiful dark camel color, kind of a brown sugar color grass cloth, white ceilings, white trim, white windows, super classic, classic. I thought I'd never tire of it. And then I just got the bug and was like, I've got to either sell this house or I've got to change some things. And I became one of our clients who has been living in their house for a decade, and they're ready to make some changes. And so we decided to go bold, which was really fun, and to go glossy. And we did my room. I think it's called Ag until by Ben Moore, and it's in gloss. Talked to the painter. He tried. We wanted to work out what would be the right type of paint texture for the grass cloth. And he decided gloss would be good, too. We floated the ceilings to a level five smooth and hit the ceiling with this really beautiful peach color. And I think it's so fun. Fun. I'm so excited for how it turned out. And what you didn't know is across the hall, I also painted my home office at the exact same time. Also floated the ceiling smooth and went with this icy Italian blue high gloss color. And I'm working on that room right now. We are going to be launching our new collection. I'm getting this home office room ready for. It'll be done in January. And we're going to be shooting the new collection in my house and also in Sue's house.
- [13:30]
B
So excited.
- [13:30]
A
In her bedroom and her family room. We just feel like the things look so good in people's homes. We often. We mostly always shoot here in the showroom and it's an easier environment to control because if you can imagine, Seuss has little kids and she's trying to style and trying to live in her house and they're climbing things. Yeah, it's just.
- [13:47]
B
It's really falling off.
- [13:48]
A
And it's. It's also like you get in your head and you have a whole job to do with design and you come home at night and you have this whole project on your hands, too. And so it's just a lot of design. But I'm really excited. I think it's going to be very personal for both of us. And we're going to be doing the shoot in January. This is product that Corey and I have been working on for years. And I'm just so excited that it's finally here. And we're very much in the thick of it right now. So look forward to the new year. And obviously these launches are going to come out. We haven't quite got the dates dialed in yet, but I think we'll do like a little lighting launch in January and then the big launch with. Actually, our houses will be in both these launches. We'll probably shoot them both around the same time. So Anyway, look forward to that. I'm finally going to reveal a living room. So on a personal note, glossy color, new draperies, and just like new furnishings too.
- [14:34]
C
Yeah.
- [14:34]
A
Which is really, really fun. So just like, I'm all about this new product and color and gloss and just like turning things over again. It feels really fresh. I'm super excited about 26 and I think we learned a lot about ourself, a lot about marketing and. Yeah, I just, I feel like I'm on a high. It was a really great year. I loved it.
- [14:55]
C
One thing that I took kind of going back from like telling our story.
- [14:59]
A
Yeah.
- [15:00]
C
Paying attention to that and like even, you know, House Candy, like I think of House Candy, that's like our first album.
- [15:06]
A
Yeah.
- [15:07]
C
You know, that's, that's how I look at it. I'm like, man, that's always going to be like one of the best because it's like the first. And I, like you said, I think that name was great and it fit perfectly. But then doing that and also like telling our story, I feel like it has made us more creative in a sense and is like up leveled us as like, like in product development.
- [15:25]
A
Yeah.
- [15:25]
C
I think we're having, we have a lot of good stuff coming down the pipeline for next year and it's because we started telling our story. So it's not just like a, you know, trying to get the word out, but it's also kind of deep diving on to like why we did these things and reminding ourselves and like.
- [15:41]
A
Yeah.
- [15:41]
C
You know, then like we refall in love with it and doing that and really putting an emphasis on it. This year has taught me to like, you know, sometimes you just need to like, take a step back and look at what you've done and really analyze that just to kind of recenter yourself in the meaning of why.
- [15:58]
A
Yeah.
- [15:58]
C
Well, that's been huge.
- [15:59]
A
It's funny, I mean, if, if. I mean if those of you that haven't been here for very long, we've been developing product. Our first product came in in 2019. So this is about six years worth of product development. And it takes you a really long time before you finally start to go, this is how we should introduce product. This is how we should talk about product. This is how we should. You know what I mean?
- [16:20]
C
Yeah.
- [16:20]
A
Like, it takes you a while to get your footings. You don't know everything out of the gate. And there continues to be learnings for us, you know. Alison' around since 2008. What? This will be 18 years.
- [16:30]
C
Yeah. Crazy.
- [16:31]
A
And you just continue to learn and grow and the game changes, and the game changes and then you change the game and then, you know, you get smarter about how you show up for it and how you talk about it. And so we just continue to evolve and grow. But it's funny that six years in, you can finally figure out how to launch a product.
- [16:48]
C
Yeah.
- [16:49]
A
You know when you say it's your first album, I'm like, but it wasn't like 2018 was. No, 2019 was the first five products. But it's really fun to be here and to be able to launch so much at once. And 2026 will be full of so many great product launches too. I can't wait for you guys to see what we've been up to. I feel like, I feel like we've been pregnant for a really long time. We can finally say it's a boy or whatever.
- [17:11]
C
Yeah, it's bananas. Stuff that's coming out, so I'm way excited for it. A lot of the stuff that we're shooting in your front room I think is going to be amazing. Some of my favorite products in there.
- [17:19]
A
Yeah, it's fun. It's going to be personal in a big way because it is at my house. But I think it'll be fun, like showing off these new scenes and reimagining them once again with new pieces. It's like such a thrill.
- [17:31]
C
Yeah. Jess, when the holidays wind down, what's the one thing you crave the most?
- [17:36]
A
You know that moment when like you put on the holidays for everybody. Kids are loving their gifts. The garbage has been cleaned up. The one thing I crave is just like going and getting in my bed and just taking a nap. And I love the Cozy Earth bamboo sheets. It is just the gift of better sleep and it just helps you feel snuggly on those winter nights. And it's got this really soft sort of silky hand about it that really does just feel so luxurious. So for me, I'm craving that nap and that time alone in my sheets.
- [18:09]
C
The Cozy Earth bamboo sheets come with 100 night sleep trial and a 10 year warranty. So this holiday season give the gift of everyday luxury and make every moment comfortable. Head to cozyearth.com and use our code Dear Alice for up to 20% off. That's code Dear Alice for up to 20 percent off. And if you get a post purchase survey, be sure to mention you heard about Cozy Earth right here. Give the gift of comfort that lasts beyond the holidays and carries you into a cozy new year.
- [18:38]
B
I want to kind of back up as far as like, just product development. Like, you usually see like new product be introduced from large companies. Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn, CB2, you see these things and they collaborate with designers on, on things. But like, we're, we're still a small company anyway. I'm just like, really, like when you think about even just like the products, again, just from 24 to 25, the products that we've introduced this year. Yeah, like, they all have like stories and you know, artistry to them, but I just, I feel so much more of that as you guys continue to evolve. And just like our company evolves and we become more opinionated and we, we, we. We're. We are the expert. We know like things that we were thinking about three years ago are the things that Arc Digest is talking about right now. Do you know what I mean? Like, because they also. We're feeling those things. So it's just really exciting, like in the actual like home sphere, product sphere, to be knowing that these things need to like, be brought to the public and as a small company, to be able to do that with Corey from special projects and you know, like, you changing your role to like, really give a strong emphasis to this, like, this is a huge deal. You don't see many, like just design houses take this kind of thing on. Yeah, you know, I'm like. So I just want every, like audience members, like, we're doing this like, because we wanted to see it. But I'm just so excited that you guys get to all feel some of this in your homes. Like, this is a, like. Anyway, like, it's pretty monumental that we do this thing.
- [20:07]
C
Yeah.
- [20:07]
A
Yeah, it is. And I think one, one realization that I had this year was, you know, we go to market and we see all of these trade secrets, all of these designer showrooms, these vendors that we have that we had to qualify for, that we have their fabrics in their library. But what does, what does the general design enthusiast that's listening to this design podcast right now. Where do they go? Where do they go to get their stuff? They are going to have to go to a furniture showroom like our own, work with our free service. Or you can go to people's websites, which often carry all of other people's vendors products. You can shop it really easily everywhere.
- [20:41]
B
And your neighbor has it.
- [20:42]
A
Yeah, it's. It's price wars right now where everybody is selling all the same thing. And we were like, we really want to offer something original to the marketplace. Let's create the things that we, we wish we could get our hands on, that I know my neighbors wish they could get their hands on. And let's make it available to everybody. Let's not just go to High Point with it and sell it only to the trade. Let's sell it to everybody on our website. And these are things that we've learned 17 years in business and the years before that about scale, that all of the products that we're creating are the things that we need for projects. The things that we can find on other people's websites generally lack in size and quality and details and hardware and whatnot. We're really dialing every detail, all the weights, all the sizes, the veneers, the burl woods. We're making these things that you can usually only find at High Point, that are only available to the trade, available to everybody on our website at a beautiful scale that's going to make your house look like you hired an interior designer.
- [21:37]
C
Yeah. And I think especially for the last, like, five to 10 years, you know, we talk a lot about, like, you know, we're zigging when people are zagging. I feel like the amount of people that are kind of like hopping on trains and stuff like that, and it just has been feeling homogenized. And I think we haven't even really done it consciously, but the stuff that we've been creating has kind of been zagging when people are zigging. And I think that's like another point to it. Not only is the scale different in the, in the quality and the finish and the material, but also just really at the core, like, it's, it's design is, is different. We're not, we're not trying to follow trends. We're really just creating stuff that we love. And, you know, some of my, like, favorite parts of the week are when we have like, our product development meetings and we're just like, kind of just like volleying ideas back and forth that stuff. And it's just so fun and to see all of these amazing things, like, come to life. And then people get to like, when I relate it to an album, it really is like putting it out there. Then people get to kind of use it in their home and tell their story with it as well. And that's, that's why I, you know, say it's it. It's really close to music like that for me. Very proud of it. And I'm excited for the things coming down the pipeline and even beyond that because, yeah, we're getting better and sharpening our Swords. And it's. Yeah, it's a great feeling, and I'm super proud of it.
- [22:56]
A
Yeah, it's super fun. And, you know, we're like the only ones carrying it too. So if you happen to have Alice Lane piece in your home, you might feel pretty original because we're not everywhere. You're not getting a catalog from us at your house. You're really just like, you know about this best kept secret. And it's just, it's kind of fun, at least for us designers. We love not overusing a product. We love somebody to feel like they have an original in their home. And so we really try not to reuse a lot of the same pieces. And clients homes, we want each of these to have their own individual sort of thumbprint. So if you guys have an Alice Lane piece, I feel like you're gonna have that feeling. I know. I feel like that about the pieces in my house that I have, and I just. I feel so excited by them still. And it's even fun to see. There's a piece that we. That was part of our very first collection in 2019, and that was our Odette Lucite footstool. I feel like it just caught on this year. Like, we've been making it for five years and selling it for five years. But this, this year, it's fun to see, like, things all of a sudden hockey stick up and yeah, everybody gets it now. You know, sometimes it's ahead of its time, Sometimes people weren't quite ready, but they remembered it. And now it's like having this big surgeons out of the gate, which is so fun. The data of it all is really fun, but it never gets old. It's always really fun and exciting and super personal. And we're just so happy you guys are on this journey with us and that you're tuning in for these podcasts as we share the new collections. So, yeah, I'd say those are the things that, when I think about 2025, that are, like, sparkling in my mind. How about. How about you, Suze?
- [24:24]
B
Everyone here, you probably know, if you've been here and you're watching us on Christmas Day, you know, you decided to stand time with us. You know that Corey and Jess are. They had product design and they're constantly, like, developing new project, project ducks. I'm usually working on projects, the actual full homes, you know, from the ground up, developing with architects all the way down to building the house, furnishing the home, styling the home, and photographing the home so that it can then hopefully be published. I feel like in the last, like, two to three years, we've just gotten some, like, really big whales, which is always, like, I remember, like, back. Gosh, I can't even, like, tell you the year. Maybe 2015. We're just, like. We were doing, like, we'd say yes to everything, because that's what you do as a business. You say yes to, like, a room here, room there, and we.
- [25:09]
A
And I think so many interior designers listening. You can relate to this right now. And people will just call you just to do a kitchen remodel or kitchen in a bathroom, or will you just do my primary. And, yeah, we would say yes. We would say yes to all of that. Yeah.
- [25:22]
B
Because it was business. And so then we've just gotten to a point where we just. We don't have the time to do all the little things. And we always. We just wanted, like, we'd call them the castle on the hill. Like, we just wanted to do a whole home because then we could, like, take pictures, like, just, you know, dress it up like a doll and take pictures of it and. And just celebrate it. And I feel like, you know, over the last five, six years, like, that's what we've been able to do, is get whole homes. And these homes take a long time. And so I feel like we're just being alid, specifically, we are just being spread from, like, coast to coast, and with every. And the thing I'm really, really proud that you can really, like, reflect back on 2025 is that we designed for the human. We've always said that we want to design for the person that lives there and tell their story, but it's. It would be so much easier to just do the same thing over and over again, you know, lockhorns with the same builder, you know, and, like, just have something that was, like, formulaic and. And turn it out. Like, that's a way easier way to make money, guys. Much faster, easier way. And yet, as. As our design team, like, we. We. We celebrate the fact that we get to work with all these, like, individual people in different states with different types of builders, some that are more old school, some that, like, don't know how to, like, read modern plans, you know, just, like, from, like, seriously different architecture.
- [26:44]
C
Like, architecture Boston, like, that's. Yeah, yeah.
- [26:48]
B
It's, like, historic to new builds and modern to traditional. And I'm just like. And I know that, like, we have 12 designers, like, on our team, and I know that I can put anything in front of any of them. Modern to traditional. And they would know, like, how to, how to work with us and how to get our ethos in, you know, and help tell that person's story. And I'm really proud of that. I'm so proud of that. And so I say that this is the definitely the year that we traveled the most, installed the most, installed the most. We're still, I'm like looking at Q1 of 26, I'm like, Gosh, it just isn't slowing down, which is like such a beautiful blessing to do this thing that, you know, like I dreamed of doing, you know. So I would say 2025. I feel like I felt a lot of growth in that way. And I felt like our teams are just like, I don't know, you know, and think like your heart's running on all cylinders. Like, it's probably how you feel like with the product development. You like, you know what to do next with this type of, you know, either problem solving or celebration, whatever it is. I just feel really proud of just like our teams and so grateful to be with the clients that we are and to do the styles of homes that we're able to do and just employ those same principles in each, regardless of style and regardless of human story.
- [27:55]
A
So, and I just want to say if you're curious at all what that might look like, we are going to create a new series in 2026. We've actually taken our social team on the road with us for all these installs and we film them. And so we are going to turn it into a series where you can watch each of these homes come to life. Some of them were five years in the making. We started them in 2020. We delivered them in 2025. Just due to all of. All of the unforeseen circumstances, these people are finally living in their homes. But we brought the cameras on install day so that we could install week, I should say, to capture it. So look forward to that new series. We'll tell you more about it. We haven't even named it yet, but we're hoping to the first home in January to show you. And it's Alid, our Alice Lane interior design. If you aren't following them on Instagram, I should say following us on Instagram, it's Alice Lane interior design.
- [28:45]
B
We're all in front of this.
- [28:48]
A
Yes, Alison, interior design. Definitely check that out. That is the interior design wing of the business where we are building full homes and full remodels. And it's like sue said, it's just like, such a thrill to be doing full homes. And having been doing that work over the last half decade or so, have been doing it for 17, 18 years, but really only saying yes to the projects that can really allow us to get our full fingerprint in and to shoot these and get published. And that's been a thrill of a lifetime.
- [29:16]
B
Yeah. And it. It's the fun thing about doing a whole home, doing small. Like, we do rooms one by one because we're. We're normal humans, but.
- [29:23]
A
You mean in our own homes.
- [29:24]
B
In our own homes, yeah. But it is fun to see, like, of the whole home when you do get to touch everything and you. You really get to feel like the. The thumbprint and the a. You know, just the. A full lifestyle of, like, what this, like, backdrop looks like for these families. So anyway, it's. It's a freaking honor.
- [29:40]
A
Yeah.
- [29:41]
B
To do what we do. So.
- [29:43]
A
It's great. Yeah, it's really great. You'll see the polarity from a beach house in Florida being installed to a mountain house in a ski house in Utah being installed, like, a few weeks later, Texas house. And then we've got a Boston brownstone. We've got a really big, beautiful, traditional home in Utah that's been one of the most complex, robust remodels that we've been involved with. And they're so uniquely different. And you think that all different firms are doing them. And that's why we were like, let's just take the cameras along. I think you guys are going to love, love the series, so look forward to that in 2026. Corey, how about you? What. What have. What have you felt this year when you look back at 2025 on a.
- [30:23]
C
Personal note, and it kind of piggies back, piggybacks on, like, what Sus was saying, but I went to Mexico in November. My bandmates, Nate lives there with his family, and he built an amazing recording studio. I was there for 10 days and literally just recording, recording, recording and writing and everything. And just on a personal level, I think it, like, recharged me, like, creatively, this podcast. I think we maybe mentioned it, but we haven't, like, kind of patted ourselves on the back too much. But we are the number one podcast in the. On the interior design charts for Apple. So that's because of you guys. You guys should go to dinner. Yeah, everybody I know. Come on. So that's something I'm really proud of. I don't. That was not even on our radar as a goal when we were, like, starting this podcast. It Just kind of is the serendipity or the, the byproduct of it. And it's not even just the number of like or the, the, the thing like we're the best is that like that people care and people get what we're trying to say and we believe in what we're saying. Like how you were just saying like someone's home should be a reflection of them. Yeah. Not of us as a design firm. And the fact that so many people love it, you guys love it, is awesome. And that makes me feel that like we're doing the right thing, spreading that message which I hope more people can, can adopt in our field. I think it needs it and bring the art back to interior design so to speak. And yeah, I super thankful for everyone listening and, and glad that I get to be a part of it which is still like kind of, I don't know know, mind blowing to me a little bit. But it's great, it's fun. Especially with like two of my best friends, you know.
- [32:04]
A
So yeah, we love doing this guys. We decided that we wanted to become the biggest interior design podcast in the world world. Not just the U.S. so we're hoping that you'll help us this year. If you can invite your friend or your family member or your girlfriend or your sister in law or your brother in law or whoever loves interiors if you will just invite them to watch Dear alice either on YouTube or Spotify or Apple, any anything like that to help boost our following. If you'll leave reviews or comments that will boost the algorithm, every little tiny bit helps. So we just want to say more than anything, thank you for listening. Thank you for being here and tuning in each week and even on Christmas Day. Thank you. It's been a really great year. As I sit back and reflect on it, it's been a year that's taught us a lot and I'm sure for you guys you've learned a lot about yourself. I think it's the hard times that stretch us the most, where we learn the most. Hooray for that. And more than anything we just want to say thank you and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We're going to catch you guys next year, next week on New Year's Day. So tune in for that and we'll catch you guys next time. Hey, thanks for listening. If you like our show, please leave a five star rating.
- [33:35]
D
Hey, Ryan Reynolds here wishing you a very happy half off holiday because right now Mint Mobile is offering you the gift of 50% off unlimited to be clear, that's half price, not half.
- [33:46]
A
The service.
- [33:47]
D
Mint is still premium unlimited wireless for a great price. So that means a half day. You know, give it a try.
- [33:55]
B
Try it.
- [33:55]
D
MintMobile.com Switch upfront payment of $45 for.
- [33:59]
B
3 month plan equivalent to $15 per month required new customer offer for first 3 months only.
- [34:01]
A
Speed slow after 35gb of network busy.
- [34:03]
B
Taxes and fees extra.