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- [00:00]
A
Hello, everyone. Welcome to Dear Alice. Today, I think we're going to be answering a lot of people's questions. This is probably our most asked question here on Dear Alice. Everybody wants to know, how do I get into the interior design field? We get asked this question a lot ourselves. It's not a straightforward path for some people, and there's a lot of ways to skin a cat. We're going to answer at least four of your questions today, all having to do with getting into the field. And so we're wanting to just give you all the industry and career tips we can think of on ways for you to break into the field if you've always wanted to be an interior
- [00:37]
B
designer, even in addition to just the questions that we get for Dear Alice, when you say, hi, my name is Jess, I do interior design. Guarantee you there's 50% of the people that come up to you and be like, that's so fun. I want to do that.
- [00:48]
A
Uhhuh.
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B
I want to be an interior designer.
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A
Yes.
- [00:51]
B
Proof positive. You're young. You are interested in this field. Do it. Because we hear so many people say they wish they had.
- [00:57]
A
Yeah. It's like their life regrets.
- [00:58]
B
You're in the point where you're figuring out, what do you want to do with the rest of your life. You're 18, 19. You're getting into it. Do it. It's so great.
- [01:05]
A
Yeah.
- [01:05]
B
And if you're not, you've lived your first life, now is your chance to live your second life.
- [01:09]
A
Totally. And I. I'll say this. The field is actually quite wide and large, and there's so many different types of talents it needs in order to do design. And so maybe you love the field, but you're not sure where your skills would fit. So we're going to break down today all of the different roles that within at least our firm, we also have a furniture store here, so we have stylists and whatnot. So we. We kind of have kind of a lovely opportunity to represent both and say what jobs there are within both. So that. That way you know how to sort of break into the market and just try this on if it's something you've always wanted to do. We'll also talk about the schooling necessary if you do want to go to school or jobs that you can do if you don't want to go to school. Let's start with Sloan's question first off, just to sort of set the table, and then we'll break it down.
- [01:57]
C
They asked. I'm looking to finally change careers. This pursue my passion in interior design. Do you have any advice for someone with no experience or schooling who is trying to get into this career? For reference, I got my degree in risk management and insurance and I'm working at an insurance company currently.
- [02:17]
B
I love Sloan.
- [02:18]
C
Yeah, me too.
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B
You've weighed the risks.
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C
Yep. Yep. Exactly. The irony in this is so funny.
- [02:24]
B
Perfect. I love it.
- [02:25]
A
I think every firm could use somebody like a Sloan that really knows how to get in there and get the paperwork done and dot the I's and cross the T's. Yeah, I'm sure Sloan, you're probably drawn to the beautiful side of it, but there are like things like project managers that are really help managing the project and keep things moving on time. There's so many pieces and parts to this outside of making the 1 million decisions. Then there's also following the decision down its path until it hits your warehouse, until it hits your client's home. So it's funny because it's the creatives that are drawn to this as a major, but then you need the non creatives to make sure that these things arrive on time and get to their destination.
- [03:03]
B
I heard from some of our non creatives, they hate when we say non creatives.
- [03:06]
A
You know what? It's true. It does take creativity to solve the problem of where are these things? It's almost like more of a left brain, right brain thing. But that's, that's not saying that they're not not creative because they definitely are. That's a good point, Sue. So, yeah, it takes all different types. So we want to sort of break down some of the roles within the design firm. And Sloan, you could be any one of these. And that's why we wanted to sort of say what they are. And maybe you'll within this find that you're like, okay, that's the kind of role I want within the design firm. I'll still get to be around design all day. Maybe I'm not the one that's meeting with the client. Or maybe I am. Maybe you're a great salesperson and you want to really read their heart and soul and you want to create the design for them. Or maybe you want to be drafting in the back room or maybe managing the project. Yeah, there's so many things. So let's break it down. So let's first break down the difference between a designer and a decorator.
- [03:56]
B
Okay.
- [03:56]
A
Because I feel like everybody calls themselves an interior designer and they don't necessarily know the difference between a designer and a decorator.
- [04:03]
B
A Designer, in my opinion, an interior designer. And a lot of. A lot of schools, like including where I got my degree, has changed it into a set of just interior design. It's interior architecture, which I think is really a relevant title change because you are learning about the architecture. You're learning how to take a plan from a drawing, develop that into its details and construction drawings, elevations, details, finish schedules, how to work with a contractor into its final stage of furniture. And then styling is a whole other thing. But an interior designer knows how to take it from its birth, like it's like fruition and take it all the way through, through. And that means, like, that's your cabinetry drawings, that's your tile, that's all your selections, that's your plumbing, that's your switches, that's electrical, RCPs. All those details. If you love all the details of just the skeleton of a home and how pathways affect another pathway and axes and everything, interior design is a great field for you because you get to take it from the very beginning all the way to the very end.
- [05:03]
A
So it's a lot of technical drawings and it's a lot with measurements and you're drawing elevations, like she said, the cabinetry drawings. So you can hand it off to a cabinetry shop and explain your vision perfectly. They'll make shop drawings that you'll have to redline, but you really. It's super, super technical. When she said tile. Those are tile drawings. So you're showing the tile layer exactly what you had in mind, how you want this tile laid, whether it's offset, whether it's inline, whether they're cutting the tiles in half to make this pattern, what grout you're specifying. So every single thing is accounted for. And you're doing construction documents. So there's a lot of technicality in being a designer. It's as technical as an architect.
- [05:41]
B
And honestly, when we say it's our job, it' just making a million decisions a day. That's what it is you're making. You're. You need to know what the profile edge of that's going to be. You need to know what the finish of that countertop is going to be. You need to know what finish on the actual toilet lever knob that's going to be. You know, like they're so just down to the most mundane. You have to be in the details. Design is in the details. And that's what an interior designer does
- [06:03]
C
and think steps ahead like you're playing chess. You have to know all of what these decisions that you're going to have to make. Months from now, you're going to have to know what they are so you can populate the finish schedule. Exactly.
- [06:14]
A
And in fact, we're usually saying we like to get started, like, six months before they break ground, before they even begin the build, because we are the ones leading the charge. And then everything's going to come after us. So if the home's already broke ground, framed in there at four way, and they're like, oh, now we need finishes, guess what? You have to choose everything in stock. You don't get to wait for that dream tile. That's six weeks away.
- [06:37]
C
You're late to the game.
- [06:38]
A
So then the designer is playing this in stock game. You might not be able to. I mean, you really want to get this started a half a year before everybody else.
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B
Yeah. If not sooner.
- [06:47]
A
Yeah, that's. That's the ideal practice. So that's the designer, if you will. The decorator is somebody that is doing the furniture, kind of the soft coverings. Yeah, totally. Maybe they're into the wallpaper. They might be good at choosing paint, but they're really in that furnishings layer of styling and decorating the home, the drapery, treatments, all of that. A lot of times the decorator takes on the role of designer, even though it's their wheelhouse. They might not know AutoCAD. They can't do the drawings. And so you've really got somebody that can't fulfill the technical side of the job playing the role of designer. So that's why we think it's really nice if we're just trying to set the record straight here so that you know what you want to be. You might really want to be a decorator. There's no shame in that.
- [07:35]
B
You want to be good at both, to be honest.
- [07:37]
A
You do want to be good at both. But maybe you don't want to go to school. And I know becoming a designer requires schooling and time. It's going to take time. It's going to take schooling, and you're going to need a certificate to do it. And then you're going to need a lot of time, you know, working in the construction field so that you're somebody that they can really rely on, that does great drawings and. And is really accountable, has great construction schedules.
- [07:59]
C
I think if you're going to just choose one, kind of like you were saying, Suze, like, you kind of want to know both. Like, even if you're going to specialize in one, I think it's always going to be beneficial. To at least know like the pieces and parts of the other.
- [08:12]
A
Yes.
- [08:13]
C
Just to take those into, into consideration.
- [08:15]
A
And I would dare say that it would be nice if your firm had both.
- [08:21]
C
Yes.
- [08:21]
A
And also if you're going to hire a designer because everybody's going to call themselves a designer, you should know if they're more of a decorator or more of a designer or if they, or if in their firm they practice both. It's just really important for the construction side of things that you do have a technical designer.
- [08:38]
B
Just in this day and age, I'm like, we've even like more recently had been working with an architect who doesn't do AutoCAD. It's really hard as far as just like the speed and the efficiencies at which a job can move forward is frustrating for all other, I guess, departments and fields working on this home to get to the finish line, it just takes time. It takes more money actually.
- [08:56]
C
They become the bottleneck.
- [08:57]
B
Yeah, yeah, you, it's, it's definitely, it's the slow part of this job. And I'm like, oh my gosh, if he just had, if he had a draftsman or had, you know, some level of AutoCAD understanding, we would get to the next step. So being able to like say to your client that you can provide these things, that you can provide elevations, that you can come down to the details if that's what you want to do. You need to get the education, you need to get, you know, the certificate two year, four year degree in interior design. And honestly I can tell usually like even a two year from a four year just because of that extra two years of AutoCAD drafting. Before I even look at their resume, I can be like, okay, two year, four year. It's pretty easy to decipher between not to say that you can't learn. And if you are hungry, we're going to go into all the different things. But designer to decorator, that is the difference. Yeah, it's just like the technicalities and the soft coverings.
- [09:47]
A
Yeah. So for Sloan, depending on what side sounds like the most fun for you, but you're like ready to make a change right away. You could go and work for a designer or a decorator in their firm and they could just put you to work doing whatever it is that they need. It might be managing a project, it might be helping to manage their libraries, it might be you're just getting into the details. And then at night you could take some sort of schooling to learn AutoCAD. Whether it be a certificate, maybe. Maybe it's an online school that's two years long. Maybe it's a local school that offers night classes. You could be learning AutoCAD in the evening and that could allow you to become a drafter or even a junior designer once you get that certificate. So you'd be well on your way to being a designer. But at least you're in the field and you're, at least you're learning if you like it and you're kind of learning just sort of the pace of it. And you're being, you're, you're going to be on job sites, you're going to be in the decision making, you're going to be meeting the clients and you're just going to be in the mix. There's so many decisions being made and they need so much help on so many levels to really get a project completion.
- [10:50]
B
Amen.
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A
So besides the designer and the decorator, sue, do you want to define what a drafter is?
- [10:54]
B
Yeah. A draftsman is just like what I was talking about, that architect that he only, he's old school. He's only doing that and like by hand. Beautiful drawings, not great as far as transferring to other trades. So the drafter is the person that's going to draft those hand drawings into AutoCAD plans. So again, if you're taking like CAD classes, you know, at a community college or somewhere local to you, you can get like a drafting license, be able to draft that. It's not an architect, but you are able to draft up plans, working plans that they could hand off to the different trades to build a home or actually two architects will have a bunch of drafters within their office and he's the one that will stamp it.
- [11:30]
A
Project manager. Do you want to define for them what the project manager is?
- [11:33]
B
Okay. The project manager is the person that helps us and a lot. It's so interesting because there's again, skin a cat a million ways.
- [11:40]
A
Yeah.
- [11:40]
B
There's so many different types of interior design offices. There are some where like the head designer is the project manager, you know, and like wears all the hats. But if you are lucky enough to have a project manager or work for a place that like requires a project manager, they're the one that kind of keeps the cog going. They're the ones that are just like, they're usually working like on the billing, you know, as far as like making sure clients are invoiced. They are the ones just doing a lot of the orchestration between what the designer needs to Communicate to the teams and just making sure that every, you know, teams or even the furniture lines that you're ordering furniture. Our project managers kind of touch all the things through the project when it doesn't come to design or necessary client facing for presentations. They know everything. So again, it's a very. It's an organized position. It's someone, you know who like, loves design, but they definitely have that side of the brain where they can keep things straight, they can keep things on time, they can confirm all the appointments, they can make sure that everybody is having the best experience that they can and making the job easier for the designer, for the client. I think that's the role of a project manager.
- [12:47]
A
Yeah. Well said.
- [12:48]
C
I think everybody has skills that could be complimentary to a firm. It's just finding out where you fit. And like you said, sometimes it's just like going to work for a firm and trying a couple different things on and see what suits you best. Along with the creatives. We need people that, you know, are into finance. So I think it makes sense to have a passion for interiors and design. But then see what your individual, individual skills. See how those can lend to making the entire team successful.
- [13:18]
B
Yeah.
- [13:19]
C
So, yeah, yeah, there's. I mean, we'll keep getting into them, but I thought I would just add that while I was on my mind,
- [13:23]
B
but this is great. My sister has a degree in like business management. She's done pediatrician's office and all these things. She's retired now, but I was like, man, would she make a great project manager at an interior design firm. So I'm like, if you are that person, you're interested in the design field. This is a great pathway that you could plug yourself into a firm and be a really efficient tool and get to be a part of it and see beautiful things come to pass if you don't want to go and do the actual design route.
- [13:52]
C
But it also is still a ton of fun just to be around that, to be a part of that energy and the creative process. And I have learned a ton about, you know, design and stuff just through osmosis.
- [14:05]
B
Yeah.
- [14:05]
C
You know, working here, I think having a passion for it to begin with. And my passion has been fed from the both of you. Seeing how hard you work, how dedicated you are, how just, you know, you're in it for the love of the game. I honestly believe we didn't make a dollar to like, you guys would still do this because it's, you're called to. It's. It's your Passion.
- [14:24]
B
It's a calling.
- [14:25]
A
Well, I think that's what Sloan is feeling. And so many of the other people that wrote in with questions is they're feeling called to this. They love it. They're like, I would do it for free. Probably. It's probably their hobby outside of their job. And so they're like, how do I just do this full time? Here's the thing. Just like you, Corey, got all of this through osmosis. You've done your 10,000 hours. Right. some point, all of you guys interested in this will do your 10,000 hours. You will become an expert in it. I think you can work for a showroom or a designer and absorb the information. You might want the technical training of getting that certificate at night so that you can really just say, put me in anywhere, because I have that ability also to do the drawings. You'll find your spot. But we just wanted to give you this information to empower you to say actually alone. Just get started right now at a local showroom for a local decorator or designer. And let's just start absorbing the information. You don't have to wait to get your degree. Yep. The next one on the list is stylist. We have a showroom which is a furniture showroom that we are styling every day of the week that we work here. There's just always updates, new products coming in, new beds to be made. You're around the product all the time. I think what's great about a stylist and I would say sue and I cut our teeth having a brand new showroom. You really do take risks with space, plan planning and try things that you wouldn't normally if you were just working on a client's home.
- [15:47]
B
They don't make sense on paper.
- [15:49]
A
Exactly. But there's something magic, three dimensionally about taking risks in the showroom. We call it our design laboratory. We were just constantly trying different things and it really is an art. If you're an interior designer, that's mostly working in finishes and getting the home build. When it comes to the furniture layer, that is a muscle you might not use a lot. One of the things that makes us great at both is having a showroom because we're constantly out there playing it in it, understanding it and really working out the space. Planning and taking risks.
- [16:20]
B
I remember when I was. It was 08 when I met you, like the end of 08. I started working for you in 09. And I remember my previous boss, it was 08. You know, the world was falling apart and she's like, you're making career suicide. And I'm just like, not. When it came to what I wanted, I knew that technical side. I'd been working in it for several years. I'd worked for her, but I needed to know more about how to style. I'm a people person, and you'll know. You'll kind of discover these things if you like people. The stylist is a great thing for you because you get to work with people, and it's a good introductory. Gals will come up and say, I really want to do this. What should. What's my first move? I'm like, work for a showroom. You like, you know, start to figure out how to work with not only as far as furniture, styling, accessories and things, but you learn how to work with people, and you learn how to care about people, because that is what drives, you know, a project to the finish line. You fall in love with it. You fall in love with a person. And unless you know how to do that, it's really hard to be in front of a client and have them believe you that you really want the very best for them, and this is your best foot forward on what you want the space to be.
- [17:23]
A
Yeah, there's so much training and learning when it comes to furnishings and styling. A space just working within the libraries and the fabrics that things are available. A huge part of interior design that nobody tells you about is it's also a salesforce job. You are selling a client what their finished room is going to look like. It's a sales job even when it's a construction site, because you're selling them on why you chose the tile that you did for the bathroom, what their shower is going to look like, why you think this hardware is going to be the most beautiful for them. Every single part, every decision, you're taking them through it, and you're helping them understand your vision for it. And then all the way down to the furniture layer. That's a sales job, too. So working as a stylist in the showroom is going to get you really comfortable talking to anybody that walks in that door about that favorite sofa that everybody's buying. Here's the favorite cover, or here's the favorite fabric, or, oh, we made it this way one time. This one's kid proof. Oh, we can also make it in leather. Just really getting comfortable with how furniture is made, how long it takes, what options it's available in, how to customize it, how to make that sofa into a sectional. There's A whole vernacular in language that comes with being a stylist and working in a showroom. I actually know a gal that's beginning the design field. She's probably in her 50s, and she just got a job working at RH Go Her. Yeah.
- [18:37]
B
That's awesome.
- [18:37]
A
I think it will. It's going to be a really nice way to cut her teeth and just get more and more comfortable with the design process. So that's something you don't need a degree for. You can go do that right away. There's also this other stylist title that you could wear, and this one's a lot more niche. But people that will style for photo shoots are also known as a stylist. I know a gal who is a stylist today, and she'll just go around in style for the shoot. And you're looking through the lens. Lens with all set up, and you can see what the photographer's getting ready to shoot or shot already. And you're like, oh, my gosh, I've got to move the flowers in six inches because they're outside of the shot. Or I've got to adjust this, or I've got to swivel this chair around. Even though it doesn't look good in the space, it looks great in the lens. So they're always styling for the shot. And a lot of times, an interior stylist will be hired for a photo shoot. So if you know a photographer friend and you are always styling your house and you've got a knack, you can say, can I come along and just. Can I just. You know, I'll do it for free. I just want to see how it's done. I want to help style the shoot. I'll bring flowers. I'll bring whatever. That's also a stylist position.
- [19:40]
B
Or if you even want to look at. I'm like, if I was young and I want to do this, I'd be like. I would go and look at my favorite Shelter magazine. I would look at ARC Digest. I would look and look, see what photographers are noted in the projects that I love the most and be like. I love them to call them and be like, who's a stylist? I would intern for them.
- [19:58]
A
Yes.
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B
Or just kind of. And I think that that is so much of it is just like most people that are into interior design, they have, you know, some algorithm of people that they're following that are, like, making them love it, you know, and the deeper you get in, the better your algorithm gets and the More people you follow, the more passionate you're going to become, but also the more aligned with the right firm, with the right degree, with the right path that you're going to become, because you're feeding yourself all that.
- [20:21]
A
Totally.
- [20:22]
B
So it's just. It's a. It's a passion feed, man. It's just.
- [20:25]
A
Yeah.
- [20:25]
B
When you start, and so many listeners probably feel this when you start down this road to. It does not sleep. Design does not sleep. We are constantly sending each other inspiring things. What is lighting us up? You can't put it down. It's so hard to put down because it's just. It's a calling.
- [20:40]
A
Yeah.
- [20:41]
C
Yeah.
- [20:41]
A
Well said.
- [20:42]
C
And that passion has to be there because there's a lot. Just like any other job, there's a lot of parts to it that are hard, and logistics complicate things. The passion, as long as that's there, that's the fire that, like, keeps you.
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B
The good, outweighs the grit.
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C
Yes.
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B
But stylists would be really. It would be a really fun job.
- [20:58]
A
I think so, too. I would. That's where I would start right away while I figure out where I belong, or I go work for a designer that you really admire their work because you want to love their aesthetic. You're doing this for the aesthetics. And so I would just go and, you know, find the very best you can and learn their practices, because it is a messy field. And so you want to work for somebody that's great at it. They probably have processes figured out. It's the most painful thing. It's like going to the dentist with no numbing or don't have a good process.
- [21:25]
C
Oh, it's so awful.
- [21:26]
A
Yeah. So I think working for, like, a reputable place, every designer is going to need help because, like you said, it never sleeps, so. And maybe you're a person that likes to come up with processes, so maybe you do want to work for somebody that's just starting out and then help them create processes, and then you can help make them even better and become invaluable to them.
- [21:44]
B
I will say our operations is what 50% of that experience is.
- [21:47]
A
Yeah.
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B
It's so important.
- [21:48]
A
Two more roles within interior design that you could do. This one's a little bit more adjacent, but you could become a sales rep. Do you want to tell them about Utah State?
- [21:56]
B
At Utah State, they do have this anymore, but I think you could still get a degree in marketing and have it satisfy. When I was going to school 20 years ago, you had to get into the program. The Interior design program, which is the studio, which is when you're taking CAD and doing all these projects for your architecture teachers and da, da, da, da. So they had 20 slots for that, but there was 75 to 100 kids that were trying out for this, and they're just like, what do we do with the others? You know? And they figured out that the best route was just, like, sales, you know, sales and marketing. If you didn't. You didn't want to do studio, and it could be a choice. You don't want to do studio. You could go into the sales and marketing branch of design, and that kind of taught you kind of the skills to become a sales rep for furniture and just. And a lot of just like, marketing, sales, any of that information, if you have a degree in that already, this is a great way to foray into the field, is to become a sales rep. And what that is, we meet with sales reps every single week. We have hundreds of different furniture lines, and all those furniture lines have sales reps that help educate and push their furniture and fabrics and all the options to designers everywhere. So you could work for Hickory Chair, and I get very well versed. You're going to all the markets, you're going to all the firms in your region, and you're basically, you're selling this beautiful product. So if that feels more in line with what your will set is, that is a really, I think, a great avenue for a lot of people, and you can make really good money. I'll say. I'm like, when we were doing this, they're just like, the sales reps gonna make more money than you, just so you know.
- [23:22]
A
They are. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Sure.
- [23:24]
B
So, again, for the love of the
- [23:25]
C
game and to add on to that, we've all worked with good sales reps and not so good sales reps, and it maybe sounds like it's kind of pulling the art from it, just being a sales rep. But honestly, the best ones, I feel like are creative as well. They know the product inside and out. They know what makes it good. They know how it's built, what to pair it with, use cases for it. It's not a dull position. I think the sales rep is what you make it. Like I just said, we've all worked with good ones and not so good ones, and the good ones are fantastic and in my opinion, just as talented as any designer I've met. Their passion comes through, and that's ultimately what's selling their product.
- [24:04]
B
Yep.
- [24:05]
A
So there's a sales rep option and then marketing is just everywhere now. Like since Instagram. Right.
- [24:10]
B
Social media in general is just.
- [24:12]
A
I feel like every firm needs to have somebody that's running their social full time. There's a story to be told. With every tray that's put out, every room that's designed, you're showing this is your portfolio to the world is what you can do and the story that you're telling and the behind the scenes during installs. Super, super important to be constantly marketing your work, sharing your work with magazines and different publishing opportunities, Even like a YouTube channel is so huge. So there's no end to having somebody just really following your every move. And you could be that person within the firm as well. Well, so lots of opportunities to work in design. I hope that helps.
- [24:49]
C
Sloan, the next question comes from Michaela and she asked. I'd love an episode discussing administrative or logistics focused roles within interior design that may not be obvious to those outside of the industry. Whatever thoughts you have on ways to pivot careers into the world of interior design with roles that do not require a formal background or degree in interior design specifically would be greatly appreciated.
- [25:12]
B
We kind of mentioned some of them just as we were defining all the different things that we could think of that belong in an interior design firm. But so much I said 50%, I feel like is operations.
- [25:22]
A
Yeah, yeah.
- [25:23]
B
Making things go round. Right? Make the world go round. We mentioned project manager. By make, we have an entire operations. We have buyers, purchasing teams. Purchasing teams. We have web people and claims.
- [25:34]
A
We have people that do the website.
- [25:37]
B
Warehouse managers.
- [25:38]
C
Yeah, I was gonna say Eric is like, uhhuh. Our warehouse manager is, you know, one of the most important pieces we have here. And he's such an awesome guy and I can't imagine, you know, doing this without him. He's like the backbone of our operations.
- [25:54]
A
So I think back also to marketing. The marketing side is really quite administrative as well. I know for our team, besides planning out all of the posts, we have two accounts we have at Alice Lane Home, which is our store site, and at Alice Lane Interiors, which is our interior design site. So we have a team of people that are always shooting and editing and then planning all of the posts carousels. So they're knowing where all of the images are to. Maybe you're doing a post one day on all the kitchens you've ever done. So just knowing where all of those images dropboxes are. You know, maybe you're the. Maybe you're the PR person for the team who's constantly in contact with the magazines or different opportunities to get work published and out there. So it just all takes. There's so many administrative roles in the design besides the project manager within the design firm. Also there's the finance side of things. There's probably more, more roles outside of design in a design firm than even designer and they're all so important and they all touch design and you all get to see really beautiful things. Maybe the warehouse manager doesn't get to see. Well, yeah, he's installing the projects, so yeah, yeah, you definitely. You're all going to touch it. Yep.
- [26:57]
B
There's a lot of places for you.
- [26:58]
C
Michaela, the next question are, and which I believe is our last question is from Veronica and she wrote in and said, hello from the uk. I love your pod and I've learned so much. I'm doing a diploma in interior design after already doing three degrees in geology.
- [27:14]
A
Go, Veronica. You're a learner.
- [27:16]
C
At the age of 43, I'm worried I've missed my chance to finally do the thing I love. I've been designing homes since I was 4, using pencils for plan walls and then filling it in with play mobile furniture. I just wish I had the guts to do this at a younger age. Have I missed the boat?
- [27:34]
B
Never.
- [27:35]
A
Not at all. Veronica. Yeah, 43 is not too old to jump into it. I love that you're going to get another degree. You're definitely going to be so useful. You don't have to get a degree if you don't want to. There's a lot of things that they could already do with the degrees that you do have. It just shows that you're a great learner and you're going to be able to absorb information because you're so hungry and you love design. So you're going to get your 10, 10,000 hours one way or the other. But definitely having a certificate is going to allow you to be drawing those plan walls like you wanted to do since you were four. So definitely do it. You're not too old. Yeah.
- [28:11]
B
Mike just said you're a learner. I imagine that you like the idea of going back to school and learning this and learning all, you know, the ins and outs of the field. We should talk about that a little bit. The different types of education that you can get, because you can get a certificate and that will be probably the shortest amount of time that I think you're going to spend in the education sector before you get into the field. The certificate is probably going to teach you just the high level, level baseline of what you need to know, but at least it gets your feet wet and you become familiar with AutoCAD. You can become familiar with just like the, you know, just a design theory and just the different, I guess, trades and people that you might be working with is what I imagine a certificate is going to teach you. We have here in Utah, we have a couple universities here in Salt Lake that have two year degrees and a two year degree is gonna again, it's gonna probably be more than a certificate, I imagine, but you get an associates and you become just well versed in all those things. Maybe a little bit more than the certificate. Cricket. And then you have the bachelor's, which is the four year, which is usually an interior designer, interior architecture. That additional two years really does. It helps, you know, as far as just when you first start out as a junior designer. But if you are hungry and you just get in there. We've hired lots of people that have had the two year degree that have just gotten in and they were just willing to do anything and they were just hungry for it. And we're able to train them on any of the things that they didn't know, which you already are going to be doing, doing. And when you graduate, you're just like, I know everything. And I worked for, I did an internship for this person. You don't know anything until you start working in it. There's all those different ways to be educated and get your certificate or degrees or whatever. But you got to be hungry for it. You got to be willing to get in there, put me in coach, I'll do anything. You have to have that mentality. And those designers, junior designers, those are the ones that have grown the fastest.
- [29:53]
C
I think we've also had stylists on the floor. Looks like showroom stylists that really just have a knack for styling and just see things in such a beautiful put together way.
- [30:03]
B
The Midas touch.
- [30:04]
C
Yeah, yeah. And so if that is you, I would say find your way to get a foot in the door. Those talents that you have will just be sharpened from doing whatever you can. And I think we'll kind of, you know, the cream will rise to the top type of situation.
- [30:21]
A
I agree. And I also think this. We had a gal that worked on our showroom floor for a couple of years and she was getting a certificate to an online university. University. She had another opportunity and was leaving. And I said to her, will you ever get to. Did you finish your schooling? And she said, yes, I finished it. And she's like, but I'm terrible at AutoCAD. Like I hope she's like, I hope I never have to draw anything in cad. I promise you, I'm so bad. And I thought, oh, that's such a bummer to get all the way through. Hers was actually a two year certificate and feel like she's not great at it. So there is something that gives you a lot of confidence by spending a lot of time in cad because what you want when you go to a job interview is confidence. Confidence. There's no way that she wants. She was actually going into a different field and I think maybe through getting her certificate, she just didn't feel confident at the end. So even if your schooling for a certificate only requires you to do so much, spend a lot of time in cad, getting really proficient at it. Do more than just what's asked of you because that's what's going to make you confident. Otherwise I was going to say depending on like Veronica, you love school. You obviously have 3 degrees degrees. You seem like the kind of girl that's only going to be satisfied with a four year degree because you want to be the very best at it. This is what I'm trying to say is like, you know what level of time you want to put into this and how much commitment you want to put in. I also want to say this though. You can get started now. You don't have to wait till you have a degree. You can just immerse yourself into interior design by helping anywhere within a firm while you continue your school. In the evening, if you want, you can be a stylist, you could be in purchasing, you can be doing their socials. There's so many different parts and things that you can do. Just make sure it's the right field because you've already done three years in geology. I want to know, I want you before you totally commit to like trial it, make sure you love it, work for a showroom. But I want you to feel really confident moving into it. I want you to feel confident in your CAD work and your ability to solve problems in interior design. Just show how invaluable you're going to be. Show them those beautiful drawings that you've done. So I don't know how high of a level that certificate is going to ask from you, but I think you're, your degrees will ask a lot from you. So kind of look into that if you are just looking at a certificate.
- [32:27]
B
On top of that, I was just going to say there have been stylists that have worked here at our store that have gone back and gotten their two year degree and they loved it. We love them. They know our processes, they know our procedures having worked for us, that we're just like, yeah, you're an easy plug in. Come back to the design center. Let's start just to your point of just like getting in there and starting somewhere. You get to know that your employer, your employer knows you and it might be a match made in heaven.
- [32:52]
C
And it's.
- [32:53]
B
Yeah. And then you'll kind of understand what, you know, certificates, classes you need to be taking to qualify for the next thing that you want to do to rise to your potential.
- [33:01]
A
Yeah.
- [33:02]
B
But I will say to, to your point, the two year, to the four year, that program that you apply to, you apply it at year two. So you've invested two years and at that point you apply. And I was, believe it or not, I'm not the most technical. I'm an artist. Like, I was kick ass with a sketch pen. But even my professor, I made it into the program. I ended up doing really well because I was able to flex the things that I was good at. And so you just learn more about yourself. Once I got in, I was in. I was locked. I did not have your normal college experience because I was so passionate about it. And that's all I wanted to do. And anyway, and my architect, even when I was graduating senior exhibit, he's like, you know what? You were at the bottom of that 20. I'm going to be honest, Suzanne. Like, your cad drawings are not great. He's just like. But now you're like at the top, you were hungry for it and you got in and you're, you know, you just like poured your whole self into it. And that's what it is.
- [33:53]
A
Be all in. Be all in.
- [33:54]
B
Pour yourself into it. Because that hasn't left me. Because I'm just like, once you start, you can't stop. Yeah, that's great.
- [34:00]
C
I'm gonna say this, we can end on it. I'm gonna say say yes to opportunities too.
- [34:05]
B
Yes.
- [34:06]
C
I would just say say yes to all the opportunities that are in line with what your dreams are and what you wanna do. Cause you never know what's gonna come from it.
- [34:14]
A
Amen. So good. Another note we had made was ask those, you know, in the interior design world, because a lot of it is through osmosis, like Corey is saying. And it's not going to be as intimidating as you think to break in. Another point I want to make. I actually just spoke to BYU University Some of the kids graduating in their top graphic design program, and I was saying this to them, your job as a designer doesn't mean if you're a graphic designer or especially an interior designer, you need to educate your taste level. You need to do everything you can to align yourself with extraordinary stuff. That doesn't mean that you have to have the budget. It just means you need to recognize excellence. I told them it's their job to walk in the Hermes store, to walk in the Chanel store, the Gucci store. You look at the hardware, you look at the leather, you look at how it's stitched, you feel it so you recognize what a great hand feels like. Touch the cashmere upholstery. Like really come in contact with great things. If there's really high end stores in a resort town, walk in every one of them and appreciate the level of detail. Detail. Because as an interior designer, you're working for people that have the budget for interior design and they want excellence. And you need to have the taste level that recognizes it so that you can put it together. So if nothing else, while you're trying to figure out how to break into the industry, always be educating your taste level, always be looking for extraordinary, always do things with the highest level of taste, because that's what interior design is. It's people with extraordinary taste. And then it's your resources, it's knowing the lines to pull, it's knowing, knowing how to do that sectional math, it's knowing the right size rug and resources for everything. It's knowing the best craftsman. It's that Rolodex of who are all the people that are going to put this together, who are all the trades? And that's why you want to go work with somebody, because they have the industry field knowledge, the working knowledge, they know the reps, and you're going to learn the game from them. Schooling is going to teach you so much, but you've got to constantly, constantly be educating your taste so that you'll always do extraordinary work if you want to do extraordinary work. But I'm guessing that's why, that's why you want to do this. Guys, I hope this answered your question. There were so many more than just Sloan's, Mikayla's and Veronica's questions. But we wanted to just highlight a few of these and give you our best answers to help any of you that want to break into the design field to be able to do it. Because there's room for all of you if you're remodeling or building something new. We can bring your vision to life. ALAD is now accepting new projects. We probably haven't done this in years.
- [36:43]
B
We haven't.
- [36:43]
A
We just completed a large series of installs. And so now we're finally at the place where we can say coming up for air. Yes to all of you, our closest friends, to let you know that we're accepting new projects for the end of 2026 and 2027. So we would love it if you have a project or you know somebody, certainly send them our information. We would love to work on. We do whole homes. So it's a whole home remodel or a whole home new build. And we work anywhere within the states. We'd love to work on your project.
- [37:12]
B
You want it to be beautiful.
- [37:13]
A
Yes. And personal. Yeah. To be able to get to that form to fill out out, they go to the design Services tab.
- [37:20]
C
Yeah. So alicelanehome.com the design services tab. On that drop down, there's Design Services. Click that, fill that out and then one of our team will get back to you.
- [37:29]
A
Yeah, we'll get back to you within 24 hours. Usually if it's a weekday, we would love to work with you in the Design Center. It's so such a dreamy experience, a beautiful process. We'd love to work with you or any of your good friends, anybody you think would be a good fit for Alid. If you guys have any episode ideas, please send them to dear Alice. Alicelanehome.com We love them. You can see we answered a bunch of them here in this episode and we want to know what you guys want to know so we can do a podcast on that. And we'd love it if you'd leave us a five star review and we'll see you next week. Hey, thanks for listening. If you like our show, please leave a five star rating.
- [38:17]
B
Sam.