← Talk Shop with Ariel Okin: A Fenimore Lane Production
Talk Shop with Ariel Okin: A Fenimore Lane Production
Creators in the Home Space with ShopMy // Live from the Fenimore Lane Design Summit
00:51:14
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- [00:01]
Tiffany Lipinski
You can work an 80 hour week and feel extremely drained, or you can work an 80 hour week and feel you can work 80 more hours somehow because you're excited about what you're doing. So I would say to just like pay attention to the stuff that you're really excited about because that's the thing that gives you the endless energy to keep going.
- [00:21]
Arielle Oken
Welcome to Talkshop. I'm Arielle Oken, a New York based interior designer, writer and editor looking to bring a little bit of magic into our homes every day. After years as a writer and editor in the interiors world, I founded my own editorial site, Fennimore Lane in 2020 and the Talk Shop interview series was born. Each week I delve into the personal experiences of the top interior designers and tastemakers around the globe. This week we're bringing you our second panel recorded live at the second annual fennamorline Design Summit at the Mayflower Inn and Spa in partnership with our friends at Chop My. An invaluable tool for creators and brands alike, this panel focused on building engaged communities in the home space. It was a lively and inspiring discussion about how our panelists look to breathe their own perspective into spaces and then share it with their followers. Moderated by my brilliant friend, Grace Hunt, Home and design editor at Lex Interiors and Design. She welcomed a few incredible panelists including Tiffany Lipinski, co founder of Shop My, Louise Rowe, founder of Charlotte England, Eliza Harris, chief Creative Officer at Sister Parish Design and Erin Jenny, founder of Underwater Weaving Studio. The conversation was filled with inspiration and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
- [01:34]
Grace Feely Hunt
I think we're gonna get started with our last panel, perhaps last activation of an amazing weekend. Thanks a bike all for racking things.
- [01:42]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Up with us down here as a tea house.
- [01:44]
Grace Feely Hunt
My name is Grace Feely Hunt. I'm the home and Design editor at Luxe Interiors at ZY magazine. And I'm so happy to be here today moderating this panel with some pearl crushes all around. So let's dive in. Joining us today are Tiffany Lipinski of shop, Eliza Harris of Sister Parish Design, Louise Rowe of Charlotte England and Erin Pollard of Underwater Weaving. So let's start by getting to know you all a bit better. I'm going to go down the line here one by one and have you introduce yourself. So tell us who you are, what you do, what brings you here today, and a fun fact about yourself. Tiffany, let's start with you.
- [02:19]
Tiffany Lipinski
I'm Tiffany. I'm one of the co founders of Shop My. If you don't know us we're basically a platform for brands and creators to partner. So for creators to do affiliate links, work with brands on gifting partnerships, all of that. And then on the brand side, we have about 30,000 brands we have like commission rates with. So creators join the platform, basically get access to that, so don't have to ever negotiate rates with individual brands. And then we have about a thousand brands who basically use us to. They're finding influencers to get to gifting to them, working with them on affiliate capacity. I kind of say, like, I think the new way of working with influencers, we kind of saw influencers as we're working with actors and actresses where how a brand should look at them is more like a salesperson. And because I think that, I think influencers are the best at talking to their community about things they like. So a brand should never really be scripting what an influencer says. So our whole tool set is really around helping them run like a community ambassador kind of program, doing that for marketing. And also like a fun fact, I used to be a food blogger, food content creator in college. That's how I like learned about the influencer space. So that's my fun fact.
- [03:26]
Grace Feely Hunt
Very fun fact. And where are you from, Marukani?
- [03:28]
Tiffany Lipinski
I'm from Boston, previously Ohio, and live.
- [03:30]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
In New York now. Wonderful. Thank you, Tiffany.
- [03:33]
Tiffany Lipinski
Eliza, you're up.
- [03:34]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yes.
- [03:35]
Eliza Harris
So I'm Eliza and I am the creative director of a company called Sister Parrish Design. And my great grandmother was called Sister Parrish and she had this very famous interior design firm that she started during the Depression. And she ended up building this firm to the point where she decorated the White House for the Kennedys. And we are a female founded company. Female, female run company. And my mom and I run the company now. And my great grandmother was an interior designer. And now we have a textile and wallpaper company with all of these different patterns that my great grandmother would use in her projects, like for the White House or for all of these amazing American families that would hire my great grandmother to decorate for them. So I'm the creative director. So my job is to go into the archive of textiles and kind of reimagine them for today. And I live a fun fact. I actually live locally. I live about an hour away from here. And so if you want any tips for anything else to do in the area, I'm your girl.
- [04:33]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Hi, everyone.
- [04:33]
Louise Rowe
I'm Louise Rowe. I'm the founder of Charlotte England and we are a vendor here. So thanks to those of you come down at the Shakespeare Garden. And it has been so wonderful to get to know so many people and that I haven't met in real life, but we've spoken online and I know a lot of you guys are in the design community as well. Charlotte, England is a passion project that's now 98 of my time, which is as it should be. And I make rattan furniture, rattan accessories and tabletop. And the two things I love the most are finding artisans in some little village and who does not have an Instagram. One guy I work with doesn't even have a phone. And that's interesting, but still. And they make the most beautiful things that could never not be handmade. And I think that the joy of that kind of. We're going to talk about craftsmanship, but I'm starting to get the confidence to really design what truly I want, not what might. I did that from the beginning, but.
- [05:28]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
I was a bit scared because I.
- [05:30]
Louise Rowe
Thought, you know, that is not the commercial choice, it's just what my taste is. And then those become the bestsellers. So that's quite an exciting journey to go along. Fun fact. I used to live in LA for over a decade and I was doing something completely different in front of camera. And my job was to go to all of awards season, like the Oscars and the Golden Globes and interview all the movie stars.
- [05:52]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah.
- [05:52]
Louise Rowe
So that was quite fun. I have got stories, but I can't really tell them on the panel.
- [05:56]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah.
- [05:58]
Grace Feely Hunt
And you're coming in from London?
- [06:00]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yes. Yeah.
- [06:01]
Grace Feely Hunt
Thank you.
- [06:02]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
And Erin.
- [06:03]
Grace Feely Hunt
Hi, I'm Erin and I started a company about, like, officially, I guess, a year ago called Underwater Weaving Studio. I make baskets with my mother and we teach basket weaving all across the country. We have a basket weaving club. We design baskets and sell them at retail with wholesale partners. And we've just been having a lot of fun. Prior to this, I was in fashion publishing for about 15 or so years. So I have a background in partnerships. I oversaw the partnerships at Harper's Bazaar and GOOP for international fashion and American fashion for many years. So I sort of know Tiffany through that world. And, you know, my brain works kind of half business, half maker, half marketing, or, you know, whatever. I can't do math barely. That's actually my fun fact. It is just the teen you like. That's my. No, my fun fact is actually going to be that I sang the national anthem at my. At my graduation. Yeah, that was my due with anything. Me too. And I don't even know if it was good, but it was, you know, that sounded fun. Where did these weaving clubs meet?
- [07:16]
Tiffany Lipinski
I have to ask.
- [07:17]
Grace Feely Hunt
Oh. So the weaving club was started because I wanted to be able to offer, like, an entry point for weaving that wasn't.
- [07:24]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
If.
- [07:24]
Grace Feely Hunt
If you don't live in New York, you know, how can you learn to weave? Right. So we sent. It's a subscription based model where we send weaving kits to your home every other month with new projects. And oftentimes it just organically has happened this way, but partners will come on board. So true. Botanicals or Huel or Dan. Dan Tokyo Aplos was the spunk. We have Bill Bucco in in August, and we're weaving tomato harvest baskets. So everything has, like, sort of a little theme, and it kind of satisfies, like, the marketing side of my brain that's like, this must all tie together in a beautiful package and, you know, bring together the experience. So, yeah, that's how the club works. Very cool. Yeah, that corporate activity, that's so much better than, like, happy hour. Yes, for sure. And we have. Yeah, a lot of our basket weaving classes are with stores that maybe want to activate and sort of bring our audience into their store or, you know, even, like, had a full circle moment because I used to work at Hearst with Barbara's Bazaar, but then I went to teach the Oprah team, like, in the same conference room that I used to sit in meetings at. So, yeah, it's been really fun to bring the craft to different environments as a meditation or just as something fun to do with friends.
- [08:38]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Wonderful.
- [08:38]
Grace Feely Hunt
Thank you, Erin. How do you all now? We know our panelists, so today's topic is Community in the home space. I've never moderated a panel on community in the home space. I'm so excited to hear what you.
- [08:49]
Louise Rowe
All have to say.
- [08:50]
Grace Feely Hunt
And when we initially connected, I reached out. I was like, what are you guys gonna talk about? What does this even mean? And most of you wrote back with, like, a passion point that kind of is the community builder for you. So I think I have to start there with kind of the common thread.
- [09:02]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
That holds it all together.
- [09:04]
Grace Feely Hunt
Like, Louise, you talked about, like, handcrafted nature. You talked about storytelling and, like, the emotional qualities of design. So just share with our audience a little more about your community that you've built and what really brings people together.
- [09:18]
Louise Rowe
It's a great question. And I think there are different communities, as in the shoppers and then the team that you work with, and then also the makers. So the. The people that craft it that I touched upon earlier, some of our splatterware is made in southern Italy, and that workshop is seven generations. So the community within that village is just amazing like that. And I sort of sit with them. And the mug, for example, while it's spinning, he's crafting a bit wider on the handle. You know, it's so incredible. And that community actually is quite funny because I was. The first time I went, I was like, it's all men. Like, why are there no women making anything? And, you know, I don't know about this. And then I looked and I was like, actually, the two women here are the bosses. And they were literally standing on the edge, just like, yeah, yeah, you do that.
- [10:06]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
And I was like, okay, we're good. Yeah.
- [10:08]
Louise Rowe
But I think community in. We were just talking about internal team and how much that's shifted since COVID not having an office all the time. And so for me, it's really important to have that community within, right down to sort of a new assistant who's just graduated from university up to the freelancer who. Who is sort of very senior. And I go to all the time having the moments where you. You get together in an office or a restaurant and you're having a fun time, you know, Christmas party, all that stuff. So I think looking after your team and having a shared vision, but also knowing where I'm similarly with similar with my math, knowing where the weakest bots are and having someone that doesn't necessarily know about the artisan's craft, but actually can fill all those gaps. I think any business needs that kind of balance. And then lastly, and probably the most important community is the people that. Not just shoppers and customers, but just people who are seeing what you're making, whether they hear it through a friend or they're seeing it online. And I think a consistency with the aesthetic and the messaging and having a very strong presence and sort of whether it's a personality or just a story about too in this day and age is absolutely crucial. I think the word authentic does get overused, but authenticity, you know, so believing in what you stand for.
- [11:26]
Tiffany Lipinski
Totally.
- [11:27]
Eliza Harris
Like, I try to share with our customers kind of like the why behind we make fabric and wallpaper. And the why for me really is like, I think two things. One reason why I love doing what I do is because I get to work with my mother and my grandmother. And it's like this, you know, female founded business. I get to work with all these women and learn from all the women in my family. And I've noticed that a lot of our customers have A similar story. A lot of female designers, or design enthusiasts, as we call them, either love design because of their mom or their aunt or their friends. Like, they have a story about, like, why they've been pulled into design, and they can relate to what drives me to do it. So that's one, I would say connection point I have with my customer. And my second why that I think about a lot is it's not really about the thing. Like, I make the best quality thing, like the fabric and wallpaper. I always make sure I 100am in love with it before I put it to market. But it's what happens in that space. Like, when you're talking about your office space, the why behind it is really, like, if I can bring in my performance, woven, made out of recycled water bottles, and it can be on that sofa and like, Jennifer, you buy it and then you see this whole, like, your kids on it and you're having those experiences. Like, for me, like, that's why I get excited about making it. When I can actually see people living with the thing, enjoying the thing, then it makes it. It's what gets me up every morning to keep doing it. So I would say that that's kind of what I think about when I think about community.
- [12:50]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
And that is so interesting that, you.
- [12:51]
Grace Feely Hunt
Know, it's a family heritage.
- [12:52]
Eliza Harris
Right.
- [12:53]
Grace Feely Hunt
But it really kind of draws people who love that and relate to that and share that.
- [12:58]
Eliza Harris
Yeah, it's a very common story. Like mine, like, my great grandmother was famous, but most. I think most designers can relate to that story.
- [13:06]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah. Yeah, love that.
- [13:07]
Grace Feely Hunt
And Tiffany, tell us about the shoplift community when that's the common thread.
- [13:11]
Tiffany Lipinski
So similarly to what Louise was saying of, like, you know, you kind of think of it differently, like, your team, our creator community, our brands. And I think something that unifies our team is, like, we're including me. Like, we're so excited when we meet brand founders who are, like, so excited about what they're doing. And I think, like, maker is honestly a better word to describe a lot of the founders, because sometimes it's not. I always say I'm not going to be the one getting on a call with, like, Nike or J. Crew, but, like, I'll get on a call with, like, anyone sitting here today or, like, anyone who's just, like, they were so excited and they had to make something. And I view it as, like, it's shot my job to help really good brands and good products just, like, get out into the world by, like, meeting our community and then with our Community. In terms of content creators, I think there's just been this. I don't know, there's this stigma against, like, I've been to so many dinners where creators have told me whenever they go out to, like, I don't know, a party with their friends, and everyone is going around talking about what they do, and they're not, like, proud to say that they're like an influencer or content creator, which I think is such a crazy thing, because a lot of these people, they're basically running, like, media businesses, and they're selling, like, they're editing the magazine and selling the ads at the same time. And it's a really hard job. And it's like you. They wake up and just, like, talk to people every day and deal with all this criticism for everything they do. And because our tool set is really built on, like, trying to do things in a smarter way, that's good for your business. I feel like we've brought together so many people who are, like, they've met their people of, like, okay, they're approaching this and they realize that they're part of a community that more so they're like founders of their own business rather than just content creators. I don't think gives the whole, you know, their job description enough justice. So that's like a central tenet of. Of our community entrepreneurs, right? Exactly.
- [15:08]
Grace Feely Hunt
And Erin, what about you? What kind of hold your community together?
- [15:11]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Tell us about that.
- [15:12]
Grace Feely Hunt
Well, I think it started really organically. Like, I never really intended to actually make this into a company. I was just enjoying the craft and sharing it. And so the community kind of started before the product. But I mean, what I think, you know, and to your point, to everyone's point, like, there are different communities within your brand. Right. And so if I think about us as a brand now, we have the community member that really loves making things. We have the community member that's just feeling, like a sense of nostalgia for some of the pieces that we're making, or maybe they're connecting with the story, you know, the mother daughter story. And we do see a lot of mothers and daughters coming to our workshops together. And so it's all coming from different places. But I think, you know, I think community stems from good product. The good product tells the story, and the story is interesting, and so that's what people are drawn to. Absolutely. I think we want to talk a little bit about how to nurture community as well, because you all do such an amazing job with that. It does, I imagine, take work so kind of what does it take to sustain that? How do you all approach kind of managing your community? And I'm talking more about the consumers, you know, the people who are loyal to your brands.
- [16:23]
Eliza Harris
I would say activations like the one I did today, like a decoupage class with decoupage is something that my family has done for years. And it's very easy to do. You just paste your pasting paper on plates or you're doing collages. And it's kind of free form and an easy thing to gather people together to do. So that's one way. And I would say another big way, I think is just the design industry. Like the kind of the upper echelons of design sometimes can seem really intimidating. And ever since I've worked in design, since I graduated from university, I have hated the fact that, you know, their fabric and wallpaper businesses always kind of seem kind of like locked away in a D and D building or in these big design buildings in different cities. So I would say what I try to do is anyone who knows about Sister Parish or comes to our website just feels really good about being there and doesn't feel embarrassed to ask a question because it's kind of a complicated. Especially if you're a new designer. Learning how to upholster things and make curtains can be intimidating. So making people feel like they can ask questions and they're not. And it's also a higher price point. So, like, how can I have fun tag sales and things to incorporate? So I think making my company like a friendly space, I would say. And then also just engaging with my customers as much as I can, making things, which is what we all like to do. Your newsletters are very popular, and I love my newsletters.
- [17:43]
Louise Rowe
You're always talking about personal stuff and advice of places and the audience.
- [17:48]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Does my newsletters.
- [17:49]
Eliza Harris
Yeah.
- [17:50]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah. I'm glad I said that. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [17:54]
Grace Feely Hunt
That's such a good point. And it's so true. I feel like, I mean, there is.
- [17:57]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
So much gatekeeping within the interior.
- [17:58]
Eliza Harris
So much gatekeeping. Yeah.
- [18:00]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Can be intimidating.
- [18:01]
Grace Feely Hunt
And I. Weekends like this where it's like democratizing design from all come discover it's really important to do things at this.
- [18:08]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah.
- [18:09]
Eliza Harris
And you might even just be someone who wants to hire an interior designer and doesn't know where to start or, like, why do you even hire an interior designer? I mean, I just think there's a lot of, like, nervousness sometimes around it. So.
- [18:18]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yes. Yeah. Love that.
- [18:20]
Grace Feely Hunt
What about you, Louise? How do you approach nurturing and growing your Community.
- [18:24]
Louise Rowe
So I started my career writing magazines and so I tend to always go back to how can I give advice alongside a product? Because I love the idea that there's always takeaway and we do get asked a lot of questions. And I guess I have my main sort of Instagram channel and blog that's still going, still have a vlog and substack now too. I think that it's lovely to be able to like chat and answer questions and whether what's that paint color or, you know, people so many times are asking advice of where should I put that? So we started a section on the website called Roomscapes and Tablescapes and they are just to give ideas and advice and I'll do a lot of like, you know, points or the last one I did was like how I set up a very English garden party. And I think it's, it's real. First of all, you know, I'm actually writing it and I'm very lucky that my husband's an amazing photographer and videographer. So I do have, you know, help there. Yes. So it can be illustrated with beautiful images as well. But I think that going back to what you know and what you feel comfortable with. So I wouldn't be great at hosting a decoupage class, but I can write my tips and kind of answer in. In a word way, I suppose. But yeah, I love that.
- [19:34]
Grace Feely Hunt
So both of you are. It's kind of your face being put forward. Like I'm the face of the spread and that's what really.
- [19:39]
Louise Rowe
Yeah, I didn't mean for it to be. My whole career was in front of the camera and I was quite ready to come back behind it. But actually it, it has been, I don't know, the stuff that resonates the most because you can obviously look at data and so goes back to that authenticity.
- [19:56]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah, same.
- [19:57]
Grace Feely Hunt
You're really the gal behind it all. Aaron, what about you? How do you approach your community? I know you said it kind of happened. Well, I, Yeah, and I. This is more a consumer facing question. But. And I think being accessible to consumers, you know, like a lot of the sales quite frankly that we make are like people dming like, hey, will you do that in a different color? Or like our, our business becomes more like personal in a way because you know that people want to talk to the maker or something or like get the POV of the person making it. And I think that's fun, you know, so that's one part I think, because my brain also works in a, in a Partnerships way. Like, for me, I think of the basket as sort of like an empty vessel for stories in a way. So if the book or the magazine is blank pages to tell stories, the basket almost has that same capacity. And so for me, like, I'm happy to. And I enjoy actually the process of partnering with any brand and telling the story of any brand. So I do a lot of sort of like almost B2B partnerships in a way. And that widens my ability to reach an audience that is going to be interested in me because they're interested in that other brand. So there's sort of like this organic kind of flow with how my audience is growing because I'm just organically having fun and playing with other friends in the design space and coming up with new ideas and like partnering up together. So that's sort of how it's been coming together for us. We will definitely be talking more about partnerships and collaboration. Sorry. And I jumped.
- [21:29]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
No, no, it's good. We love it.
- [21:32]
Grace Feely Hunt
But you are like doing a ton of Instagram engagement yourself too and managing all of that. What's hard for me is like, because we're. It's just really me and mom and like a freelancer and a couple other. So like it's really like us communicating and making and so I have to be choosy and I have to be choosy about where I spend my time. So while I would love to spend my time on Substack, like I really would. Like, I want to deep dive and I want to go there. But like, I don't have time to be a full time writer. So I have to focus. Right? So like, if Instagram is showing some momentum, like that's where I'm going to focus my time. Because I just can't have too many platforms right now when I get to that point. You know, ultimately, like, I would love to focus more so on Substack than Instagram. I think it's such a. It's been absorbing, you know, what's happened in the magazine industry. It's absorbing what's happened, you know, it's like the new magazine in a way, you know, so like. And I recognize that and. But it's also, it's very time consuming and then you have AI and it's.
- [22:33]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
It's a lot.
- [22:33]
Grace Feely Hunt
So engaging with consumers is just easier on Instagram right now for me. And so that's where it's happening. Also, we just are always. Any newsletter that goes out, it's like, I'll add links, like, email me directly or do you want a reminder for that? I'll send you a calendar invite. We all need calendar invites, things like that. I try to just make it easy to keep us. Call the hotline. Here's my number. You know what I mean? Trying to be out there. If you get stuck with your basket, call me. So being accessible in the same way that you are, you're just always out there, like, hey, guys, like, this is real. Like, I know you're stuff real. It's amazing. Yeah. So I can just be real, like, I'm here, you know, Like, I'm here.
- [23:17]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah.
- [23:17]
Grace Feely Hunt
Just call me.
- [23:18]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah, yeah.
- [23:19]
Louise Rowe
Basket hotline.
- [23:19]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
I want that.
- [23:21]
Grace Feely Hunt
The basket hotline.
- [23:23]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
It's bopping.
- [23:25]
Grace Feely Hunt
And Tiffany, what about you? It's like a little bit of a different lens for this question for you. You know, how do you. You manage your PO Amazing community?
- [23:33]
Tiffany Lipinski
I think similar in some ways, but I always say, like, I think that something we're really good at is, like, understanding what our community wants and then building it, like, from a software perspective. So getting feedback from people has been like a core thing of, like, how we've leveraged our community basically. And I think it's made people feel like part of the company in a way that they wouldn't otherwise. So every feature that we've built has been because people tell us, like, even at the beginning, like, we just had like a storefront concept. And a creator told me when we first launched, worked a lot with beauty brands and beauty creators, that she wanted to make all of her looks shoppable. And I was like, oh, yeah, we really need that. Like, that was the. The genesis of it. So just every single person in the company, it's like making everyone understand that, like, the best and most important thing you can do is talk to brands and creators.
- [24:27]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah.
- [24:27]
Tiffany Lipinski
Like, myself and my co founders included. Like, otherwise you just get so far. Like, how would I know what a creator wants if I don't talk to creators? And same with the brands too. So. And I think, you know, when people give us ideas for features or tell us about a problem, what do you think about how can we solve that from a technology perspective and then coming back to them and being like, hey, you told me this. It gave us this idea, we made this. They feel like, really excited about it. So I think in an industry that moves so quickly, it's like, that's the only way that we can stay ahead is by, like, continuing to be talked to them about community.
- [25:01]
Grace Feely Hunt
Yeah. And how does that work when you say you're getting feedback you know, I want this.
- [25:05]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
I want this.
- [25:06]
Grace Feely Hunt
Is that in a proactive way of you having seminars, or is it more like people are writing to you?
- [25:11]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
A little bit of both.
- [25:12]
Tiffany Lipinski
Well, it's funny because when you talk, most people will just tell you their ideas anyway.
- [25:19]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah.
- [25:19]
Tiffany Lipinski
Like, you know, when you're having, like, a call with them and talking about, like, hey, this is what you could do to, like, make more affiliate earnings, they'll be like, you know, it would make my life so much easier. Which. Those are the. It's like, what are you spending time doing and how can technology help do that? Faster or better is really where I see what we're doing. So it's not hard, like, to get that. But I think it's really important that you actually meet them, like, both face to face on zoom, rather than just look at comments, look at what's coming in. Because then you understand their story, the context that comes in with, why do they care about this? And how is it going to move the needle for them, which just helps us build better technology products.
- [26:04]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Absolutely.
- [26:04]
Grace Feely Hunt
You have to go beyond email, have to go beyond the do.
- [26:07]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah.
- [26:07]
Tiffany Lipinski
Real connection, which I feel like is so much of what the weekend is about, of, like, meeting people.
- [26:13]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Absolutely.
- [26:14]
Grace Feely Hunt
Absolutely. Yeah. So that's my next question. I want to talk about collaborations and partnerships in building community. You know, we cover a bit, but we'll come back to you last, but I'd love to know how you each approach that, you know, is it. Are you very selective? Do you think it's something you have to be like, all in 100, or do you think it's just a great tool to grow something in general? I'd love if you could have each talk about a collaboration and, you know, kind of why that sticks out in the journey of your communities. Let's start with you, Eliza.
- [26:43]
Eliza Harris
Well, we did a collaboration, like, a long time, like a decade ago with Uniqlo. We made these T shirts, and it was a very unexpected collaboration. And I would see, you know, like, cool kids on the subway and, like, Sister Parish T shirts. And I just thought it was just like this very special, unique kind of collaboration. And that's a collaboration that really sticks out to me. I think my great grandmother would be like, what? Like, this is crazy.
- [27:09]
Louise Rowe
I want one.
- [27:10]
Tiffany Lipinski
Yeah, I know.
- [27:11]
Louise Rowe
If I can find one of these on Mac.
- [27:13]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah, yeah. Yes.
- [27:15]
Eliza Harris
I don't think so, but I think that was just like, a really fresh take on the brand, obviously. And then we were talking about. Because actually, we've all spoken about potentially, like, Collaborating, I would say the, and I think we can all speak to this is that we all are small businesses and we need to focus on our core product. And where I've seen collaborations be really not that great is if I don't really have time to do the collaboration. And a lot of times I've learned this, not a lot. I've learned this a few times the hard way where I say, okay, I can collaborate on this. But then I end up going down the road and I realize I don't really have time to give this what I need or that person needs more from me. And so I think it's really important to understand that if you want to really be in love with the product that you're selling, which ultimately is the whole point for your consumer, you have to make sure you have enough time and you have to make sure that up, up front you really lay out expectations. And it's all about communicating with a whole other team that works a totally different way than yours. So I think really understanding what that means and the time commitment and really again, like the why behind it, like why does it matter? Is super important. So Uniqlo is a good example of something that really we made money. I love the product. It brought our product to a totally different audience. And now when I talk different brands about collaborating, it really like I personally have to like love the product. Like you're talking about the splatterwear and I love it like I bought the vase. Talking about the baskets, I bought the basket. I was like, I love that basket. And so now it's just really about like how can I work with people where I know I'm going to align on the product and it's not as much about exposing maybe the brand ton, a ton more people right now for me and my, right now where I stand in my company, that's what I'm focusing on is more collaborating with vendors who might not be, might be similar in size, but we're making something we're extremely like minded because I know that I'm going to make time because I'm super excited about the product to get along with the person, I understand their values and we can execute on something. Like I have like it'll, it'll work.
- [29:17]
Grace Feely Hunt
Less of a growth tactic and more of like an optics and alignment.
- [29:21]
Eliza Harris
It's more of a bringing a product to the marketplace that I can't make and that I can make with someone else that knows how to make it really well. And I can introduce, we can share that with our Audience. It's really more just like giving more to our audience. It's really like, I would say giving a new, different type of product that.
- [29:41]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
I can't currently give it.
- [29:43]
Louise Rowe
Maybe it's something that neither brand has done before or it's that one specializes in it, but they're doing it in the look of that brand. I think another key is. Well, it's sort of similar. Don't do something that you could already do yourself. There's a reason why you want to partner with this person for their eye and their unique talent or craft. And I agree with you, it's an interesting one. Some are more commercially minded and it doesn't mean the product can't still be beautiful. It could be, you know, financially a great thing. Of course, you know, more license thing. But then I think I totally agree. And this is what hopefully we're going to do.
- [30:18]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yes.
- [30:19]
Louise Rowe
Guys as well, is something that we know that our demographic.
- [30:23]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah.
- [30:24]
Louise Rowe
Appreciates the same sort of thing. And it's lovely for them to discover that other brand if they haven't yet or if they know both brands. Be like, cool. You know. You know, when you get an email, you're like, oh, I love that these two are collaborating and then limit or something. Yeah, limited. I think that's really important in today where we're oversaturated with product and, you know, you just scroll and it's just too much. And I think if you see something really beautifully executed. We haven't done very many, so we hopefully.
- [30:51]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah.
- [30:52]
Louise Rowe
You guys, one. And then we will do something in the stationery and paper space and it's again, something we do not do not wallpaper. Just like actual wrapping paper, that kind of thing. And it's an old friend, so there's a lovely connection there. She's the most beautiful eye. So, yeah. And then I'm actually doing something in the children's space, which is a bit bigger and launches in the autumn with a US retailer. But I. I'm really excited about that because I don't do children's stuff.
- [31:20]
Grace Feely Hunt
My fun fact, not that I had to share was, was that I wrote a story about your nursery for my old company called Purewow, and it was like my total nursery.
- [31:29]
Tiffany Lipinski
Oh, yeah.
- [31:29]
Grace Feely Hunt
So like the green floral wallpaper.
- [31:31]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yes.
- [31:32]
Grace Feely Hunt
Anyways, I digress. Erin, let's go back to your thoughts on collaboration and into maybe a memorable life. Sure. I mean, we're still new, right. We're really officially only like a year old. So I'm planning things for spring, you know, like Things that have been in the works for a long time. But, I mean, and in some ways, like, I think of everything as a collaboration. For instance, we were put together, and then we just. We both got on the phone and we were like, I don't have time for this. No, I don't have time for this. We can't do this. Like, you know, like, that's like. I'm like, I love you. She's like, we love each other, but we're not going to do this.
- [32:04]
Eliza Harris
So that's the truth of it.
- [32:07]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
But, like, we will be.
- [32:08]
Grace Feely Hunt
We will be something cool together.
- [32:10]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
But, like, that's the thing.
- [32:11]
Grace Feely Hunt
Like, there's just. Yeah, it has to be the right time. It has to be the right. Yeah. Like, now we're thinking of something, like, totally bananas and, like, off the wall, like, unexpected. It's gonna be fun, you know, and neither one of us have any money to pay for it. I can figure it out. Yeah. It has to be all of those things, and it has to. You have to be really clear about your objectives. So, you know, for me, like, a lot of times, I think brands are coming to me to help make the thing that brings their story to life. Right. So the intentions have to be clear. I'm like, okay, what are your objectives? Are you trying to grow your audience? Are you trying to bring, you know, are you going for engagement? Are you going. Like, it has to be one thing that you're focused on, and, like, if you have too many objectives with it, then it's not going to work and no one's going to be happy. So being clear up front, like, I'm here to do this. This is what I need right now and what you do right now, but I think, you know, just the last thing is that that collaboration with Uniqlo is brilliant. Like, the good ones. The good ones have a way of combining, like, rock and roll and sister paranormal. Those two, the most unexpected pairings are the best types of collaborations because they really start to get your energy.
- [33:23]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah.
- [33:23]
Eliza Harris
It's like going to a good dinner party.
- [33:24]
Grace Feely Hunt
Yeah.
- [33:24]
Eliza Harris
Like, we want Sister Paris to connect, like Mick Jagger or something. You know, you gotta, like, mix it up.
- [33:30]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah.
- [33:30]
Grace Feely Hunt
There's like, a scientific style that you can connect. Yeah. You can sink your teeth into it. It's like. It's just fun.
- [33:36]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah.
- [33:36]
Grace Feely Hunt
Yeah. So I think that's, like, I'm obsessed with, like, all of you also having. Collaborating in the making.
- [33:42]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
I know.
- [33:42]
Eliza Harris
By chance.
- [33:43]
Louise Rowe
I know, right?
- [33:44]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
We're lucky. I know. It's crazy.
- [33:47]
Grace Feely Hunt
And what about you? Tiffany, what do you have to add?
- [33:49]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Collaboration, even something like this weekend, like.
- [33:51]
Grace Feely Hunt
How do you find the right opportunities?
- [33:53]
Tiffany Lipinski
So mostly how we think of collaborations is in terms of events. So a lot of like, brands will ask us like to collaborate with them on an event. And really how, how we think about it is like, where do they have strengths that we don't? And I think everyone mentioned, like, it, it layers back to the business objectives ultimately. And also like, what are you focused on right now? Because like, if UNICO is helpful for growth, but it's like now you're focused on product.
- [34:19]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah.
- [34:19]
Tiffany Lipinski
So for us, we think about with when a brand comes to us, like about an event, is it going to help us like grow our community? So we're going to be able to talk to people who we wouldn't have been able to really meet in person otherwise, or we're going to be able to deepen relationships that, with people that we weren't really going to, you know, have that connection or if somehow it helps us, you know, grow the brand side of the business. So with a weekend like this, we've only really started getting into home probably like, like, you know, six, seven months ago. So which is funny because that's when it came up. It was Ariel so good at planning that I was like, oh my God, an event so far away from now, usually people are like, hey, we're doing this thing in two weeks. Do you want to like, yeah, collaborate on it? And I'm like, oh, two weeks?
- [35:06]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah.
- [35:07]
Tiffany Lipinski
So I love that part of it. But for us, we were like, we, we get to like, meet interior designers and, you know, brands in this space, in a, a community that we're trying to grow and learn from and we can meet people and understand that. So it was like a clear guess from like a business objectives perspective. And that's really how we think about most of the collaborations we do.
- [35:29]
Grace Feely Hunt
Careful.
- [35:30]
Louise Rowe
Well, I'd love to talk a little.
- [35:31]
Grace Feely Hunt
Bit about what has helped all of you connect and advance in this industry and what's been a really great community builder for you personally? Maybe like the one thing that you found just really helps you make good connections and kind of get where you're going. Do you want to go down the line starting with Aaron? Sure. I mean, I guess it's like where it all started, right? The workshops in that personal, like being able to meet people and to. For me, it's like, it's preservation of a craft that really died in America. And I think there's something about that baskets that, you know, we're taking a material from the earth, and we're making a basket, and maybe we're giving the basket to someone, and we're filling it, and there's, like, this nurturing around it. And I think when you actually make a basket, you feel all of those things. You feel. You know, using your hands is such a powerful thing now. You know, we've gotten so far away from using our hands, and so it's a meditation, working with nature, and you're not using a lot of tools. The feeling that I had when I first started weaving baskets and to break, you know, I. I sort of thought it was, like, just, like, maybe unique to me because my mom did it, and so it was like, okay, this is just meaty. And then when I started seeing other people have that same connection with it, it was like, oh, my God, how did this go away for so long? Like, so, I mean, I'm a basket case, but. But, I mean, I just really. It feels really good for me and my brain and all of it to be able to. To sort of bring it to other people that find the same connection. And then you. And then I really feel connected to people, you know, And I think, again, like, you're pulling something that's, like, part of your lineage, and you're. And you're teaching people how to do that, like, right. Just you showing me what your grandmother. I'm showing the picture of how they used to do it together. Like, that's so special. And like, I mean, I remember as a kid, like, you know, using Mod podge and, like, making change, you know, whatever. And it was like, just, I think right now in particular, like, again, just blanket. Whether it's. Or whatever it is, like, we want to use our hands, you know, we want to connect and do that. And that's like, a reason for gathering. And so that is.
- [37:49]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah, gather.
- [37:50]
Grace Feely Hunt
That's Erin gathering.
- [37:52]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah.
- [37:52]
Grace Feely Hunt
What about you, Louise? What has really helped you to connect?
- [37:55]
Louise Rowe
Well, you use the word advance and a far less poetic answer, but here, you know, connecting with real people, but then on the practical level is following up. And I do think one thing I'm good at is the consistency of following up, because it is so easy to, you know, if you. If you want to get in touch with that PR or that person to collaborate with, you do have to, like, the consistency. I don't know if you guys follow Emma Greed, but she has found it a lot of ridiculous, ridiculously huge businesses, including Good American and Skims. And, you know, she knows what she's Talking about.
- [38:26]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah.
- [38:26]
Louise Rowe
And she, she does post about, like, there are certain many elements you cannot control in life and business, but you, you know, you can control what time you get up every day. You know, your commitment to the consistency of, you know, for me, it's just being on top of, of who I'm reaching out to and what that plan is and sticking to it, you know, so not giving up. Because also, like, who has a business that just went like that? Nobody. There are failures, there are bumps, there are moments of absolute, like, oh. And I think the more that you go through them, the quicker you stand back up again and you start to learn how best to react and. Or not react, you know, And I think that that belief in yourself. Another friend who has a business posted something on the day and she was like, when you've got your own business, you're not allowed, like, the days off of. Not believe it. I'm phrasing it badly, but it was like, there are no days where you can't believe in yourself.
- [39:13]
Grace Feely Hunt
Yeah.
- [39:14]
Louise Rowe
And so, you know, you come on, gather, follow up.
- [39:20]
Eliza Harris
I would say for me, what's helped is that I think I really am the customer of the product. Like, I think that's lucky. I think we all are. So I would say what's really helped me is just to make things that I genuine, genuinely would always want to buy. And in the beginning, I didn't think that was the case. I was like, trying to understand my customer. Like, you know, what are they? Obviously, data is extremely important and, you know, understanding the colorways and things that'll sell, but then really just understanding that. Wait, like, like, I am the ultimate Sister Parrish consumer. Like, I come from an interior design background. If I wasn't doing this, I'd probably be an interior designer. So really understanding, like, what do designers need? Like, what is the edit that if I were a designer, I'd want to buy. I think that's what's really helped me. Trust in yourself and trust that, you know, like, you are the person that.
- [40:06]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Like your own product. Yeah, I like what you're doing. Yeah. Yeah.
- [40:11]
Eliza Harris
But sometimes you're building something that you might be building for other reasons. It's not a product that you necessarily. I mean, that happens all the time. But in my case and a lot in the design space, I think that's very true. You're making something that, that you love and that you'd want to buy yourself.
- [40:24]
Grace Feely Hunt
And what about you, Tiffany?
- [40:26]
Tiffany Lipinski
I think my, like, tip in regards to that would be just listening more than, like, Pitching. Because I feel like when if you're selling something, whether it be like a creator, you know, telling a brand why they should collaborate, or like us pitching to a brand or a creator, it's like you get so much farther and you become so much better, I think, by listening and then responding. So it's like asking people, like, what is their experience? What do they care about? How can we do better? And then the response can be like, oh, this is what we do to solve that problem. This is what we do to help you with that. Where I think, yeah, there's just this, you know, I have to fight it all the time, where it's just like, I want to tell everyone, like, all the good things that we do when, yeah, it would actually be way more helpful for them for me to learn about them and then tell them their version of what shop my is based on their own deeds. So, yeah, that's an easy one.
- [41:25]
Grace Feely Hunt
Listen first.
- [41:26]
Eliza Harris
Yeah, thanks, Tiffany.
- [41:28]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Thank you.
- [41:31]
Grace Feely Hunt
This is kind of related, but, you know, you're all the face behind these amazing brands. You built these amazing brands. I'm sure there's a lot of founders in this audience or a lot of people might be wanting to quit their job and go for it and, you know, build something, a passion project.
- [41:48]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
So I think just a piece of.
- [41:49]
Grace Feely Hunt
Advice from each of you in that regard for anybody who kind of wants to take the leap, looking to take the leap or just, you know, looking to kind of go to the next level. So maybe we'll go down the line again, starting as you, Erin. I. I swear, I mean, I feel like I was in that place, like, I worked in corporate, you know, publishing for 15 years, that I was, like, I was really ready. I don't know, I kind of. I. I kind of did some simple things, like got up at the same time every day. And I really just started, like, reading and meditating and meditate, you know, on, like, what I wanted. And for me, like, what's kept coming up was like, nature and flowers. Like, she's like, I don't know what this means, but I'm going to keep thinking about this and maybe I'll arrange things. And, you know, my son found the rattan under the bed, and I was like, I'm going to show you what to do with this. And I don't know, it just the follow, like, really just get to the root of, like, what makes you happy and, you know, your passion for what you're doing will just, like, really bring it to life. That's amazing. Wait, so Was this after you left corporate America or like, well, concurrent. So Covid. During COVID we were, like, moved out of the city. So, you know, and I ended up losing my job, and I started consulting and saying yes to everything that came my way as a. As like, kind of a way to learn different skills. And luckily, because I had worked at various places, like, the endorsement of those places kind of allowed me to fake it a little bit. So I really did. I was like, yes, I would provide that creative direction. Yes, I will. You know, whatever. It was just like, I wanted to learn all these things. And then consulting, I had a little bit more space, I guess, in my brain to start doing some things that were really, like, passions for me, but I had to discover what the passions were. Like. I was like, hustle mode for so long, living in New York, like, surviving, you know, moved away from Maine, like, going to make this work. Yeah. And then just to take a breath for a second to say, like, what's really important to me now? Like, I have. I don't need any more stuff. I don't need, you know, like, I care about my family, and maybe I want to be making more. And, you know, just like. Yeah, it's just. It happened really organically. So I guess, like, just try a lot of stuff, like, take the opportunity to learn new things, and maybe something will hit and. Or maybe it's just, like, something that you learn that becomes a part of your toolkit to make the thing that you love happen. And visions of nature.
- [44:22]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Just listen to your nature.
- [44:24]
Grace Feely Hunt
That helps you as well. I was supposed to be on a conference call. I was like, boogey.
- [44:30]
Eliza Harris
No wonder everyone wants to collaborate with you. They're like, we need.
- [44:33]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
No.
- [44:33]
Grace Feely Hunt
I was like, raining in the back of my son. And I was like, my son wants to be at that conference. And then I was like, I need to figure this out. I can't be doing this anymore. Oh, my God. And what about you, Lorraine?
- [44:50]
Louise Rowe
Similarly, I was very much in hustle mode. And we moved back from la, and then Covid started. And I do think there were moments of that where actually your brain was able to stop for a second, think in a way that it hadn't for years during COVID to be in the English countryside. And we. We had bought a. A beautiful Georgian rectory. And I remember the estate agent guy. What do you call it?
- [45:13]
Grace Feely Hunt
Hair.
- [45:13]
Louise Rowe
State agent.
- [45:15]
Tiffany Lipinski
Thank you.
- [45:16]
Louise Rowe
And he was like, oh, if I.
- [45:17]
Grace Feely Hunt
Had a pound for everyone who said.
- [45:18]
Louise Rowe
They wanted a Georgian retro. And I was like, don't put a hydrate I'm finding one. And we did, and we restored it. And we were finding things like a mosaic under slabs of concrete and the original wallpaper fragments behind here and then the floorboards. And in that process is not dissimilar. I really.
- [45:34]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
And you figured it out?
- [45:35]
Louise Rowe
I did.
- [45:36]
Eliza Harris
I started sharing it.
- [45:37]
Louise Rowe
I did start. And I was like, guys, where can I get the three Victorian tiles that I need?
- [45:41]
Grace Feely Hunt
And everyone was like, here, here, here.
- [45:42]
Louise Rowe
Try this reclamation yard. And I. All the while seeing my. My parents a lot more because we've moved back. And long story short, it did hit me like a bolt of lightning. Like this. This is it. This is what I want to do. It's named after my great grandmother, Marjorie Charland, who my mum adored. Lord. And I have a photo of her on my dressing table. She's sitting on a rattan sofa thing. And every day I sort of look at her. But mum tells these stories of how she lived in Buenos Aires. She had this exquisite taste, but was very down to earth. Great sense of humor and used those beautiful things that often we keep in a cupboard for once a year.
- [46:18]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
And.
- [46:18]
Louise Rowe
And my mum said she would host these wonderful dinner parties, but then she'd be dancing on the table by the end of the night. And I was like, this is. Is great because also back then that was really not done. So she was naughty, but she had great taste. And I thought, perfect. That is the loveliest dichotomy. I grew up around so much of her rattan, her cane chairs and, you know, the patina on wood that you just can't fake. Although I'm trying to with.
- [46:43]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
With. With crafts people.
- [46:46]
Louise Rowe
And so that it was. It was then that I just was like, this is what I want to do, but just to finish. And you said about kind of quitting your day job if it's possible not to then. Because I still kind of do. I do as much of the other stuff as I. And I still do. So I still have two businesses and I think it. It really helps there be a bit less pressure on, like diving into this thing that then must be profitable by a certain time.
- [47:10]
Grace Feely Hunt
Yeah.
- [47:11]
Louise Rowe
And it's quite terrifying. So I think that if you can do a bit of both for a while.
- [47:15]
Grace Feely Hunt
Do I wish Ariel was here for this one. She's such a good case study of having juggled two jobs. Jobs and designers.
- [47:21]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah. But it's true.
- [47:22]
Grace Feely Hunt
Yeah. Having a. If you can. Some jobs.
- [47:25]
Louise Rowe
No, for sure. You can't always.
- [47:27]
Grace Feely Hunt
Seriously.
- [47:27]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah.
- [47:28]
Grace Feely Hunt
Love that. And I love these beautiful family stories that we're Getting from you guys. Thank you so much for sharing all that.
- [47:34]
Tiffany Lipinski
Eliza, what about you?
- [47:36]
Eliza Harris
For me, actually, I always knew that I wanted to come work because I really work for my family business. I treated all my jobs up to my current job as kind of like business school. So I did all the things that I wanted to bring to Sister Parish. So I worked for interior designers. I worked in product design. I worked in set design. I tried to work kind of at the highest level and then maybe the lowest level of design. I, like, thought about all these things before coming to work at Sister Parish Design, and when I came to work at Sister Parish Design, it was only, like, three people, and now we 10 people. So now I'm also just. I think my advice is if you. Not everything in life is. I mean, life is fast, but it's also slow. So, like, just take your time. You know how you were saying, like, it's important to listen. It's important to just kind of, like, learn. Like, learn as much as you can. And right now, I'm also like, as the company grows, it's like, I'm just learning and listening as much as I can, but I can rely on these skills that I. I was able to make mistakes. I'm still making mistakes at Sister Parrish, but I also made a ton before, so I got to make mistakes under other people watch. So that. So that's points.
- [48:43]
Grace Feely Hunt
Yes.
- [48:44]
Eliza Harris
And so you can. You're still gonna make a ton of mistakes, but at least you are a little bit better than you, you know, than when you start, when you started your business. A little bit smarter, stronger, maybe.
- [48:55]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah, yeah.
- [48:56]
Grace Feely Hunt
And when you have to add there. Tiffany, for anybody looking to get something off the ground, what's your advice?
- [49:01]
Tiffany Lipinski
Well, I would definitely, like, retweet the. Do something on the side first before making it your meeting. Yeah, essentially.
- [49:09]
Interviewer/Moderator (likely Grace Hunt or another panel facilitator)
Yeah. Yeah.
- [49:11]
Tiffany Lipinski
As a way to, like, de Risk what you're doing and also learn more about yourself and, like, what is exciting to you. Because I meet, you know, creators all the time who, like, I don't know, they blew up on TikTok like, two days ago, and now they're getting all these deals, and I'm like, it doesn't matter how much money you're making. My number one advice to you would be to keep your day job as long as humanly possible to learn. Like, what do you like about doing this? What do you not like? Because depending on what it is, maybe you could be a better content creator from actually doing the other thing and just doing content creation on the side because, like, that could make you, you know, there's so many interior design content creators and like, we follow them because they're interior designers. You know, that would definitely be one piece of advice as well as, like, following, like Louise was saying, like, where your energy is. And whenever I'm like interviewing people for Shop My, they're asking me about the culture of Shop My. And like, people work so much, but I think it's the kind of work. It's like you can work an 80 hour week and feel extremely drained, or you can work an 80 hour week and feel you can work 80 more hours somehow because you're excited about what you're doing. So I would say to just like, pay attention to the stuff that you're really excited about because that's the thing that gets you, like, like the endless energy to keep going. And it's something that I think is, like, really impactful. So those two things, I think that's.
- [50:35]
Grace Feely Hunt
A really nice thing about the design space. It is a fashion industry and most people are in it by choice. For the Benjamins. People love what they do. And then the rest follows. Thank you, ladies, everybody.
- [50:55]
Arielle Oken
That's a wrap for this week's episode of Talkshop. Thanks for listening. We'll be back next week with more thoughtful discussions and amazing guests. Follow us on Apple podcasts, Spotify and YouTube, so you never miss an episode. And of course, follow me. Arielokun, see you next week.