Trade Tales: Why Ariel Okin Believes All Clients Deserve ‘Unfailing Optimism’

Host: Kaitlin Petersen, Editor in Chief, Business of Home

Guest: Ariel Okin, Interior Designer and Media Entrepreneur

Release Date: November 19, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of Trade Tales features interior designer Ariel Okin, a creative entrepreneur whose firm, Ariel Okin Interiors (AOI), is known for its clear division between creative and operations teams and a distinct, client-focused ethos. Host Kaitlin Petersen delves into Ariel’s unconventional path to design, firm structure, leadership evolution, media expansion, and philosophies on optimism, transparency, and storytelling within the design industry.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ariel’s Unconventional Path into Design

• Background in Journalism: Ariel didn't study design formally—her academic focus was journalism and public affairs. Through helping friends decorate and receiving positive feedback, she stumbled into the field and realized her passion.
  • “It was like relaxing for me. But it didn’t occur to me that it could be a job or a career.” – Ariel (03:02)
• Homepolish Years: Ariel’s career pivoted at Homepolish, a startup that helped designers manage both creative and logistics. She quickly rose within the company, eventually leaving to establish her own firm and bringing Homepolish operations lead Lara with her.

2. Firm Structure: Separating Creative and Operations

• Division of Labor: AOI strictly separates design from logistics—designers don’t handle procurement, and ops staff focus on management and budgeting.
  • “Our designers… don’t touch procurement… They are only doing creative and CAD. They’re not doing the admin.” – Ariel (07:58)
• Hiring Philosophy:
  • Emphasis on experienced designers rather than juniors/interns.
  • Rigorous hiring exercises (mock apartment design) to test creative, technical, and detail skills.
  • “If you’re not fully reading the instructions… that to me shows the level of attention to detail might not be there.” – Ariel (09:33)

3. Firm Size, Team Culture, and Flexibility

• Team Size: AOI runs with a small, tight team of seven for several years—two senior interior designers, operations director (Lara), two project managers, an executive assistant/chief of staff, and an intern.
  • “Seven feels really nice for us and makes sense. And we’ve been at this number for a while.” – Ariel (10:53)
• Adapting to Workflow:
  • Teams are cross-trained for flexibility, and there’s a shared “rainy day list” to keep everyone productive when workload fluctuates.
  • “One of our discussions has been how do we utilize the light side when one side is heavy and vice versa.” – Ariel (11:53)
  • Example rainy day projects: updating the firm’s handbook, professional development (e.g., staff taking Spanish, construction management courses), sourcing for fun.

4. Leadership, Delegation, and Growth

• Ariel maintains hands-on creative involvement but experiments with letting her team lead some projects, balancing hands-on leadership with team autonomy.
  • “I never wanted to grow so big that I’m not touching a project.” – Ariel (16:20)
• Firm deliberately limits project load (7–10 at a time) to avoid overextending and to ensure top service across projects.

5. Partnership and Longevity

• Ariel's enduring professional relationships—especially with Lara (ops lead) and Christina (publicist)—are credited with firm stability.
  • “We have kids the same age. We like went through the same life stages… People stay for a long time, which I’m really grateful for.” – Ariel (18:18)
• Advice on Partnerships:
  • “Find people that you feel a synergy with and they really understand, you know, what your ethos is all about… and also that they push back thoughtfully.” – Ariel (19:28, 00:02)

6. Financial Foundations & Client Transparency

• Budget Talks from the Start: AOI and clients set clear expectations via upfront, transparent budgeting—including mock FF&E budgets and realistic projections.
  • “You have to talk about money immediately off the bat. Like… when you don’t, you’re making a great mistake.” – Ariel (21:15)
  • Takes up to a week to develop proposals pre-contract, which Ariel believes is critical to successful, harmonious projects.
• Billing: Shifted from flat-fee to hourly + commission pre-pandemic following accountant advice, citing increased profitability and fairer compensation.
  • “Hourly did increase our profitability. And also it just makes us feel like we are always being compensated for working.” – Ariel (25:33)

7. Entrepreneurship, Media Expansion, and Time Management

• Fenimore Lane Media: Launched her own media company during COVID to keep writing, later expanding into a summit, podcast, and editorial content.
  • Provides creative fulfillment and unexpected business (new clients from podcast/summit visibility).
  • “It’s a different side of my brain, but it’s still creative. It exercises the journalism muscle and it’s just been a delight to grow.” – Ariel (30:46)
• Time Allocation: Learned to limit podcast episodes, streamline content creation, and say no to maintain balance.

8. Continuous Learning and Curiosity

• Ariel’s podcast interviews with other designers inform her own firm’s evolution, supporting a “tinkering” mindset.
  • “Every time I speak to someone, there’s a nugget that I am taking somewhere in my brain.” – Ariel (34:27)
  • Themes she’s adopted: importance of travel, continuous reading, and openness to new ideas.
• Firm Culture & Development: Quarterly meetings, one-on-one check-ins, and encouragement of cross-training and skill growth within operations and creative.
  • “Meeting them (employees) where they are… helps us be better leaders.” – Ariel (35:48)

9. Ethos: Optimism and Service

• Driven by “unfailing optimism” and a hospitality mindset patterned after five-star concierges.
  • “We have to operate as if we are the concierge at a five star hotel.” – Ariel (36:55)
  • Personal touches (e.g., themed gifts for clients’ children) and client relationships remain a joy and point of pride.

10. Storytelling, PR, and Photography

• Ariel distinguishes between telling her own story and being written about; gives credit to her publicist for shaping press strategy.
  • “It is really important for designers to have someone on their team that understands marketing, that understands PR.” – Ariel (43:44)
• Selective about which projects are photographed and published, focusing investments on high-impact, defining work—guided by industry mentors.
  • “The photography that you do, you have to really invest in. It needs to tell the story of the work that you’re doing down to like the leading edge on the window treatment.” – Ariel (45:49)
  • Strategic about digital vs. print press exposure—digital brings faster, more actionable client connections.

11. Social Media and Brand Building

• Social media remains a primary channel for new client inquiries.
  • “I would say 99% of our clients have found us from social.” – Ariel (52:44)
• Shares behind-the-scenes content to demystify the industry, foster connections, and inspire would-be designers.

12. Reflections and What She Wishes She’d Known

• Candid about early mistakes and the steep learning curve of self-employment.
  • “I measured only one door casing, not all door casings, because of course they’re all the same, right? …I made so many stupid mistakes.” – Ariel (54:23)
• Advises aspiring designers to invest in foundational experience, even via internships.

13. Defining Success

• Purpose-driven happiness and fulfillment define success for Ariel, not just business milestones.
  • “If you feel excited by your work and you’re not dreading it and you don’t have the Sunday scaries… that’s success to me.” – Ariel (55:52)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Unfailing Optimism:
  “I always say to our firm, like, we have to operate as if we are the concierge at a five star hotel… it’s about being unfailingly optimistic, friendly… No request is too crazy as long as everyone’s being respectful.” — Ariel, (36:55–36:59)
• On Partnerships:
  “Find people that you feel a synergy with… they challenge you thoughtfully so that you become a better person at work too.” — Ariel, (00:02, 19:28)
• Client Transparency:
  “You have to talk about money immediately off the bat. Like… when you don’t, you’re making a great mistake.” — Ariel, (21:15)
• On Learning from Mistakes:
  “I made so many stupid mistakes. I wish that I had interned (at a firm)… Having that knowledge base… would have saved me a lot of grief.” — Ariel, (54:23)
• Advice for New Designers:
  “Shoot the work that you want to get more of… what you shoot and what gets out in the world is what you’re going to get inquiries for.” — Ariel, (50:24)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Ariel’s Path to Design: 03:02–04:25
• Homepolish and Firm Structure: 05:10–07:43
• Hiring Philosophy & Team Structure: 07:58–10:53
• Flexibility & Rainy Day Lists: 11:53–15:20
• Leadership and Project Involvement: 16:02–16:20
• Financial Approach and Billing: 21:15–27:41
• Media Expansion, Podcast, and Time Management: 29:19–34:12
• Continuous Learning from Podcast Guests: 34:12–35:21
• Firm Culture & Cross-Training: 35:48–36:36
• Optimism & Hospitality Ethos: 36:55–38:20
• PR, Storytelling & Photography Investment: 43:00–47:34
• Social Media as Business Engine: 52:44–54:13
• Reflections & Early Mistakes: 54:13–55:49
• Success Defined: 55:49–56:21

Summary Takeaways

Ariel Okin’s thoughtful, optimistic approach is woven through every facet of her design businesses, from careful team building and structured client processes to embracing continuous learning and storytelling. The result is a design firm—and media platform—defined by transparency, joy, professional rigor, and a genuine personal touch, firing on all cylinders for clients, staff, and the broader design community.