Show Notes: Stephanie Housley is the founder, designer, and creative force behind Coral & Tusk, an embroidered textile brand celebrated for its whimsical, nature-inspired home goods.  Born and raised in the Ohio Valley, Stephanie studied textile design at RISD and spent fifteen years working as an interior textile designer in New York City before turning her passion project into a full-time business. 

In 2007, working from a small Brooklyn apartment with a single embroidery machine, she launched Coral & Tusk. Over time, her hand-drawn illustrations became the foundation for embroidered pieces that blend storytelling, craftsmanship, and texture. Now based in Wyoming with her husband, Stephanie continues to draw inspiration from nature, weaving narrative into every stitch and designing heirloom objects that surprise, delight, and endure.

Show Notes: Jon Carloftis grew up in rural Kentucky with parents that fostered a deep understanding and appreciation for nature and gardening.  His educational pursuits further informed his creative aesthetic.  Eventually, through life's twists and turns he ended up designing rooftop and terrace gardens in New York City, building a unique business from the ground up, often catering to wealthy and celebrity clients.  Today, Jon lives and thrives professionally as a designer, author and speaker based in Lexington KY.

Show Notes:In this episode, we speak with interior designer and wedding venue owner Megan Pflug. She began her professional journey at Martha Stewart Living, where she developed her eye for detail and design, and later joined One King’s Lane in the early days of social media. That experience taught her powerful lessons about storytelling and connecting with an audience—skills she carried with her when she and her husband took on the challenge of restoring a run-down Catskills motor lodge. Today, that property is The Woodhouse Lodge, a distinctive destination and wedding venue that reflects Megan’s vision, persistence, and hands-on approach.

Show Notes: Christine Lavigne, Founder of Home Agency, a talent representation company, shares her various experiences that led her to establishing her own business.  She explains what talent agents do, and some best practices for how creatives seeking representation should present themselves to prospective agents.  Home Agency has offices in New York, Paris, Tokyo, and Seoul and represents photographers, make-up artists, hair stylists among other creatives.

Show Notes:This mini episode marks a milestone — 20 episodes! We take a moment to reflect on what has resonated most with us so far, share a few behind-the-scenes updates, and highlight some of the other projects we’ve been working on. Our producer, Chris Kangas, joins us to give a peek behind the scenes of making the podcast. And finally, we take a moment to thank our guests, our sponsor Rowenta, and our music creator Pierce McIntyre.

Show Notes: In this episode, we talk with Rob Van Wyen and Kevin Seitz, the team behind the furniture brand Seitz. We discuss how their complementary skills shaped the company, why they paused to focus on the operational side, and how they’re approaching their re-launch while continuing to work full-time. The conversation also covers their upcoming Monocle residency, working with skilled Swiss makers, and their commitment to creating long-lasting pieces in a culture that often favors disposable design.

Show Notes: In this episode we sit down with David Mann, founding principal of MR Architecture + Decor, to explore his path from an early fascination with buildings as a child to building a successful career in architecture and design. David reflects on his education at Pratt and the formative experiences in his early career, the leap to starting his own practice, and how MR Architecture + Decor has evolved over the years. He shares why he resists defining his aesthetic too narrowly, the collaborative process he embraces with clients, and what it takes to make retail spaces both personal and globally resonant. 

Show Notes: In this episode, we dive into the fascinating world of collecting with Fritz Karch — a true renaissance man. From his early start as a passionate collector to his longtime role as Editorial Director of Collecting at Martha Stewart Living, Fritz shares his unique perspective on styling, antiques, and curating meaningful objects. We explore his background in styling, co-authoring Collected: Living With The Things You Love, his longtime running of his vintage shop, and collaborating with MR Architecture. Join us for an inspiring conversation about creativity, collecting, and living with the things you love.

Show Notes: In this episode, we speak with Nancy Soriano, a seasoned editorial leader and brand strategist whose career has spanned media, design, and retail.

We talk about her early days as a stylist, her decade-long run as Editor-in-Chief at Country Living, and how she has navigated major roles at brands like One Kings Lane, West Elm, and now Perigold. Nancy shares what it has been like to shift from storytelling in magazines to crafting editorial content within retail, and how she continues to lead with creativity, even in data-driven environments.

We also touch on her jewelry-making book, her approach to managing creative teams, and why she believes original content, though costly, is still worth the investment.

Show Notes: In this episode, we speak with Kristen Aronsson, founder and creative director of Aperçu, a direct-to-consumer eyewear brand that blends fashion, functionality, and strategy. With over 15 years of experience, Kristen has built a career focused on eyewear design and now leads both the creative direction and business development at Aperçu.

She shares how she transitioned from studying art history to industrial design, what drew her to the world of eyewear, and how launching a brand has pushed her to grow beyond design—deepening her understanding of marketing, brand building, and business strategy. Aperçu’s business model centers on partnering with influencers to co-create and promote collections, combining authentic storytelling with a modern, digitally native approach to retail.

Seven years into the brand, Kristen reflects on the challenges of building something from the ground up, staying relevant in a trend-driven industry, and finding space for creativity while running a business.

Show Notes: In this episode, we sit down with Heidi Johannsen Stewart, co-founder of Bellocq Tea Atelier, the celebrated Brooklyn-based tea company known for its exquisite hand-blended teas and deep commitment to quality and ritual. Heidi shares her journey from training at the French Culinary Institute to nearly a decade at Martha Stewart Living, and how those experiences ultimately led her to co-found Bellocq. We explore the inspiration behind the brand, the sensory artistry of tea blending, and the creation of Bellocq’s thoughtfully curated line of teas. Along the way, Heidi reflects on the quiet luxury of tea, the meditative rituals it invites, and the global adventure that continues to shape her work. We also discuss the realities of running and growing a business, and how the ability to adapt, pivot, and thoughtfully diversify has been essential to Bellocq’s continued success and evolution.

Show Notes: In this episode, we sit down with Raylene Marasco, founder of Dye-namix, a textile studio that creates custom fabrics for film, fashion, and fine art. Today, her work shows up in everything from The Gilded Age and Severance to runway pieces for Giorgio Armani and Ralph Lauren. 

We speak with Raylene about how her business has evolved over the years and some of the unique projects that have come her way. She’s collaborated with artists like Louise Bourgeois, worked with The Met on textile conservation, and taken on challenging creative briefs across theater, fashion, and film. Early on, she took a leap into digital printing—a move that helped distinguish her work and expand the possibilities of her studio.

Raylene has built a practice around solving complex visual problems, scaling hand-crafted techniques into production-ready solutions, and staying deeply involved in the work itself. From her studio in Tribeca, she leads a small team that collaborates with some of the biggest names in the industry—all without ever advertising. We speak with her about the business of making, the value of saying yes before you’re ready, and how she turned a practical skill into a creative career that continues to evolve.

Show Notes: In this episode, we sit down with Andy Gray, a seasoned creative director and founder of Transport New York, whose career has taken him from early days in TV graphics to top agencies like Wieden+Kennedy, Ogilvy, and VSA. Along the way, he’s also worked in-house at major brands like Cole Haan and Warby Parker & Bonobos, giving him a unique perspective on both sides of the client-agency relationship. Andy shares what he’s learned from leading creative teams across industries, and how his diverse experience now fuels the work he does at his own agency—helping brands define and express their authentic identity.

Show Notes: In this episode, we talk with Eve Ashcraft, a color expert and founder of Eve Ashcraft Studio. A RISD-trained painter, Eve has spent over two decades shaping and defining her role of architectural color consultant—a discipline she helped pioneer through her independent practice. She’s collaborated with architects, designers, institutions, and private clients on everything from residential palettes to large-scale public projects. Eve shares stories from her work on New York’s Moynihan Train Hall and a fascinating color assignment for the Art Institute of Chicago, where she developed a palette to surround Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grande Jatte. She talks about navigating a career entirely on her own terms, why she avoids trends, and how color, when used thoughtfully, can quietly transform a space.

Show Notes:In this episode, we sit down with designer and creative director Alex Bates to discuss her career—from growing up in a creatively charged Midwestern household to helping shape influential brands like Martha Stewart Living and West Elm. Alex shares stories of early influences, hands-on learning at Macy’s, and eye-opening trips to Copenhagen that helped define her aesthetic. She reflects on the magic of working at Martha Stewart, the joy of building meaningful, sustainable products, and her passion for spotlighting artisanal craftsmanship through her consultancy, Flint & Kent.

Show Notes: In this episode, we sit down with Joelle Hoverson, founder of Purl Soho, to talk about how her background as a painter led her to build one of the most beloved knitting and craft brands in the country. Joelle shares how she went from studying painting at the San Francisco Art Institute and earning her MFA at Yale to freelancing for Martha Stewart Living, where a new passion for knitting took root. We discuss how, in 2002, she opened a small yarn shop in SoHo with no formal business training—teaching herself everything from supply sourcing to financial planning, with the help of books, trial and error, and guidance from her father. Joelle talks about the early days of building the business, the launch of their popular blog The Purl Bee, and how a tiny storefront became a thriving ecommerce brand. We also explore how teaching, community, and her daily painting practice continue to shape her creative and entrepreneurial life.