WEBVTT - April Tomlin 0:00:09.320 --> 0:00:14.880 Carola. She's the queen of talking. He was sown your man. 0:00:16.000 --> 0:00:19.239 She's only yes. Actually you got the snoop on on 0:00:19.320 --> 0:00:22.079 the ones to side. No one can do within clid, 0:00:22.320 --> 0:00:31.400 my Carola, Carolina, no one can do within clid. B 0:00:31.920 --> 0:00:37.960 Carola is timple Carola. Hey, y'all, welcome to Hyper Caroline Hobby. 0:00:38.040 --> 0:00:41.239 I am your host, Caroline Hobby. I know music, I 0:00:41.280 --> 0:00:44.000 know people, and I know the questions you want to ask, 0:00:44.200 --> 0:00:48.040 So let's get hyper heads up. These are adults having 0:00:48.040 --> 0:00:53.240 adult conversations, so there could be adult content. You guys. 0:00:53.320 --> 0:00:57.360 I'm super excited. I have April Tomlin joining me. This 0:00:57.440 --> 0:01:01.480 woman is the hottest interior does miner in Nashville. She 0:01:01.720 --> 0:01:05.080 designs every major star's house pretty much. I'm not even 0:01:05.160 --> 0:01:08.240 kidding you. From Jason Alden and Brittany his wife, to 0:01:08.400 --> 0:01:12.960 Thomas written Lauren, to Tyler Hubbard and his wife Hayley, Jesse, 0:01:13.160 --> 0:01:15.920 James Decker. She has done so many houses and I'm 0:01:15.959 --> 0:01:19.240 just scratching the surface. She is so fantastic. Her view 0:01:19.280 --> 0:01:21.480 on life is amazing. She's a new mom. She talks 0:01:21.560 --> 0:01:25.200 all about bouncing motherhood and a major career. She's awesome here. 0:01:25.200 --> 0:01:32.560 She is April Tomlin, Hey, April Tomlin. Hi, what's that girl? Oh? 0:01:32.600 --> 0:01:35.480 You know, not much, just mom and it out before 0:01:35.520 --> 0:01:38.080 I got here. It's about it mom and working, mom 0:01:38.120 --> 0:01:40.880 and working. Okay, so we were talking earlier, and you 0:01:40.920 --> 0:01:43.959 really are. You've been in every celebrity's bedroom. You're the 0:01:43.959 --> 0:01:49.280 celebrity interior designer to the stars, which is amazing. Yeah, 0:01:48.400 --> 0:01:52.360 that's super kind. But I have been in quite a 0:01:52.360 --> 0:01:57.120 few bedrooms, even in Tyler and Haley Hubbard's from Florida, Georgia, Line, 0:01:57.160 --> 0:02:01.320 Thomas Rhett and Lauren. Uh, you did the Aldanes, Jason 0:02:01.360 --> 0:02:03.560 and Brittany, I know, you just did Jesse James Secker 0:02:03.600 --> 0:02:06.280 and her husband Eric, who's a New Titan. Yeah. Yeah, 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:10.280 you helped us do our house? Did I? Did I do? 0:02:10.680 --> 0:02:12.680 We gotta get into how you got into the celeb world, 0:02:13.160 --> 0:02:14.720 but I want to start off with a few questions. 0:02:14.800 --> 0:02:18.480 Rapid fire, perfect, go. So, in ten words are less? 0:02:18.520 --> 0:02:23.240 Describe your interior design style? Gosh that in ten words 0:02:23.280 --> 0:02:26.320 are less? That's really hard because I have a pretty 0:02:26.320 --> 0:02:30.480 eclectic but for me personally, so if you look at um, 0:02:30.760 --> 0:02:34.519 you know, Jason Aldane has a totally different style than uh, 0:02:34.600 --> 0:02:37.680 than Jesse James. Then they all have very different stuff 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:40.640 to work with their personalities. For sure, yours, you know, 0:02:40.680 --> 0:02:43.240 you have a super eclectic style. You like woods and 0:02:43.280 --> 0:02:45.679 colors and things like that, which I'm not known for, 0:02:46.200 --> 0:02:48.720 but when a client asked for something, that's what we 0:02:49.000 --> 0:02:51.040 you know, we tend to do. But we do put 0:02:51.520 --> 0:02:54.320 we do do a little pushback. But I would say 0:02:54.320 --> 0:02:59.639 for me personally, I like pretty natural, organic, um, collected, 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:03.720 just collected me. I'm collected like I like finding like 0:03:03.840 --> 0:03:07.200 old pieces and just mixing them into to a modern 0:03:07.240 --> 0:03:10.120 piece and then rustic. So if you like, my dream 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:13.639 home would be a little rustic, a little collected, meaning 0:03:13.680 --> 0:03:17.600 like I might like a weird old lady's face above 0:03:17.639 --> 0:03:23.600 my bed, dude and my husband's and my husband would 0:03:23.639 --> 0:03:26.400 be like, why in the world is that old lady 0:03:26.480 --> 0:03:28.800 staring at me while I go to bed? But I 0:03:28.840 --> 0:03:31.280 love that sort of thing. But I also like really 0:03:31.320 --> 0:03:33.960 sleek and clean, like I don't like a lot of 0:03:33.960 --> 0:03:37.080 fuss and a lot of junks. So that's really weird 0:03:37.440 --> 0:03:40.840 when you say collected, because it's like simple collected. It 0:03:40.880 --> 0:03:44.880 can't just be stuff everywhere these collected as accents like 0:03:44.920 --> 0:03:48.440 a pieces, Yeah, collected, I'm usually like more in art 0:03:48.480 --> 0:03:51.440 form like a painting or a picture. Yeah yeah, yeah, 0:03:51.560 --> 0:03:55.080 to seem old and like more of a modern space 0:03:55.200 --> 0:03:57.240 is what I like, or if it was me to 0:03:57.400 --> 0:04:00.920 put in like an older piece or currently above my 0:04:00.920 --> 0:04:05.400 bed is this um photograph of a bunch of unsmoking cigarettes. 0:04:05.920 --> 0:04:09.160 So that's amazing. So it's just weird odd things like 0:04:09.200 --> 0:04:10.680 that that I like. But then the rest of my 0:04:10.680 --> 0:04:13.960 bedroom is pretty like normal, you know. So that's how 0:04:14.000 --> 0:04:16.480 I would describe my personal aesthetic. But then when we 0:04:17.000 --> 0:04:20.080 meet with a client, obviously we're going to do whatever 0:04:20.600 --> 0:04:23.240 you know, they like, but we put our own flare on, 0:04:23.279 --> 0:04:27.799 on our own taste, you know, on it. To that question, 0:04:27.800 --> 0:04:30.120 I actually have a question to that, how do you 0:04:30.120 --> 0:04:34.800 emerge your vision with this your client's vision? Because what 0:04:34.839 --> 0:04:39.240 if the client's vision is tacky? So we vet out 0:04:39.279 --> 0:04:42.160 a little bit, So what does that mean? So we 0:04:42.320 --> 0:04:46.120 talked to the clients before, and we have a range 0:04:46.279 --> 0:04:49.360 you know of how like you go away from your 0:04:49.400 --> 0:04:52.600 comfort this yeah, and no matter who they are, you know, 0:04:52.680 --> 0:04:54.840 to be honest, like, of course we do have a 0:04:54.839 --> 0:04:58.839 pretty heavy, you know, celebrity clientelist, but no matter who 0:04:58.880 --> 0:05:02.280 you are, even if you you are Beyonce. She might 0:05:02.320 --> 0:05:04.680 be able to tell me to do something and I 0:05:04.760 --> 0:05:08.799 might just say okay, but out of the Oprah maybe. 0:05:08.920 --> 0:05:12.000 But other than that, we've met them out and see 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:15.080 if we match, you know, not to be rude. Yes, 0:05:15.640 --> 0:05:17.880 you've got to be a good match. It's a long process, 0:05:17.920 --> 0:05:20.520 you know, it's a long process. I mean furniture, just 0:05:20.560 --> 0:05:22.960 a one without the construction. I was on a construction 0:05:23.000 --> 0:05:27.039 site today this morning, and you know I'll complete that 0:05:27.160 --> 0:05:29.800 job next year. So I'll be working with this client 0:05:30.040 --> 0:05:31.560 the way through next year. So you've got to get 0:05:31.600 --> 0:05:34.279 along because you start at the beginning of the house 0:05:34.320 --> 0:05:37.040 building sometimes most of the time. So when is it 0:05:37.120 --> 0:05:41.559 usually clients that are building a home? No, not Yeah, 0:05:41.600 --> 0:05:44.200 a lot like this client. Um, she's she's actually in 0:05:44.200 --> 0:05:46.960 the music industry, but she is on the business side. 0:05:47.040 --> 0:05:49.800 She's a pretty powerful lady in that world. And uh, 0:05:50.040 --> 0:05:52.040 I've done her house before. She's actually how I got 0:05:52.040 --> 0:05:55.000 into celebrities. Are you serious? And now I'm on her 0:05:55.080 --> 0:05:57.360 third home for her. So yeah, we'll work together all year, 0:05:57.440 --> 0:06:01.919 and we work on from instruction all the way through 0:06:02.279 --> 0:06:05.679 to the very very end. Is how we like to work. 0:06:05.800 --> 0:06:08.160 But of course some people already have homes that are done, 0:06:08.520 --> 0:06:11.200 and we'll do small renovations to make to make it 0:06:11.240 --> 0:06:14.839 fit what they want and then um down to the 0:06:14.920 --> 0:06:18.000 simple like online design. We have a program where if 0:06:18.000 --> 0:06:21.760 you're just getting started, it was the best. Yes, it's 0:06:21.839 --> 0:06:26.120 for a person that wants to uh start with a 0:06:26.120 --> 0:06:28.839 good foundation but not blow their bank, right, but not 0:06:28.880 --> 0:06:32.359 blow the bank, and um, it's it's that's a really 0:06:32.480 --> 0:06:35.440 fun process for a lot of people just because they 0:06:35.480 --> 0:06:38.480 get a board with the drawings and the products and everything, 0:06:38.520 --> 0:06:39.880 and then they get to order at their own pace. 0:06:39.960 --> 0:06:43.080 And when this board is cool because it's so laid out. 0:06:43.120 --> 0:06:46.400 Basically you send a email over and there is a 0:06:46.440 --> 0:06:49.960 board of links with pictures and then the whole map 0:06:50.000 --> 0:06:52.280 of how the room should look. Yes, and you can 0:06:52.320 --> 0:06:54.000 click on all of it and just order it. It's 0:06:54.000 --> 0:06:56.760 just right there, already made. Yeah, it's like the best. 0:06:56.960 --> 0:07:00.400 It's pretty great. It's it's pretty great if I was 0:07:00.560 --> 0:07:03.680 if it was my first home, you know, and I 0:07:03.720 --> 0:07:05.839 didn't want and I was willing to put in the work, 0:07:06.080 --> 0:07:08.960 you know, totally. At a large reason why we're on 0:07:09.000 --> 0:07:11.920 projects from beginning to end um for celebrities is they're 0:07:11.960 --> 0:07:14.320 gone all the time, you know, and even my non 0:07:14.320 --> 0:07:17.000 celebrity clients. They're busy all the time because usually if 0:07:17.000 --> 0:07:19.720 you're hiring a designer full time, you you've made it 0:07:19.760 --> 0:07:21.560 somewhat in the world, and you're busy, you know what 0:07:21.560 --> 0:07:23.720 I mean, you do not have time. So I mean 0:07:23.920 --> 0:07:26.320 we even worried down to like, oh my gosh, they're 0:07:26.680 --> 0:07:28.840 they're getting home as the toilet paper on all the roles. 0:07:28.880 --> 0:07:32.200 I mean like literally they walk in and it they 0:07:32.240 --> 0:07:37.840 get to go live. My house looks horrible. I don't 0:07:37.840 --> 0:07:39.640 know that my house has toilet paper right now. I 0:07:40.160 --> 0:07:44.360 could not. You can't do it. They all the clients 0:07:44.360 --> 0:07:46.640 are taking care. They're taking care of paper is on 0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:48.840 the rule. My husband the other day said, can you 0:07:48.920 --> 0:07:50.840 just like not work for six months and get our 0:07:50.840 --> 0:07:52.920 house together? And I was just like that sounds awesome, 0:07:52.920 --> 0:07:56.000 but though that's not gonna happen. So who would be 0:07:56.040 --> 0:08:03.520 your dream celebrity client? Oh gosh, that is a great question, 0:08:04.240 --> 0:08:07.800 do you know what? I don't know? I mean, someone 0:08:08.000 --> 0:08:13.160 crazy like Madonna like that would be because um, in 0:08:13.240 --> 0:08:16.360 country music it's really heavily male dominated. We just got 0:08:16.440 --> 0:08:19.400 Kelsey Ballerini and she's a great, a great you know, 0:08:19.640 --> 0:08:25.560 new addition to to our process. That's amazing. Yeah, she's great. 0:08:25.800 --> 0:08:29.200 She's so fun and and she's young, and we've got 0:08:29.200 --> 0:08:31.960 a long road you know, hopefully ahead with her and 0:08:32.000 --> 0:08:35.840 we'll get to see that that process grow. Um and anyway, 0:08:36.000 --> 0:08:37.960 but Madonna, I don't have a lot of male clients 0:08:38.000 --> 0:08:42.480 because that they there's a lot of male country singers. 0:08:42.520 --> 0:08:45.280 We all know that there's not very many. You know, 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:47.760 the women are starting to rise up, I'll say that. 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:49.320 So I have a lot of men, So I would 0:08:49.360 --> 0:08:52.240 love a female. I would love to do. I'm known 0:08:52.280 --> 0:08:54.000 for a little more masculine. I would love to do 0:08:54.160 --> 0:08:58.720 super like kind of girly. Um, but I'm my style's 0:08:58.800 --> 0:09:01.680 edgy all the time. So I feel Madonna. I feel 0:09:01.679 --> 0:09:05.080 like Madonna would really like me. I think she would 0:09:06.160 --> 0:09:08.199 maybe not, maybe she would hate me, but I feel 0:09:08.200 --> 0:09:11.640 like that would be a really fun push yourself outside 0:09:11.640 --> 0:09:15.000 of the box. Yes, yes, actually today the content we 0:09:15.000 --> 0:09:18.600 had today, she's pretty edgy and and she said no 0:09:18.720 --> 0:09:20.840 black and white, no gray, none of it. And well, 0:09:20.920 --> 0:09:22.800 that's your specialty. It's kind of like what we do 0:09:22.840 --> 0:09:26.440 a lot of. She's a very clean Yeah. Yeah, So 0:09:26.480 --> 0:09:27.640 I was in the car with my team. I have 0:09:27.679 --> 0:09:29.840 three girls, that no black and white, no gray, No 0:09:29.960 --> 0:09:32.240 black and white, no gray. So I told the team 0:09:32.480 --> 0:09:34.800 they're concepting while I'm gone. I've already started the kick 0:09:34.800 --> 0:09:37.280 off of the concepting. But I showed them everything, and 0:09:37.320 --> 0:09:40.000 I said, this is the time you've got to push yourself. 0:09:40.200 --> 0:09:43.000 Don't show don't show me anything that's black or white 0:09:43.080 --> 0:09:46.719 or gray. And you know that that's hard because everybody, 0:09:46.920 --> 0:09:50.840 you know, production of furniture is usually in those colors, 0:09:51.120 --> 0:09:54.640 so it'll be really fun. So do you enjoy having 0:09:55.679 --> 0:09:58.240 boundaries like that that are that are like, okay, we're 0:09:58.280 --> 0:09:59.800 not doing black, white and gray? Do you like have 0:10:00.200 --> 0:10:02.560 to think outside? Because this client, I know what she's 0:10:02.600 --> 0:10:04.560 going for and I can see it, and you like 0:10:04.640 --> 0:10:07.280 her style, and so it's a match. Yes, it's not 0:10:07.360 --> 0:10:09.760 traditional or anything. She's not like saying, hey, do it 0:10:09.840 --> 0:10:13.199 traditional for me. She's saying, I want funky, I want 0:10:13.320 --> 0:10:15.080 over the top, you know what I mean. And I 0:10:15.120 --> 0:10:17.840 don't want a black or gray. And of course there's 0:10:17.880 --> 0:10:21.160 gonna be something like that. Yeah, yeah, but she she 0:10:21.200 --> 0:10:24.160 knows me well and she's saying, give me something different. 0:10:24.360 --> 0:10:26.920 And and you know, when you do it every single day, 0:10:27.080 --> 0:10:30.400 just like anybody's business, anybody anybody that works anywhere, because 0:10:30.400 --> 0:10:32.600 I used to have an office job as well. And 0:10:32.679 --> 0:10:35.559 when you go in that environment or any environment, you 0:10:35.600 --> 0:10:37.120 want to shake it up, you want to change. I 0:10:37.120 --> 0:10:40.800 feel the same way, you know. So that's exciting, it is. 0:10:40.920 --> 0:10:43.199 It gets really exciting when I hear projects like that. 0:10:43.360 --> 0:10:45.839 So and then when people ask for exactly what I do, 0:10:46.160 --> 0:10:47.800 of course they're going to get a good product because 0:10:47.800 --> 0:10:50.480 I know exactly. You know, it's easy to navigate for 0:10:50.520 --> 0:10:53.320 me at this point, you know, So what is your 0:10:53.640 --> 0:10:58.360 nightmare color palette? And like design palette if you had to, 0:10:58.880 --> 0:11:00.280 you walk into a room and you're like, I'm in 0:11:00.320 --> 0:11:03.520 hell what does that look like? Um? I don't know, 0:11:04.160 --> 0:11:08.480 you know, like anything, I don't know except seeing good 0:11:08.600 --> 0:11:13.240 with that too, anything that's like, uh, that royal blue color, 0:11:13.520 --> 0:11:15.559 Like I've seen a lot of This whole room is 0:11:15.600 --> 0:11:23.160 royal blue, right, yeah, basically were and this is time 0:11:23.240 --> 0:11:26.280 in hell y. Yeah, there's a lot of green and 0:11:26.280 --> 0:11:30.240 purple and blue. Yeah, this is a set, Thank the Lord. 0:11:30.280 --> 0:11:33.200 Where do you gather your inspiration for designing? Where did 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:38.120 you learn how to design? So that's a really interesting story. So, um, 0:11:38.160 --> 0:11:41.000 I was raised with a single mom and we just 0:11:41.440 --> 0:11:43.080 we barely had a pot to pean. We really did 0:11:43.080 --> 0:11:44.600 not have much. Was it just you and your mom 0:11:44.679 --> 0:11:51.040 and my brother? Okay, yes, and so we my dad 0:11:51.120 --> 0:11:53.640 left very early on. And my mom's just the sweetest. 0:11:53.720 --> 0:11:55.760 I mean, she just there, could not be a better woman. 0:11:56.120 --> 0:12:01.000 So she did real estate. She ran my father's plumbing company, 0:12:01.040 --> 0:12:03.160 and she had her contractor's license and was building homes 0:12:03.160 --> 0:12:06.240 when I was a kid. So when she didn't have 0:12:06.280 --> 0:12:07.920 we didn't have money for babysitters, so we would just 0:12:08.000 --> 0:12:09.920 kind of have to go with her everywhere. So I 0:12:09.920 --> 0:12:12.240 would have to go on her listings and I would 0:12:12.280 --> 0:12:15.040 just be sitting there and I think I was. She says, 0:12:15.080 --> 0:12:17.160 I was like eight or nine, and I would start 0:12:17.200 --> 0:12:20.240 moving furniture around, like you knew where you wanted to go? Yes, 0:12:20.400 --> 0:12:22.680 I knew, you know I did. And then one day 0:12:22.960 --> 0:12:26.280 she actually came in. We were at home, unsupervised, because 0:12:26.280 --> 0:12:27.680 that's when you do what your boor and you don't 0:12:27.760 --> 0:12:30.280 have any money for babysitters. Probably a lot of good thing. 0:12:30.280 --> 0:12:33.840 I can't imagine leaveen everly, but I was left and 0:12:33.920 --> 0:12:35.920 we she got home and me and my brother had 0:12:35.960 --> 0:12:37.679 painted like half of her room as high as we 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:40.240 could reach. And we were like eight or nine years old, 0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:44.680 so I was always doing things like that. So, um, yeah, 0:12:44.880 --> 0:12:47.240 I've always I think it was just that, you know, 0:12:47.280 --> 0:12:49.520 I would be embarrassed when people would come over because 0:12:49.520 --> 0:12:51.320 we just didn't have a lot like of stuff on 0:12:51.360 --> 0:12:53.760 the walls. It just didn't feel homey to me. It 0:12:53.840 --> 0:12:56.080 just didn't. And and it's you know, she did the 0:12:56.080 --> 0:12:58.840 best that she could. But so I really have a 0:12:58.880 --> 0:13:01.680 passion when people kind in that they feel like they're 0:13:01.679 --> 0:13:05.240 at home. You know, people don't. It's not a materialistic job. 0:13:05.240 --> 0:13:08.840 It's not as materialistic as you would think because you know, 0:13:09.280 --> 0:13:12.040 feeling letting your having a space, Like when I think 0:13:12.040 --> 0:13:15.160 of my space for my daughter, you know, the thing, 0:13:15.200 --> 0:13:17.440 I wanted to feel safe, right I wanted to feel 0:13:17.440 --> 0:13:19.640 like it's hers. I wanted to always feel like she 0:13:19.679 --> 0:13:21.880 can come back, you know what I mean. And I 0:13:21.880 --> 0:13:23.959 wanted to have pieces that aren't that aren't going to 0:13:24.040 --> 0:13:26.080 be thrown away, Like I wanted to have pieces that 0:13:26.160 --> 0:13:29.480 she remembers, you know. And so it's very hard hard 0:13:29.520 --> 0:13:31.640 to design in a way that's going to kind of last. 0:13:31.920 --> 0:13:33.880 M gould be cool right now. So I really try 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:36.120 to do both of those things. Um, but yeah, so 0:13:36.200 --> 0:13:39.160 that's it wasn't like a materialistic wanting to get into design. 0:13:39.240 --> 0:13:42.840 It was like probably more of like a insecurity or 0:13:42.840 --> 0:13:47.080 a need or and then just start growing different mom. Yeah, yeah, 0:13:47.160 --> 0:13:49.640 for sure doing that. Yeah, and you know, I think 0:13:49.679 --> 0:13:53.280 design comes naturally people. Um, obviously I'm trained, but we 0:13:53.480 --> 0:13:56.160 did you go to school to learn? Yeah? And so 0:13:57.440 --> 0:14:00.000 but with I have my one of my main designers 0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:03.000 is not and we interviewed a lot of people and 0:14:03.080 --> 0:14:07.120 she was the best. She has it and um, and 0:14:07.160 --> 0:14:09.440 I think I get a lot of direct messages about 0:14:09.440 --> 0:14:12.520 how people can get in. And I would always encourage 0:14:12.520 --> 0:14:16.760 everybody to go to school and that Yeah, even if 0:14:16.760 --> 0:14:19.000 you don't get a degree, you need to at least 0:14:19.080 --> 0:14:22.280 go to some classes because a lot like this morning alone, 0:14:22.400 --> 0:14:25.320 I've been on the phone with electricians and plumbers and 0:14:25.360 --> 0:14:29.640 you really need to know the house and like you 0:14:29.680 --> 0:14:34.840 can't really. I'm heavily insured because when we do renovations, obviously, 0:14:35.280 --> 0:14:37.480 you you need to be able to do those renovations 0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:39.440 with confidence and know what you're doing. You don't want 0:14:39.440 --> 0:14:42.320 to get into someone's house and and interrupt their their 0:14:42.360 --> 0:14:45.480 way of life, and I've seen that happen. Um, but 0:14:45.960 --> 0:14:50.840 I do feel like aesthetics are natural thing. Um, it 0:14:50.960 --> 0:14:54.640 really is hard to teach. Either have it or you don't. Yeah, 0:14:54.720 --> 0:14:58.040 I think I think so. Again, like I've never hired 0:14:58.080 --> 0:15:00.560 and like carried someone that was a bad designer through 0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:03.360 my process. But um, you know, like I said, my 0:15:03.400 --> 0:15:05.400 main girl, she doesn't have a degree and she's she's 0:15:05.440 --> 0:15:07.680 a and she never went to one class. But she 0:15:07.800 --> 0:15:12.400 did build her own home before from from the ground 0:15:12.440 --> 0:15:15.400 she learned, she kind of had. She learned, she really did. 0:15:15.560 --> 0:15:19.280 And now as far as like Nashville obviously has the 0:15:19.280 --> 0:15:21.640 most cranes in the sky, it's hard to get permits here, 0:15:21.640 --> 0:15:24.800 it's hard to do work here. Um, she knows codes 0:15:24.840 --> 0:15:28.000 and everything. So she Yeah, she ended her own little school. 0:15:28.080 --> 0:15:30.280 Yeah she did. She did, So you at least have 0:15:30.360 --> 0:15:33.880 to you know, start there. Um. But I tell everybody 0:15:33.880 --> 0:15:36.880 how I got actually started is did you just start 0:15:36.920 --> 0:15:38.920 off with your own business because you're only thirty five 0:15:38.960 --> 0:15:43.280 and you're running a writhing business? Yea, So um, Actually, 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:48.160 the I don't think she would care that I said this, 0:15:48.200 --> 0:15:50.320 But her name is Mary Hilliard. She is the house 0:15:50.320 --> 0:15:51.760 that I'm doing that I've been talking about. She's the 0:15:51.760 --> 0:15:55.200 one that's clients. But She's also was a mentor tour 0:15:55.400 --> 0:15:58.320 very early on because she owns her own very successful business. 0:15:58.360 --> 0:16:00.480 And I remember I was leaving my full time job 0:16:00.520 --> 0:16:02.560 and I called her and I was already doing Jason's 0:16:02.600 --> 0:16:04.160 house and she was the ones like, you got you 0:16:04.200 --> 0:16:06.360 cannot do a four hour work week and this on 0:16:06.400 --> 0:16:08.640 the side. And I called her. I was like, I'm 0:16:08.640 --> 0:16:11.600 gonna be working like some furniture story and I don't 0:16:11.600 --> 0:16:14.840 want to, and she's like, no, you won't. So I 0:16:14.880 --> 0:16:18.560 think I think it's every everybody that starts own thing. 0:16:18.600 --> 0:16:21.840 It's a huge risk. It is. Did you start your 0:16:21.880 --> 0:16:24.160 own thing right at the beginning, or did you already 0:16:24.160 --> 0:16:25.840 have some houses under your belt? Oh? I had houses 0:16:25.920 --> 0:16:29.000 under my belt. Were you with another company originally? Yes, 0:16:29.040 --> 0:16:30.640 And I was doing like a bunch of set design 0:16:30.720 --> 0:16:33.000 stuff and design for them, but I had a salary, 0:16:33.280 --> 0:16:36.600 you know, and that's secure and yeah, and then they're like, 0:16:36.840 --> 0:16:39.360 let me dive it into the world. I would work 0:16:39.400 --> 0:16:41.760 to like oh my gosh, like two am, like thank god. 0:16:41.800 --> 0:16:43.520 Those clients would let me stay in their house because 0:16:43.560 --> 0:16:46.160 they were gone or whatever, and I would work throughout 0:16:46.200 --> 0:16:49.920 the night, and then one day it became I had 0:16:49.920 --> 0:16:53.000 already brought on that first designer that I have mentioned 0:16:53.000 --> 0:16:56.040 previously within the company you're working with, Yes, and we 0:16:56.080 --> 0:16:58.720 would meet, sorry for the company I was working for before, 0:16:58.720 --> 0:17:00.880 but we would meet on my lunch break. Oh so 0:17:00.920 --> 0:17:03.000 you were already kind of secretly starting your other one. 0:17:03.280 --> 0:17:07.560 Oy Okay, yes, hey, you gotta get gotta do it, 0:17:07.960 --> 0:17:11.960 and so sorry about that. But we would meet on 0:17:11.960 --> 0:17:15.320 our on our on my lunch break and talk about 0:17:15.320 --> 0:17:17.200 the you know what clients we had going on or whatever. 0:17:17.240 --> 0:17:19.639 And then finally one day I was just like, I 0:17:19.720 --> 0:17:22.359 just have to quit. I have done enough work. But 0:17:23.400 --> 0:17:25.840 you know, since you've heard my story and kind of 0:17:25.840 --> 0:17:27.960 where I come from, it's hard to walk away from 0:17:27.960 --> 0:17:31.440 a salary thing. I mean, my mom was like, are 0:17:31.480 --> 0:17:34.960 you crazy? It feels that feels crazy, yes, because I 0:17:34.960 --> 0:17:37.240 had no fallbacks, Like there's nobody to help me out 0:17:37.240 --> 0:17:40.760 if I didn't make it, Like literally, you're sinking or swimming, 0:17:40.840 --> 0:17:42.960 sinking or swimming, and that's like a legit. They would 0:17:42.960 --> 0:17:45.600 be me getting my car, driving back to Memphis and 0:17:45.680 --> 0:17:48.760 living with my mom. That would be my backup play. Okay, 0:17:48.880 --> 0:17:52.480 so luckily it went Opite killed it. But how do 0:17:52.560 --> 0:17:54.720 you feel in that moment where you quit your job. 0:17:54.960 --> 0:17:57.440 You have this nice pay salary job. You know, it's 0:17:57.480 --> 0:18:00.399 probably very respectful, you could stay there forever. How does 0:18:00.440 --> 0:18:03.440 it feel in that moment where you're like, Okay, I'm 0:18:03.440 --> 0:18:05.639 going to jump and take this leap of faith? To me, 0:18:05.760 --> 0:18:08.399 that's like really going for your calling, like pursuing it 0:18:08.440 --> 0:18:10.560 with your full heart. And you're like, okay, I'm like 0:18:10.880 --> 0:18:13.520 flying out over It felt like this ledge and I 0:18:13.600 --> 0:18:15.240 pray to God I got a parachute, Like what does 0:18:15.280 --> 0:18:18.280 that feel like? Can you remember that? Yeah? Oh no, Yeah, 0:18:18.280 --> 0:18:20.680 I know I do. I cried the whole way home. 0:18:20.840 --> 0:18:23.600 I was just like, there's just you know there. How 0:18:23.600 --> 0:18:26.760 did you know it was time? Because I was so overworked. 0:18:27.119 --> 0:18:30.720 I was so overworked and I wasn't doing anything justice, 0:18:31.119 --> 0:18:34.840 you know, I wasn't. It wasn't fair to my employer obviously, 0:18:35.680 --> 0:18:39.600 and and it also it wasn't fair to the clients. 0:18:39.600 --> 0:18:43.280 Like I knew that I could be faster, more efficient. Um, 0:18:43.560 --> 0:18:45.840 the design is still the same, right, But there there 0:18:45.960 --> 0:18:48.640 is a method to an interior design business. I mean, 0:18:48.640 --> 0:18:51.720 we we have a process and that process works, and 0:18:52.080 --> 0:18:54.040 it's not just about flying into your house and saying 0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:57.439 what is the process. So if it's a regular client. 0:18:57.520 --> 0:19:00.000 We you know, we have our first initial meeting where 0:19:00.000 --> 0:19:03.080 we walk their home or whatever. We do not shop 0:19:03.080 --> 0:19:05.440 with clients. It's not something that we do. Some people 0:19:05.440 --> 0:19:07.240 do it that probably take there's probably a lot of 0:19:07.280 --> 0:19:09.440 wasted time. It's quite better for you to talk to them, 0:19:09.440 --> 0:19:12.640 get their vision. We fully then you send ideas. Yes, 0:19:12.680 --> 0:19:15.359 we fully concept. They come into our office and we 0:19:15.440 --> 0:19:17.879 do full presentations with all of our samplings and they 0:19:17.880 --> 0:19:20.720 say yes and everything. We always give them time. We 0:19:20.760 --> 0:19:23.160 always give them time to We never asked for any responses. 0:19:23.160 --> 0:19:26.600 Actually we ask for no responses um. And then they're 0:19:26.600 --> 0:19:28.359 able to go home, talk to whoever they need to 0:19:28.400 --> 0:19:31.359 talk to, think about it. Um. And then we always 0:19:31.359 --> 0:19:32.880 just ask them to kind of circle what they like 0:19:33.200 --> 0:19:36.600 and and you know, we can tell kind of what 0:19:36.640 --> 0:19:38.480 we've hit the mark on and what we've missed the 0:19:38.520 --> 0:19:42.439 mark on. And uh, once we've agreed established on what 0:19:42.480 --> 0:19:44.920 we're gonna do. If there's renovations involved, we start there. 0:19:45.200 --> 0:19:48.120 If it's just furniture planning, UM, we have a whole 0:19:48.200 --> 0:19:50.639 ordering process. We have the way a way that we 0:19:50.760 --> 0:19:54.240 order a place that it's sent installed period of time 0:19:54.320 --> 0:19:57.480 like and it's all scheduled and um, and so they 0:19:57.520 --> 0:20:01.119 kind of know what's going to happen exactly down to 0:20:01.359 --> 0:20:05.440 the day basically, and it usually stays on schedule. We 0:20:04.760 --> 0:20:07.800 we are pretty well known first day and on schedule 0:20:08.359 --> 0:20:10.920 because I'm can be a little bit of a bit 0:20:11.960 --> 0:20:16.960 when it comes to that. She's just being just running 0:20:16.960 --> 0:20:19.919 a business. Yeah, well, you want it done when it's 0:20:19.960 --> 0:20:24.240 supposed to be done. Yeah. And and you know, design 0:20:24.240 --> 0:20:26.720 and construction can be really loose. It can be really loose. 0:20:26.960 --> 0:20:28.960 Oh my gosh, we built a garage. Is supposedly done 0:20:28.960 --> 0:20:30.960 in three months. It was done eight months. Oh yeah, 0:20:31.000 --> 0:20:32.760 I mean that's just kind of and I hate that 0:20:32.840 --> 0:20:36.480 because you know, really we do set realistic expectation though, 0:20:36.640 --> 0:20:38.280 I would say that that's key. That's how we stay 0:20:38.280 --> 0:20:40.159 on top. We never like if a clock comes to me, 0:20:40.320 --> 0:20:41.639 like I want this done in two months, and like, 0:20:41.640 --> 0:20:44.520 find somebody else it's not happening. That's awesome. You're honest 0:20:44.520 --> 0:20:47.280 and upfront about what you can deliver. I could deliver 0:20:47.400 --> 0:20:49.400 something it's not going to be good, and you're gonna 0:20:49.400 --> 0:20:51.280