Recently I was talking to a friend of mine who is a designer and he was telling me about a project that he presented to a client roughly three months ago and they still have not decided on anything.  He was so frustrated at the fact that so much work had been put into the project and as wonderful as it was, the client would not set up the follow-up appointments to see the furniture or return phone calls, all they did was hem and haw.

He asked me what my feelings were about it.  I said it was like being in labor for three months but not being able to deliver the baby.  Clearly, I didn’t have great advice to offer; you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink.  Do you scream and shout?  I don’t think that would do any good.  Would you continue to reach out to them?  Do any of you have any advice, because I was not the most helpful.  Please let me know.

What do you do when a supplier goes out of business or runs away with your money?

Fortunately, this has only happened to me once in my long career, when a supplier closed the business and took off with the deposits.  Unfortunately, it is a situation that designers may face, and a subject that is often taboo when it comes to designer-client interactions.

In my case, I stepped up to the bar and dipped into my own pockets to pay the client for the losses incurred as a result of the supplier running off with the deposits.  I did this, despite the fact that the contract specified that I was not responsible for covering that type of loss.

How does one avoid this sticky situation?

By not putting all of your eggs into one basket and also making sure that you are working with loyal suppliers and have a good sense of their character. Do your research before working with a new supplier, and always ask for references. 

Keep in mind that insurance can cover your loss.  There are people out there who can help you run those crooks down!

Is there anyone out there who’s been burned? Share your misfortune and let me know how you dealt with it.

How can we protect our designs? I just opened a national magazine to find an American manufacture’s ad for a piece of furniture that I have been carrying in my showroom for the last 3 years.  Once your work is featured in a magazine it becomes public domain and I find that manufactures use our designs for “inspiration” for their products.  Besides being frustrated about seeing your design being reproduced under another name, what can we do?  Yes we can copyright but if they change one slight detail it’s no longer protected.  One thing that I have learned is before any meeting with a manufacture I usually draw up a contract that protects the designs I will be showing, making sure they don’t turn around and use them.  People say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery; I say it’s truly annoying.

I don’t understand why so many American manufactures use other designer’s ideas instead of just hiring that designer and having them do something custom for them.  I know companies like Donghia and Baccarat have stepped up to the plate and have sued people for stealing their designs, hopefully putting the fear of God into them.

For those of you out there that are in or trying to get into product design this is a big question.  What does everyone think about imitation?  Do you have any ideas on how to protect yourself and your designs? Have any of you dealt with this? What happened to you?

Just when I thought business was picking up we hit a snag again! I am not sure how the new state of our economy will affect this industry, but I will be holding my breath for the next couple of months to see what happens.  For me business was just getting good again and usually right after summer is our busy season so I will just have to wait and see what happens.
Does anyone have any predictions, thoughts, or insider info?

We are getting ready to present two new jobs, one in Manhattan and one in Long Island. I must say my heart is the most joyful when I am creating.

Designing is different than it was a few years ago; we are dealing with today’s budget limitations and people’s general nervousness.  I think people are accustom to a level of luxury that is just not economical right now but they still want it. Working for clients with high expectations and low budgets is on one hand challenging and pushes my creativity but on the other very difficult.  Another challenge of  having lower budgets is the rising prices in the marketplace,  fabrics that were $80 per yard are now $100 and custom sofas that were 8k are now 12k! As designers we are stuck between a rock and a hard place, we want to express our creativity but are limited by lower budgets and rising price tags.

I have started going to mass-market retailers such as Wisteria, Restoration Hardware and Design within Reach to complete jobs within budget. Not that there is anything wrong with that, in fact I think it brings a different dimension to the work. But years ago it would have never occurred to me to go that route…how are you all dealing with this in your own work?

I always find it a little strange judging other people’s work mostly because I don’t like people judging my work. Over the last few weeks I have been a judge in three different contests and I know people are going to come down on me like a ton of bricks for saying this, but I am really surprised by the submissions.

In general the work seemed to lack imagination, they looked more like showroom set ups than something you would find in a home. I also had a hard time finding a cohesive design aim. This bothers me because I know there are incredibly talented people out there…possibly these competitions don’t appeal to them? I was sadly disappointed, as I wanted to be blown away.

One of the competitions did have some amazing landscape submissions, where the designers had limited budgets and extremely limited space. To me the most impressive designs were the simpler jobs that required a great deal of imagination and thoughtfulness and I am happy to say, they did blow me away.

I just returned from giving a lecture at Americas Mart in Atlanta where the hot topic was: How do you get your client to commit to a budget?  When a client is asked their budget the usual response is “I don’t know, you tell me how much it costs.”  This is an enormous pitfall because once you figure out how much it should cost they normally come back with “Well, that is way too much, I was thinking half!”.  One person in the audience said they normally tell their clients to call him when they have decided on a budget, this sounds good in theory but what happens if they never call back?  Once you are in a dialogue with them are you ready to let them walk away?

Does anyone have any successful ways of getting a budget out of their client?  Please do share!

If you are in the city this weekend and attending the Architectural Digest Home Design Show, I will be discussing two of my favortie topics followed by a book signing.

 Incorporating Art with Design, Friday, March 18th from 2-3pm 

 Merging Two Worlds: Modern & Traditinal Interiors, Saturday, March 19th from 2-3pm  

Hope to see you there

 This past summer, I had the honor of working in Mr. Wolf’s gorgeous New York loft (I know, pinch me!) alongside interiors photographer Debi Treloar to style his inspiring home for my upcoming book, Decorate (http://www.chroniclebooks.com/index/main,book-info/store,books/products_id,9211/title,Decorate/). In addition to sharing parts of his space, he so generously allowed me to interview him and so I am lucky to have some of his words of decorating wisdom in my book in addition to images of his home. Standing on his patio overlooking the city while enjoying lunch, on a beautiful July day, was a real highlight as I look back on 2010. And now a little about me…

Image by Yves Drieghe

For those of you who do not know me, I’m a “professional” blogger which basically means that I write on my blog decor8 (http://decor8blog.com) full-time and earn a living from it along with additional projects that I take on like teaching both online and off, working as an online columnist for Real Simple (http://www.realsimple.com) for nearly three years, and prior to that I was with Domino, HGTV and Cookie magazine producing content for their websites. I was also a Style Editor for the Boston Globe. 

I love what being online and putting myself out there has done for my life, as I wasn’t always Holly of decor8 but was once Holly the Executive Assistant, Holly the Space Manager and Holly the Project Manager when I worked in the corporate world for nearly 10 years. In 2005, I decided to jump tank and headed off into the great big ocean of freelancing – but more than that, I changed my profession entirely, attended design school for a few years, launched decor8 when design blogs were barely on the map, and now I have a pretty good thing going on and I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished in only 5 years. How did all this come about?

Outside of having passion for design and loving what I do, I’m not shy online – I put myself out there and network quite fearlessly – and that is why I think you should be doing the same if you want to spread the news about your work. I keep up with my colleagues, I’ve created a network, and I keep my name out there.

Social networking connects us online and off. You really “get” this when you’re at a party and someone asks if you have a blog, a Twitter account, a Facebook page, if you are on LinkedIn, etc. In fact, I get asked about the social networking tools that I use more than I’m asked for my phone number or personal website! If you aren’t using these tools then you suddenly fall into the dinosaur category and that great person you just met will come and and go quickly because if they don’t have a way to reach you post party, then you will simply be out of sight, out of mind. When you’re not online tweeting and linking up and whatever else, you also give the impression that you are old school (anyone young and hip is out there working their social networking mojo). Who wants to be old and out of style? Not a designer, that’s for sure!

Truth is, if you’re not online using social networking platforms as a tool to reach your colleagues, friends, customers and potential customers then you are definitely out of the loop and potentially losing out on some stellar opportunities. In such a fast-paced and highly competitive industry the movers and shakers are those who are doing just that, moving and shaking, and this means they’re networking or as I like to say, on the Net + Working. They are working the crowds and giving good pose on the virtual red carpet. This stuff matters.

When it comes to networking online, what should you be using? Definitely Facebook (http://www.facebook.com), Twitter (http://www.twitter.com) and LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com), but it is also a good idea to have a blog (I use blogger http://www.blogger.com and WordPress http://wordpress.com) – even if you hire someone else to do the work of maintaining them all for you. You can simply tell your PA (personal assistant) what you want the blog post to say, even speak it into a recording device, and let them compose the post for you.

But what if you are far too busy doing actual work to sit down and burn hours on the computer? Well you have a few options, I’ll cover two.

1. If you are a designer and cannot spend huge amounts of time online, no worries — hire someone who can do it for you. Have your PA filter through your tweets and even tweet on your behalf, write and reply to Facebook comments, write your blog posts, read and reply to blog comments, etc. Each morning your PA can pull together a report,  a “must see” list, so that you can review it and respond accordingly.

1. Your next option is to take on the wild world of social networking yourself and carve out time each day to get involved in these online conversations. View it as being just important as your actual work, because networking plays a huge part in promoting your actual work and if you are not promoting it then don’t bother making things because no one will know about it anyway! Even if you jump online for 30-60 minutes a day, you are doing good things for your business. If you have an iPhone, where there is an app for everything, install Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networking tools so that you can create a little buzz from the road. If you find yourself waiting for a flight, use that time to jump online and work your magic.

Word of caution: When it comes to networking remember, a little goes a long way. No need to tweet every second of the day. View Twitter as a space for you to share quick, useful information. No one cares that you just ate sushi but if you just ate at the best sushi restaurant ever, then that is worth sharing. If you saw an interesting product, met a talented designer, heard something that inspired you, saw a great film, these things draw your fans closer and bring in new ones since you are providing useful information. When you blog, share from the heart, be honest, and don’t copy what is already out there — be an original. Think of what can add value to this great online conversation versus just throwing stuff out there. Most importantly, at least to me, is to remember that social networking isn’t commercial networking. Most people want to get to know YOU better, especially if they already follow your work. Plus, it can really turn people off if you are simply promoting yourself 24/7. Sure, you can tweet your recent blog posts, but also tweet about the work of others. When it comes to social networking, the keys to success include consistency, authenticity, sharing your work along with the work of others, originality, adding value and being “social” — you’ll need to comment on your favorite blogs, reply to comments left on your blog, etc. Mr. Wolf does this quite well, he has left a few comments on decor8 and that definitely made me value and respect him even more because he took the time out of his busy schedule to stop by and say hello.

A blog, especially for a designer, is an extremely useful platform for sharing your work and other valuable information, obtaining new work, connecting with potential clients and connecting with current clients, friends, colleagues and family members. Don’t sit around stressing over how personal you should get, or how many tips you should share, do what feels comfortable and use some of your favorite bloggers in your field as a guide — if what they do works for them then it could potentially be a good template for you to follow. Learn how to create a LinkedIn profile, try out Twitter and learn how to create a fan page on Facebook if you don’t want to create a personal account, for instance. When it comes to technology, you can bet that most of your colleagues are tweeting, linking in, facebooking (is that a word?) and blogging. If they’re online using these tools then they are reaching out to your potential customers — and you may get left behind.

I’d also like to add that you should include links to the sites that you’re on in your email signature (not all of them, but your blog, twitter and facebook are fine) and yes, you can even put them on your business card. To organize things a bit and to save time, link your accounts by using TweetDeck (http://www.tweetdeck.com), too.

If you are already using these tools, then a big high five to you – you know the value of them and perhaps you can share a comment or two below this post as to how they’ve helped you personally and professionally. This post is more for those who are just jumping in or considering to jump in on the action and hopefully, it encouraged the toe dippers to go for it.

So that’s it, a little advice when it comes to social networking from a girl who has been there, done that, and sees positive results. Are you using any of these tools? Would you like to connect? If so, tell us where we can find you online and talk about some of your experiences in the comments section below.

Thank you Mr. Wolf for having me! Warmly, Holly Becker, decor8.

The bedroom pictured shows, to me, the sleight of hand of a successful designer.  Perfectly balanced, as though on the head of a pin, at first glance your brain may just register, “Yes, lovely,” but deconstructed you can see that there are a lot of elements at play.  The bed is made traditionally with white sheets and damask, but the headboard is a rift on the expected with the side panels creating something of a cocoon.  Still, it is the composition of the bedside table that has inspired me to have the book open to this page on my desk for weeks.  The client is glamorous, says Vicente, and his germ of an idea began with the mirrored bedside tables of the ‘30s and 40’s.  But rather than select just that, he designed a table of elegant but severe shape with antiqued mirror drawer fronts.  The back of the piece is left open allowing movement and light so it does not become a solid block.  And then, then, he has suspended an 18th century English mirror above it with heavy fishing line.  Not only is the placement of the mirror unexpected, but it maintains a lightness and an elegance.  There is a combination in this vignette of old and new, curve and line, silver and gold, mirror and glass, lucite and crystal and yet it reads as one unified vision.

“How do you come up with that, Vicente?” I queried.  “Well, you have to listen to your gut.  You just have to let it come.  It’s like cooking; you are keeping a balance of flavors.  Nothing is beating you over the head – you are trying to create a sense of romance.”  So the success of the space has relied on a few things: the designer’s understanding of the client and her needs; the designer’s vision, his instinct, his gut; and, and this is not unimportant though sometimes overlooked, his ability to execute, to communicate to his craftsmen what needs to be done.  If you can find all that in a designer, with or without the sexy accent, you are in for something really special.

During my trip there will be a series of guest posts, I am so excited Mrs. Blandings was our first. Please check out her wonderful blog here.

- Vicente