Laurie Laizure interviews Boston-based designer Dane Austin about building a design career with intention, focusing on community, and anchoring projects in comfort and quality. Dane shares that he has known he wanted to be an interior designer since childhood, inspired by his grandparents’ stylish, welcoming home. He steadily pursued that path, earning two degrees over 10 years while working in retail, fashion, and hospitality—experiences that shaped both his taste and his client-service mindset.

A key theme is the importance of professional community. Dane shares how he moved from DC to Boston and rebuilt his network by joining organizations, attending events, and volunteering, not just to “get” connections, but to contribute. He advises designers to try groups more than once before deciding they aren’t a good fit, and to focus on one or two organizations at a time to keep involvement manageable.

The episode also examines pricing realities and how fee inconsistency affects the industry. Laurie points out that undercharging can be a significant issue for newer designers who lack mentorship and benchmarks. Dane adds that in more transparent designer communities, established professionals often charge much higher hourly rates, which can be eye-opening for designers still determining their prices.

From there, the conversation shifts to client education about product quality. Laurie and Dane discuss value engineering in mass-market furniture and why marketing-focused brands can signal internal material compromises. They explain the “designer filter,” which narrows down thousands of options to just a few, based on comfort, durability, maker reliability, lead times, and whether pieces can be repaired or reupholstered. Dane’s main principle is that comfort is the ultimate luxury, and he encourages clients to invest in what they touch and use every day, especially custom upholstery and window treatments.

Dane also shares a practical purchasing strategy: build strong relationships with a few trusted showrooms and vendors. Focusing spending enhances support when problems occur and simplifies sourcing. Finally, he redefines what great design provides; it’s not just the final appearance but also the quality of daily life through better lighting, sound, flow, and usability. His process focuses on how clients want to feel in a space, then guides them through decisions as a trusted advisor.

In the last episode of 2025 the To-The-Trade podcast from the Interior Design Community, hosts Laurie Laizure and Nile Johnson get real about what it takes to support design pros, and where the business of interior design is heading next. Laurie opens by thanking Nile for the behind-the-scenes work that goes into the show, from guest vetting to shaping questions that actually serve working designers.

A big theme is advocacy, and specifically, trust. Laurie shares that a primary focus going into 2026 is helping more people “know and trust” designers because trust is what converts into clients. She also calls out the role manufacturers can play by investing in design business education and marketing support so that designers can sell with more confidence and product backing.

They also talk about money in a grounded way. Laurie references an ASID jobs report showing higher average salaries than in past years, but stresses that even improved averages can still fall short of a living wage in many of the markets where designers work. That leads into a larger point, the industry needs more respect, better compensation, and stronger collaboration across trades, vendors, brands, contractors, and clients.

One practical concern they raise is the volatility of health insurance costs. Laurie flags that changes to Affordable Care Act subsidies could impact self-employed designers, with some estimating that costs could jump dramatically, putting real pressure on small design businesses. Nile adds that insurance costs can still feel unpredictable, especially when it comes to emergency care pricing.

From there, the conversation gets very tactical about how designers can protect revenue and increase project value without burning clients out. They dig into why clients sometimes skip an accessories package at the end, often it is budget anxiety and decision fatigue after months of choices. One solution, phase it. Build in follow-ups at 6 to 9 months to revisit adjacent spaces, accessories, or even the exterior plan once the client has recovered mentally and financially.

They offer a clever visual sales tactic, too, using AI photo editing to show clients “with vs without” accessories and art, so the finishing touches are no longer abstract. When clients can literally see what disappears when they cut accessories, it becomes easier to justify the full scope.

Then Laurie delivers a decisive “ROI” mindset shift: designers are building equity in clients’ homes. She suggests creating an investment guide using an Excel list of past projects, comparing home values from project start to today, and using that data to talk about how your work increases net worth. That confidence is key when clients ask for discounts, because the equity upside goes into their pocket, not yours.

Finally, they zoom out to community culture, learning, and leadership. They talk about embracing imperfection, asking questions like 'markup vs. margin,' and sharing failures so newer designers do not have to spend a decade figuring everything out alone. Laurie and Nile close with a holiday send-off and a big announcement, Nile will serve as a Style Squad ambassador for Design Edge as the podcast heads into its third season.

In this To-The-Trade podcast episode, host Laurie Laizure interviews Montreal-based interior designer Romina Tina Fontana of Fontana & Company about how her background in marketing and graphic design influences her approach to running her studio. After nearly twenty years in advertising, working with major agencies and brands, Romina shifted into interior design by photographing her own home and friends’ houses. A behind-the-scenes Instagram story caught the attention of HGTV editors, who featured her Victorian “bachelorette pad,” helping to launch her interior design career.

Romina discusses how she treats her business like a brand, using a consistent palette of yellows and greens and a custom illustration in her logo. She depends on a detailed ten-phase process document that reflects her services agreement. Whenever she has allowed a client to pressure her into skipping or changing a phase, problems have resulted, so she now safeguards that structure and improves it after each project. She has even added a specification phase to emphasize the technical details involved in choosing fixtures and fittings.

A significant theme is photography as a strategic business tool. Drawing on her advertising experience, Romina budgets for professional images on nearly every project, sometimes waiting for the right season to show a home at its best. She collaborates with trusted photographers and editorial stylists, like Me and Mo in Toronto, to create vertical vignettes that work for magazines. One Rosedale project styled and shot this way was later published, clearly showing a return on her marketing investment. Her advice to designers is to set aside photo funds from the start and invest in experienced stylists, especially early in their careers.

The conversation also covers collaboration with trades, the peer community, and client communication. Romina loves her trades, invites their expertise, and even uses a “love your trades” hashtag. She shares how a London trip with Christopher Farr Cloth turned into an ongoing WhatsApp support group for twenty-five designers, where they talk candidly about billing and custom work. On the client side, she runs Monday and Friday status meetings and sends Friday updates, often by audio message, so clients head into the weekend feeling informed.

Finally, Romina and Laurie emphasize the importance of insurance. Romina maintains a binder of coverage for herself and every trade on major projects, while Laurie advises designers and their virtual assistants to carefully consider liability and business structure, especially when managing procurement. It offers a grounded perspective on the business side of interior design, combining creativity with real-world risk management.