How Virtual Interior Design Is Making Luxury Spaces More Accessible, Scalable, and Client-Driven

curator of interiors, furnishings and lifestyles, hosted by Tiffany Willey, an interior designer,

“and a style enthusiast, along with her serial entrepreneur husband Scott.”

Eye Design Lab is your ultimate design podcast, where we explore the rich and vibrant world of design, and its constant evolution in style and trends. Today, on the Eye Design Lab, we're joined by Christi Saloski, founder of Crew Collective Design, a San Diego-based boutique studio redefining luxury interior design through an accessible streamlined approach. Blending her background in corporate strategy and performance with a designer's eye,

Christi creates warm, refined, livable spaces for clients across the country, both virtually and full service. Welcome to the Eye Design Lab podcast. Today, we are joined from San Diego. We have Christi Saloski, and she is another high-end interior designer who has a really interesting approach through the virtual life that we all now adapt to on our phones and screens.

So I'm really excited that she's here to join us and to hear about her process, but let's start by welcoming Christi, and we want to hear a little bit about you. To our audience express yourself. Yeah, thank you so much for having me. I'm so happy to be here. This is great honor, and I love that we're able to do this.

I'm in San Diego, and you're over on the East Coast and in Florida, and we're able to have this interaction and reach out to clients, so it's fantastic.

A little bit about me, I have not always been in the interior design world, but I've always had an eye for design and creativity,

so I was a dancer and kind of like a visual artist through movement for a lot of my life, and I also kind of rearranged my room several times and called it out with friends and family. And I really do feel like I always had this creative side, but I never really had it in my work. I, for 20, 25 years, I was in medical sales and marketing, so that's a little bit of my background, and I worked for large corporations, Johnson and Johnson, and Boston scientific, and I just got burned out.

I got laid off one day and was like, you know what, I've been doing this on the side for friends and family, and after 2020, I realized that, you know, you can build a business and reach clients virtually, and I kind of launched a concept, launched my business, and I'm like, I think this thing's going to take off,

“and I think I'm actually kind of good at it, you know what I mean?”

I mean, myself and learned, and that's kind of how I started my business, but personally, I'm originally from East Coast. I am born and raised in Rochester, Buffalo area in New York, and although I love my family, I just don't let's snow. So I live in New York, and it's cold there right now.

We have clients there. How did you end up all the way in San Diego from Rochester and Buffalo? I know, I know, at that time in my life, I moved out here. I was around like, 22, 23, so it was right out of college, and I worked for Club Bed for a year.

I just wasn't ready to like settle down. I still wanted to travel. I studied at Rotten, London, and I really had that, it's like travel and tour. And somebody told me because I was a dancer and a performer, they're just like, "Your talent is needed."

Like, I'm cruise lines, or, you know, so I said, "Let me be doing Club Met." And I said, "No, I don't know what Club Met is." So I was introduced and I went to New York City and did an audition, and I ended up getting a job working for Club Met on a year contract.

And that's where I met people all over the world, and I met a bunch of friends from San Diego or from California. And they just said, "Once we're out of this, we're going to go live in San Diego.

“You should fly out here and see how this place says."”

And I did with one case, and a one-way ticket. And February because it was snowing, and really must be cold. And I just sent out my resume, and back then I had that hard drive. You know, I had the hard drive of my resume, and my one pack bag. And I just met this woman that was dumb enough to hire me, and I stayed.

God, bless. I mean, that's the one thing I enjoy so much about doing the podcast is everybody's stories are so interesting. And obviously through so much travel, you must have had so much inspiration.

Oh, yeah. I mean, first of all, I grew up in a really small town.

So I really didn't have a lot of travel growing up. I mean, we drove up and down the East Coast, and that was definitely my excursions. And that was, it was an East Coast is beautiful and not seeing that.

you know, I went to Italy on weekends, and then I went to Ireland on weekends,

and I went to France, and then I was, and then as an adult, I've been back there. And I, you, I would say, as a designer in just as a person, you take what you, what you love, and something that I'm really drawn to is European architecture. Now in your styles, and I might choose that in a sort of look that is a nightly becoming my style,

“because I think I've been there for so many times.”

It just really really admired the beauty. Exactly. And how they marry the old and the new, so eloquently. Oh, beautiful. Yeah, it is. It really is inspiring.

So as your life evolved in San Diego, you obviously left the corporate world. And when you decided to tackle interior design, how did you land on the niche of this, you know, is it virtual? What's the right way to explain it? Yeah, so I consider myself a practical approach to luxury interior design.

When I first launched my business, crew collected design, I did launch as a virtual interior designer.

And that was three years ago, so I'm entering into my third year. And I was getting clients all over the US. I think I reached clients in about 15 states thus far. So the virtual piece did really take off, and it was a great rate to reach clients. But what I realized was the after picture, you don't really get that finished result picture.

“And I think I was doing locally a disservice to my community by saying I was just virtual, right?”

Right. So now I do and can do full service interior design renovations as well as furnishing into core. So I kind of consider it like I recognized a gap in the market. I did place where a lot of designers and a lot of my colleagues are a full service interior designer. And and that is what they offer and that's and that's great, but I offer more.

So essentially, I offer a service level level that meets the client where they are. And some of those clients are just an everyday person that doesn't want the full service or doesn't need it. Or truthfully, doesn't have the deep pockets to be able to have that service because it really truly is a white glove service. And it's a great service. And we offer it.

But a lot of the entry level clients just don't know how to put a concept together and really don't know where to shop and what looks good together. And that's really what they are paying for you and need. And I have a service for that. And that's my comprehensive virtual interior design package. And I cater it to the client.

So tell us a little about virtual interior design. What does that all mean? How does that all work? Has it start? They send you a picture or a room plan or not.

Because you don't go and visit the client. Let's say they're in North Dakota. No, but if they want to pay me, it's just to travel there. Absolutely. I'll go.

Right. Yes. Right. But we don't need to be there.

“And I think that if they are, say they hire me for a kitchen or, you know, a master bedroom or a primary bedroom.”

We always start off with, I mean, I have a sign contract.

And I want to make sure that our, our deliverables are what they're looking for. And then I give them a scope of work. So we sign that contract. And then from there, the onboarding process is a questionnaire. A pretty pretty intuitive questionnaire that is very comprehensive.

And in that, I really get a good understanding of the space and part of the process is that they have to upload pictures videos as well as measurements. And sometimes it's their handwritten measurements that I put into a floor plan or a cat drawing. Or if they're doing a remodel, it tends to be like an asvilt that I use at that point. So I really have everything that I need to at least to get the final section. Do you find everyone to be like easy to work with and giving you all this information?

Thus far, yes. I'm sure that they want the support. They want the reassurance of this service. Yeah, because I also offer or I also do request payment upfront, you know. So usually, or at the very minimal, I offer a 50% payment.

So they already paid for the most part. So it's really up to them to give me what they need. There is a little bit of upfront work, but it is talking about their project.

And that they have inspiration for me.

So that's always the start of the process. I always launch with a call, a virtual call,

just to make sure that we're on the same page and possibly talk through that concept. And also look through their their Pinterest pictures because their board might be all over the place. Right, doesn't have that clear direction. But I go through each picture or majority of picture.

“And I'm like, what did you see in this picture that you like?”

And what I see is something that they are not sharing. They're like, what I see here that I like, Christy is the white countertops. And I was like, oh, wow, what I'm seeing is Oh, can I have an entry? You know what I mean? So. So they're Pinterest board is basically all of the different things that they've seen,

that they like, that they'd like to incorporate into their home. Yeah, just that in them. Right. Exactly. Are your calls Zoom calls or is it just a regular telephone call typically? I have an online design platform that I like that I keep all my communication and my mood boards. And if I do procurement, everything is in my design platform.

So I try to really stay off text once I start working with clients and email. So all communications in one place.

My, my, I do virtual calls initially when, I mean, I'll, I'll first.

It may turn that off. I first will talk to a client on the cell phone. And then I will have a virtual call to kind of like start launch the process. And then when I'm doing my first presentation of the concepts and mood boards and selections. And my kind of like my direction for the design. I do that in a virtual call. And we go over everything and go over the process of.

“Do you like this and then how my online design platform works?”

So they understand the functionality of it. And then we're kind of communicating very very clearly from there. It is a very. The process is very tight and gets from point A to point E very, very quickly. What is your time process turn around from, you know, the initial onboarding of the client and the

Exigned contract and the Pinterest or what timeframe do you need internally? Yeah, I think that's a very good question. And I get that a lot from clients. I usually try to have my design from within a month within a month's time. So within 30 days and finish within that time.

So it by the time I usually sign a contract. I know that I had room for them in my monthly allotment, right? So usually within a week after that, I will have either floor plan or a concept, you know, something to present within a week. And then once I get that approved, I can move into the mood board. Um, stage and starting selections pretty pretty quickly within like two, two and a half weeks.

And then I try to really get them to move through those selections. Some to some clients are like, yes, yes, yes, yes, or I don't like this. And they kind of like know what they want. And then we cultivate it or curate it to to their likes. I would say I really do try within a month process to get them from from concept to even like a rendering.

But within a month. So I have seen online a lot of your renderings.

“But if we go back, is there, when you said you keep everything in one space?”

Is it an application or is it, which? Yeah, I use software or yep, it's a software. And there's a bunch of them out there. Right. But the one that I love is design files.

Okay. And it is very user friendly. I get a lot of reviews. I mean, I'm a five star review business so far. I'm right pride myself in that and a lot of people comment about how easy it was to work with me.

And how easy my online design platform was to like see what they liked.

And that's really amazing.

Is most of your work remodels or just like red decorating? I started in in the business with with decorating because that's really where my eye was in the beginning. And I enjoyed it. And I still do that. I still do.

But my husband is a is a contractor. He's a commercial contractor. And I just was a I really kind of learned a lot through through working with him.

Let's say, and I just was saying, no, I wasn't taking on those businesses. Businesses because I felt like or that business because I just felt like I didn't have all my ducks in a row. Quite quite yet, right? But let's just say it's a virtual client. I mean, I found resources that I can, you know, do materials coordination at a national level where they can go locally.

And that's an unbelievable. I mean, really. I just didn't have that when I launched. And I just felt like I wasn't, I was doing the client a disservice. So I had to kind of get my ducks in a row and build that.

And yeah, I mean, that's where I can, I can really kind of get them products there locally.

“So are you taking like the samples yourself and curating it?”

So you see it. And then you're just having them go locally and see it themselves as well. So you both are touching feeling exactly. Yeah, I'm just, I'm just not there for those meetings or if I, if I am, I'm virtual. So I will have the samples come to me.

Yeah. And then I will curate from that. And then I will also ship samples to the client clients. Personally, like a little package for that. Right.

And then or go to the store that I'm sending them to that they can get some really good pricing locally. And I work with the local rep to like kind of position it to them. So do you budget when you say that even with pricing it brought my mind to budget? Are you providing a budget or are they providing providing you a budget in the beginning?

I always have to start with a budget from the client.

That is one of my questions in my, in my questionnaire. Because it, that kind of scopes the work. Yeah. We're going to rotate the source. What vendors do you use?

Exactly.

“Is this client like a low to mid? Is this the mid to high? Is this the premium client?”

And that goes back to my, my entry point. Like I like to say that my business is an entry point for a lot of people. And if they're like, you know what, this bathroom. A remodel for material selection, you know, is is 15,000, you know, which is a relatively tight budget. But I know where I have to go right now in the metrics that I have to go.

The cabinet lines that I have to go to and I have to present that to the client and say, Right. You know, I'm not even going to present you this because this is out of, this is out of budget. But here's where you're at. Right.

And, you know, here's another option. If you decide you have more in the budget, but that's your choice. But where I'm still going to find you good solid, you know, because you can get a subway You know, let's say for, right, you know, it's $95 or you want one that's, you know, 20, you know, totally. Do you find clients being reluctant to give you a budget?

Because we've, we've had a number of podcasts just about that and budgeting and so forth. Because a lot of people feel like, I don't know. Whoever lives the number first. They don't want to say what the budget is, but we've talked a lot about the fact. It's important it is for people to really express and explain what their budget is to their interior designer.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Help, helpful that can be. Oh, it's extremely helpful.

“But I mean, I think, too, if I put myself in their shoes and if I was a consumer,”

you're always going to probably lowball the budget, right?

Because, you know, if I'm even, even if I'm, presenting what I do for the client, I never say what's your budget for an interior designer. Because they have no idea, you know what I mean? Right. I have to kind of scale, scope it as this is the main range of what you would spend for a full service interior designer or my full service,

you know, support for this type of project. This is the range where you're going to be paying in the industry or within Sandy or wherever you're at. Are you comfortable with that? And, you know, if not, then the we're going to be in this service level. You know, that's kind of, so it's very, very early on about financials.

And a lot of it comes down to education. I mean, they don't know. They don't know. They don't know. And what even with a $15,000 budget,

I'm like the majority of that is going to be in the cabinetry, you know? So in these are, you know, this is average what you're going to spend for this type of product. So in the cabin, you price your fees for the project is it based on the contents? Is it based on the budget or based on the hours or all of the above? Yeah.

And that is such, I mean, this is such a, you could have like 10 million podcast on this topic.

And it, every, it's such a big topic.

And we always go back and forth on this.

“I think there's designers that do hourly.”

And that's, they just think it's, you know, the easiest approach for me and my business model. What works for me. And I think that is the most approachable way. We're a client knows what they're getting out of that investment with me because it is an investment. Right? I think when when they start doing full service and it's hourly,

they don't know how much that's exactly going to be and it's in, it's in, it's in variable. So with me, I'm a flat rate. Okay.

“Of based off of the project and the scope is I typically have a number,”

but it's, if it changes like if they don't want to rendering or I don't need to be in cat or something like that. I can adjust and swing on a scale, but it is a flat rate for a clear deliverables listed in my contract of what they will receive and on a timeline. Anything after that, whether it's, you know, on site visits, calls, resourcing, um, change of scope or whatever it goes into my hourly rate. So it's funny because, you know, talking with you and I've been in the business for a longer,

but I've watched the industry evolve so much, like where people like you who have a strong creative background and, you know, a lot of drive and passion for design. It's just been such a fascinating time to watch the, the opportunity for everyday people to want to tackle this. 'Cause for so long and tier design was only for the wealthy or for super custom homes. It was the way it was perceived correct.

So everybody always comes in to the mindset, well, a design, why do I need a designer?

Do you ever feel like you're having to sell yourself or your services or when they come to you they're pretty ready? Yeah, um, I think when they come to me they're, they're usually ready, however, if they can, if they can invest, what I'm offering at my lowest service level, then they really should not be working with a designer. Right, here.

“Period. I mean, that's, that's how I design my, my business and my approach.”

So, and I'm okay with, with saying goodbye to that client and hope that they, they, you know, you can find great stuff at home goods if you know how to put it together.

So it's like, that's the key thing that you just said if they know how to put it together.

But then I always say that it like technically you can't design a whole house out of home goods. I mean, you, you can if it's small, but like it's texture, it's layer. And as you said, you know, in one of our previous, you know, conversations this morning was, you know, you start with just the room, but as you grow into the whole experience of interior design, it really is in the architectural and the structure and in all those components combined. So it, yeah, I always start with that. You're, you're so, you're so correct, Tiffany, and I always start my, my calls with them, you know, what's your biggest pain point?

And they're biggest pain point, and I hear this over and over again 90% of the time. I don't want to make a mistake, right? I, I know what I want. I don't know how to put it together. Yes, um, you know, I painted my whole house, I hate it. So literally just need some advice. They need, I mean, that's really what it comes down to. So if they're telling me what the, I mean, it's a small investment for, for making a big impact that you're going to be happy with and then having to do it twice. And yeah, you don't have to do it twice, and you'll get to, from pointed to point B quickly, and I share the benefits of it, and like if it's a virtual thing, then they get everything in a clean little package of what to buy, what sizes, you know, within your budget and how to, how to implement.

It's very, oh wow, that's great, you know, versus maybe like with a full service, you know, saying they really have to, they really have to believe in the investment and not want to lift a finger, right, and trust a professional to do it. So. So going back to the virtual, you know, option is that still something that you see a lot of need for as you've evolved, you know, into the San Diego area or do you know, is that virtual part still.

And I mean, it's definitely doable, but I'm wondering if you see the need as your services evolve more in your home base.

“I think that'll be something that we'll see how my business grows and what it grows into right now. I'm doing a lot of remodeling and I'm enjoying. I mentioned earlier that I'm building a custom home right now.”

So, and my husband's a contractor, so I'm really getting involved in the remodeling industry and working with contractors and really aligning and partnering there. So I see my business really taking off locally in more remodeling, Hitchens and baths and just I've done a couple new builds, but it's still something that is relatively newer in, you know, in my service levels, but I would say right now it's really it's such an easy approach and it's a quick streamlined process the way that I have it that I think you're a little bit shooting yourself in the foot if you say that you can't take on that client.

And I think what's difficult for people to understand is when they have launched their business in a full service approach that it's hard for them to go to this approach.

You know, because they're thinking more about their portfolio or they're thinking about their finished look and it's really not about that it's it's about the client at that point, and I'm like it arrangering out of it and but it's it kind of I don't know if I want to say this like verbally I kind of say this to you guys want to you know one and one that it's quick easy money. And I thought it's a client in my business. Yeah, I actually had an interior design friend who in 2020 was only doing high end work and was, you know, giving, you know, putting her nose up at a lot of opportunity along the way and then 2020 comes and, you know, the in the world kind of stopped and high end things either she was struggling I should say before 2020 she was struggling.

And, you know, where the opportunity was and I said you would be so surprised just not to stay no to those renovation jobs and one thing I learned in my career in the beginning by only doing those high end projects was those high end projects were two to three years in the making.

“So there's a lot of time in between that you could take on a lot of, you know, smaller projects that had a lot of fulfillment and a lot of, you know, you know, you know, great income.”

But when you said, you know, also to a point it was it's interesting that I still struggle because I treat each job the same my process. I don't know how to do it anymore.

Yeah. Well, I also think Tiffany would have a very difficult time with a virtual projects. She's done a few, but I think part of the problem that she has is that she can't touch and feel it. She can't go. She's not there at the installation and when everything's being put in. She wants to be part of that process and see the clients face of the excitement of it. And so my question to you on that is how does that work for you, but yeah, our new crisis not.

“I think Tiffany, I think you and I could have a conversation about how to implement this because I do think that you can also at the level that you've been working, you know, you can offer that into your package.”

I will come out and fly for installation or tile installation or, you know, delivery day and in lecture walkers or what happened. Absolutely, you know, you can you can shift your business in in that and if a client really truly watch you and your services and loves maybe a little bit of what you do, then they will hire you. You know, so I think I think that is something there, but how I manage it is, I mean, I do, I do communicate with a client afterwards, I ask them to send me pictures and I always ask them to tell me how it, how everything has been going and.

So it's it's a little bit of a different approach you have to kind of give off that country you got to let go of that control right that's really when it comes down to right it comes down to giving the client what they need that they would never have received on their own. Right and that's such a good. That I'm so impressed by that yeah, it's definitely like there's and this is what's been so interesting for me in the last 20 years is watching the business, you know, the actual industry grow and evolve to this level.

I get a lot of questions from from designers how do you do your business how how do you do it like what do you do you know and it's like.

“It's just it's just the business mindset of the person and how they've launched and how they're used to doing their business right so for me I feel like.”

And it's a different client that's what it comes down to it's a different client okay and you'll build a client when you're talking to them and and initially as a full service interior designer you might be like this is not my client but it but it is a client if you have a minimum and a minimum to work with you for your ability and what you're going to give them. That is an investment in and of itself and they have to pay that and if they can't then that client's not worth it right but that there there are clients that are willing to drop money for for the service and the need and they're like oh yeah I can execute on a plan I can I can buy what you're telling me to buy that's what I need I need somebody to curate it and I can execute it it's like great and the feedback has been has been great so I honestly think it's just.

Most full service interior designers might be like no okay they're not ready to you know do the full service then they're not my client and that's okay. Whereas somebody like me I realize okay they're not a full service interior designer client but they are this and if they're can't afford that then okay good luck and it's worth your. When you launched your business did you hire a company you know an SEO company or someone to help you do an outreach on the internet to get you exposure and get you clients or is that something you learned yourself and.

I've been doing this myself and I was not I'm a solopreneur I'm a new entrepreneur I have always had a I guess a knack for I mean I as a sales rep and as a business.

“But I think in my business know I mean I I started from scratch I built my name I started just.”

Attaching pictures on its program finding out has I mean I'm just. I just wanted to be your employee. Yeah her name is Yolanda actually I have a need for. You know assistant but no I didn't might might I mean my website from scratch I mean I definitely need some support but. I now recently this month started with an SEO company so we'll see how how that has has worked but I'm on certain profiles you know so that kind of gives me a little bit of reach but.

If you want finding me on Google I don't know how people in in the nation are I mean I have I did a job in Oklahoma I did a job in Kentucky and when they call me I'm like how did you find me and they're like I search virtual interior designer I'm just like wow okay nice to know that's the other. That's my name somewhere you know what I mean I just I'm so fascinating so fascinating so one area that we haven't talked about that's really important from all business but especially from the virtual standpoint you're doing layouts you're putting mood boards together.

3D for realistic are you doing that to show a client what they're getting what it's going to look like what in the end. Yes I'm sorry was your was your question aren't my doing that yes would I know she you are doing three dimensional.

Drawing yes yes and and I added that into my package I'll always remove it if the client is tied on investment money of working with me but.

So officially I do want a 3D render for myself and my portfolio at the very minimal because I don't get that beautiful picture of my styled curated room. So I do at least a 3D render and clients really do like that I sell it well and I also feel.

“I use I use a program that allows me to do a video as well and it just is super unique and I think that ties into the virtual package really nicely.”

And it just gives me something something you know from my portfolio into present and clients by that point are just so elated where you know the they're like how I don't know how you can do that like I can take my space you haven't you haven't been here to measure I'm like yeah like this is this is it's the nature of.

The drawings I mostly I don't know that I want this to be live either but I do outsource my rendering okay so the rendering throughout source because I was wondering because they're so time consuming.

Well it's it's still like it's a skill and a craft in itself. It is and it's also another platform that I have to learn and I think for me to scale the way that I want to I I wanted to spend my time doing things that I know I could do and do quickly.

“Yeah and I just trust other people you know to do it and I have a good list of people that I you know I just outsource that and I think that's what you have to do.”

What's your communication process with the with your collaborator who you do work with for renderings do you actually send them photos of the furniture obviously the drawing of the space ceiling heights details etc are you giving them fabric choices wallpaper are you giving them all these details or. So I'm newer to the full service approach I haven't quite done that yet but for my virtual design packages I send them the floor plan and then the measurements so they have they know how to kind of build the room.

Yeah and then I have my mood board with my selections and that's that's essentially so my layout shows where everything's going to be and then my my mood board and all the selections and I tell them the paint color.

“Paint color and and that so like if I have draped they it's a link to the drapes so some virtual content to be a little bit more.”

It's more detail driven yes.

Yeah versus I'm I'm building something you know with materials and and things like that. So that that tends to be a little bit of an easier approach yes it's definitely good for timing and I understand the fast turnaround. You know using retail links and every but if it would be a full service and you're you know you're doing a drape the size are you give them a size and then and then say here's the material and usually a link to the material or a picture is something that they need to kind of create it and you just kind of say to the client that like.

You know this isn't meant to be like completely bookmarks right like it's meant to be conceptual and this is meant to kind of show you how the look comes together.

So that's and it it seems to be a pretty a pretty quick process like I usually get my renderings within like a couple days period after sending them what what I need. So you know amazed by the technology and really like Scott was saying the skill set of renders because you know we have one that's been working with us for a while who's truly a talent and you know it definitely comes from lighting and just the way they can actually create pieces you know that aren't available and then we've had some that are just okay this isn't the right.

Because I'm still in the hands on of the right and they're a little bit slower than what we're looking for.

“Sure yeah I think people that are really skilled in it honestly they can just hammer it out super quick and we're out of doubt I mean I'm just amazed by how quickly they can do it.”

I've gone to locally like I can go out I have this technology and this also fits my virtual feel is that I can scan a room and kind of do measurements and then also cross reference that with hand measurements from like a contractor or something. But I go out and I scan a room and then I bring that into it can go into a you know floor plan platform and it's just it's such a time saver and then I just kind of cross reference the handwritten measurements but. I brought a draft or a local draft or out with me so while I was scanning and I started doing like the handwritten measurements like she was already like basically like had it written up like already in her.

Drawing up in her platform. Well I was there and I was like wait a second you used it that like that would have taken me it's it's a skill set that I just don't really want to use it using one of those doing it and we she using one of those new devices. I don't know if you've seen like Instagram and TikTok there have ads for them. It's just like a look where you can walk around with it a room or outside and it automatically measures it and then puts it into cat or whatever.

So she she had something I think similar as well that that is just gets it loaded and then you do it again like the measurements and it becomes such a quicker process she's like I would.

“I'd be taking you know four hours to measure this house to do to do this exactly.”

You know so it's it does really cut off on time and technology has gotten so good in that but you to what I was saying is like they just do it so quickly that it's like okay you know I'm going to stick to what I love doing quickly to kind of scale that way. I know and you're you're saying the word scale I mean that's one thing that's gotten I with Scott coming on board was the. The desire to scale it's like okay we're going to do this and hopefully you know build a scalable business and bring the kids on board eventually or you know.

Whatever god willing now all that falls into place I do believe that you know you being newer to the field you know it's like you're getting such a great learning curve on all these technical. Opportunities that for me I'm so stuck in a creative process that I'm not taking advantage of you know to be honest to be fair to be to be fair to the knee I hear this from a lot of designers I work with some designers that want to present themselves in the virtual space.

“But they can't conceptualize it right like like you may be so to speak because you're so used to doing it a certain way and that's the way that I'm I'm learning into so somebody like me would learn significantly from you and your process.”

But I have a skill set in a business model that you could add to scale to your business and it isn't something that you want to learn so I have had this conversation with probably a handful of designers and they're starting to this is part of my growth model for this year is that I will I have and will work for designers. Either as they're as they're outsourcing virtual partner right I will go in and work with their mood boards and I will do everything and communicate with the client and you know it's a little bit of just setting up the correct setup I mean if or they can refer out to me but I think some of them want to get paid off of my service but.

I basically act as an extension of their business really amazing I mean that's another whole opportunity level for sure.

We should talk one off if you think yeah absolutely absolutely so let's go back a little bit to the creative process so when you were you know making this your future. What is your go to inspiration and your sourcing and like where do you get your passion and drive and you know industry and all those good things.

“Yeah, I mean we always love a good a good Pinterest I think you get so much on social media right now.”

I think reps are also so incredibly helpful and you know maybe finding the right product or you know getting just just another design I on a on a project and they can also ask is act as like a little sourcing partner for you.

So I think reps are an incredible resource as well so Pinterest I mean Instagram has gotten to be agreed.

I really do think that TikTok and Instagram I'm on all these platforms that people get on there and they're like I'm doing a kitchen model I don't know what to do. And they go kitchen model and they're just like a ton of things that they could but that's also a rabbit hole too but we can see very quickly and eliminate that rabbit hole and I can get really some good inspiration. I I love I follow a lot of designers that I might like emulate and I see their work and I'm not afraid to shout out and be like that's gorgeous right now.

Yeah and take that approach and be like how like I don't want to copy that approach. But like what's the use of color there and like that textile with that together and you know that really that speaks to me as a designer. And I've noticed that a lot about the designers too. Yeah and I've noticed that about the industry lately to through social media it is a very supportive industry. I feel like that people are very complimentary people do shout out.

I feel like it's you know more of like a sisterhood versus a competition.

We want to grow from each other we want to really elevate the industry as a whole.

And that's maybe my entrepreneurial background too but you know selfishly I do want to network with designers I do want to learn.

“But I think it's important that we also elevate the industry because me coming in as a virtual designer I'm not trying to like.”

You know demolish the industry and come in at a low price point I'm just I'm helping I think the industry grow slightly. Yeah yeah and and just and just evolve and I think I can also learn from the full service interior designers too.

So we kind of just we did let me last last meeting we kind of talked about price point and we're all in the same market.

And it's like okay how do you how does your model work like how how do you build and it's like if we're not kind of all all aligned as if a client is going to be shopping our industry looks a little bit. Mismosh if we aren't aligned with kind of how we're doing things a little bit. And how do you see like the act in the industry retail versus like say manufacturers that like to deal directly to the trade do you have any thoughts on where that ball falls in.

“Um, repeat that question I'm sorry. So I think you know with retail items like say versus like a restoration hardware a pottery barn versus you know to the trade sources.”

What was the question about that though?

No just in your comp in like your design huddles like do you see people in the industry preferring one way or another. I see in the industry, um, they do trade they definitely have trade products and I can get trade products. I link trade products directly where the client can buy directly. I don't I don't procure for them. Okay, I get like a small commission right and that goes into my virtual model as well. Okay, I'm not procured. So I I found that they do procurement, but they also will do retail items in there Amazon target right.

I feel like you kind of have to to be a turn key service. Absolutely. And to be honest with you, I mean, what we've also gotten into that you don't want to like itemize everything because then they're not going to want to spend you know. You know, $180 or $200 on a lamp, but like, you know, you can mix in certain things to hit budget and there are great products out there.

“So yeah, I would say that they they mix in products and honestly, as I've seen some of the designers that I emulate that's also kind of how they they do it as well.”

And they'll they'll log very openly about how this this bathroom remodel the client didn't have, you know, a high budget, but you know what she used for slim and she did a floor tile that was very inexpensive but was super like, you know, European. And just as felt very, I don't even know it was like looking cottage. Yeah, modern. It was just like so cool and I just think that it just depends on where you source honestly. So. And when you say you don't do the procurement, so your virtual system has links and the client handles all of that, the delivery date, the follow up, the payment.

Because that's so much of like, well, our infrastructure as these days, I mean, we had three people out on installations and deliveries this morning, which is very time consuming that I guess you don't worry about. Yeah, with my virtual packages correct. No, and that was that was initially how I launched again so so different and so smart other processes I launched. Because I'm not there and I launched just with the ease of I'm going to give you everything you need. So it at your own timeline, you know, and your people. But you're doing the selections for them. You're picking everything.

Absolutely. Absolutely. I'm doing the selections. I'm doing the colors. I'm giving them paint selections. You know, I'm everything they need, but I also give them edits like they they assist in that, you know, I like give them options and then they pick the one that they like the fast and I might shift other.

Are you doing flooring and wallpaper those types of those items also.

“Yeah, I'll do. I'll do engineering hardwood carpet wallpaper, you know, anything the design actually call for if it's a trade item they I linked to the trade item and I don't make as much.”

I mean, again, I probably don't want that like going out to anybody else besides you and I, but I don't make I don't make the mark up right I make a percentage of commission if you will it might be 10% or something. But you also aren't having to deal with the hassle. So there is there's gain in that. I really sell the value of white whole of delivery with my clients like when they're they're buying let's say restoration hardware do that like love delivery, you know, it's basically going to be what an installer would do.

They're going to come in. They're going to set it up to our floor plan that we've identified and you direct them that's where it goes clean up your stuff and go.

That's essentially so basically I sell the fact that I'm giving you everything of a full service interior designer is doing I'm not there to set it up for you.

I'm happy to have a styling call with you. You know, but it's it's a lot of there stuff in there too, right. So yeah, I'm like, I'm not seeing that, but if you work that, you know,

I'm I'm I'm I offer that to them, but they're oftentimes super happy and they're like, oh, or you know, look at our living room out. Let's right now and I'm like, oh, that's great.

But what the work is that, you know, like you know, but you're happy that's truly that's important to that.

“That's important in my reviews mean mean everything to me. So I think, you know, as I evolve will I be able to do fully what you do.”

Yes, and I can do that. It just I think I'm still working through that entire process and it's something that I probably won't enjoy the procurement piece and the returns and the hassles are definitely I didn't heal each heal to a lot of my colleagues. Sure. Do you pull service into your design and when they hear what I do they're like, oh my gosh, that seems like so much more enjoyable and I'm like, yeah, I don't have the stress. I don't have the stress which is such a blessing and you get all the fun part, which is, you know, the design correct.

“What people really need is someone helping them design it, put it together and really just going to the heart of what people need and I'm just just delivering to that honestly.”

I mean, I would love those high-end clients and I think I'm starting to get there, but it's I'm okay with because I'm 90% of what you hear is not like, I want you to do everything for me. I don't want to lift a finger. It's more so those clients that are like, I'm willing to pay for your service so I don't mess up. Right. Right. And I think that I can do the rest of myself. I can implement this. I can tell people where to deliver things and unload it and leave. I can do that. Yeah. And there is a niche for that. I feel like, you know, there is a world where because we do have the technology at our fingertips, people do think it's easier, but they definitely need the guidance and that's an entry, you know, a level that I feel like is so important.

Especially with, like, even down here in South Florida, which I would think isn't seeing you get to. There's a lot of, you know, the total brother communities. There's a lot of communities that aren't super custom where you want to be able to personalize your space. And, you know, really create something special versus falling into just the traps of everything that's easy. Yeah. Yeah. A little bit of what I do, too, is, you know, educating them on how things can kind of come together, right? Like, you know, that client that isn't fully custom just wants to understand how to mix things together.

And they're getting really good education from me. Whereas if somebody is maybe doing a full service project, they're, they're making a lot of decisions for them, you know, and kind of just it's coming together. Now, it's just, I don't know where I'm going with that, but it is just a really, it's a really cool niche. And I'm so happy that we were able to dive into that a little bit, because I do think that your career is going to take off and you're going to have a lot of local clients.

I think so. Yeah. I really think so just because like, that's how I built my business. That's how I've built my brand. And, you know, I think that if that client comes around and they want a full service, they're still going to get a really, really great value with me because I still might not. I don't know, do the full on procurement piece and just send them, like, links to things that they can buy that might be Amber Lewis that I didn't totally like, you know, find fabric and put on that, you know, but it is, it is a designer piece that they wouldn't have access to, they weren't working with me.

I agree. So. And that is the iteration that an interior designer does bring to the table. Those layers that are special.

Exactly. Yeah. Exactly.

“Well, thank you so much for joining us on the I design lab today. Could you tell our audience where they can find you all your details?”

What's your website and Instagram. Absolutely. So my business name is crew collective design. I am the owner founder and principal designer.

My name is Christie Siliuski and I am a gosh. I'm all of our social media. I'm on Instagram, crew collective design. Everything is crew collective design. So CRUW collective design. And on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, my website is crew collective design.

I can help you anywhere in the United States. I mean, I'll take other countries, but now I'll just stay with you now. I'm good with 50 states.

“What is CRUW? What had it become about crew collective? Is there a reason behind that?”

It's a good question. My, my husband's business and he's a builder is crew builders. Oh, that's fantastic. And I am crew collective design. So there could be an opportunity in the future for us to collaborate. Yeah, that's I see that all happening. And so God bless on your way there.

“But like I said, don't give up this really interesting niche that I think really keeps you on the pulse and if anything, it keeps the joy and all in the time.”

The availability is awesome. Awesome. Thank you very much. Thank you. Well, thank you so much. Thank you for listening to I Design Lab today. I Design Lab's podcast is an SW group production in association with the five star and TW interiors to learn more about I design lab or TW interiors. Please visit TW interiors.com