142 – ICFF with Chad James

ICFF with Chad James On this episode of The Lounge, Nick meets with Chad James at ICFF NYC to talk about long time client, friend and country singer-songwriter Luke Bryan; PR; and Chad's progress since their last interview about a year ago. It's Chad's first time at ICFF and he is very excited about the unique vendors and getting small glimpses into each one's best work. Later, Nick talks to Shell Broadnax of RESA who will be speaking at Las Vegas Market about whether or not you might want to become a home stager. Special thanks to Benjamin Moore for making this week's show possible. Walls By Design exclusively uses Benjamin Moore paints which can be bought online at Guiry's. This week in the office we did a paint test between Benjamin Moore and Sherman Williams' four lowest end products, as they're the most commonly bought paints. Hang tight for a link to the video on the Walls By Design Facebook. Also, Lindsay Paoli of Design Manager just featured us in her article, 11 Binge-Worthy Design Shows That Aren’t on HGTV, which talks about the top design movies, TV shows, books and podcasts to check out this summer. Design Manager is the best way for your business to stay organized, get rid of spreadsheets and Microsoft documents, and put all your projects, accounting, and inventory in one place. Catching up with Chad Currently, Chad is on a 12-week travel schedule so he hasn't spent much time at his home in Nashville, Tennessee. When he does make it to his lakehouse though, he enjoys wake surfing from his boat. Chad is always very private about who he works with but once a client's project is published, he's able to talk about it. Two years ago he designed Luke Bryan's Florida beach home and recently, his work was picked up and put on the cover of Traditional Home, so Nick dug in to learn all about it. Check out the article here. His photographs (featured below) were done by architectural photographer Alyssa Rossenheck who will be on the show this month! Chad gives us some insight into the pros and cons of PR in the interior design industry and how he is able (or unable) to get his work out there. He tells us, after spending so much time on a beautiful project, often times the only people who get to see and enjoy it are the homeowners. From the very beginning of a project, he and his client talk through his photographic rights and come to an agreement about what this means. He will always respect a client's privacy even if he is disappointed he doesn't get to show off his work. His firm never talks about a project due to the fact that with social media and digital press, information spreads quickly... no one wants what they're doing and spending to be in the public eye. All of his employees sign a confidentiality agreement. Occasionally though, he get's to take photos of a project and send it out to multiple avenues in order to see who will 'bite,' just like with Traditional Home and Luke Bryan. Last time Nick and Chad chatted, at Highpoint, he told us that he hired a PR company to encourage his business and his work. Before that, Chad just kept his head down, took pictures, put them in his portfolio, and that was it. He never was a self-promotor so his PR took away the burden and discomfort of having to promote himself. Now, he's has participated in speaking engagements and has traveled to Italy, to Paris, and all over the U.S. His PR handles all online and print media, gained him name recognition, and created a BRAND- the only way to make your business grow. Lastly, Chad talks about his new house, which he closed on his birthday, but is only just now starting to design the space. He has decided to publish his home when 's finished because this house is very different than anything he's ever done before - it's contemporary! He describes it as a 'modern box' and so, he wants to let his pendulum swing in the other dir...