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Hello and welcome to episode 164
of Design Curious Podcast. 

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I'm your host and mentor, 
Rebecca Ward. 

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Today on the podcast, we have 
creative Julie Stevens. 

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Let me tell you a little bit 
about her. 

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She is a dynamic designer and 
spirited entrepreneur whose 

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passion shines through her work.
With a signature aesthetic that 

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merges beauty with function, 
Julie has created stunning high 

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end spaces alongside unique 
glassware and custom golf 

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products. 
Her award-winning ready to drink

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cocktail brand Btini Spirits 
brings effortless elegance to 

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entertaining. 
Currently, she's excited to 

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unveil her new cocktail and 
mocktail line while transforming

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A historic theater into a 
vibrant music venue for emerging

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artists. 
Recognized as one of the 100 

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Women to Know in America by JP 
Morgan Chase, Julie continues to

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inspire with her innovative 
spirit and dedication to 

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craftsmanship in every endeavor 
she undertakes. 

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I really enjoyed talking to 
Julie and finding about all the 

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creative avenues she loves to 
explore. 

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So let's get into the interview.
You're now listening to Design 

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Curious, a place where you, 
creative one, are here to learn 

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about what it really is like to 
be an interior designer. 

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And I'm your host and mentor, 
Rebecca Ward. 

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If you're worried about how to 
succeed in a creative career, if

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you're ready to learn your next 
steps to become an interior 

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designer, and if you want the 
satisfaction of doing something 

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you love every day, you are in 
the right place. 

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Grab a coffee, a notebook, and 
let's dig into today's episode. 

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Hi Julie, welcome to Design 
Cares podcast. 

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It's great to have you here 
today. 

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Hi, thank you so much for having
me. 

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I'm so excited. 
Me too, and we were just talking

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about how you are a designer and
also an interior designer. 

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And so I would love for you to 
talk about your path getting 

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into just a creative career in 
general. 

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Like what sparked you to be 
creative? 

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Oh gosh, I think I was born like
that. 

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I don't think I had a choice. 
I literally started sewing by 

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the time I was like 8 years old 
and took oil painting classes. 

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And at first I went to school 
for fashion design and then 

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branched out into other areas, 
graphic design and interior 

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design. 
And I've done several interiors,

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but I would say that my passion 
is probably more on product 

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design, so. 
Interesting. 

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So you're multi design 
passionate, we'll say. 

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Yeah, if it's creative, it's 
fun. 

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That's how I feel about it. 
Yeah. 

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OK. 
First let's talk a little about 

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the interior design portion of 
it. 

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So when did you start doing 
interior design? 

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Probably around 2000 I started 
to do dabble in interior design,

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working with different 
contractors and also designing 

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furniture for people. 
So that was a lot of fun, yeah. 

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OK. 
And so then with the product 

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design, you've been doing that 
longer? 

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Actually less. 
I got a less design in like 

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2011, 2012 and got my first 
patent in 2012. 

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I was like, look, I'm a patented
designer. 

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What was the product? 
It was a golf gadget, it was 

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like a executive putting cup and
it was just a new innovation. 

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So I actually got a utility 
patent on that, which is a 

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little bit harder. 
Since then I've designed bottles

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for Btini Spirits which is my 
alcohol brand and some stemware 

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and several other like consumer 
goods products that you know. 

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Just fine. 
I'm so curious. 

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OK, so tell me, how do you get 
inspired for the different 

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products that you are designing?
For me everything about design 

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is form and function. 
Like it needs to be beautiful, 

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but if I walk into a space it 
also has to feel good. 

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I want to feel happy and and 
maybe even calm. 

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Our everyday is so stressed that
when I come into someone's home,

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I just want to feel happy, good 
vibes and not have another 

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stressful environment where you 
know the furniture is so tightly

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done that you're afraid to sit 
on it. 

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Yeah. 
It's more about just how does it

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feel? 
How does it make you feel? 

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When you sit on a sofa, do you 
feel like comfortable and you 

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just sink in or are you sitting 
on the edge? 

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If you pick up a product, does 
it feel natural in your hand or 

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are you struggling to like my 
bottle? 

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I put a taper on it so it has 
kind of an hourglass figure and 

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it's much easier for a smaller 
hand to hold and things like 

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that is it has to look good, but
you want it to feel good when 

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you pick it up. 
So yeah. 

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That's really important. 
Did you have people in your life

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that were already doing this or 
what sparked you to be like, 

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yeah, I can create product? 
No one in my family and I come 

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from a family with seven kids. 
So this is thing something. 

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No one in my family was creative
from a visual standpoint. 

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There's some musicians, but not 
visually creative. 

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I really feel like it's 
something that you're kind of 

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born with. 
And I always think a lot of 

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people have creative outlets, 
you know, maybe they're into 

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quilting or something. 
But I think people that are 

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innovating, it's really, you 
know, that's your gift. 

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Everyone has a gift and I was 
lucky to get that one so. 

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Yeah, I don't know if you've 
heard the working genius 

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assessment, but there's 
innovator is definitely one of 

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them. 
Like where your son of geniuses,

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I'd say you are definitely an 
innovator. 

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So it's probably what you love 
doing. 

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What's your medium that once you
get an idea, do you sketch it 

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out? 
Do you like to play with it on 

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the computer? 
Yeah, I'm a huge fan of Adobe 

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Illustrator, Yeah. 
So I feel I can't draw anything 

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in in Adobe Illustrator. 
I do thumbnail sketches at 

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first, of course, so that you 
don't spend too much time. 

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But most of what I design, I 
really design pretty fully in my

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head before I start putting it 
into the computer so I can kind 

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of walk through space, is in my 
own mind. 

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That makes me sound like a crazy
person I know, but. 

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No, that's, that's the creative,
I think visual person because, 

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you know, interior designers, we
do the same thing. 

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We like walk into a space and we
can see what the design we have 

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in our head would look like in 
that space already. 

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You know, it's just. 
You can see it and you even have

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as an interior designer, I feel 
like you even have almost an 

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internal, a measuring tape. 
You can see in your head even 

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how big things are and how small
things are. 

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And I think I was almost 40. 
I got, I'm not really dating 

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myself now, but I was almost 40 
before I realized that not 

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everyone can do that. 
I just thought that's how 

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everyone's brain works and to 
come to find out that most 

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people can't visualize to that 
degree in their own mind. 

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So it really is a difference, I 
think, in the way your brain 

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works. 
Yeah, for sure. 

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So with the furniture that 
you've designed, how do you go 

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about getting that to the right 
scale for a person? 

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Like are you modeling off of 
your own dimensions? 

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Do you think about taller people
or shorter people or I just I'm 

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curious about. 
That it really depends on how 

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you're designing for. 
Like if you have a client and 

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they're 6 foot six, you're 
obviously gonna adjust your 

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measurements, right? 
On the flip side, if your client

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is just average, then you could 
probably go, you know, if you're

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just starting out, you could go 
to any store and kind of get 

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average dimensions of furniture 
and mirror those average 

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dimensions. 
You really need to figure out 

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who are you designing for before
you figure that out, I think. 

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Yeah. 
Do you have any fun pieces of 

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furniture that you've worked on 
or really unique or so my? 

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Favorite things to design and 
furniture wise are things that 

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have dual purposes. 
I've done a couple really cool 

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billiard tables that had 
removable tops, so they became 

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the dining room table. 
And it it made the dining room, 

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which almost no one uses. 
We use it for Christmas or 

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Thanksgiving or High Holidays, 
whatever your holiday is. 

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Yeah, but we don't tend to hang 
out in there. 

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Everyone hangs out in the 
kitchen in the kitchen table. 

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That's where the action is 
happening. 

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And so if you can dual purpose 
the dining room for a a 

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billiards room and it acts like 
a whole nother space. 

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And then I found this really 
great wood artisans who could 

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create table tops that actually 
look like art. 

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And so you split them into two 
and hang them on the wall next 

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to it. 
And you can hang a painting in 

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front of that as well. 
And then it becomes a frame 

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around around, you know, like a 
backdrop to it becomes an art 

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piece. 
And then when you need it for 

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holidays or if you're having a 
formal dinner, you just pop it 

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on the on the pool table and now
it's done your table. 

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So I'd love to do things that 
have a dual purpose, you know, 

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that form and function thing 
like cabinetry with art niches 

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carved out of them. 
So you have these beautiful 

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lighted art niches with glass 
art in them or whatever, and all

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this cabinetry around it. 
It's like you're you're cleverly

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disguising your hoarderness. 
It's around these heart niches, 

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right? 
Happen to be a very organized 

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hoarder when it comes to like 
entertainment things. 

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You know, you have so many 
glasses and plates and all this 

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stuff, it doesn't always fit in 
your kitchen. 

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So it's a way to like, even if 
it's just down a hallway, to 

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create this whole Bank of 
cabinets that looks like it was 

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on purpose and not like, you 
know, you're a hoarder. 

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Yeah, no, I'm the same way with 
entertainment dishware and 

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everything. 
Like I love bowls, like special 

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bowls. 
You don't have my. 

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Kitchen You have to have the 
right thing for every dish, 

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right? 
Exactly. 

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I get it. 
I get it. 

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But OK, Yeah. 
So you have been very thorough 

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like because I was going to ask 
with the billiard tables like, 

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well, what do you do with the 
top then once you're pull it 

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out? 
It's not like the extra leaf of 

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the table where you have to 
store it in a closet. 

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You. 
Can hide underneath. 

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No, it's not really good to hide
underneath because the table 

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itself is already so thick that 
then it would be needs to hide 

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it underneath. 
I went down that path and then I

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just decided to make it soup 
ready. 

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And of course, you have to 
protect it when you use it and 

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put, you know, a good pad on 
top. 

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But it actually turns out really
gorgeous. 

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And that's. 
Yeah, I've done both ways where 

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the top itself was art with a 
true, you know, inlays and it 

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was beautifully done. 
And also where it just looked 

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like a cool frame and then 
dropped from the ceiling and oil

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painting in front of it. 
So the table became this frame 

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around the oil painting that 
didn't have a frame that was 

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just like hanging in front of 
it. 

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And both of those options worked
out really well and gave an 

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extra life to that space that 
usually sits empty for most of 

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the year. 
So creative. 

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Wow. 
So you have multi passionate 

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design, right? 
So what service do you really 

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promote to people when you're 
working with them? 

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I really don't anymore. 
I really just run my I run my 

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own companies like for my 
alcohol line and I'm working on 

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a couple other lines of 
products. 

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And then the music studio is a 
passion project. 

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A dear friend of mine is a 
Grammy award-winning music 

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engineer and my son is into 
music as well. 

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And I just find that kids these 
days have fewer and fewer 

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options through school. 
If they're not a STEM kid, what 

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do they do? 
And so this is a passion 

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project, really. 
It's to offer a place for kids 

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to come and have lessons to live
stream their band if they want 

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to. 
We're going to have another 

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layer on top of the music venue 
just for classes for doing 3D 

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printing, glass, art, ceramics, 
you know, all the tactile stuff 

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that the school districts really
don't have that budget anymore 

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to offer. 
Some school districts too, but 

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most don't anymore. 
And so that's what that project 

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is about. 
And then it has apartments on 

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top. 
So it's kind of like I'm going 

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to have the best home ever. 
It's like going to be a big, big

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playground for me. 
Are you going to live there 

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00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:38,920
then? 
And is this the historic theater

229
00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:40,600
that it is it? 
Is yeah. 

230
00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:44,200
It was built in 1912, was 
originally the town Opera House.

231
00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:46,760
Don't get excited. 
Back then opera houses were just

232
00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:49,760
big RIP brick buildings. 
There was no like beautiful, 

233
00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:52,800
like there's no beautiful 
feelings or walls. 

234
00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:55,320
Like it was just a big 
rectangular brick building. 

235
00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:57,840
It had been turned back into a 
retail. 

236
00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:01,440
It had been turned into a Persa 
theater, a movie theater, and 

237
00:12:01,440 --> 00:12:04,000
then into retail. 
And we are turning it back into 

238
00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,720
its original purpose for music. 
So very excited about it. 

239
00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:09,120
Very exciting. 
Yeah, I love that. 

240
00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:10,920
And I love that it's going to 
help the community. 

241
00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:13,520
But then you still have your 
hands in it. 

242
00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:14,600
And you could. 
Yeah, I. 

243
00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:17,560
Mean I really want to like, once
I retire, to give back and pass 

244
00:12:17,560 --> 00:12:21,840
that baton of how to create and 
give kids that were like me an 

245
00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:26,320
opportunity to do that. 
So then you have several 

246
00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:29,560
businesses that you or are they 
under one umbrella? 

247
00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:30,800
They're under one umbrella, 
yeah. 

248
00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:34,000
Is that classic trend then? 
Yeah, the name of it? 

249
00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:35,480
Yeah, Yeah. 
Great. 

250
00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:39,440
OK. 
So how many different avenues do

251
00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:43,680
you have under classic trend? 
Currently I just have Btini 

252
00:12:43,680 --> 00:12:47,680
spirits and then I'm working on 
another spirits line that's it's

253
00:12:47,680 --> 00:12:50,800
both spirits and mock spirits 
because a lot of people are 

254
00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:52,680
choosing healthier choices. 
And. 

255
00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:56,160
It's called Well done. 
It'll be launching this coming 

256
00:12:56,160 --> 00:12:57,400
spring. 
I'm very excited about. 

257
00:12:57,480 --> 00:12:59,800
It. 
And it's kind of a plan words 

258
00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:02,720
for your line of well spirits 
that are in the well at the bar 

259
00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:06,000
and that it's well done. 
So we'll have two different 

260
00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:09,200
bottle designs, one that's 
square for the squares who don't

261
00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:14,400
drink and one that's that fits 
in the well, very well. 

262
00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:17,240
And yeah, I'm really excited 
about that project, so. 

263
00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:19,440
Wow. 
I can just tell you just ooze 

264
00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:23,480
with creativity and you're so 
thorough and you're thinking 

265
00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:26,280
through of all the product 
design and everything. 

266
00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:28,400
It's very impressive. 
Yeah. 

267
00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:29,800
Thank you. 
Yeah. 

268
00:13:30,520 --> 00:13:36,000
So do you then take it to gift 
shows or trade shows or to 

269
00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:38,320
promote the product? 
Or is it mostly online? 

270
00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:39,880
How do you? 
Well, alcohol. 

271
00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:42,640
Has a lot of rules around it. 
Like when I had my golf product,

272
00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:45,160
it was mostly online and then I 
had sales people that would go 

273
00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:49,160
like we were in all the top 
golfs and places like that. 

274
00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:52,720
And that did really well until 
COVID hit and then it kind of 

275
00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:55,720
killed that one. 
Yeah, mostly because I 

276
00:13:55,720 --> 00:13:57,080
manufacture went out of business
during. 

277
00:13:57,080 --> 00:13:59,480
COVID. 
It was a really rough time, but 

278
00:13:59,480 --> 00:14:02,480
with alcohol, there's so many 
laws, like I'm only allowed to 

279
00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:05,480
sell to a distributor who sells 
to a retailer who sells to you, 

280
00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:09,600
and each of them, me included, 
has a different set of licenses 

281
00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:12,560
to sell into the market. 
So it's very restricted. 

282
00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:15,400
I'm actually really excited to 
start selling the mocktails 

283
00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:17,360
because it'll give me a lot more
avenues. 

284
00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:21,320
Yeah, yeah, yeah. 
Because not to have that alcohol

285
00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:23,160
license. 
OK. 

286
00:14:23,160 --> 00:14:27,800
So you mentioned that you had 
some challenges around COVID at 

287
00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:30,560
the time. 
And I learned to drive a 

288
00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:32,840
forklift during COVID because 
everybody went home by me. 

289
00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:36,160
Oh my goodness. 
No, true story. 

290
00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:38,280
I'm actually very good. 
If I ever lose everything I can 

291
00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:40,360
be, I can be a forklift driver 
no problem. 

292
00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:42,240
It's like a one woman show 
really. 

293
00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:46,440
Yeah, Everyone went home during 
COVID and I had one night I had 

294
00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:49,800
like the next day I had to send 
out the 23 pallets and I'm like,

295
00:14:50,440 --> 00:14:51,440
I just didn't even know what to 
do. 

296
00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:52,840
Like I've never driven this 
thing before. 

297
00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:55,560
And I had YouTube videos on how 
to figure it out. 

298
00:14:55,960 --> 00:14:58,560
And somehow the truck driver was
so patient with me. 

299
00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:01,560
I think it took me two hours to 
fill that truck the next 

300
00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:05,560
morning, but I thought it was. 
Actually pretty good with no 

301
00:15:05,560 --> 00:15:07,520
experience though with. 
No experience? 

302
00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:09,480
Yep. 
Wow. 

303
00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:13,520
So yeah, you definitely have a 
can do attitude of like you're 

304
00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:16,200
going to find the solution. 
You have to find a way. 

305
00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:19,880
Absolutely, yeah. 
So do you have recommendations 

306
00:15:19,880 --> 00:15:23,080
for people who might be 
listening that may not be quite 

307
00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:25,640
where you're at yet? 
Like what kind of mindset do you

308
00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:29,800
have to have around this when 
you face unexpected challenges? 

309
00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:32,680
Especially in a remodel, you're 
going to face unexpected 

310
00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:35,160
challenges. 
Just go into it knowing there's 

311
00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:37,080
going to be unexpected 
challenges because it's going to

312
00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:41,200
happen and try to approach those
as opportunities instead of 

313
00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:43,640
challenges. 
They're an opportunity to pivot.

314
00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:46,760
Or maybe along the way you had 
one of those, oh, I wish I would

315
00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:49,040
have included this concept into 
this design. 

316
00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:50,960
Well, maybe this is an 
opportunity that you can. 

317
00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:54,520
The last thing you want to do is
just put a Band-Aid on it 

318
00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:58,280
because really it's the end 
result of your design that 

319
00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:00,200
matters. 
It's not the original design 

320
00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:03,360
concept. 
So try and not be too married to

321
00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:05,680
your original design concept 
because it is going to change in

322
00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:07,680
the process. 
It has to with a remodel, 

323
00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:10,560
everything goes wrong, right? 
You open up the walls and worms 

324
00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:15,680
crawl out, literally. 
So you look at it and be like, 

325
00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:18,400
OK, what opportunity does this 
give me to do something really 

326
00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:21,960
cool and make this look like it 
was on purpose instead of being 

327
00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:23,880
upset that it's ruined your 
original design? 

328
00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:26,600
And I think if you can have 
that, how can we pivot and make 

329
00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:29,120
this even better attitude? 
It's better for you. 

330
00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:30,960
It's better for the client. 
It's way better for the 

331
00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:33,760
contractor who already feels bad
that they've squashed your whole

332
00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:35,720
design dream. 
So yeah. 

333
00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:40,480
That is really good advice. 
I think not holding so tightly 

334
00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:45,400
to that original plan because 
it's sometimes it's hard for 

335
00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:49,640
people to let go designers to 
let go of that original dream 

336
00:16:49,640 --> 00:16:52,400
because you're like, I already 
saw the house I. 

337
00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:53,840
Already saw it. 
I've already walked to this 

338
00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:54,480
office. 
I've lived. 

339
00:16:54,520 --> 00:16:56,400
In in my head I've already seen 
it. 

340
00:16:56,720 --> 00:16:58,720
In magazines, because I'm going 
to wear an award. 

341
00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:01,440
Do you think all those things 
and it's just not the case. 

342
00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:05,160
There's unlimited creativity. 
So create something even better 

343
00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:06,520
than what you thought of before 
and be. 

344
00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:10,119
That's the best approach, so. 
Julie, it's so good. 

345
00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:13,280
I love it. 
OK, so you obviously are a 

346
00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:18,000
fountain of knowledge and just 
natural talent. 

347
00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:22,000
Do you have tips for our 
listeners who are trying to 

348
00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:26,040
maybe figure out their next 
projects stepping into the world

349
00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:28,680
of interior design? 
What would be your 

350
00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:31,720
recommendation to them? 
If you're in interior design, 

351
00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:34,360
likely you have a client unless 
you're just flipping homes. 

352
00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:38,240
And I guess my biggest advice 
would be listen 10 times and 

353
00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:41,120
design once. 
Really get to know your client. 

354
00:17:41,120 --> 00:17:43,400
Take them to lunch. 
Find out what their kids are 

355
00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:45,880
into. 
Are they taking care of elderly 

356
00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:48,600
parents sometimes? 
Like what is their day-to-day 

357
00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:52,040
like? 
And really try and like, you 

358
00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:54,360
know, the way you envision a 
space, trying to envision your 

359
00:17:54,360 --> 00:17:57,920
life as them in a space. 
Like what would make their lives

360
00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:00,360
easier? 
If they have elderly parents and

361
00:18:00,360 --> 00:18:03,360
they may be taking care of them 
at some point, maybe consider 

362
00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:06,560
recommending doing wider 
doorways so that when that 

363
00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:08,520
happens, you can have a 
mother-in-law suite that works. 

364
00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:11,600
Or if they're elderly, maybe 
plan ahead that their master 

365
00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:14,920
bathroom needs to be handicap 
accessible, not look like a 

366
00:18:14,920 --> 00:18:17,480
handicapped bathroom. 
But if they're coming in with a 

367
00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:19,560
Walker, they're not going to 
trip over things. 

368
00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:23,080
So you really think about how 
did they function? 

369
00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:25,480
Put yourself in their shoes and 
how do they function in the 

370
00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:28,280
space before you start? 
That would be my best advice. 

371
00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:32,720
Yeah, really, really good. 
So what is your next big 

372
00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:34,640
project? 
I know you have the mocktails 

373
00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:39,520
coming in and see I've got the. 
Mocktails, my big project from 

374
00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:41,320
business. 
And then the recording studio is

375
00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:44,360
a huge design project because it
does have so many layers. 

376
00:18:44,360 --> 00:18:47,960
It has retail in the front and 
then the recording studio in the

377
00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:50,400
basement and the classes and 
then apartment. 

378
00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:53,200
So it's almost like 4 different 
design projects in one. 

379
00:18:53,360 --> 00:18:56,440
Like 4 different zones of. 
It's four different zones with 

380
00:18:56,440 --> 00:19:00,080
four different uses, so that's 
occupying a lot of my creative 

381
00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:03,320
brain right now. 
And then I'm mentoring a couple 

382
00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:05,400
people who are starting out of 
business, and that's a lot of 

383
00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:08,240
fun. 
OK, great. 

384
00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:10,440
Yeah. 
So just like business in general

385
00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:13,400
or in the creative fields? 
No, they're not in the creative 

386
00:19:13,400 --> 00:19:16,120
field, but I mean, starting a 
business is a creative process. 

387
00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:19,560
So you need branding, you need 
packaging, all of that. 

388
00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:23,240
And so I'm trying to guide them 
down that path so that they make

389
00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:26,280
good decisions. 
And yeah, just to help them, 

390
00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:29,000
just for fun. 
Wow, that's great. 

391
00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:33,360
OK, so tell everybody where they
can find you if they want to 

392
00:19:33,360 --> 00:19:36,640
find out more or get inspired by
all the different things that 

393
00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:39,720
you're doing. 
So B teeny is at 

394
00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:44,360
bteenyspirits.com and that's B 
like BE and then teeny like a 

395
00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:49,400
martini TINI spirits.com and you
can purchase any of our products

396
00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:54,200
online there and well done will 
be at welldonespirits.com 

397
00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:56,600
starting next year. 
So if you ever want to check it 

398
00:19:56,600 --> 00:20:00,280
out and really that's it. 
River Sound is the name of our 

399
00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:04,400
project here in Colorado for the
Sound Studio and. 

400
00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:08,360
It's at River sound.com. 
All that's up right now is just 

401
00:20:08,360 --> 00:20:10,440
a landing page, but we'll be 
starting to post. 

402
00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:12,880
We just broke ground a couple 
weeks ago so we'll be starting 

403
00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:15,320
to post footage from the 
construction and everything 

404
00:20:15,320 --> 00:20:16,600
shortly. 
So fun. 

405
00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:20,280
I think that would be a really 
interesting project if you have 

406
00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:24,120
local design students that they 
would be interested in walking 

407
00:20:24,120 --> 00:20:26,880
through and talking with you 
about, like all the different 

408
00:20:27,040 --> 00:20:29,960
avenues of design that you have 
to consider for that project. 

409
00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:33,200
And it's a fun, I mean, I'm 
trying to be a little eco 

410
00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:34,640
conscious. 
Like when we gutted the 

411
00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:37,840
building, we had them save all 
the two by fours, 2 by sixes, 

412
00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:40,560
whatever, all the wood. 
And we're up cycling that into 

413
00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:43,480
sound diffusers, decorative 
sound diffusers, kind of like 

414
00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:45,320
making a mural out of wood 
pixels. 

415
00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:47,920
So it that's going to be on the 
walls. 

416
00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:51,640
Yeah. 
So just trying to really utilize

417
00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:54,720
everything that came out of the 
building and and not be so 

418
00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:57,520
wasteful. 
Do you know the original date of

419
00:20:57,520 --> 00:21:02,040
the building? 
1912. 12 OK, so over 100 years. 

420
00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:05,160
Yeah, yeah, yeah. 
Wow, well so fun. 

421
00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:06,720
I'm definitely going to keep 
tabs on that. 

422
00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:07,880
That sounds like a great 
project. 

423
00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:09,520
I appreciate that. 
Thank you so much. 

424
00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:11,880
Well, thanks for coming on 
today. 

425
00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:14,320
Julie, is there anything else 
you wanted to share with our 

426
00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:16,560
audience? 
No, I think you asked me all the

427
00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:18,000
questions. 
OK, good. 

428
00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:21,120
Well, we'll put all your contact
information in the show notes as

429
00:21:21,120 --> 00:21:23,280
well. 
So people are listening to this 

430
00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:24,840
while driving. 
They don't have to worry about 

431
00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:26,120
it. 
They can just go check it out in

432
00:21:26,120 --> 00:21:27,680
the show notes. 
But thank you, Julie. 

433
00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:29,000
It's been great talking with 
you. 

434
00:21:29,120 --> 00:21:31,080
Thank you so much for having me,
I really appreciate it. 

435
00:21:38,360 --> 00:21:41,920
So go ahead and check out 
Julie's contact information and 

436
00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:43,680
all the things that she's 
interested in. 

437
00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:47,040
I'm definitely going to keep an 
eye on that theater venue. 

438
00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:51,400
I think that's so interesting. 
She also sent me a sampling of 

439
00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:56,440
her Bittini cocktails and I 
pulled them out for a party I 

440
00:21:56,440 --> 00:21:58,720
was hosting and they're very 
well received. 

441
00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:02,600
It's like a skinny version of a 
cocktail, which I really 

442
00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:04,760
enjoyed, is very light and 
refreshing. 

443
00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:09,000
And so maybe check that out too.
All right, that's all we have 

444
00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:12,240
from Julie this week. 
Don't forget, we've got boot 

445
00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:14,520
camp coming up. 
You can get more information 

446
00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:16,040
about that. 
And the show notes get on the 

447
00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:18,280
wait list for when January 
comes. 

448
00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:20,960
We can get your business started
the right way. 

449
00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:25,520
We have also other downloads in 
the show notes and a lot of 

450
00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:28,160
great things for you. 
So check it out Next week. 

451
00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:29,600
We'll have another great 
episode. 

452
00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:34,280
And until then, stay creative. 
Thanks for listening. 

453
00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:37,640
If you love this episode, please
leave a rating and a review. 

454
00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:40,640
This helps me reach other 
curious creatives like you. 

455
00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:44,800
If you have a topic request or 
would like to contact me, simply

456
00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:49,280
head over to my website 
ourawarddesign.com or e-mail me 

457
00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:52,440
at podcast@ourawarddesign.com.
