Dana Small

Dana Small is a South Florida based interior designer and the founder of Dana Small Designs, a full service firm specializing in residential projects of all sizes, from a single room refresh to full renovations and new builds.

Known for her thoughtful approach to space and style, Dana creates interiors that blend timeless tradition in with coastal charm. Her work feels elevated yet approachable, layered with color, texture, and personality. She often incorporates antique rattan, wicker, and bold hues to infuse warmth and character into every room.

With projects across the country and the Caribbean, Dana’s design perspective is shaped by travel, lifestyle, and a deep understanding of how people live in their homes. Her strong sense of space planning and keen eye for detail consistently result in inviting, livable interiors. Dana’s work has been featured in Coastal Living, Southern Living, Better Homes & Gardens, House Beautiful, HGTV, and more.

Learn more at https://danasmalldesigns.com/  

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

You're listening to the Preppy Podcast, and I'm your host, Patricia May Olson. I'll be interviewing the brands, businesses, and influencers who are keeping the modern preppy lifestyle alive. Each Tuesday, I'll bring you a new episode, but if you're craving more preppy, then chop the merch and listen to past episodes at thepreppy podcast.com and be sure to follow at the preppy podcast and me, Patricia underscore May underscore Olson on Instagram.

SPEAKER_00 0:50

She's an interior designer based in Florida as well as has a fabulous boutique called Matilda's that you can shop online or in store in person in Florida, and a line of bedding as well as some clothing collections and collaborations. So I am thrilled to share this interview with Dana. We recorded it a little bit ago and had some technical difficulties at the beginning, so just bear with us. It still is packed full of so many fun stories, such great inspiration, and fabulous advice. But before we get into the episode, a reminder to sign up for Club Preppy. Our packages went out this week and they include a fabulous tote as the gift for this month's members, as well as we are doing a wine tasting and a branding lifestyle workshop. So lots of fun like that for the next couple of months. So sign up at thepreppypodcast.com.

SPEAKER_01 1:48

Alright, so why don't you first let everyone know who you are, where you live, and what you do?

SPEAKER_02 1:54

Okay, so I'm Dana Small and I live in Stewart, Florida. I've lived here for the past 25 years. I'm an interior designer, I own a retail shop. We also have an e-com and I'm the creative director of my own label, which is a small batch um collection of bedding and tabletop and uh dresses. Right now we only have one dress style, but we're growing.

SPEAKER_01 2:17

I love that. I always love talking with like a triple thread, like I say, because I'm someone I wear a lot of hats. Like I have a PR business, I have a podcast, I have a blog, like I do all the things. And I feel like our brains just work nicely together then when I'm chatting with someone like that.

SPEAKER_02 2:34

I well, you know, I I have a cousin who he was a model and he can sing, he can dance, and he's modeling and he's like, he always calls himself the triple threat. So I had to giggle when he said triple threat because it's just like I don't consider myself a triple threat by any means. I think I'm just, you know, oversteading myself.

SPEAKER_01 2:51

No, no, it's all good. Well, I'm so excited to learn more about you and your businesses today. But let's first start at the beginning. Like, tell me about you as a kid. Were you someone that was always, you know, making clothes for your dolls or um decorating your bedroom or entrepreneurial and creative? Like, tell me about your childhood.

SPEAKER_02 3:10

Yeah, so first of all, I can't sew a button on anything to save my life. Um, and but the second thing you hit on is so true. Like I, as a child, like I have always moved the pills around in my house, which would probably annoy my mom. And um, I, you know, I love this kind of question because I think a childhood, you know, now that I have kids, you see how your children grow and you see how they develop. But mine was super colorful, um, very fun. My my mom loves interior design herself. And so that was a huge, you know, inspiration for me. And then um, I've always been creative. I mean, I am a children's illustrator at heart, like I absolutely love drawing, doodling, and whatever. And so that is like literally been born in me. And I think part of that design and being creative, I was also creative in my room. Like I always moved the furniture around. I mean, my mom tells stories about when I was five, you know, I took the cushions and our sectional and our couch, you know, our house, and um, I drew all over them like a pattern. It was a white couch, and I thought it was boring, um, which I think is hilarious. So that was like one. And then um, I think when I was like eight years old, my parents, you know, typical. I was born in 1970, so your typical, like late 70s, early 80s, where you get the new bed set and it was the canopy bed that everybody wanted, you know. Yeah, and I didn't like how the the person put it in my room. And my parents came in to me at eight years old moving the furniture by myself, like it, and my parents were like, what is going on? I was like, I don't like how it's arranged, you know. So apparently that's just I think somehow it's in you by, you know, at birth for sure. And then there's also just exposure. I think, you know, my parents um have great style, grew up in a very contemporary home. Um, that love of color and things like that. I always, you know, I'm wearing a very conservative, of course, very preppy, yeah, you know, pinstripe kind of dress today. But um, as a kid, I I definitely loved clothes and um, you know, mixing patterns and things like that, which I think resonates with my interiors now, which you know, you don't recognize those types of things when you're little.

SPEAKER_01 5:25

Yeah, no, a thousand percent. I mean, it sounds like you definitely had a viewpoint at a young age and and an appreciation for design so young. Uh, and then your parents kind of nurtured it, it sounds like, which is so yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:41

I think, you know, when you're little and like I was always a drawer and doodle or and daydreamer, you know, I'd get in trouble in school the time, you know, it wasn't the girl that got in trouble for talking, it was the girl like not paying attention, like drawing things. And, you know, with design, my parents were um, you know, when I was about 11 years old, we're designing custom home. And I didn't realize until that moment how interested I was in interior design. And I think that, you know, going to the meetings, I found myself more and more into it and excited about the entire interior architecture and just everything, the fabrics and all the other things. And um, I think at that moment, you know, you're like, wow, okay, I'm totally into this. And again, when you're a kid growing up, you don't realize that's your trajectory necessarily as an adult. But um, you know, I wonder if I didn't have that exposure, would would I be an interior designer? Maybe I would have gone into print design or something more illustrative. But you know, that really resonated with me. And I just loved watching my parents create something and and you know, be part of that construction. Like I love being part of a project, and and I think that's why in interior design we do this over and over and over, even as stressful as it can be, because we love the end result, we love the start, the planning, the building, and then of course, all the panache and the zhuj at the end, you know, as glamorous as it seems for sure.

SPEAKER_01 7:09

Um, so then when it came time for college, where and what did you study? Was it interior design then based on you know this experience, or yeah, something completely different?

SPEAKER_02 7:19

So, okay, I'm gonna be 55. So interior design, I don't think was on anybody's docket for a major, but I went to Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, and which is also ran by my husband. And um, I at that time, you know, it was a liberal, you know, fine arts, liberal college kind of thing. So I was a fine art major. Um, I had an art history minor, and then they didn't uh have a business school at the they had a night school, but they didn't have like a business major and for undergraduate, and so you could do a business minor. So I had like a double minor. So it was fine art and art history, and you know, of course my parents were like, what are you gonna do with that? I'm like, I have the business, somehow it will turn into something. And then after that, um, three of my sority sisters, um, after right after graduation, so we I graduated in '93, um, one of my girlfriends, her family, had a home in San Miguel de Allende in Mexico, and which is one of my most favorite places on earth. And we went there and we lived there for eight weeks and we studied at the Instituto, and then we immersed ourselves in like traditional rug weaving and ceramics, and uh, and in my when I was first reading things and margaritas, like that was it.

SPEAKER_01 8:34

I love it. What a fun uh study experience there then.

SPEAKER_02 8:37

And then uh fast forward, I traveled around the world, and then schooling-wise, I didn't pick back up until like 95, um, so two years later, and then I um went to a school in Miami for interior design. Then all of a sudden it was really on people's radars, and you could go to like specialty schools, you know, and get like an associate's degree. And and so I did that. And um, but you know, when I was already doing that, I was already doing interiors, like, you know, I was already like working part-time doing it. I was doing my own place, you know, I was helping friends out, you know, kind of start like they were we were all earning a little bit of money and you know, painting or wallpapering or you know, whatever. I mean, when you first started out after college. So um, but it wasn't like formally, formally trained like girls and or boys, whoever goes interior design now. I mean, now it is full-fledged majors, and there's just, I mean, so much more is evolved in in that, you know, level of career.

SPEAKER_01 9:39

In that space. Yeah, no, definitely. I feel like now it's like you can study furniture for it, you can study like even staging. Like there's so many within interior design, like levels and and degrees.

unknown 9:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:52

You know, we um, you know, we'll get people who will call us for not necessary interior design, like they'll be like, oh, I saw Dana in a magazine or whatever, or I looked at iFollower on Instagram or my friend, and they're like, Oh, so um, we'd like to hire you for staging. And I'm like, oh, that's not me. Like that's a whole other, I mean, I can judge a house, but I can judge a house that I've been working on, whether it's six months, a year, two years, something that I've involved with the client, and and you know, obviously having a boutique and a store really helps. Um but it is like the I got to know the person. I don't know how I mean, I guess staging is really for like selling house and whatever. But it's funny that you mentioned that because people do call us and I'm like, yeah, I don't do that.

SPEAKER_01 10:37

That's so funny. Oh my gosh, so interesting. So then at what point did you make it official with your interior design business and then the store? Like, what was that journey like? And like what what came first and sort of the the thought process before behind launching them?

SPEAKER_02 10:55

So I think after I finished school for interior design, which was literally just like an associate's degree, a two-year thing, um, we were living in Miami and I was getting little jobs here and there. It was really like referrals. Like I was a huge babysitter, and I would like to help with the kids' rooms, then I would, you know, the the the mom would I would grow into the living room. So it was just this gradual progression. Then we moved. And now we're so Stuart is 100 miles north of Miami, very quiet, especially 25 years ago. And I didn't know how to get involved in the, you know, here because we didn't work, my, you know, we didn't have jobs yet. I didn't have kids yet. I didn't know how to immerse myself in the community.

SPEAKER_01 11:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:38

Um, so I actually took a design job in Jupiter. It was like the closest place um that was really gonna capture like what I was into, uh and obviously like a career path. Um, and then after that, I found what was happening is um I was the assistant um buyer and and designer for the owner, the principal designer. And I was being hired by the clients after the fact, after the for the zhuzhing, like the monogrammed, you know, the applique bedding monogram pillows, the the perfect scented candle to go with the guest bedroom, like you know, all these things that like design firms didn't have back then. They weren't so I mean they did, but they just I don't know, they didn't have all that lifestyle thing.

SPEAKER_01 12:20

Yeah, the little details they didn't focus on.

SPEAKER_02 12:23

Yeah, exactly. No, it was like the pillows and the you know, the sofas and all the other things. Yeah, the interior architecture part of it. And so I just found and commuting was a little bit rough, and when I got pregnant with Twin, so I was like, I'm gonna open up a shop. So I did, and I was like, I took all my favorite things from design. Like I took all the wonderful things that my favorite wedding gifts that I got, my favorite baby gifts that I was getting, my favorite design, you know, zhuzhing gift, the giftables for homes, like you know, lamps, like lightweight things, like lamps, pillows, and then I just kind of threw it all together and um created Matildas. And so it started out, you know, our whole mantra back then was wedding, living, giving, baby. And so it you, you know, the name doesn't resonate. It could be anything, it could be a bakery, right? Um, so we wanted people to know that uh we did wedding imitations and we did baby announcements, and it was really heavy on the stationery because there was nowhere to get stationary here except for like stables.

SPEAKER_01 13:25

So you needed something more elevated.

SPEAKER_02 13:28

Yeah, I was like, okay, wait, we need a exactly a little bit more elevated here. So um, so yeah, that's kind of how it started. And then, you know, that just became my day job, and it was very hard to do interior design. All of a sudden, you know, I was like, wow, I'm a slave to retail and we're open six days a week, and you know, it was eat, sleep, breathing, developing, evolving the store. Um, you know, websites weren't that busy. This I opened in 2007, so they were just evolving. And so slowly as the store got, you know, underway and I hired employees and I had a little bit more flexibility with a bit of free time, I would get people that come in and be like, oh, I love how the store looks. Like, can you help me with wallpaper? So it kind of slowly evolved. And then I knew I wouldn't do anything really heavily. So I picked up a house here or there, you know, every year. And then I I have having twins, I was gonna be an empty net, you know, empty nester at the same time. So when they graduated, it was like, okay, you know, I really, you know, I started to really accept bigger jobs too in high school, like saying, you know, I'm gonna get into this when my kids, um, you know, because it's hard. High school stress.

SPEAKER_01 14:39

Like, oh, you know, I'm yes. I would always forget my homework in high school, and my mom always jokes that she'd like always be visiting the school, dropping off stuff I'd forget like every day.

unknown 14:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:49

Oh, yeah, I have a few, yeah, I have a child that was like that. Um, but it was like I also realized being an empty nester at the same time. I mean, it's like having one child. You you just like you're not gonna have that. And you have it's so insane and intense and and lovely too. And doing all those things that I was like, okay, I need to, what am I gonna do? Because the store was kind of running itself. I have like an amazing team. Um, you know, I have people who have been there 18 years, 15 years, 10 years, like small town, and I needed more. I needed, you know, the store is creative. I can be creative when it comes to merchandising and things like that, but I am a creative director. My blood is, you know, creativity. So I have to be really have to be doing something. And um, so I and I was like, well, and who am I gonna hire? Because I've got my shop girls, and um, and so I have my sister-in-law and one of my friends were empty nesters like right at the same time, and they were like, Oh my god, we we can't sit at home, like what are we gonna do? And I was like, perfect, you know. So that's kind of how it evolved, and and now we're here. And um, you know, so we started like in 21, like, you know, um, and it's 25 and it's going strong.

SPEAKER_01 16:05

And um, yeah. Well, I think what you said there is like you're a creative director because I'm I live outside of Philadelphia, and I think I found you like I've been following you on Instagram, the store for years, and I think what comes across in uh across on the Instagram is how you how you merchandise things, how how you style things. Um, and so can you tell a little bit then about marketing the store? Um, how how you got the word out for for the store um and attract new customers, all of that. Like what's kind of been the best marketing, would you say?

SPEAKER_02 16:40

So, you know, that's such a good question for us because we actually still rely a lot on magazines. And I know that sounds crazy to a younger, you know, crowd, but we we really obviously you have to be social, right? You have to be on every I mean, well, we're on like Instagram and Facebook, but yeah, um, I did it myself at the beginning, and then it was so overwhelming, like I couldn't get enough pictures, and I'm a I always say this, I'm a perfectionist to a full. And when I mean that, it's like I can take 50 pictures of something and not find and not like it. And I was like, that's wasting everybody's time. Um so I hired someone very quickly. I was, you know, Instagram when it first started too, it wasn't really for businesses, it was like it was personal, like it was Facebook. I was on Facebook because our nanny was going to University of Tennessee and she was like, Hey, you want to see what I'm doing? You know, and we were like, this is so weird, like, you know, and and then you know, obviously Instagram and all these other things evolved. But um, so I realized that like my customer base is not necessarily on Instagram. They are. I mean, I don't know how long has Instagram been around, 12 years, 15 years. I kind of left my time. But you know, so we've evolved with it as it's evolved. And once it got a business, it was like, okay, the rest of the world is putting their business on here, you know. And I I also, you know, I have my own and I've got the store, and the store obviously is driven 100% for the consumer and you know, selling you all the products and wonderful things we have. My own is more of my lifestyle, and how do I incorporate Matilda's products into my life and and my life into what I buy for the store? Um, but back to the magazine comment. So we've been advertising in our local Stuart magazine for 18 years, and it was like a seven-month uh publication, and now it's grown like all year. Um, we still have people that walk in off the street and they're carrying the magazine, or they come in and they're like, I was at the dentist office and I saw your ad in, you know, and in the magazine, and I brought it in because do you I want to buy this dress, you know? And which is kind of like unheard of. Like we giggle about it and I love it. Um, because I always tell my my my girls, my shop girls, you know, every day we need someone coming in and and telling us they've never been here before or they just found us in a magazine. You know, we're still catering to an older crowd. Um now we have everything. I mean, my store's been open for 18 years. You know, we have girls where we did their eighth grade graduation, we then did their sweet 16 party invitation, we did their high school graduation, their college graduation, their graduate school graduation, their engagement, you know, parties, their wedding, their baby, their we bought a new house. Like you're talking 18 years of if you start out with that one eighth grader and you add 18 years to her life, like you know, she and her mom too, you know, the family. And and so we now are selling to that girl because she's 30. Um right. And she's grown up video. Right. But you know, when I opened the store, I was 37 and now I'm gonna be 55. And so the third I was the 37-year-old selling to the 55 to 75. Now I'm 55, selling to like the 35 to 95. I mean, we have customers that are like 90 years old, like we have a lady that drives her car, you know, buys her favorite candle and things like that. So now my swing of customers is much larger, but we still cater to that person that reads the magazine.

SPEAKER_01 20:23

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 20:25

I love that.

SPEAKER_01 20:26

Yeah, and I think that's so important because especially with the algorithm these days, like Instagram can be so hard. And I think a lot of people put all their eggs in one basket when it comes to social media. And there's still so many other ways, whether it's, you know, magazines or showing up at places and having trunk shows or doing something like totally creative. Um, one of our local stores here, they hosted a dinner where they had like Jane Wynn, the jewelry designer, come and do like made the made the customers feel like so special that they got invited to this like private dinner. Like, I just think there's so many different ways to market and get creative, right?

SPEAKER_02 21:01

Oh, yeah. And I mean, you know, you're right. Instagram is so difficult with the algorithm. And, you know, I am like 55 and I joke all the time at house. I'm like, I tell my husband, we need to have another baby and we need to get another puppy because that's what gets traction. And he's like, yeah, no. Um, so that's not funny. And he's not on Instagram or any social media, so he just he doesn't get it, you know, he thinks we're all crazy, but yeah, um, it is you the algorithm. I mean, I you work so hard and it's so can be so frustrating, and you know, you just have to keep pushing through and pushing through and pushing through. And and um, I love the local magazine, and they're they're great too because we've been, you know, I'm involved in the community and we've been advertising with them for so long. It's nice. They they throw a few editorials here. Um, and it it, you know, you now get the older clients who are following you on Facebook, following you on Instagram. But we with my brand, you know, you brought up trunk shows and being inventive and How you know you can have a lunch party and do all these things. So, because the collection that I've created, the handblock collection, we now don't just have one dress and one tablecloth. It's easy to, you know, sell in the store or sell to my friends and take to like a summer fair or something. Now we have to do the trunk show and the pop-up and things. So, but it is great. And you know, my brand um collection manager, she is like, we need to get you physically at these places because people want to meet you. And maybe, like you said, they followed you for years or they shopped in the store for 18 years and now I'm not there on a daily basis. And so they want to see you because you know, you don't just walk into people's interior design business. We're meeting with clients or reps or you know, or I'm on the job site. So, um, so we're starting that, like we have um, you know, funny enough, we have our anniversary, 18th anniversary coming up for Matilda's, and we're advertising a Dana Small Designs pop-up, which is funny because I own Matilda's, but there are so many people that have shopped there in the last five years that yeah, again, have never met me or don't know me, or they don't really know the extent of what we're making because maybe they aren't on social media, or they're just not getting, you know, they don't, I don't want to look at another e-blast either. Of course, that is how we, you know, get people's attention. But yeah, um, so we have a lot, and of course, I have an amazing team. So I do, you know, the we just um started our website a couple years ago, and I have a whole team that does nothing but that. Um, you know, my my shop girls, the Matilda shop girls and the brick and mortar. It is, I mean, they, you know, every day you walk in and they are like helping you and they're advertising and they're just pushing the the narrative of of what we sell, what's new, what events we have. Then you've got the e-com who they're the e-blasting, and you know, they're really and then the marketing and they're you know, they're putting it all together on the in our website, which is beautiful. And then we have our social girl, you know, and you don't start with that. I started with me, and then you grow and you grow and you grow, and you know, I you know, it's um amazing how I can look back and be like, wow, we have fifty, you know, I have 15 employees, and um, and that's a lot. Yeah, you get a little nervous as you evolve and you grow because you're like, oh my god, can I afford this person? Or do I have enough work for them? And you know, somebody once told me, like, if you're asking yourself that question, you have enough work, and yeah, worst case, you you find out that you don't.

SPEAKER_01 24:32

It doesn't work out, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:34

Yeah, but it just kind of evolves, and you know, like I said, all of a sudden you wake up and it's like, oh, I've had this store for 18 years, and we've been hardcore on the design business for the last, you know, now five years.

SPEAKER_01 24:45

So so speaking of design, you know, you're known for traditional coastal with layers of texture and colors. Um, how did you narrow in on that? And uh any advice on achieving uh whether you know people want to uh get that style for their home or maybe just advice in general of like figuring out how to find your style?

SPEAKER_02 25:09

Yeah. Um, I think, you know, um interior design can be a little bit like how you find your style, like fashion, like your wardrobe. You know, I think we all were influenced by our friends way before influencers existed, right? We're influenced by what you wear, I wear, your your mom, and you so you're try things, right? So interiors are a little bit like that. You you try a few things and you see which one sticks, right? Um, I did not grow up in like what I would consider a traditional um decorated home. Like my parents are, it was more of a contemporary setting, like very bold um fabrics and um patterns, geometric patterns, lots and lots of texture. We had grass cloth everywhere in our in our house in the middle of Ohio, you know, and we had foiled wallpaper. I mean, we had really fun things that my my neighborhood friends did not have. They had very traditional, lots of woodwork, but my parents, you know, I don't really know where that exposure came from, except for them for traveling. Um, my dad did grow up going to um, you know, actually traveling to Italy and seeing, you know, having exposure there, but going to California a lot. And so they and they loved Florida, so they loved this bright and cheery and you know, more like mid-century modern. Um, and so that again, I think what you grow up with obviously influences where you show up. But yeah, I also think my own style really started after college, and I traveled around the world and um for like six months. I lived in Mexico and San Miguel, so that's a whole heavy, ornate Mexican culture, um, which I loved. The colors are amazing. And then I traveled all around the world, and I think all these different places that I went, I was definitely influenced. Um, I'm fascinated by like what I call hotel living. Like I always, after I came back, I was like, oh, wouldn't it be cool to live in a hotel and um get room service and you know, maid service? And my parents were like, yeah, it's kind of like living here. I was like, okay, I'm getting it, enough said. Um, but hotels are simplistic, but you know, you can have your hotels in the middle of Indonesia, that everything there is so focused on the ornate woodworking and things like that nature. Um, then you can be in London where because it's dreary outside all the time, you've got pops of color and and layers and layers of patterns and stuff. So as I traveled around the world, um, I just kind of took that all in. And then I ended up living after I finished, I ended up moving to the Bahamas. And I have definitely always wanted to live where the sun shines, you know, 365. And I was like, I am not gonna live in Ohio my whole life, and I want somewhere beachy and warm and palm trees and seashells, and so that also you you know, you live there, you live very simple on an island. And in an island, you they don't have everything. We would have to fly to Miami and shove it in a bag and you know, one pillow at a time. There was no bed bath and beyond where I lived. So, you know, it you all of a sudden you go from traveling around the world and you see all these things. And growing up in Ohio and even a small town, we still had everything kind of at our fingertips. And an island, you don't, and then all of a sudden it it makes you forces you into like your favorite things. Um and you know, and and I think color-wise, that was a huge influence. Definitely growing up with my color, the color palette my parents had, definitely island style. Um, you know, so again, I think it evolves. And I always try to tell people like if someone, if someone hires us and they don't know which, you know, they don't know how to get there, they might show us pictures, thank God for Pinterest and all this. But I always like, let's take where is the house? Like, you know, if we're starting from scratch, it's like, okay, this is a Florida home. Then I really try to encourage people, you know, designing for Florida environment, like blues and greens and naturals. Um, they they obviously come so easily here, you know, pops of yellows and oranges, you know, things like that. Like look at your surroundings and um kind of let the outdoors come in. Um, like if I'm doing a house up north, and depending on if it's a seasonal home, then again, we can go to like a summer color palette. So I always take into consideration the home, the architecture. And if it's a new build, then we're really incorporating, depending on the style, the home. Um, but I think you know, one of the things I encourage people is to kind of again find what resonates with them. Um, and you know, sometimes we get a client that shows up and she's wearing black pants and a crisp white shirt and very simple jewelry. I know that person already. I don't think she wants like these crazy colors and all doodads, you know. It's pretty easy. I think we kind of dress like again, I always say fashion is a little bit reflective of interior or vice versa. So I don't even know if I got anywhere near answer your question. No, you did. It's it's not an easy pinpointed thing. And I think all designers, we evolve, you know. Um I've got designers that I've been following for years, and I think um we we we all evolve and we keep growing, and and we also get more daring on certain things. Like sometimes, you know, I don't I can't think of anything off the top of my head that I didn't do before. Um, but there are definitely things that I was like, oh, you know, everyone's like, oh, I would never do that. And then, you know, a year later you're like, oh, I'm doing that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:55

Um well, it's like with any business, you become more comfortable, which then I think allows you to get a little bit more daring or like try new things and get adventurous, right?

SPEAKER_02 31:05

Yeah, I think it's confidence, comfort, yeah, comfort, confidence, having the confidence to execute something or seeing it done enough. And I think that's why Instagram and Pinterest are such great tools, is because you can look and find, I mean, you could put, I don't know, rattan brass bar, and you'll get all these images. And one, you know, you're not alone with the only person Googling that. And second of all, you see all these options and different interpretations, and then you can kind of gravitate towards that and and figure out how to get there right for yourself, or or if you want to do it at all.

SPEAKER_01 31:44

So then, you know, I have to say the bedding is beautiful. I got to see it at my friend Maggie, um, Margaret of York's home in Florida, and it just it looks so, so beautiful. So I think it's a great extension of your businesses. And then, you know, I'm curious if you could design a home for anyone or have your products, like your bedding in anyone's home or your dresses on a certain person, like who would be your dream customer for any of that? Wow.

SPEAKER_02 32:13

Um, well, I think I think because interior design is like so in my soul, not so much the fashion, but um, you know, I think my dream would not necessarily to be in anyone's home, but I would love to be in a hotel. Like, you know, my my dream project would be to do a boutique hotel in my like three favorite places in the world, which are San Miguel de Allende, Harbor Island, or like London and Paris are tied for third. But you know, I would love to do a boutique hotel. That would be a dream. And I think having my own product in there would be amazing, like having our bedding part of it, part of that simple, like I was saying, traveling and these global, you know, inspirations and notes of different patterns and things that I've seen and learned along the way, and from Marrakesh to Thailand to India. I actually haven't been to India yet, but um, just what we're working with in the Block Prince. So um I that would be that would be a dream.

SPEAKER_01 33:15

That would be amazing.

SPEAKER_02 33:17

I mean, I could totally see it. Um I would love it. Yeah, that would be amazing. So I'm hoping that saying it out like three times, you know, manifesting it.

SPEAKER_01 33:27

Definitely. Now, I'm you know, since this is the Preppy podcast, I always ask everyone what does Preppy mean to you? So, how would you describe Preppy?

SPEAKER_02 33:37

Well, uh, this is so funny. I um I Googled it first because I was like, I'm 55 and I feel like Preppy was so 80s.

SPEAKER_03 33:46

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 33:46

Um, and because that's what I think about. And I was like laughing at you know all the different definitions you get. But, you know, I go back to the 80s. I, you know, I was born in 1970, and in the 80s, it was all about the penny loafers and the popped collars and the pink and green combo, or that Kelly Green and you know, navy blue, the tree torns, um, the eyes odds, like that. I just, I mean, I was literally voted like most preppy in my eighth grade yearbook, which um I just think is hilarious. And but when you Google it, it's kind of like it kind of sounds really snobby, you know, like you just like I was like, oh my god. But I, you know, there's like, you know, the there's like the urban dictionary, and then there's the AI version, and then the Google and you know, Wikipedia, whatever, you have all these things. But I actually feel that um, you know, for preppy, I definitely think I'm preppy. I mean, I love bright colors, and I think of preppy in my as a 55-year-old um as being, you know, very classic, very neat. I think that's you know, resonates with preppy no matter what definition. Um, and you know, I'm still I'm a total blazer and pop the collar kind of gal. Like that is that's preppy to me. Um, I don't want, you know, to bring in the whole like elite, you know, prep school, boarding school. I did that. Um, but you know, I was like, oh, I don't like the sound of that part. But like the tennis racket, like what who doesn't think of something, you know, preppy like grabbing a tennis racket? And and I'm a tennis player, so yeah. Um, but that's I guess that's what it means to me.

SPEAKER_01 35:30

That's such a good answer. No, that's perfect. Um, I I think that wraps it up great. So what's next for you? And then can you also share, you know, social media, website, that sort of thing so that people can follow along and share. Yes. Oh, yeah, I so appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02 35:45

Um, what's next? I think, you know, for us, um, you know, we have a lot of projects that we've done in the last four years that, you know, with design, you have to get them photographed. You know, that is a big undertaking. Um, that's a big goal for 2026. We've got to get, you know, our jobs photographed and share those and get them out on social. Um, and I think just for like the bedding and the dresses, as I mentioned, you know, we've been developing um a collection for the last six months. And, you know, some of it will come to fruition in a couple of weeks. Um, we have another uh drop with, so we did a collaboration with SC BlockPrints. That was a huge thing that we started doing last year. We had our first launch this past September, and we just got all of our new inventory um yesterday for our second drop. So we'll be launching that in two weeks. So that's a big one. Um, and then you know, we have these things that are developing just in our own collection. Um, and what was the second thing you asked me? Um social media. Okay, so um for the store, we are Matilda's Lifestyle. We're at Matilda's Lifestyle for Instagram and Facebook. Um, and we also have our own e-com, which is MatildasLifestyle.com. Um, and then for me personally, I have at Dana Small Designs for Instagram and Facebook, and then our website for my interior design business and our own product and any collabs that we do are exclusive to Dana Small Design. Um, it's Dana Smalldesigns.com. So pretty basic, cut and dry.

SPEAKER_01 37:19

Um easy to remember.

SPEAKER_02 37:21

Yeah, hopefully. I don't know. It is funny. Some people are like, they'll be like, Dana smell. I'm like, no, it's not Dana Smell. Dana Smells, thanks. That's what my brother says Dana Smells instead of just Dana Small.

SPEAKER_01 37:35

That's hilarious. Oh my gosh. Well, Dana, I had the best time talking with you, learning more about you and your businesses.

SPEAKER_02 37:42

Thank you. This was such such a treat for me. Um, you're my first podcast. So I I just loved it. I mean, I I felt, you know, I watched podcasts, of course, minor in the serial killer, murder mystery type of you know, genre, but um, I loved it. And you know, it was so funny. The girls were like, Are you nervous? I was like, kind of nervous. And uh one girl's like, take that nervousness and and channel it into excitement. And I was like, I am excited because I've I've never done that. And it I think when um with any type of QA, when um they're asking questions about yourself, it's pretty easy to answer. Um you're not really gonna get anything wrong. But um, you know, this is also a way I so appreciate you taking the time to do this because this is a way that we really need to get my, you know, my name out there, my product out there. And you can have so many followers on Instagram, but that algorithm can kill you on a daily basis. Um, there's only so many people that shop in my little store and my little town, you know. And some of those people don't even know we have a website. So I am so grateful for this opportunity. It's and I can't wait to hear it and see it.

SPEAKER_01 38:51

Yeah! No, it's gonna be great. Thank you so much for listening to the Preppy Podcast. I hope this put a little prep in your step for the day. Please subscribe, rate, and review on wherever you listen to your podcast. And follow along with at the Preppy Podcast on social media.