Preppy Podcast
The Preppy Podcast features interviews every Tuesday with the brands, businesses and influencers who are keeping the modern preppy lifestyle alive.
Preppy Podcast
Vietri
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When Susan, Frances, and their mother, Lee Gravely, took their first trip to Italy in 1983, they fell in love with the Italian culture. Thus, a brand was born that started with Campagna, VIETRI's flagship dinnerware. Throughout the years, VIETRI's focus has been to celebrate the simple act of sharing a meal with family and friends. Inspired by the Italian lifestyle, VIETRI encourages savoring one another's company, and keeping sacred the time spent around the table. Learn more at https://www.vietri.com/
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 shop 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. I am talking with Susan of Vietri, which I am such a huge fan of the brand. I particularly love their vases, but they have so many great pieces, and she actually has written a few books and possibly more on the way. So we talk all about not only how she started the brand, how the brands continue to grow, some tips for entertaining, and the journey of writing her books as well as what's down the line in the future. I truly really enjoyed this episode. As always, you can listen on any podcast app as well as watch it on YouTube. So if you want to see some video, feel free to head over to YouTube. Um, but before we get into the full interview, I have a few announcements. The first being that we added one more one final Camp Preppy for 2026, and that last one will be Barnsley Resort at the end of November. So those are now available. Tickets for that at thepreppypodcast.com. That one is going to be all holidays. So think holiday dressing up, wearing tartan and tinsel, doing holiday crafts, maybe holiday cooking or baking as an activity. Um, the resort is just decorated so beautifully that time of year. It's the perfect location. And we also still have two tickets I'm gonna say for Kenny Bungport, but those are going very fast, and I'm thrilled for that in October. Actually, when this episode goes out, I will be in Colorado for our Camp Reppy Colorado, just enjoying all of the fun. So if you want to learn more about Camp Reppy and what it's all about, I would suggest going to our Instagram, um, seeing what we're doing this week in Colorado and going back to saved highlights um and scrolling back in old pictures from our past camps in the Berkshires, in the Hamptons, in Dallas. Um, they're just truly such a fun time and fill me up with so much joy. I love meeting people, I love seeing old friends at them, I love all of these preppy hobbies, learning new skills, um, and just visiting these gorgeous locations. So be sure to go to the preppypodcast.com, get your tickets for Barnsley Resort um in Georgia for the holiday season, end of November, and then of course Kenny Bunkport in October. And if you're not ready to travel but want to join in on the fun, then join us at Club Preppy. All the information on that is also at thepreppypodcast.com. Basically, it's a monthly membership. We do virtual events each month. You get a gift in the mail from me, and we have a great community of other preppy enthusiasts. It's very affordable for what you get. Um, and like I said, you get to meet new friends, learn new skills, enjoy hobbies virtually, and a fun little preppy present in the mail. All right, let's get into this episode. Okay, well, why don't you first let everyone know who you are, where you live, and what you do?
SPEAKER_01Well, Patricia, my name is Susan Gravelly. I am the founder of a company called VHRE, and we started in 1983, and we design and distribute luxury dinner wear, tableware, and accessories for the home and garden. So that is what I do. I am living in Great Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and I am at home uh not going out for the rest of the day because it's going to be so hot.
SPEAKER_00It's hot up here, even in Pennsylvania. Um, and I'm just thrilled to have you on the podcast because I've been a fan of your brand for many years. Um, and you what do you have as a heritage brand at this point? I feel like you've been around, stood the test of time. Um, I think your bud vase, that's one of my favorite pieces that you have, is like iconic. You can recognize it everywhere. So I'm and I can't wait to dive in and learn more about you and your business today.
SPEAKER_01Thank you. Yeah, yeah. It is the hibiscus vase. We'll talk about it.
SPEAKER_00Yes. Okay, so let's start at the beginning though. Tell me about your childhood. Were you entrepreneurial at a young age, like had a lemonade stand? Were you someone that helped your mom set the table and into aesthetics and hosting? Like, what was your childhood like?
SPEAKER_01I did all of that. Um, my father was in international tobacco, so we had foreigners in our home all the time. And so entertaining, setting the table, serving the drinks in my Sunday dress, or serving the tobacco types when they were from different parts of the world was what I did and loved. And, you know, when I was with all of them, it was only speak when spoken to. But I was excited about the world. We had a globe. Daddy would show all of us, four children, where they were coming from, where Rocky Mount, North Carolina was. And he'd always say, the world is so small. You're only a telephone call or a plane trip away. So I want you all to travel. I was really the only one that loved being with all the guests, but I love being at home. I was a lemonade stander, I was uh a cheerleader, I was um, you know, I made things all the time. One of my most fun things was to go to the singer sewing machine shop with my mother and buy patterns for my baby brother's clothes. So she I would cut them out, she'd make them, or making gifts for all my, you know, 20 closest friends when I was little. So it was uh it was always something I loved. I also loved the business end of it. So I was always asking Daddy about how did tobacco get to the United States and what did they do and how is it grown, etc. So I was kind of curious on both sides.
SPEAKER_00That's so great. It sounds like you had a lovely childhood. I love that your parents encouraged you to travel. Sounds like they supported your creativity too. Um, those are just wonderful stories. So thanks for sharing those.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So then tell me about then when it came time um for school. If you went to college, where and what did you end up studying? Was it something with business or was it more on like the interior design, entrepreneurship um route? Tell me about that.
SPEAKER_01Well, Patricia, I was of the generation uh in my family that everyone went to a girls' school. There was never been anyone in a co-ed school, and I wanted to go to Carolina, but I applied and got into the same women's college that my grandmother, mother, and sister and aunt had all gone to called Sweetbrier College. And then in May of that year, they changed the rules and opened the doors. Well, if you knew Sweetbrier was in the middle of nowhere. Also, even from the beginning of my life, I loved to sleep. So 10 o'clock was my sleeping time. And though I dated a lot, they all knew that I like to go home early after a couple of drinks and talking to people, let them go have a party. So it was totally ridiculous that my father came home and said, You're not old enough to go to a school with open hours, so you need to pick a school in North Carolina or South Carolina. And that was the decision. So I went to Salem College for two years, was real involved, and then um I made an agreement with him. If I kept a certain grade point average, I could go to Chapel Hill, which I did. I was gonna say going to Chapel Hill, the issue was that I I could go, but I had to major in education. So I did. I always loved children. I uh uh majored in early childhood education. Um after some years, you know, doing things like living out west. I moved to Boston, I volunteered at Boston Children's Hospital, I got excited, I returned and got my master's in recreational therapy, and then started the pediatric outpatient program at Duke.
SPEAKER_02Wow.
SPEAKER_01That was perfect combination for me because it was managing people, meeting with psychiatrists and doctors and families, doing studies with the children and the doctors, as well as playing and loving these kids. So I was always, I always seemed to be involved in things that were creative, had a business side to it, but always dealing in art and color and design.
SPEAKER_00I love that. I mean, what I feel like a full circle journey in your college, right? Go finally going to where you wanted to go to begin with. Um, and what a rewarding, it sounds like first career then you had.
SPEAKER_01It was great. It was great. Unfortunately, my father was sick, I was dating a medical student, I was working like a crazy woman, as I always have, and focusing on through failure to thrive infants. So I burned out. Yeah. Then I went to uh New York and went to the New York School of Interior Design. And then my father died, and a couple of years later, my mother took my sister and me to Italy, and there is where VA tree began. So, and there was a couple of years working retail where I would be working with the customers and hiring everybody, and then the owner and I would build two more stores in a year. So I was always kind of growing to the next step.
SPEAKER_00Yes. So, okay, you go to Italy, and this is where your brand launches that you have this bug, you want to do something on your own. So tell me, like, what attracted you to the Italian culture, to these products initially? And then how did you think, like, I love this, I want to turn this into something, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, well, you know, to back up a little bit, when I was in New York the last day of the um of studying, two gals and I were driving walking up Madison Avenue, and there was a sign for a soothsayer, a fortune teller. And the other two said, Come on, let's go. And we went. And where they stayed 10 seconds, it felt like I stayed about 30 minutes. And she basically told me she saw a lot of color, she saw an ocean, she saw success, she saw some difficulty. So for $20 each, she could light three candles, which I did. And um, and I didn't know what that meant. Italy was never one of my top places to go. And maybe it's because deep down inside I knew that was part of this whole feeling I always had that I was gonna do something. And um mama and daddy had chosen this trip. So we had met this gentleman on the airplane flying over, my sister had, and we had been in Positano and we stayed at a beautiful hotel called Il San Pietro, where this dinner wear pattern we called Campana, which means country or it's the province of Campania, came from. And then we went up to um Florence with our tin plates. And the first night we had dinner, toasted daddy, drank wine. Frances and I wanted to walk back to the hotel. Mama wanted a taxi, she lost, and then a motorcyclist came by, pushed her, and we lost everything passports, cash, and traveler's checks. So we ended up calling this man that we had talked to on the plane who had given us his number, and he saved our lives. I mean, he helped us get passports and all. We told him about the plates, and he said, if you come back to negotiate prices, call me and I'll go with you and help you negotiate, which he did. So that was in September of 83. Um, starting a business, you know, I was I was free at that point. And uh Frances had just had her second child, and we sat down with a couple at the um hotel, and we were telling them about these plates, and they and he was in clothing manufacturing in New York, and he said, You clearly love to design, you clearly would be great at building this company. Why don't you not retail but wholesale and distribute? And that's how it started, very serendipitously. So um it's you know, been that kind of life pattern, which is asking a lot of questions, not being afraid to fail, turning right, hitting a dead end, turning back left, maybe going backwards a little bit. And it was all with asking those questions and meeting this man that we started the company.
SPEAKER_00I love that. It's yeah, it sounds like you asked a lot of questions and more you were open to things, right? You were open to where the universe was taking you, meeting new people, um, what these options were. And I love that. I think entrepreneurs have to be open to things, have to be flexible, and it sounds like you definitely were, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think so. And I think women, even more than men, are make fabulous entrepreneurs because we naturally multitask, we naturally ask a lot of questions, and because we're not afraid of failure. We're not afraid of that question, and we don't have to act like we know a lot. So um, I think women make great entrepreneurs.
SPEAKER_00I agree a thousand percent. So tell me then, did you launch with the plates initially, or what what did the assortment look like in terms of product?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we did. We we launched with four patterns that mixed well together. And I wish I thought about it because they're in my cupboard right now. I you still use them every day. And then a separate floral pattern, and the whole gist was as VHR has been always, is mix and match whatever you have, don't get so caught up in perfection. And so we were showing these things and people loved it. It was very new in the industry. So it was a dinner salad, two bowls, and a mug. And I think there were four accessory pieces times five patterns. Okay. That's what we started with.
SPEAKER_00I think that's so genius. I mean, obviously, I love color and print, so I think mixing and matching, and not only does it make things easier, but it adds like an element of interest, right, to the table and um to your tablescape. I think that's just so beautifully done.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I I agree with you, Patricia, and I also think it shows who each of us is that what you've got in your cupboards or the tablecloths that were your mother's or something you just bought are different from everybody else's. So that if you can ease up and say, I'm just gonna throw it all together and I'm gonna look at what's in my refrigerator and what's at the market and have a few people over and different ages and different people, so that you and your uh if you have a partner or not, everybody can be together and learn about each other.
SPEAKER_00Yep. It shows your personality, right? Um so besides color, you know, what would you say back then and even still to this day makes your brand different than others? Like, I know you work with artisans, it's the quality. Can you tell us more about that and sort of how you develop that? And I guess almost that was the core from the beginning, then yes, that was.
SPEAKER_01I mean, our mission was always to bring joy around the table in an original and exclusive way and for everyone. So when we decided we were going to start this company, the next summer I took a month course in um Sicily of Italian, and it was a Carolina course, and none of the students went. So I had private lessons for a month, and Fabio, this man, came over, and in the afternoons after class, we would just start driving around Sicily and doing that and knowing where ceramic areas were, we started looking for new vendors. I think one of the most important things I did was I committed to learning the language so that if you're working abroad in anything, you can communicate and get to know that person. So my relationships began with trying to speak their language, being passionate about what they were doing, and also letting them tell me about their art and why they do things and what it looks like. And with doing that, we started working so much more easily in collaboration because they trusted me. So that was kind of the beginning and has been our direction for all these 43 years.
SPEAKER_00Wow. I think that's a great lesson in there, um, no matter what your business is. A learning the language, you know, um, whether it's Italian, French, Chinese, German, whatever, but also the language of the industry, too, I think is important. So, for example, like I work in PR as my full-time business, but I work with primarily like fashion, jewelry, home decor brands. So I actually have a certificate in interior design and a degree in fashion as well, so that I can know what they're talking about, right? Like how a garment's made or um what a a fabric, um, a weight of a fabric. And I think when you have a business, it's important to uh take interest in like all aspects of it, to know how something's made, and then you can know you can speak about the quality better, you can speak with your manufacturer better. Um, so I think that's a great tip right there, Susan.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I I agree with you, Patricia. You know, social media has made it so much more easy to show how things are made and to have the authenticity of the people making it. And it's kind of like if you want to really know about a bank, ask the tellers. If you really want to know about anything, go to the beginning of its creation and talk to the artisans. You know, I I always take, you know, some little gift for everybody I see that's American made. And um, I've been lucky to make a lot of really close friends. Uh we Americans always think, oh, Italians are so wonderful, and you know, da-da-da-da-da. But it's an interesting phenomenon. As a southerner, our kind of motto or rule of thumb is I meet you, I like you, you're my friend. And then it takes about three times of something happening, and I realize maybe we're not the same kind of people to be friends. Italians do it the opposite, they are warm, but it takes three or four or five times being together, maybe ten, and one day they might invite you to their home. And once you have been invited into their home to sit at their table, you are a friend for life, and they are committed to you. So I've been able to do this job a long time and meet generations, you know, be in weddings, go to funerals, see babies being being christened, etc. So it's, you know, the rule of thumb of working globally is not that different from being the kind of person that respects others and wants to hear the differences, you know, of the way we think.
SPEAKER_00Yes, such a good point. So since the brand is built on sharing a meal with others, I'm curious, like, what are some of your favorite meals you've shared over the years with others? And we'll get into the books too down the line. Um, but I'm curious, like, what's something that stands out uh in your mind? And even you mentioned, you know, Italians inviting you into their home to share a meal. So are there any that really stick out or stories behind those?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, there are a couple. One is I am probably one of a handful of women in America that's on a fraternity board. And I was asked when this fraternity of fabulous guys got into trouble during COVID having a party. And they I was asked because they needed some female kind of hand in this as well. Well, I now every year after Rush invite all the boys of the fraternity over, and the upperclassmen are just cannot wait because what I do is I put all the pledges, I say, okay, we're going to have a contest, and we have an etiquette contest. And this is after they've either eaten huge amounts of chili or barbecue or you know, uh um uh good southern cooking. Good southern cooking. So their tummies are full, and we go outside and we just have a blast. So for me, being around young people and being kind of part of their curiosity is a lot of fun. Bill and I have quite a few gatherings, and we always try to have them of different ages. Um, because we're in, you know, what would be called the twilight years now, and we certainly love people your age. So that's also a way in a town like Chapel Hill to meet different people that they then can connect in the future because most people get tired of being just with the same old crowd all the time. So, food-wise, that if it's the summer, I'll do an old family recipe of a shrimp and rice curry dish that's cold, and I'll have sliced tomatoes and corn on the cob and things like that because it's refreshing. If it's winter, I will do all sorts of things. I mean, I could have, if it's casual, a big thing of two kinds of chilies and cornbread. I could do um a lamb because we don't eat that much lamb that's that's stuffed with um kind of herbs and vinegar and oil and olives. Um, and I love doing that. Um I try to do something that is seasonal and that is fresh and whether it's going to be a stand-up small plate kind of group of people, or if it's going to be that we can see ten around a table and have a good time.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I love that. And I love um that story. And you mentioned having you know a variety of people of different ages, of different backgrounds, that always adds to a dinner party, makes it more interesting. Do you have any tips then for hosting in terms of making people feel welcome?
SPEAKER_01If you're gonna have a lot of people that don't know each other, it might sound tacky, but I swear people love a name tag.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And I have we've done things where it's a name and then how we know them, um, or a name, and I ask them all to write one word that describes them on it, or nothing. Yeah, but it it cuts the ice for people that are not used to being around strangers, um, or they're much younger to older people, or there are you know people that they are kind of in awe of, and how do they approach them? And it just kind of cuts all the ice, and everybody has a great time. So I would I would highly recommend that. Um, and then I would really think about depending upon how many, where people sit. And I almost always split up couples, and I try to think of personalities and ages and how they sit, so that let's say in our kind of open type of house style, we could do a table easily for eight or ten and another table for six, and so I would say 16 is max. Now we've had seated 50 people in this house and almost killed ourselves, but it just all depends upon the environment. Another thing people really appreciate and we love to do is if you have a friend, a cousin, or you know someone for hire that's not too expensive, have a musician. Or there's somebody that's written a book, or somebody that's in town to give a lecture, invite them and ask them if they'll speak for 10 minutes. Yeah, it's a way of raising the level of the conversation and bringing in a surprise. Yeah. So we do a lot of those things.
SPEAKER_00Those are great ideas. I love the name tag idea because I do think it's awkward asking someone to reintroduce themselves if you might have already met them in passing one time. Um and I love the idea of putting like how you met them, how you know them. I think that's a fun little twist to it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, good.
SPEAKER_00So let's talk about the books because I have your second one right here. And I know before this even uh you wrote another. So I'd love to hear, you know, maybe let's start with how you wrote the first one. Like what was the inspiration to that? And then I think that'll lead to why you wrote the second, right?
SPEAKER_01There you go. So all these years I've been asked many, many times to write a memoir, write a cookbook, write a travel book. And I'm getting ready to write a business book, but but but but which will be great for women entrepreneurs. But I kept being asked, and one night in the middle of the night, I thought, I'm gonna do this as a combination. So I wrote down people and places that were really interesting to me, that I thought others would enjoy, that were not necessarily the places that you always think about. So it's kind of the same way as having a party, you know, mixing the ages, mixing the experiences. And then I wrote about them. And I then called them once I kind of saw that I had a group that worked well together in different locations, and I called each one and told them what I was thinking about. And would they mind being in the book? And luckily they all said yes, and I jokingly said, Well, I was gonna do it anyway, but I wouldn't. But once I did that, then Bill and I went over, Bill's my husband, and we went over with a team of two people from Vietri, and then we had met these three fabulous Italian women, and we went to each of these places and either photographed with them or at the restaurant, etc. And then I asked each of them for family recipes. So the first book was called Italy on a plate, memoirs, menus and adventures. And so it's more menus, it could be risertas, it could be a wonderful um type of ravioli or a type of lasagna. If it's at the sea, it would be my favorite, which is a fish baked with all the Mediterranean vegetables. So that's how it came together. And then Frances Mays, who wrote Under the Tuscan Sun, is a great friend of mine, and she was saying, Susan, don't go to a publisher, you should self-publish, which meant that we we jobbed it out and let somebody do it so that our graphic designers could put their mark on the books. So every dish that's that is photographed is photographed on a VHR plate, in a VHRy glass, with VHRY flatware or or um napkins and placemats, and it just created beautiful pictures. And good marketing. It was great, and the first book has sold over 25,000 copies, and I get so many people talking about how easy and delicious the recipes are, and that is what it was supposed to do. It also gave people ideas about travel. So in the second book, Italy in a Glass, which is about adventures of Perativi Antipasti, it's small plates, it's how to entertain standing up as well as sitting down. And we we I actively made sure that I was in different other parts of Italy, and we also added in the back a travels with Susan. So we identified the places the stories came from and their addresses, so that that gave people even an easier way to read these, be in touch with people, and enjoy these experiences. So though those are the two memoirs, recipes, and adventures, and and of course, a cookbook that I that I put together.
SPEAKER_00How long did this take you to put together? I mean, because it has, like you said, beautiful imagery. I mean, there's so many recipes. Like, how long did this take?
SPEAKER_01Well, if I'm for the first two, I was so gun-ho that I could write, just sit down and write and write and write. And so it took us probably the first book two years because we were planning it out. The second book just a year. Wow. For everything. And I'm in the midst of finishing up the research for Italy on on a coast, and that will impact all the coastlines of Italy. But I might pull that one off and write this business book that people are asking me to do that'll be something like uh The Work of Many Hands, The Life of a Female Entrepreneur. And um because I'm real excited about that. So that's kind of, you know, I am retired from running VHRE day to day.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_01I have fabulous people running it. My CEO is 40 years old, and she was with me for 11 years before I retired. Our VP of Design was with me 10 years before I handed and working directly with me. So we have long standing employees who love what they're doing, are given a lot of freedom to talk and brainstorm. And um, I get to mentor them and write books and travel. So life is good.
SPEAKER_00Seriously. Well, the book is beautiful, I have to say. I love how, like you mentioned, it blends perfectly your personal stories and connection to these people, amazing recipes and cocktails, um, some travel tips. Like I think it's just done so beautifully and then wrapped up with gorgeous pictures. So, and I know myself and my listeners will be so excited for your business book, too. So cannot wait for this one.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00For someone then um who's listening and then you know, going online right now, ordering the book, what recipe would you say to start off with or definitely check out and try first?
SPEAKER_01I adore a crusted asparagus. And what it is, it's just fresh, raw asparagus that you make a batter that's you know, it has um flour and salt and pepper and soda water of all things, and a couple of other things in it, and you take the asparagus and you dip it in them and you roll them in of sesame seeds. Okay, and then you make a very hot um oil, you know, canola oil, not olive oil, because that burns, and you just dip them in and let them turn golden and bring them out. They're not greasy and they're delicious if you cut them in half as appetizers or with anything, a piece of fish, a piece of meat, or just a vegetable plate. So I would say that and then a gorgonzola tart, which is a pastry shell, you know, with gorgonzola and cream and an egg and a little bit of flour and some herbs. Easy, easy, savory, um, wonderful, with a real fresh uh glass of white wine or rose or a light Pinot. So that's those are the two I would choose.
SPEAKER_00It's funny, the asparagus stood out to me too when I was going through. I was like, I need to, I need to make this. It looks delicious. So I'm glad you said that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, they're delicious. Yeah, no, nothing is hard in these books. And that's the other part. I mean, so many of them have five ingredients, and that's how Italians eat, that's why they stay fit.
SPEAKER_00Yes, totally. So I'm curious then on the Vietra side, um, why what's the best seller? And then what's your personal favorite piece right now?
SPEAKER_01The best sellers right now are what you said, the hibiscus vases. And this is a great story. Ernest Hemingway loved to drink, and he would go to a place called Harry's Bar in Venice, and they had a three-spouted, three-spout pitcher with a handle, and so he could pour it any way he wanted, if he had wine or if he had, you know, already made mimosas or whatever. Well, I was in there some many times, and once I was there and I would kept looking at it, and I had bought one of these vases at a market, and I thought, I'm gonna remove that handle and add another lip because the size is perfect for a flower vase, and flowers having the stems able to go in different directions, it would hold flowers so beautifully, and that's what I did. And with that, we were able to create what we call the hibiscus vase because it looks a bit like a hibiscus. The small ones are boxed in BA tree boxes, so all you have to do is put a ribbon on them, but they go to nice size, big, you know, round dining room table size, down to little ones that I will have a rectangular table, so I'll put five of them with different flowers on the table with little votives around it, or one beside a bed if we have guests staying. And they are the perfect birthday gift, bridesmaids gift, you know, wedding gift, because everybody loves flowers, yeah, and it's just easy to be able to do make a beautiful arrangement. So that would be the number one selling piece.
SPEAKER_00I love that story, and like I said, it's my favorite of yours too.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. As far as favorite piece right now, you know, it's it's the summer, so we're selling a lot of fish. And I love a group that is multicolored fish that are swimming around the table because they look great with any color of their paper soft napkins, which is my other favorite item because they're made of recycled lace and they cost pennies more than going to the grocery store, but they're really soft.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_01And they come in stripes and polka dots and with fringe edges, etc. And I take these fish plates and I will put them on a white dinner plate and use a bright colored placemat or white placemat, but then use a yellow polka dot napkin or blue or whatever green, I love green, beside it to create something that's happy and seasonal. So um, I would say right now it's the fish plates.
SPEAKER_00Fish are definitely having a moment, I feel like, right now. In fashion and decor, they're all over, right?
SPEAKER_01Right, all over, yes. So is so is green, like that precious dress you have on. Yes, very stylish.
SPEAKER_00Thank you. Thank you so much. Green is one of my favorite colors too. My most of my house is painted green, honestly. And I it's funny, I always tell this story, but one of my interior design teachers had told me green's a neutral because in nature it goes with everything, right?
SPEAKER_01It's true. When I graduated from college, my parents gave me a ring that had um uh an uh that had uh two diamonds and an emerald, but I also had an aquamarin that they had given me, and I said, but can I wear them at the same time? And Mama said, It's nature, the green of the grass and the blue of the sky, absolutely, and I'll never forget that.
SPEAKER_00Same that quote from my interior designer always or interior designer teacher always sticks with me. I love that story you just shared too, because it's so true.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so true.
SPEAKER_00So, since this is the preppy podcast, I always ask everyone what does preppy mean to you? So, how would you describe preppy?
SPEAKER_01I love that question. You know, for me, that word has changed a lot through my time when I was your age to today. I use the word the word preppy for me means prepared. It it's someone who wants who who enjoys creating joy, enjoys creating an environment for themselves and others. Yes, it's not necessarily someone whose things look exactly like everybody else's. I think in my young days it was so much more that you wore papagallos, you wore pink and green, you only joined a certain sorority, you were mostly southern. I don't think that's it anymore. I think it's it's a more sophisticated woman and she knows what she likes, but she also understands design. She has studied it or she loves it, or it's innate with her. So I would say it's a prepared woman for her life today and the future.
SPEAKER_00I love that. That is such a good answer. I feel like that needs to be framed somewhere.
SPEAKER_02Good.
SPEAKER_00So then what's a tip that you can give listeners um in terms of business, or maybe it's a resource to check out? Like just a lasting tip or resource for entrepreneurs or business?
SPEAKER_01Um I'll give you a book and I'll give you a tip.
SPEAKER_00Perfect.
SPEAKER_01The book that I love and never gets old, and I love sports, is a book written by Um, Dean Smith, who used to be the UNC basketball coach, and Jerry Bell, who was his age and taught leadership. And the book is called The Carolina Way Leadership Lessons from Coaching. But what he always said was something that said, play hard, play smart, and play together. And I used those words in a series of children's books I wrote that were about they were trying to take food and toys and medicine around the world and they didn't know how to do it. And they went to see their favorite teacher who told them to do that. And I think those things are true because we are innate, um innately um risk takers.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_01And with that, we've got to know that we're gonna make mistakes, that we're going to learn from them, and that we put value on the mistake as much as the success. But the mistakes also have a price that we have to judge, right? So, and the other part is we must do it together. That the world is so much better when we are listening and we're brainstorming. So I would say that that's the book, and those are the lessons. Don't be so hard on yourself, keep going, and remember that learning is lifelong.
SPEAKER_00Yes, that's great. I feel like I needed to hear that message today. It's one of those entrepreneur weeks where you're like, oh, this is hard. But so it is hard. And you know, brings it full circle of like, remember why you're in this, it'll get better, everything works out, just keep keep at it, right? Um, and I'm excited to check out that book that you mentioned. I'd never heard of it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, do look it up. It's really a great book, and it's just the Carolina Way, it's a very easy read, and um, it's good for everybody, for guys, for women, and just a word to you. Yeah, there are always gonna be hard times. Yes, you're gonna always feel overwhelmed. You are the different parts of your life is going to be easier and harder. But don't make a decision at night, sleep on it, and let things evolve. Yes, if your values are right and your mission is your mission, it all works out. It does. So you just keep going, but give yourself a break.
SPEAKER_00I appreciate that. Thank you so much, Susan.
SPEAKER_01You're welcome.
SPEAKER_00My final question is where can people find you, shop, follow along, get the book, like any social media handles, websites, let them know that.
SPEAKER_01Yes, always go to Vatry.com. You can see anything, you can join our websites. You can join, you can there's a susanegrable.com as well. We are opening our first retail store, which we're so excited about in Chapel Hill, the beginning of September. And we will have a website for that, and we'll be bringing in things that we don't sell at wholesale. Okay. So that's exciting. And on all of these um sites, you can always um uh see sometimes calendars of what we're doing and where we're going to be. And we have Italian vendors that come and do store events, etc. So uh, and Amazon is a great place to buy the books, yeah. The children's books as well as the two cookbooks.
SPEAKER_00Excellent. Well, Susan, this truly was a pleasure talking with you today. I'd love more hearing more about you and your business and all of your words of wisdom. So thank you so much.
SPEAKER_01Thank you so much and happy summer.
SPEAKER_00Thank 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.