Episode #59 - Interview with Jenn Mercier

Join us on this episode of All-In Design, as we speak with Jenn Mercier with 5th Dimension. After a lengthy discussion about Design Week in Chicago (NeoCon and Design Days), we get into Jenn's journey from working at various firms around the Atlanta area, to finding 5th Dimension, and then her move to Birmingham four years ago. Jenn has been involved in IIDA for many years with the Georgia chapter and is now joining the Alabama chapter's board. We discuss how to layer in design trends into a project, how to get ahead of value engineering, and how talented she is at the Irish Goodbye. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:10

From the chair that I'm sitting in in the IIDA Alabama recording studio. This is All in Design. Hello and welcome to All in Design, IIDA Alabama's podcast. Thank you for listening. My name's Chad Moore here with my co-host Mark Griffo. Hey everybody. And uh it is June 15th. And so this is the first podcast past Neocon. Yep. Um last two years we recorded at Neocon. We did not do this that or we didn't do that this year uh largely because Mark wasn't there.

SPEAKER_03 0:47

Yeah, I would I I appreciate you not having the show when I wasn't around.

SPEAKER_01 0:51

Yeah, I tried and it just it was missing something. It was you know you're a big part of the show, Mark. I appreciate that. Yeah. Um but the person that's here with us today was at Neocon, so hopefully we'll get into some of that.

SPEAKER_03 1:03

Yeah, so you guys, I'm gonna ask you guys a bunch of questions about Neocon and Design Days, and then I'm gonna let you guys talk and I'm just gonna step out. Okay. Um just because you know we could have recorded this at Neoconday. Actually, both could have just recorded it at Neocon and you know, kind of dub. That was a missed opportunity. Yeah, dubbed me in in the beginning and then at the end. Okay. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We could have done that. I am a little bit disappointed that we did not get a chance to record at Neocon because those were fun. But um Also a challenge. Oh yeah, yeah. And kind of always very last minute in terms of planning.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

Yeah, unlike our normal schedule.

SPEAKER_03 1:37

Yeah, where there's at least a few days of planning. I mean, because this one, this is actually the first one where it will be recorded on the day that it goes live.

SPEAKER_01 1:47

Yeah, when I say it's June 15th, it is literally June 15. It is actually June 15th. That's never happened.

SPEAKER_03 1:52

Yeah, sometimes it's been like it, and we're here, it's June 15th, and it's really like we've recorded every yeah, several months prior. Right. So, all right, well, that said, without further ado, I am glad to introduce our friend and uh upcoming fellow board member on the IIDA board. So, yay! Yay uh Jen Mercier. She is the director of interior design at Fifth Dimension Architecture and Interiors here in Birmingham. Um glad to have you, Jen. Welcome to the show. Thanks for being here. Yeah. Um well we will hand over the baton to you if you want to tell the folks a little bit about yourself, a little bit of background, kind of where are you from? Where are you from? Where are you from?

SPEAKER_00 2:30

Oh, you know, a little city outside of Atlanta, you know. One of those? Yeah, one of those. So yeah, I went to West Georgia in Carrollton, graduated with interior design degree um in 2009. So great time to graduate. It was perfect timing. Oh yeah, you know, find that job, that dream job.

SPEAKER_01 2:47

Right, everyone was hiring then.

SPEAKER_00 2:48

Oh yeah. It was great. Um, so wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I had always kind of liked the architecture and interior design side. Um my parents built a house when I was in middle school. They, you know, bought the little programs, I enjoyed playing with it. Thought, okay, I'm gonna be an architect.

SPEAKER_01 3:04

So what did your parents do?

SPEAKER_00 3:06

They hired a home builder.

SPEAKER_01 3:07

Okay. I love the look at our face. She's like, uh that's not quite what I meant by the question. What were what were their professions?

SPEAKER_00 3:18

Like a teacher and electrical engineer.

SPEAKER_01 3:20

Okay, because it was like my parents designed and built our house.

SPEAKER_00 3:22

So it was like, Yeah, so they got to have a lot of control over everything. And then we had a home builder who came in and kind of told them, like, that doesn't work, that does work, but they got to play around in all the cool little programs. Of course, I enjoyed doing that. Um thought I was gonna go to Auburn, go to architectural school, but realized, you know, I could probably get a full ride at West Georgia. So my parents said, go there for a couple years, get your basic classes out of the way. I still wasn't 100% sure what I wanted to do. Um, so I was like, okay, I'll do that. Um, thought about psychology for a hot minute, realized I don't have the patience for that. Um and so our school had yeah, skip over that.

SPEAKER_01 4:01

That's a good thing that you had that realization before you actually had the patience. Okay, okay, can we wrap this up, please?

SPEAKER_00 4:08

I'm not cut out for this. Okay, next. Um, and so when it was time to make that decision, what I want to do, I realized I also don't like math or engineering. So let's try interior design. That's what I ended up doing. Um so graduated in 2009, worked at Bassett Furniture for a while, and of course that market just kind of fluctuated for years. I started competing with those who had been in the industry for a while that were just now coming back. So um I worked at a lot of different places, which was good and bad, because I kind of got to figure out what markets I enjoyed working in. And I worked for really small firms like four to a couple hundred um people at the firm.

SPEAKER_03 4:48

This is all in the Atlanta area.

SPEAKER_00 4:50

This is all in Atlanta. So I was all around the area. I worked for a custom home builder, I worked for a hospitality firm, um, and then I worked for I did commercial spaces, I did film studios, data centers, kind of you name it, except healthcare. And then my last firm is when I got into multifamily. Ended up loving it. Um and some stuff went on and I was looking for a job. I was very lucky that I found fifth dimension within a couple of days, interviewed, they hired me, um, and I was working in the Atlanta market. I was like, I am not leaving. Atlanta's where I'm gonna be. We're gonna grow that Atlanta interior design team. Fast forward to like a year, we ended up hiring like six fresh out of college kids who wanted to go to Birmingham. Nothing.

SPEAKER_01 5:39

This is a big market for the younger generation. That was uh there was an article that came out not not too long ago. That was all Mississippi State.

SPEAKER_03 5:46

Yeah, a lot of Mississippi State.

SPEAKER_00 5:47

Yeah. We had one Sanford, um, Mississippi State. One went to Atlanta, but just became a lot of travel. So they finally wore me down and I moved here four years ago. That's inspiring. They're like, come on, you want to move? I was like, I you can't make me move Atlanta after a while.

SPEAKER_03 6:06

Atlanta's where I'm gonna live my life, and then now you're here in Birmingham. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:10

I love it.

SPEAKER_03 6:12

Well, and that makes sense because when I first I think was when I first met you, it was when I first started working at BI. And I do remember you being in Atlanta because we were like exchanging emails, and I can't remember I didn't, but I didn't know that. And I think I I invited you to something or whatever, and you're like, Yeah, thanks.

SPEAKER_02 6:29

I don't live in Birmingham.

SPEAKER_03 6:30

And then I guess it was like a little while later. I was like, She lied to me. She's here a lot. She lied to me, I think. Yeah, surprise.

SPEAKER_00 6:38

It was a very quick move. I think it was like three weeks when I kind of got the green light to move, found a place, moved. It was very, very quick. So it was a while I was here. I'd have reps from Atlanta who had the market show up, go, wait a minute.

SPEAKER_01 6:51

Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What's going on? Are there two of you?

SPEAKER_00 6:55

It's like, oh, by the way, I moved. I didn't have time to tell you.

SPEAKER_01 7:00

So when you say data center, is that that's what everyone like same thing everybody's talking about now?

SPEAKER_00 7:04

It was ATT data centers at the time. So we kind of did their, they have like the front of house where clients can come in and work, and so we did that customer experience and prototype throughout the country.

SPEAKER_03 7:16

Okay. So not the big like AI data centers that they're talking about. No. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 7:21

We did the pretty front of the house. We left all the tech stuff to them.

SPEAKER_03 7:26

Yeah. Yeah. So how did you get connected to Fifth Dimension while you were in Atlanta?

SPEAKER_00 7:30

LinkedIn.

SPEAKER_03 7:31

Okay. They just posted a job.

SPEAKER_00 7:33

I was looking for a job. Mm-hmm. And I was just I don't remember, it was very quick they posted it, found it. They were looking for somebody to kind of come in and help build, like build their interior design department. Um, because we really didn't have any interiors. And so they knew I did that with my past two firms. And so it was like, hey, do you you know, we can hire you now? I was like, hurry, because I don't have a job. Don't tell me twice. Like, when can you start? It works every time. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:03

This is awesome because I am so unemployed right now.

SPEAKER_00 8:07

It's like funny enough, um, I could start like last week.

SPEAKER_01 8:10

So, how long was it before then they hired six out of school designers?

SPEAKER_00 8:14

It was probably uh six months. So it was straight.

SPEAKER_01 8:18

They went from zero to a bunch. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 8:21

Yeah, it was me and one other girl at the time, and then um we had somebody from Stanford who came in and turned, and then when she came back, we had Mississippi State takeover.

SPEAKER_03 8:32

Yeah. Yeah, I do remember that because it seemed like you guys raised an interior design department like overnight. Overnight, yeah. It's like, yeah, you went from like no one to like, oh like well, well, yeah, we call on fifth dimension, but like you know, you gotta call on like you know, a couple like strategic principles, and then like now it's an entire design studio, right? With a bunch of folks.

SPEAKER_00 8:51

So we got really lucky.

SPEAKER_01 8:52

The film the uh the other thing that was on your you mentioned was the film studios. What were you what were you designing for then?

SPEAKER_00 8:57

So we uh were specifically when I was at the firm with Tyler Perry. So anything that was at his Fort McPherson from the homes that he would film in to his actual film studios to his offices to renovations, new builds, everything. We were his architects in interiors. Wow. Yeah, it was fascinating.

SPEAKER_02 9:15

What firm was that?

SPEAKER_00 9:16

It was with GSB architects. Okay. So they're known um for like their kind of their film studio design. So they've done obviously Atlanta was a huge hub.

SPEAKER_03 9:26

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 9:26

So they've done a lot there. Did you ever meet Tyler Perry or did he ever come in to the I never got to meet and there's one time where I thought I was we prepared for presentation because he flew in, but they shut it down because Obo Oprah was coming in and we couldn't get onto the premises.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

Oh wow, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:45

It's like okay, understand.

SPEAKER_03 9:49

But you went out to those studios.

SPEAKER_00 9:51

I mean, I obviously it was really cool to kind of see the behind the scenes and what goes on to build and design a film studio and I bet like just the open stages and what you have to prep for so that they can come in and build their own stage within it. That's really neat.

SPEAKER_03 10:08

Right. I saw a really great uh interview with him and a quote that I'm not gonna get 100% correct, but I I'm sure he's probably said several times, but where he's talking about building those studios and kind of his whole production team that's his. And he he uses the analogy of you know, the film, you just kind of the film industry historically and just being saturated, and it's like, you know, I got to a point where I realized that there was no room for me at the table, so I built my own table. Right. And that's how he was like, I'm gonna I'm just gonna go do the damn thing. Right, yeah. Um, and start and start. And there's there's other filmmakers that have now kind of followed suit. Yeah, he seems like he's done okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Just a little bit. He's doing all right, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:51

He would walk away.

SPEAKER_03 10:52

He's no trillionaire, but he is probably a billionaire.

SPEAKER_00 10:55

Yeah. He'd walk around in his Medea costume, which made him really tall. So we had to make sure that he could just walk through doors. All of our doors were taller than they should be.

SPEAKER_01 11:03

Oh, that's hysterical.

SPEAKER_00 11:04

So when he'd walk around in costume, he didn't have to duck everywhere. How tall is he? Tall. Let me IMDB that.

SPEAKER_01 11:15

How tall were the doors? Maybe we should ask that question. Do you remember?

SPEAKER_00 11:18

I don't. They're probably all like the typical, like probably eight feet we would do the the really tall ones. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 11:24

But you know, he's the he's he's a fan of this podcast, so he's a good thing. Oh, good. Yeah I assume. I just assume. I heard he listens. Totally. Yes. Chad's making a really great face, like of course, Tyler Perry listens to us. Well, there's first time for everything. I'm gonna tag him in the post when we put this out.

SPEAKER_01 11:42

Awesome. We should. Yeah. Yeah. So let's let's talk about Neocon real quick before we're gonna go to the first time. Yeah, let's talk about Neocon. So, yeah, I'm curious because this you've been to Neocon before, and you said I think it was 2019.

SPEAKER_00 11:53

Yeah, it was right before COVID.

SPEAKER_01 11:54

Right. And so Fulton Market you've not experienced before. So I'm curious knowing, and that's it's a question I've been asking designers, is kind of what are their thoughts on Fulton Market, the dynamic of having two different locations to go to, because now it's now it's not neocon, it's neocon, it's also design day. So now they're kind of dubbing it Chicago Design Week as an overall thing.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

Yeah, it wasn't as crazy for us because when I planned it out, I asked where everybody was located. So Monday for us was at the Mart. So we stayed at the Mart. And then Tuesday was the market. So it wasn't that big. Like I know a lot of people were going back and forth a lot. Right. It's like I'm not gonna do that. Especially open libraries. So Monday we spent at the Mart and then Tuesday we went to Fulton Market. But it was really neat to see how they set it up and how they kind of transformed that whole area.

SPEAKER_01 12:44

But yeah, it's it's it's fascinating and it's kind of interesting to see where it's gonna go. And the it's true, I think, of both sides, the people that are in full market and the the manufacturers that are still in the mart as to where things are gonna if it's gonna get continue to ebb more towards full market, or are we kind of getting to a point? I know um I heard Hayworth just signed a five-year lease at the mark. So they're staying um sit on it's moving out of the mark. So that's a big one that's leaving. Um but and I know the 11th floor, like the 11th floor, it used to be third floor, tenth floor, eleventh floor were the three show floors for the most part. And then there was um temporary space on the seventh, and then there was seventh and eighth, but now it's just seventh. Um but the eleventh floor was mostly empty.

SPEAKER_03 13:28

Um I was gonna ask that because I heard that that this year it was kind of half empty.

SPEAKER_01 13:33

Yeah, there was um uh a CFC group, so um a couple of them had they had line on the tenth floor, and then they've got I guess a line that's up maybe snow sound or something like that on the eleventh. And so they took the uh stairs to go from the tenth to the eleventh, but unfortunately that stairwell emptied out into the empty area.

SPEAKER_03 13:52

Oh not a good vibe.

SPEAKER_01 13:54

Well, they they got trapped because I guess that maybe the because some of those uh stairwells, the door locked behind. So I think the door locked behind them, they were stuck in the dead area. And the Mart had built fake walls on in the hallways to make it look like there's a wall with a door. Oh, and so that's funny. So they were stuck, and they had to call somebody at Snow Center like, could you figure out a way to get us out of here? Is this Morgan and Matt?

SPEAKER_02 14:22

Is this who got stuck? Yeah. Yes. I can't wait to see them.

SPEAKER_00 14:27

Like so, how was your experience? I heard you guys got stuck in a stairwell.

SPEAKER_05 14:32

That's good, great.

SPEAKER_01 14:33

Yeah, but I and then talking to a friend of mine that's a rep, um, she was going back, and this was Monday. I saw her Tuesday morning, and so she's got lines that are in Fulton Market, lines that are in the merchandise mart, and she was like, I took eight Ubers yesterday just during the middle of the day to go back and forth between them.

SPEAKER_03 14:48

Yeah. That adds up. That adds up.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

And it's just well, it's exhausting to like try to make it back and forth. You're trying to make appointments. So I don't know. I think what you did what most people are doing, which is this day's dedicated to the Mart, this day is dedicated to Fulton Market.

SPEAKER_00 15:01

Um I liked how it was spread it felt spread out. Because sometimes at the Mart, like if you're in the heat of it, like you're just kind of crammed with everybody, right trying to find your way. But that one felt like you had plenty of room to kind of see what was going on.

SPEAKER_01 15:15

Yeah. It has, I mean, uh from a most of my lines are in the Mart. And so what's been nice is that because people do split it up, we haven't had quite as like even though you're still seeing everybody because they're they're gonna come to the Mart at one point either Monday or Tuesday, they're not all there at the same day. Right. We don't have the huge crowds. You can still find an elevator or get on an elevator if you need to. Um I don't know. That's kind of interesting.

SPEAKER_00 15:37

I mean, it's been a while since I've been there, but I can tell a big difference. Yeah. I didn't feel that's quite like that closed in.

SPEAKER_03 15:43

How was the weather?

SPEAKER_00 15:45

It was hot.

SPEAKER_03 15:46

Okay. Yeah. I asked this for a very specific reason because I've said this now for years that one year it's gonna happen that it's just gonna rain the whole time. And then that's gonna really change the dynamic of how Fulton Market works.

SPEAKER_01 16:01

There's been we there's been uh days where it's rained so far. Like where like Monday was a complete washout. And I think even I think this year, I can't remember, there was a day where there was some rain, but it wasn't it wasn't an entire day thing. But I know one of the years there was a complete washout on one of the days, and the people that were like, you know, because they split it up and they made appointments for Fulton Market on say Monday, and that was the day that got rained out, they were like, uh Yeah, you know, and there was one year where it was just brutally hot, it was hot this year, but it was more humidity versus the heat. Um, but the first year one of our manufacturers has a showroom over there and they'd moved over, and so we went to go see it, and it was brutally hot out, and their air conditioning wasn't working in the unit that they oh no, yeah, yeah. So inside inside their showroom was like 80 something degrees. People walk in and they're like, Nope. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So it it will be good, and I think you're right. I mean, that's that's you know, it's kind of different between like an open-air um mall versus an you know entirely enclosed mall.

SPEAKER_00 17:01

It's a completely different experience for both.

SPEAKER_01 17:03

Yeah, it makes sense to me. It makes sense for the large manufacturers to be in a space that's totally theirs that they don't have to deal with the Mart and negotiate every year. Um it's more of a space that they can use 24 set or you know, year-round versus just during show days. Um for smaller manufacturers, I don't think it makes as much sense because you're less likely to get designers just popping in versus if you're in the Mart and you go by a window and you're like, oh, that's cool, you might pop in there and check it out, whereas that's not gonna happen in full.

SPEAKER_03 17:35

Did you do anything fun, extracurricular while you're in Chicago?

SPEAKER_01 17:41

Based on photos they did.

SPEAKER_00 17:42

So mad that I'm a huge Braves fan. How I didn't know they were there. I mean, again, I was trying to survive after you know my vacation and going straight to Chicago. Yeah, yeah, we'll talk about that too.

SPEAKER_03 17:53

That you went from Tampa to Chicago. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:55

Don't do that again. Um I was so mad that I didn't know they were there. But um on Monday, after all of our appointments in the Mart, um, we kind of chilled for a little bit and then we went to London House, the rooftop. Yeah. Yeah, that's good. And then on Tuesday, we were able to do the architectural boat tour. That was with Shaw, right? Mm-hmm. And then went to dinner at Maxwell Trading Five Fold Move. Oh. Amazing.

SPEAKER_03 18:21

What's it called?

SPEAKER_01 18:22

Maxwell Trading. Maxwell Trading.

SPEAKER_00 18:23

Okay. It is amazing. Highly recommend. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 18:27

Add it to the list. Had you done the architectural boat tour before? Okay.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

Yeah, I had done it years ago. Right. Of course, but like on the seven.

SPEAKER_03 18:34

It's a win every time. Did you guys stay just on the river or did you go out into the lake?

SPEAKER_00 18:38

This time we stayed just on the river. Last time we actually went out.

SPEAKER_03 18:41

Yeah, it was actually last year, and the many times that I've been lucky enough to go on the boat tour that I didn't know that there were options. Because it was either one I wasn't paying attention when I myself was booking them, or somebody else was booking them and I was just an attendee. That there is the option to do kind of like a half river and then go out into the lake.

SPEAKER_00 18:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:00

And the lake is kind of a whole different experience because you go out into Lake Michigan where you get these really cool panoramic views of the city.

SPEAKER_00 19:08

Yeah, that's what we did this time. Um, it was on when the they have like 200-something volunteers and like history like historian, all that kind of stuff. He's retired. So it was really cool because he knew just kind of everything and little like um just little bitty facts along the way that you probably wouldn't get on a normal tour.

SPEAKER_01 19:27

I've only been once, and that was the weird neocon that was in October of 2021. So 2020 there was no neocon, and then 2021 they pushed it to October, and nobody was up there. And so we're like, hey, we can actually like leave the mart. No one's here, so let's go do other things. Yeah. So we uh we did the architectural boat tour and it was right it was right at sunset, and that was phenomenal to watch to watch the city change because you know, going from you know, none of the lights are on and then then it gets dark and then all the lights are on, and that was cool. And they they go out in the lake, but they just kind of turn around in the lake and come back, you know. Yeah, yeah. Um but yeah, that was fantastic.

SPEAKER_00 20:04

Yeah, it was really cool.

SPEAKER_01 20:05

So were there any uh trends that you picked up? Like it seems like whenever it like you go from showroom to showroom, and unfortunately this year I didn't get a chance to really get outside of my showroom. So um, but sometimes it's either color trends or everyone's you know using the same light fixtures or they're using the same uh seconds are everywhere.

SPEAKER_00 20:25

Yeah, there are a lot of trends, um, a lot of saturated colors. We saw a lot of like purple too and like burgundy, a lot of botanical kind of themed throughout. So of course like a lot of greens. Um so we really caught on to that and acoustics, a huge thing this year. We felt like everybody had something they were promoting for acoustics. I mean, obviously the panels is ceiling, uh flooring rubs, like it was just kind of everywhere. Yeah. So that's kind of cool, you know, it's so quick. You're just running from showroom to showroom to see everything. So it was cool to kind of step back and go, Did you catch on that you noticed this kind of trend everywhere? You kind of take that back.

SPEAKER_03 21:05

Right. Do you take notes or just take a thousand pictures? Like what do you or do you just do neither? You know, I was trying to survive at that time. Yeah, she'd come from Tampa. Yeah, yeah. So once you tell people you don't have to go into details of your personal life, but we've we've talked, we've mentioned Tampa several times. So what happened before Chicago?

SPEAKER_00 21:23

So my best friend turned 40, and so we went, I flew down Thursday, and just hung out and you know, just partied up Friday and Saturday, surviving on Sunday, flew straight to Chicago and you know. Straight in straight straight into Neocon. I'm surprised I survived.

SPEAKER_01 21:41

It's a lot, that's a lot, it's a lot, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:44

Uh I was exhausted. Yeah. But it was a lot of fun. I wouldn't take it back. But next time I would probably add, you know, a day of rest.

SPEAKER_03 21:52

Yeah, yeah. Or just don't celebrate the 41st birthday. Just be like, look, yeah, like can we make her a birthday up and then? Yeah, come on. 41. Nobody cares about Fortnite. No one cares. No one cares. Yeah. 45 and 50. Do it then.

SPEAKER_00 22:05

Just ask them if your birthday. Can you just like have it at a different time? Thanks.

SPEAKER_03 22:09

Did you guys stay in the city or did you stay over in Fulton Market?

SPEAKER_00 22:13

We stayed in the city. It's one of the ones Necon recommended. It was a really cute boutique hotel. You mentioned that question.

SPEAKER_01 22:22

Right.

SPEAKER_00 22:22

It was really good. And you said it was great. Yeah, it was amazing. And um Coger's like, how did you find him? We went on Nikon and said, okay, you're the closest. Not bad pricing. You're available. Done.

SPEAKER_01 22:34

Done.

unknown 22:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 22:34

That's how we book our hotels here, because yeah, because Fulton Market, there are hotels there. Um some of them are kind of boutique, but also there's a lot of the the manufacturers and their employees or the aligned dealers are going in nine, ten months in advance and booking 20, 24 roadblocks in those full-to-market hotels. Because they're not, since it's not part of air quotes here neocon, they're not in that neocon booking system for the hotels. So I was just curious because yeah, we've kind of moved around this year. We sent up very few people this year just because just our client list was a little low in terms of going up. And then I went to Auburn, of course, for the RDT nice. I had priorities. Right. You were planning on going. I had bought a plane ticket. Right. Yeah. I was planning on going up Saturday and coming back Monday because I did not want to risk coming back into Alabama on Tuesday and then trying to get device and make it down to Auburn. Yeah, and then I just missed the whole thing. Um and then there was just yeah, it was just, it was a little bit just again from our perspective, just kind of few people going. That's how we choose which are which ones of our salespeople go is client-based and and firm based. Um we also had some people that were out of town as well, so um that were on vacation at that time. So so yeah, so it got to be about a month in advance, and I canceled my plane ticket and was like, I'm fully committing to like just not gonna worry about it.

SPEAKER_01 24:04

And I showed you because I ran into Richie, um, one of their sales reps here at BI. Um, he had his paper list of where he was gonna go and what he was doing. It was just his kind of you know, butch manufacturers and witch reps, and and it was uh it was it was interesting.

SPEAKER_03 24:20

It was the uh it was like the Russell Crowe beautiful mind meme or the Charlie Day conspiracy theory meme on the wall.

SPEAKER_01 24:30

Just I mean, just so much so much ink on one piece of paper and things scratched out in little notes this way and that way. And so I took a picture of him holding it up and he's making a funny facial expression. But I was like, this is this is what happened, Marks, when you're not here because Mark's usually yeah, Mark's usually the one to coordinate things.

SPEAKER_03 24:45

I know I know where people are and I help coordinate you know rep visits because we go up there and and and this is you know everybody's goal, but going up there with intention of like these are the people that we're gonna see, and we're gonna, you know, we're not there. I gave my same speech to the people who went up this year that you know you're not there to go to bed at 5 30 and you're not there to get up at 10. Right? Like you've got to get up and and be with people and go see our reps and go see the showrooms and go see our clients that are in town. Um, and so even if they're not with kind of our main group, I still kind of have a feel for where everybody is at any given time. Like this year, like I said, we had three people this year, last year we probably had 10. Right. Um, and some of that's just like, okay, like we're gonna be here at the same time, like let's go see Chad, you know, during this time. Yeah, and then you sent me the picture of Richie, and it was just like, what the actual did everybody else know you weren't going?

SPEAKER_00 25:40

Or were they just like waiting for you up there and you're like, oh, my bad.

SPEAKER_01 25:43

Hey, where's our dinner reservation?

SPEAKER_00 25:45

Yeah, yeah, I missed my flight. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:49

Were we staying? Yeah, don't worry about it. You're on your own.

SPEAKER_01 25:52

Yeah, we do uh we do a verbo, um, and so it's a three-bedroom that we our reps do, um, which has been great. And I am happy to report that the liquor that we hid last year was still uh in the still in the unit. Nice. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:06

Have you heard about this that he does this?

SPEAKER_00 26:08

No.

SPEAKER_01 26:09

Yeah, so you know, we rent, it's it's you know, a three-bedroom condo in essence. Uh so has kitchen, you know, full kitchen and you know, living room. And so it's really nice for us as a group because it gives us a home base versus just a little, you know, um, a bedroom where, and especially if you've got other people there, if you've got multiple people, it's like, okay, well, meet, you know, what time are we gonna eat in the morning? And we don't have to worry about it, everyone's just in the living room, you make breakfast, whatnot. And so we all carry on. Um, so if we have any liquor left over from our trip, you can't take it with you because it won't go in the bag. So we hide it knowing that we're gonna rent the same place next year. We hide it in the unit, and so far we're batting a thousand. We've so good.

SPEAKER_00 26:51

Well, now that this has come out, everybody's gonna figure out where this cargo is. Right, yeah, like there's free liquor in the cabinet check all the next and crazies.

SPEAKER_02 27:01

You guys get banned because people are renting a unit and then tearing it apart looking for half-ful bottles of bourbon.

SPEAKER_03 27:09

Uh they're always beautiful, it's always like you've got a beautiful view and balcony, and like it's a very nice like entertainment space.

SPEAKER_01 27:16

Yeah, yeah, it's good to it's nice to have to be able to bring people up if we want to just say because and that happened this year where um Saturday night uh Carmen and Lauren were taking Dea out to dinner and had invited me, which was nice of them to do. But Lauren's flight got delayed, and so initially it was gonna be a 6:30 dinner, and then Carmen was like, Hey, uh, can we push back the dinner a little bit? And it's like, sure, you know, she's like, Um, maybe 7, 7:30. And we're like, I was like, we didn't eat until eight last night, night before. So yes, Chicago, it's fine. Um, and then it got pushed back to 8:30. So uh, but the place was it was two blocks from my where we're staying. And so I ended up texting them and was like, hey, you know, if you know, if if you get you know in town soon enough, Lauren gets into town early, or Dia or Carmen, whoever, you're welcome to come over and uh and have a drink. And Dia was like, I'm on my way. You know, it's kind of like I'll just stop I'm already outside. Yeah. Yeah. So she came over and you know, we just sat up there and had a drink for about an hour and then walked over to the restaurant.

SPEAKER_03 28:16

So what and what restaurant was that?

SPEAKER_01 28:18

That one was oh man, I just had it earlier when she was talking about her restaurant. Because I was like, Oh, I'd not been to this one before, and it's not coming to me.

SPEAKER_03 28:26

Because I tried it, it'll come to you as soon as we stop recording. I try every time we go, I try not to go to dinner the same place.

SPEAKER_01 28:33

The Franklin Room, I think is what it was.

SPEAKER_03 28:35

I think I've heard it, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:36

Yeah, the Franklin Room. And it's got a huge, huge, huge whiskey selection. Like you walk in the front door, whiskey bourbon, like there's just whiskey and bourbon going down all the walls. That's not where I met Aaron and I met you and Lou last year. No. Yeah, okay. No, that place was crazy. No, this one, this one is a pretty sm it's pretty small. Like that one was massive. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um but cheap stools. Oh, the worst stools that ever.

SPEAKER_00 29:00

That's what you remember.

SPEAKER_03 29:01

It's a furniture back. Yeah, a bunch of furniture people, but like they weighed a pound at that.

SPEAKER_01 29:07

I mean, they were the lightest, flimsiest.

SPEAKER_03 29:10

These were like Timu stools, like they weren't even like Amazon stools. Yeah. Well, that's the one. Before we sat down. Oh, yeah. Before we my wife and I sat down, Chad and his brother were like, be careful. And we were like, what? And they're like, they're like, these stools are pieces of shit. And like, okay, like, alright, did it? And I sit on it and I'm like, whoa. Okay. This and it was a nice place. It was a really nice place.

SPEAKER_01 29:34

It was at the bar. Yeah, very dangerous. Yes. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:39

And they did, like they had no, I mean these they weighed as much as these microphones. Like it was just awful. Right. Um. But yeah, there's just so many great places in Chicago that anytime anybody goes out to dinner, I'm like, okay, where'd you go? Where'd you go? Where'd you go? Yeah. Because I want to go there next time. So all right. So maybe we should talk about um talk about now that we we've crossed neoconopolis. We're gonna get into neocon in design days. Yeah, like I said, the starships. We weren't there this year.

SPEAKER_01 30:04

I mean, we're we're half an hour in. So half half the podcast. That's largely gone. Scratch some of my FOMO itch. Yeah. You know. So what inspired you to become an intent? You'd be very kind of covered that.

SPEAKER_00 30:16

Uh what was my answer?

SPEAKER_01 30:18

That was your parents designed and built your house with their own hands. Yeah. I did want to like teacher and the electrical engineer. One of the questions I do want to ask, just because I've got a side story, because this is more about Mark and I than you. Um, sounds about right. I have listened to the podcast before. Uh which was can you share a specific project that was particularly inspiring for you?

SPEAKER_00 30:41

Yeah, so at my last firm, um, I worked on a project, Stockyards, in Nashville, and it was the first project that I truly was able to take the lead on. So that one stood out to me because it was very unique as a multifamily um that they took like this historic building that was really important to Nashville. Um, so we basically restored it and added amenities, part of it became townhomes, um, trying to figure out the history, did a lot of research into it. They had this kind of cigar lounge where the men could go um down at the basement. So we made like a speakeasy kind of club room down there, and then we added a new part off to the back that had all the multifamily rooftop amenity. Um, so that one was really cool just because I learned a lot. And my client, um, she was one that loved to push the boundary, which is kind of hard sometimes. Um, and so she was like, Well, what's new? And they're ones that they sell their property to. So they're like, let's have fun with it. We're not holding on to it. Um So what's cool and trendy? Um, and you know, what will sell? And so we were able to have a lot of fun with it and kind of push the boundaries on the design, materials that were used, the FFNE. Um, so that one has always kind of stuck out to me because I've got to be a good one.

SPEAKER_03 31:57

So you said you were the lead, you were the lead designer on that one? Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:01

So I've always kind of, you know, an assistant or you know, just kind of helping out, but this is the first one I was able to kind of step up. So it's always just stuck out to me because I just learned so much and had so much fun with it. Right. I mean, I love my other projects, but that was the first one. Right, the first one, and then also you have It's gone downhill since I've got to be a little bit of so much control.

SPEAKER_01 32:19

Yeah, yeah. Well, I'm from Nashville originally, and so I remember in I want to say it's like it was either it was probably early high school, like so. Maybe I was a freshman or sophomore in high school, but we there was a restaurant called the Stockyards in that area. Uh and I remember going to it, you know, at that age you don't pay too close attention to things like I knew it was a fancy restaurant, like there's a lot of wood paneling and whatever. Um, and there was a a celebrity that was in the restaurant called Minnesota Fats, who was a uh, and I didn't know who he was, but my parents, somebody I it was probably that you know, maybe the server said something like, Oh, Minnesota Fats is over there. My parents knew who that was. That was a uh professional pool player that was well known.

SPEAKER_03 33:02

Oh, I was gonna go with like jazz musician.

SPEAKER_01 33:04

Right, yeah, yeah. So my memory of this, and I I did look it up this morning because I'm like, okay, my memory of this was that there was this professional pool player called Minnesota Fats. My parents told us we should go get his autograph. And so we went over to get his autograph and he pulled out a stamp and he and he stamped the autograph. And so this morning I looked up, like, okay, is my memory correct on this? Was there a pool player named Minnesota Fats, and is the stamp thing a thing? And absolutely was. So that he's well known for not writing his own signature, but having a stamp that he would stamp an autograph, and those autographs still are worth money, like $100 to $500, depending on what he's he's stamped.

SPEAKER_05 33:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:51

How many famous professional people are going to be able to do that? That was another thing. Yeah, that was like definitely autographs exciting. My hands tired. Definitely from another time. Yeah, I think I can't bother my children. Yeah. Oh, that's funny. Yeah, I guess maybe their hands are maybe holding on to it gets, you know, their hands cramp up and then they can't see it. Yeah, I don't know. Yeah, so that was my that was my stock it was.

SPEAKER_00 34:15

I think it's the same place because it was a restaurant before it closed down. Okay. So yeah, it's probably that.

SPEAKER_03 34:22

All right. Before you started at Fifth Dimension, had you managed people before?

SPEAKER_00 34:28

Yes. So the one where I was at the film studios and data center, very similar, they hired me to kind of start their interior design department. They had interiors but not someone in-house. Um so I worked that's what I did, so I kind of started their department. And of course, one of those fluxes in the market um led me to my next firm. And um when our manager Lata kind of stepped up and kind of helped made it. That's the time to do it. Yep. Yep. Everybody else like, not it. I was looking the other way.

SPEAKER_01 35:05

Everyone took one step back. Yes, disappear into the bushes. Yeah. You you mentioned um, you know, you with the stockyards that they wanted things that were trendy. And that was one of the questions was kind of how do you incorporate and balance um design trends with creating a timeless interior. And I really enjoyed your response on that. Do you remember? Yeah. What did I read?

SPEAKER_00 35:28

Yeah, I had a client um who kind of just told us about their like, hey, this is a way of subscribe to me, this is how I like to look at how you're doing your finishes. And it kind of always stuck with me that you know, sometimes you look at a client, they just don't want anything really trendy because they're holding on to their property. So like in five years, I don't want to tear out half of this because we picked a really like cool color or all the flooring is really different. Um, so there's like three kind of levels to it the background, middle ground, and foreground. So when we're designing, we make the background just very timeless. Um, so when we're showing our clients, we're like, it may look really simple, but that's because we haven't added the layers yet. So your background is gonna be, you know, your main flooring, your all your walls, all the big elements that if you were to change it out, you'd basically have to like shut it down, type of thing.

SPEAKER_01 36:17

So it's more of a blank canvas to that.

SPEAKER_00 36:18

Yeah, so these are the parts that we're gonna keep kind of timeless that we think you know we'll really hold on. And then the middle ground are kind of those insets, the accent tile, maybe some accent walls, some feature lighting, that if they were to replace it, you're just ripping out a backsplash. You're not ripping out an entire kitchen. So we do all these cool things. Um and that's when we'll do, you know, some built-ins, that kind of thing, but we try to layer it, and then the like the foreground is all the FFNE. Like what can we really add character to it? That again, five, ten years, if it's a new management company or if you want to replace it, you're just replacing artwork or furniture or accessories. Right. So when we're designing, we kind of take that step back and we're like, here's the background. You know, do you like it? We see this holding on, but now let's add another layer. And then as we start laying it, the clients kind of see oh, we understand what they're doing. Right. Instead of throwing everything out at them once and all they see is dollar signs in five years.

SPEAKER_01 37:16

Right. Yeah. I just thought it was a unique way of describing it. Because we've had people in the past talk about, you know, keeping the bones of it timeless and then adding kind of trendy things that can be replaced easily. But I don't think we've had anybody kind of mention it in kind of these those little three layers and it kind of turns out. That's good. People were gonna steal that.

SPEAKER_00 37:35

Go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 37:35

Way to go.

SPEAKER_00 37:36

I don't remember who I stole it from, so we can just say that I made it up. It was all me in his brain. It was all you.

SPEAKER_01 37:42

Yeah. The other um another one that I I enjoyed in your response was talking about budget constraints um while still achieving a studying design and kind of how you all approach um specifying products, but then also having a backup.

SPEAKER_00 37:57

Yeah, so uh, first thing the client will say is we have a budget. Right. Or we're not sure what the budget is, but please keep budget in mind.

SPEAKER_05 38:06

Right. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 38:07

Yeah. Okay. Do you prefer the first one more?

SPEAKER_00 38:10

Um no, because I feel like it kind of like there's a constraint on it. Um because sometimes a client goes, I really want this to be a feature, we can actually spend a little more money. And so majority, nine times out of ten, they're like, Okay, let's design the space, keep budget in mind, but we're not gonna give you a budget.

SPEAKER_05 38:28

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 38:28

And then we'll go through the e-process. So, you know, a lot of times I'll look at a project and go, okay, we can design all those cool elements, but I have a feeling if something was to be cut, these items may be cut. So let's go ahead and have a backup option so they can, if they start freaking out, you know, the pricing goes up, it's in two years they're doing it. We have a backup option instead of you know a contractor coming going, all right, here's just a middle for the flooring that's already been approved and it doesn't match anything. So we'll go ahead and have a backup to it. Um, or even talking with a client going, okay, well, what is your main priority? Because I do a lot of multifamily, so it's okay, the leasing of the club room, and let's start working our way out. So this is where we're gonna spend the money. So if you look at something, it's a really expensive backsplash or a light feature, we balance it out over here. So just wait until you see the entire design. And then we'll go through the exercise with you.

SPEAKER_01 39:23

Yeah. I just I like the idea of I guess in the furniture side, you know, we'll see there there'll be bids that'll come out where there's specs that go and then they end up getting switched. Um and there it seems like, you know, Mark, you can correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like at times where there's this huge call for products and there's all this big evaluation over, you know, we're gonna use this chair here, and we're gonna use this, um, the bid happens, and then whoever gets awarded it, and you st you start looking at the budget and it's like, uh, you know, we gotta make changes. And a lot of stuff gets switched that I don't know it don't seem to really line up with what was originally specified.

SPEAKER_00 39:59

Yeah, we try to work directly with our reps. Like that's always been my fate is the rep knows more about their products than you do. So lean on them. And so I really try to get our clients and contractors to understand, like, we put their contact in there for a reason. So they've worked with us on their project, they've seen our vision. So, you know, I have some right now going, Hey, I got this email, they're swapping it out. Are you okay with it? Like, am I okay to provide an alternate?

SPEAKER_05 40:25

Right.

SPEAKER_00 40:25

Like, I think this will work better. Are you okay with that? I'm like, that's how it should work.

SPEAKER_03 40:29

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think a lot of times to your point, Chad, I think a lot of times that happens was when not always, but when there's not a budget conversation.

SPEAKER_01 40:37

Right.

SPEAKER_03 40:37

And people are just like, oh, like, okay. Yeah. Or there's a misunderstood budget, you know. It's like, oh, like we've got, I'm just making up numbers, but like, oh, we got a million dollars to spend or whatever. And people are going in and they're they're they're building their bid package on that, or the A and D firm's building on that, and then it comes out and even the client's like, oh, actually we don't want to spend a billion dollars, we want to spend half a million dollars. Right.

SPEAKER_01 40:58

And then but the million dollars incorporated more these other things that weren't just yeah, right.

SPEAKER_03 41:03

Yeah, so now there's some now there's also this mad dash of like, okay, we're gonna swap this table for this table, and this, you know. Right. Um, it just it it never ceases to amaze me, even as I've been in the industry now for ten years, as to how how far along a project can get where things just all of a sudden start flipping. I mean, you I know you've experienced firsthand where it's like, oh well now my I had product on there the whole time, and then we get two weeks out from final approval being it's like, oh yeah, oh hey, by the way, chance.

SPEAKER_01 41:36

Sorry, we had to swamp that up. Yeah, it's like none of this is getting in there now.

SPEAKER_03 41:40

And it's like, what happened? It's like, well.

SPEAKER_01 41:42

Yeah. You see, what happened was I kind of I guess maybe what drew me to that was I kind of like the idea of in the bid submission that it could be, okay, this is the this is what we want. Um, but this is also this is something that we f we know is a less price point, but still meets the kind of design that we're going for. We know it's not quite the same, but it's close enough, and we know it's a lower price point. So that the dealers, when they're doing the bids, they've got the two bids there already. Yeah. Um and then then once it gets awarded, there could be the conversation of okay, well, in these areas we actually we have to, we really the client really wants these pieces. Over here, we can go to the the B plan for those other products, but it's already worked out versus the bid happens and then everything. It's a you know kind of a mad dash to try to figure out how to do that.

SPEAKER_00 42:32

Instead of it coming back, I'm like, okay, well, that gives us time to work with the rep and the timeline and make sure that because a lot of time the client doesn't see that, you know, that their stuff is being VE'd. They just say, Hey, we're updating the budget, and then when they're not happy with the designs, like what what were we supposed to do? So having it at the front end, having that conversation's been helpful.

SPEAKER_01 42:55

What what are the um you guys I mean I could we haven't specifically asked the question, but largely you do multi multi-two. Yeah, talk about talk about fifth dimension.

SPEAKER_00 43:04

So I'm at fifth dimension. Hi, my name is Jen. Let's go back to Dan.

SPEAKER_01 43:09

Can we talk about Nick and all the more favorite bar?

SPEAKER_00 43:12

A little bit about me. Yeah, so we mainly do multifamily, it's just kind of our bread and butter. Um, I mean, we also do, you know, offices and hotels and like we did the battery over here. But our interiors department is really focused on multifamilies because our clients, the word of mouth, were just which is a good thing. That's how we grew so quickly was you know, Dan's built this great company, and so we were a little, you know, not sure if they were gonna keep the interiors that they were using, but when they came in, they're like, No, we left Fifth Dimension. You have an interiors department? Great. So all of a sudden we start having all these projects. They love us and 'cause we're awesome. And then you know we take notes architects. Yeah. We're amazing. So nice.

SPEAKER_01 43:59

So what are um What are some trends that you see in that particular field multi-field?

SPEAKER_00 44:05

Um It's kind of been the same cookie cutter as far as policing. You want the club room with the game. And so what we're trying to do is show the clients the new, you know, quote unquote trends, what we're seeing, what are their competitors doing. And it's hard when we come up going, hey, they're doing a golf simulator, they're doing a sport simulator. Wellness is a huge thing. So we see dry saunas and cold plunges coming out instead of having like this big yoga, people aren't doing the classes anymore. Um they're doing more of the big fitness and then they're doing like these wellness centers. Um just because a lot of multifamily hasn't been really built enough yet to have the quote unquote data for it. Okay. Um but we're kind of seeing pushing that boundary. And of course, co-working is now turned into a cafe lounge.

SPEAKER_01 44:51

So people are still wanting a business center anymore.

SPEAKER_00 44:53

Yeah, we still have private rooms, but it's not I mean, COVID changed a lot, but if people want to work, they can rent out a private room or they just need to get out of their apartment. So it's more kind of a lounge set up to where they can they can work there.

SPEAKER_03 45:07

But do you where are y'all's clients? Like like are you you guys kind of work all over the country, don't you?

SPEAKER_00 45:13

Yeah, we work all over. A lot in the southeast. I mean, we have a you know office in um Denver and Oh I didn't know you had one in Denver. Yeah, we have one in Denver and we have one in Austin. Um a lot of our projects. You just real casually said that too. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 45:29

You do projects all over. Yeah, I mean we know we've got a we've got an office in Denver.

SPEAKER_00 45:32

We have a couple of other office. One in Austin.

SPEAKER_03 45:34

Yeah, one in Denver, yeah, one in Paris. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:37

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 45:38

We're we're we're around.

SPEAKER_00 45:39

We joke, we have one in Germany because one of our co-workers um moved over there. So we know we're overseas now. Now we're now licensed. We're licensed international. Um a lot of our projects are in Florida. We get just our clientele down there, we keep doing a lot of projects. Um, Carolina's huge market, and then Dallas has been kind of growing.

SPEAKER_03 46:03

So do you travel a lot for work?

SPEAKER_00 46:05

I did. I traveled a lot, especially because my team is so young. So I was going to train them. Thankfully.

SPEAKER_01 46:10

Now they're trained.

SPEAKER_00 46:11

They're trained. Now you took it to go adventure.

SPEAKER_03 46:14

Yeah. Which one of your team is your favorite? Good question. And which is your least favorite?

SPEAKER_00 46:21

Yeah, let me rank them right now. Yeah, rank them blind rank. They're all listening, going, What's she gonna say?

SPEAKER_03 46:27

Oh, they're gonna listen for sure. Is this where we give Ryan grief, or are we gonna wait till we're gonna go?

SPEAKER_00 46:34

Well, when um I was like, hey, I'm leaving, you know, early today for the podcast. He was like, Well, I was asked first. I was like, but you did not respond. He was he was asked first, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 46:44

Technically, he was we were trying to get uh yeah, one of one of your designers, uh Ryan, on the show. We're trying for months now.

SPEAKER_01 46:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 46:52

I mean months and months.

SPEAKER_01 46:54

And he hasn't said no. No, right, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 46:59

He's like, he was falling on deadlines. I was like, well, I can move those, you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's right.

SPEAKER_03 47:04

To give credit where credit was due, Jen was like, I can basically make him go on the show. And then Chad and I decided to pivot and we're like, no, we'll just ask you. Thanks.

SPEAKER_01 47:16

Right, and we'll and we'll talk about him. Yeah, we'll just talk about him.

SPEAKER_00 47:20

You're not here to defend yourself.

SPEAKER_03 47:22

We're just gonna assume he's at the bottom of the list and and we'll leave it a thought. Yeah. So um I I do have a question about, and we're gonna bounce around a little bit, I'm sure, but like, so you're joining the IIDA board.

SPEAKER_00 47:34

I am.

SPEAKER_03 47:35

Are you excited about this?

SPEAKER_00 47:36

I'm excited. I was heavily involved in Atlanta.

SPEAKER_03 47:39

That's a good answer. Good answer. Oh, I forgot that that's really good.

SPEAKER_00 47:42

So it's it's not new to me. Um, I was heavily involved in Atlanta, and that's kind of where I really was able to kind of dig into the community and meet new people. Um, it was just so much flux when I moved here. And so it's like, you know what?

SPEAKER_03 47:57

So four years now, you're like, uh it's time for me to join the Zoom.

SPEAKER_00 48:01

Well, I tried last year.

SPEAKER_03 48:02

Oh. Oh. I know. You say that with a little bit of a little bit of a charge.

SPEAKER_01 48:07

No, yeah. We're very low down on the uh pole.

SPEAKER_00 48:10

We are so this year, I guess, you know, just warmed down. They're like, oh, this girl again. I just messaged everybody, hey, um, there's a nomination. Here's the link.

SPEAKER_03 48:20

Someone's like, oh, she lives here now. Right.

SPEAKER_01 48:23

Yeah, yeah. She wasn't kidding. She she really wants to do something.

SPEAKER_00 48:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:27

What's your role gonna be?

SPEAKER_00 48:29

So I am uh vice president of like, oh my gosh, what's the direct title? Like the CEUs, um professional development. There you go. Okay, yeah. Doing well so far. You know, that thing. Wait, I'm gonna name talk somewhere. What does it say?

SPEAKER_01 48:46

Is it official she's gonna be? Maybe we can make a change before. Have we voted on the slate?

SPEAKER_00 48:52

Yeah. Yeah, that one.

SPEAKER_01 48:54

Okay. Is it what was your role in Atlanta? What were you similar or different?

SPEAKER_00 48:58

So I was on the committee for like all the events over there. So yeah, a little different. A little different. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 49:04

But they got a little bit more people. They do. They do. They do.

SPEAKER_00 49:08

Yeah. It was a whole committee for everything. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 49:12

So I went, I was that was part of NECON. Go back to Nikon because I really want to go back to talking about that. Um I was up at CLC, which is the I guess chapter leadership conference, is what it's called, uh, for IDA, because it was focused on city centers, and I'm VP of City Centers. And so I got to go to that and um did learn that we run our city centers totally different than everybody else in the country. Oh. For better or for different. Just for different. Just for different. I mean, I think we're we're smaller. I mean, there was I think there was another uh chapter that runs it similar to how we do it, but we almost run it more like those that don't have any city centers than those that do. Um because other chapters are either much larger, like Georgia's huge, or they're multiple states. And so they've got these city centers that are really spread out. Um and so theirs is very much so talking about committees, they have these like city center committees that do and and you know special events and CEUs all fall under city centers, right? Like it's uh run by these city centers. Um whereas ours is we've got somebody that does professional development, so CEUs, we've got people that do the the events, um we've got a comms team that does it, so it's kind of like we we do we've got these people that do things for the entire um chapter, and then city centers, we've got a northern and a central, and we're we're there to kind of just fill in the calendar with things throughout so that you know kind of keeps the cohesive you know community together, you know, is kind of the idea. But it was different because they'd be like, All right, we're now gonna talk about committees. And we're like, great. You guys, you guys knock yourselves out. Yeah, you know, we do.

SPEAKER_02 50:50

We call our committee the board.

SPEAKER_00 50:52

Yeah, I actually asked, I was like, so do we have a committee? And I think uh a blank stare, and they're like, oh no, it it's you and you have somebody, and I was like, Oh, okay, awesome.

SPEAKER_01 51:01

Yeah, yeah, yeah. There was um we did um speed dating was the first, it's very intense, the whole thing's very intense. And so uh this is Saturday. Um Dea met me, it was just Dia and I that were up there, and uh so she was she was very nice. I'd heard from multiple people uh that the coffee at IDA headquarters is terrible, and so the night before travels. Uh so Dea had like the night before is like, What coffee do you want? I'll pick up coffee. I'm like, this is great. So she gets my coffee, we meet in the lobby, we go upstairs, uh uh Cheryl uh kind of kicks it off, welcomes everybody, and then it's speed dating. Um so Dee and I are moving from table to table to talk about city centers, and after like the first table, we're like, uh we do this different. You know, so so we could we go to the next table, and it's like, all right, the new topic is this. It was still city centers, and it was kind of like, all right, before we get into the conversation, this is how we run things. Yeah. Before we get too deep. Um, and then we broke out after that. It was uh some um individual like the discussion groups, like it was this big group, like each you count it off, and I think there were there were probably 10 different groups, but you'd go off to a certain area and then you'd talk for 45 minutes on a topic, and then you'd talk for another 45 minutes on a topic. But again, it was a lot about the committees and things, so it's like I have not talked less in a group. Which is unusual. Yeah, I wouldn't I I pretended I was writing a lot of stuff.

SPEAKER_03 52:29

Yeah, you're like just not applicable, not applicable.

SPEAKER_01 52:32

Smiley face, smiley face, smiley face.

SPEAKER_03 52:34

Are you are you taking Mary Whitney's spot or are you gonna be working with Mary Whitney's taking her spot?

SPEAKER_00 52:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 52:40

So it's gonna be easy. Yeah, no, you got it. So if coming from Atlanta, you were like part of like the Bob Awards and all that all those massive. All those big ones.

SPEAKER_00 52:52

Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah. The Bob Awards was one of the last big ones I did. Um this should be easy. This is so easy. Thankfully, they're very organized. They had like a lot planned out for the year. I was like, oh, well, just will you just send me that information you already did? Right, and I'll catch up.

SPEAKER_03 53:10

So the first six months are set, is what you'd say.

SPEAKER_01 53:12

Yeah, and then I get you know, shout out to Mary Whitney. She's done a great job. Oh, for sure. And and we have a board meeting every month, and she usually she talks like each each one says a thing. You know, we go through the different positions and they kind of give an update what's happened the last month. She usually talks like talks the longest because she's got like this huge like, all right, we got this thing, we got this thing. So she's done a phenomenal job. And then it gets to me, and I'm like, yeah, um, we had a podcast, uh, and then uh I don't know, got a couple things, and it gets to Mark. Mark's like, no updates. Even shorter.

SPEAKER_03 53:42

VP of web applications.

SPEAKER_01 53:44

The website's still website's still up. Yeah. Well done. We're good. We're good. I did want to live. I did want to ask before we get towards the end here. Um, so your job uh as you've written is to guide, teach, and encourage your team. Um so I kind of wanted to point that out and then ask what advice do you have for upcoming designers?

SPEAKER_00 54:04

Um yeah, so I think my my way of managing, I mean, like, you know, I've kind of been around um a lot of different places. So I'm like I'm in around.

SPEAKER_01 54:16

Her best friend just turned 40 in Tampa.

SPEAKER_00 54:21

I've been around the industry for a while. Um we can like y'all can edit out the year I graduated, right? People want to do the math.

SPEAKER_03 54:27

No, yeah. Dang. What's gonna be? Nobody that listen is just gonna say you have to. Yeah, no one does the math.

SPEAKER_00 54:35

That's right. Remember, that's why I picked a tier two. I don't math. No math. No math. Um, but my big thing was I don't want to be a micromanager. I don't feel like I mean everybody learns a little differently. So it was what's their best way of learning, and you know, kind of letting them figure it out and finding their own way has been, I mean, I think successful. So far, my team has grown a lot, only being there three or four years. Like they are managing their own projects, and I just am there for support and checking in with them. Um so I just find that that's been really helpful, especially with my team coming out of colleges, being there as a source to help. And I always do like three projects or three site visits. The first one I'm teaching them, and the second one is kind of half and half, so they're taken on tasks that they feel comfortable with, and then third one I've taken a back seat. So they've kind of seen the progress and have it under their belt.

SPEAKER_03 55:32

Um you got a whole system there. I do.

SPEAKER_00 55:35

Yeah, I've been around for a while, so I figured it out. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 55:39

Graduated in 2009, so that's it. Just just for those who forgot. Yeah. 2009.

SPEAKER_01 55:46

All right, I may get my calculator out. Yeah, thanks.

SPEAKER_00 55:49

Um and I was at the five-year college, so let's just not do the math. Um so, but you know, telling them like it's not the end of the world. Like, don't stress out, timelines change, it's not gonna be you know, they come in, they're like, We they want a short schedule, they want to know what's happening. And so it's just being really fluid with it and flexible. Yeah, what works best for you as far as let's send an internal deadline for earlier and just learning to be flexible with it and just kind of go the flow and understanding that again it's not the end of the world. Right. You know, we're not surgeons. It's important in our job, but it's okay. Right. Yeah, nobody's gonna die.

SPEAKER_03 56:26

No one's gonna die. Yeah, I know. Um hopefully. Yeah. Things have gone terribly wrong. Um Do you like living in Birmingham?

SPEAKER_00 56:38

I do.

SPEAKER_03 56:38

Um it has.

SPEAKER_00 56:40

When I go back to Atlanta, um, I don't realize how stressed I was. I always joke. Yeah. I would talk to my parents on the way home sometimes because you know you're an hour from everywhere in Atlanta. Right. I'm like, okay, it's the perfect time. And eventually my mom had to say, I I gotta stop talking to you. So I'd just be talking to her and then I'll just start yelling and get like angry at the driver in front of me.

unknown 57:00

Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 57:01

So what's going on? She's like, I can't you're stressing me out. Like, how did I survive?

SPEAKER_03 57:05

Do you go visit very often?

SPEAKER_00 57:07

I do. I go back a lot. Um my parents are in Carrollton, so it's still like a halfway.

SPEAKER_03 57:12

Yeah, I was gonna say because it's on the west side. So yeah. Yeah, it's on the Bama. That's not bad.

SPEAKER_00 57:16

Yeah, it's on the Vama border. Okay. Yeah, it's not bad. But my dad's whole side of the family lives here. He grew up in Birmingham, so it's not like this huge new city. I have all my cousins and aunts.

SPEAKER_01 57:26

So the move over here wasn't a huge deal.

SPEAKER_03 57:28

No. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 57:29

It really wasn't. I was still close to the city.

SPEAKER_03 57:30

Only only when she thought Atlanta was gonna be her forever, forever.

SPEAKER_00 57:34

You cannot, that's the first night. You cannot make me leave.

SPEAKER_03 57:37

I'm never gonna leave here.

SPEAKER_00 57:39

Yeah. Surprise.

SPEAKER_03 57:40

Surprise. We hired uh six 21-year-olds. Yeah. We need you.

SPEAKER_01 57:47

That sounds almost like that would be a deterrent to move, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 57:50

Well, I was so stubborn that I would drive to Birmingham a lot, like, you know, maybe twice a week.

SPEAKER_05 57:56

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_00 57:58

I was like, you can't make me move, I'll drive. That got old really fast. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 58:03

You're still yelling at me.

SPEAKER_01 58:04

Did you did you rationalize it? Like, well, normally it takes me an hour to get home anyway, so this is not it's twice as much, maybe, but not too bad.

SPEAKER_00 58:11

I was like, you know, I'm I have my whole community back home in Atlanta, so it's worth it. Like I'll just drive. And yeah. But I do. Here you are. I know.

SPEAKER_01 58:20

Yeah. Building a community here. Birmingham is better for you being here.

SPEAKER_00 58:24

I'm less stressed.

SPEAKER_03 58:26

There you go.

SPEAKER_00 58:26

It's great.

SPEAKER_03 58:27

Good. You do seem you haven't yelled at us once. No. No. Yeah. It's still early. Let's get to these rapid fire questions. It's like, oh, well, get out of here. Time is up. This is the new goal. Let's have the guests yell at us during rapid fire. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 58:46

I've been I've been writing down things that'll push her buttons.

SPEAKER_00 58:49

Yeah. Yeah. How can I tick her off?

SPEAKER_03 58:53

This isn't a rapid fire question, but what ticks you off other than uh traffic in Atlanta? It sure sounds like a rapid fire question. It does. Yeah, I know. Yeah. This is me slipping in a bonus question at the start.

SPEAKER_00 59:06

Yeah. Um, I mean, as guys, because traffic is on the top of my mind, like, just get out of my way. People cross, they're cross like when they're crossing, needs a chest. I need you to move. Like I need you to move.

SPEAKER_05 59:19

Oh, you man.

SPEAKER_01 59:21

And you know she said this out loud in her car. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 59:24

Oh yeah. I saw it. Like it was some like video popped up and now I say it.

SPEAKER_05 59:28

Come on. Needs to chest. Hey, needs a chest.

SPEAKER_00 59:34

Like, what is she showing me? Yeah. My dad said you get double the points for hitting a moving target. So, you know, they better move fast.

SPEAKER_01 59:42

Okay. Okay. Okay. So you got it from your dad. Yeah. Got it. Okay, rapid fire girls. Do you want me to start since you're going to be able to do that? You just start since I sniped that one in. Okay, so uh, what was your favorite joke from the Nate Vargassi show?

SPEAKER_00 59:56

Oh my gosh. I love everything about him. I don't know if there's a certain joke that I could remember right now. Yeah. I just was crying, laughing so hard through the entire thing. Um he's just so funny. His deadpan face as he tells a joke. I'm like, oh that that's relatable. Uh-huh. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:20

We uh we were there. Um I was with my parents um and my brother and his wife and my wife were there. Um but my parents were my but they're both in their 80s, and so they were in the like handicapped section, but right behind us. So we got seats for them, and then we were in the row right in front of them. And Nate went on this whole thing about aging parents and putting them in nursing homes. And so it was a little uncomfortable.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:44

Just don't trip in front of anybody because they will get sent to the nursing home very quickly.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:48

They were like, it's like as an older, you're like, just keep it together until they leave the house, you know, because if they see us trip, they're gonna start looking at like separating plates and seeing who takes what.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:58

That's great. I once have you ever seen the show? Well, Book of Mormon is one. Right. Hilarious. Right. There's another one. Oh my god, and now the name is gonna escape me. But it's a it's an off-Broadway puppet show. Avenue Q. Oh yes. Google Avenue Q.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:17

I think it never is.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:19

Don't Google it in front of your children.

unknown 1:01:20

Right.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:21

It's an off-Broadway show. It's hilarious. Mullaney was part of it. But it's I think yeah, I think John Mulaney was part of it.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:27

I think it's hysteria.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:28

But it's it's it's absolutely R-rated. Right. And just speaking of seeing shows with your parents, is that two of my most favorite memories in the last, say, 10 years are going with my parents to see uh the Book of Mormon and seeing Avenue Q and hearing my mother, preacher's daughter, uh high school English teacher for 42 years, laughing her ass off at the jokes. It's just great.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:53

Yeah, there's uh Jake Jillenhall was had a part on that show, which you should Google.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:59

It's uh it's pretty funny. It's great. So Avenue Q. Anyway, uh I have a design-related question. Um that I just oh yeah, I got okay. What's your go-to move when a project starts going sideways?

SPEAKER_00 1:02:16

Other than cry in the corner?

SPEAKER_01 1:02:17

Cry in the corner.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:19

Rapid fire answer.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:20

We were looking more for dance move. Yeah, yeah, I need to add that.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:25

What's your go-to dance move?

SPEAKER_00 1:02:28

It's the slow, like, what is it, the moon walk backwards just go all that? That's why I trained my team so they can handle it. Yeah. It's like that.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:37

Mine of Europe.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:38

Yeah, the gif of Simpson just going back and through the bushes. Yeah, perfect. Okay. That that's my answer. Okay, that's a good answer.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:45

You've got a three-day weekend. Where do you spend it?

SPEAKER_00 1:02:48

Home. I am a homebody.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:51

So I like having stay cations. I know that's probably the most boring. I do, I'm trying to plan a big trip this year.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:58

Okay. Um where too? On top of Tampa and Chicago?

SPEAKER_00 1:03:01

Yeah. Well, I was supposed to go to Greece. That did not happen. So hopefully next year or two will happen again. Um we were looking at like Puerto Rico. Because it was my 40th year too. So I kind of want to do something. Do the math. Yeah, don't do the math. Don't just throws it out there. Yeah, there you go.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:16

It's okay if she tells everything. It's not okay. No one else can say it. Or people figure it out on their own.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:21

They can't figure it out on their own. I think it's really what she would have. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:24

Yeah. So, but I just am I'm an introvert at heart, so sometimes just if I have a three-day, I just want to be home and just chill with the dogs, go to the pool.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:35

What's your actual birthday?

SPEAKER_00 1:03:37

Birthday. Like the actual date? May 14th.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:40

May 14th. Oh, so we're right around wait 40th next year. Wait, what's today? Your birthday's May 14th?

SPEAKER_00 1:03:47

Yeah, I already had it.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:48

So you just turned 40. I missed that whole part. I thought you were saying I'm turning 40.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:52

No, I turned. Well, I was turning 40, so we had planned this big trip.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:56

I got you. I was thinking you had not yet had your well, happy, belated 40th.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:03

Yeah, thanks. I'm in denial. It's okay. It's fine. Mentally I'm in my 20s, so I'm just staying there.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:09

I had a conversation today with one of my coworkers about that, like we just assume that like we're still in our early 30s.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:16

Oh, yes. Yeah. Mentally. Mentally. We're there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:19

Until you know, go to Tampa and then Chicago and you can see the bigger thing.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:22

The body does not hold up. Yeah. Things will happen.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:25

You're like, what the hell is going on?

SPEAKER_01 1:04:27

What is this about? Yeah. What is this about? Why can I not read anymore? I can't see any of these words. Um what do you do when you hit a creative block?

SPEAKER_00 1:04:37

Take a step back.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:39

Into the bushes. Into the bushes. My moon walk a bushes.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:43

Again, I've trained my team here. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:46

Ryan, here we go.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:49

Mine, I mean, really, it's just take a step back. Sometimes what I'll do is just kind of clear out what I was working on, just have a fresh light. Like I'm working on a floor plan and I'm just stuck or something changes. I'll kind of just save it down and just start fresh because I feel like I'm just hindering myself. Like is there something new I can come up with? So it's kind of like just taking a step back. Switch gears a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:11

Give your mind a reset.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:13

I'm gonna write that down. Start over.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:17

Delete. I start over. I delete everything.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:21

And then I moonwalk out. That's what Jen said do.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:26

All right. Mine, uh, and I did write this down, but you just kind of uh referenced it a little bit. Pets, what you got?

SPEAKER_00 1:05:33

I have a toy Australian shepherd. Typer.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:37

Yeah, they come in lots of sizes, those Australian shepherds. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:40

Um she was supposed to be a mini. Um, so about 20-ish pounds. She is 13.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:45

Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:46

So I had Chihuahua when I got her. They were the same size. So I have her, and then I have a golden doodle. Okay. Twila.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:54

What are their names?

SPEAKER_00 1:05:54

Twila is the golden doodle. Okay. And then Piper is the Toy Australian Shepherd. Nice. Dammit Piper. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:01

Which is something we see.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:02

At level 13, you know, she likes to kind of I mean I'm sitting there and I have like an armrest and she's like, oh how do I get from here to here while she's on a video call? You know, just across.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:13

Right.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:14

Does she try to herd you or Twyla?

SPEAKER_00 1:06:17

She tries to herd me. She's like a little Velcro, so she'll I'll be walking and she'll keep like touching me. Like, okay, that's good. Keep going. Keep going. But she leaves the 83-pound dog away.

SPEAKER_05 1:06:30

Oh, that's funny, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:31

Twila's like, dog. Come over here. Yeah, I have a good buddy who he had a I guess it was a mini Australian shepherd. She was probably about 25 pounds, I guess. Maybe 2530. Um But she, yeah, we used to joke that we were her sheep when we all went to the lake. She was she would keep an eye on us when we were all at the house, but if you went out to the dock to jump in the water, she lost her mind. I mean, once you're in the water, she was like, oh, now you're on your own. Like literally laying out and look at you. Like she wouldn't bark or cry or anything like that at that moment leading up. She and she knew you were gonna jump off. And she was like, no, it is my job to keep you from not doing that. And then once you're in the water.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:13

That is an anxious life.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:14

You're on your own.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:15

Yeah, she is we call her derpy. She's just a special one. But yeah, the minute you make any sound, she's up and looking at you. Okay. And then Twilight is still staring. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:29

And then I don't have sheep, so I'm gonna hurt my people. Yeah. You are my sheep. Um, is it on me? Yep. What's one chore you weirdly enjoy?

SPEAKER_00 1:07:39

I guess because I lived in the city so long, I like yard work.

unknown 1:07:43

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:44

I didn't know.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:45

I've got a yard for you.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:47

I like my own yard work. So I live in a really small house that, you know, from the time I pull my car out of the garage to get my loamer out, cut it, move the car, it's like 15 minutes. Okay. So by the time it gets too hot, you know. Right. Like now. Like now. Yeah. My neighbor ended up cutting my grass because, you know, it's a you know, like a starter home kind of thing. So when he cut my grass, there's like a clear line. So sweet bud, he just cut the rest of my grass. Oh, nice. So when I came out like, thank you, and he was like, Well, it was getting pretty tall. Oh. So No, like nicely, like he'll do that if he's cutting it. Because HOA will get onto us. No, he's like, it was getting alright tall, so now you just have the other side of the yard. I'm like, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:28

But now, because he listens to the podcast, he's gonna learn that you love doing yard work and you were denied.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:33

Yeah, he was like, okay, no, you cut my grass.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:34

Or yeah, I was gonna say, or like, why don't you cut his lawn?

SPEAKER_01 1:08:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:38

Yeah. Okay, well, he keeps his yard.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:40

Yeah, sounds like it. Sounds like it's I told him, I said, well, I drove mine.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:44

It looked pretty high. I was like, I'll get to it.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:47

And now he keeps your yard.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:48

Well played.

unknown 1:08:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:49

Well played. So, what is something that you do well that most people would not know? Like, what's a sneaky skill you've got?

SPEAKER_00 1:08:58

Sneaky skill. Um, Irish exit.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:04

Again, moon mock. It's always a moon mock.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:06

It's always a moon. Are we finding a trend? Case you didn't guess. I'm an introvert. So yeah, it's an ongoing joke with you know some of my best friends that they'd have to keep an eye on me.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:18

You think it's at a certain part in the night they're like, okay, she's gonna disappear.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:21

Yeah, I'm like, hey, where are you? I'm in my Uber. Where you're at. I'm at home.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:28

You're not gonna Irish exit this uh podcast already.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:31

You're about to find out.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:33

We're winding out if you look at chat and it's just gonna open up, it's just gonna be like the the sliding glass door swinging, even though it's a slide, but it'll be funnier if it swings. Um if you could master one skill instantly, what would it be?

SPEAKER_00 1:09:51

One skill. I would love to be able just to cook. I do HelloFresh, and I'm good at that because it gives you the exact ingredients and the instructions. I just would love to be able to cook and bake.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:03

Yeah. Like one of those people that's like you just open up the fridge in the cabin and be like, oh, this is what I have, and this is what I think.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:08

I feel like we didn't have any of this, so I substituted this instead. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:12

Yeah, it ticks me off, and you know, I feel like everybody but me knows how to cook and bake well. And they're like, oh yeah, I just tried this out, you know, just found some things. I'm like, I'd follow the instructions and it blew up. I don't know what you want me to do.

SPEAKER_05 1:10:26

And the kitchen caught fire.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:28

I caught my checks mix on fire. How? That's the question. Wow. Is this a true story? Oh, it's a true story. I was having a Christmas party and it I don't know how, but I guess I wasn't paying attention to returning it or just making checks mix. Just regular box ingredient checks mix. And they're like, you're something smoking. And I went in and my checks mix was on fire.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:50

What was it doing on the stove?

SPEAKER_00 1:10:52

No, it was in the oven.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:54

It was in the oven.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:55

And I guess I just ignored it for a reason. You heat up the checks mix? No, I'm where you are. I'm with you. You never made Chex Mix?

SPEAKER_01 1:11:03

I thought you just bought it and put it in a bowl. And it's called Chex Mix. There's a box that says Chex Mix and you buy it.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:08

Yeah, buy all the ingredients and then you put like butter and that Worshire, that that sauce and garlic and like onion powder, and you kind of coat it every 15 minutes for a little over an hour.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:26

Do you now just buy it out of a box? No, I still cook it. You still cook it.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:29

Yeah, I just um make sure that I set a timer. I'm gonna Google this later.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:33

Yeah. I mean I can see where it could be that's maybe that's probably where Chex Mix came, like what we consider Chex Mix, which is in a box. In a box. Yeah, you just buy it just check. Yeah, no. German dish. I don't know. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:49

With love and a little bit of neglect. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:52

I think it was like my first time making it, and I'm like, well, this is not setting a precedent for what's gonna happen. Like this is why all my family members make it, and they send me home like Ziploc bags. Like I can do it myself.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:04

Yeah. Okay, outside of check's mix, what's your favorite comfort food?

SPEAKER_00 1:12:12

Um I love anything dark chocolate. I mean, yeah, but yeah, just like dark chocolate, covered almonds, dark chocolate. Just plain dark chocolate. Don't put it on anything else.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:25

Okay. Like how, like what's the percent cacao are we talking about?

SPEAKER_00 1:12:29

The highest?

SPEAKER_03 1:12:32

All of it. All of it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:34

No, it's just uh a guilty pleasure. I have tons of dark chocolate and I'll just, you know, I hide it and then I'll be like, From yourself? Yeah. I'm like, fine, I'll get it to the pantry. It's out of sight, out of mind. Like, aha. I hit it back there.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:48

The last time I was.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:52

I'm loving this.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:54

Open up the dragon mix was on fire because I was I found the dark chocolate in the pantry.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:00

It's like a treat.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:03

The last time I was in Chicago, I got gifted some dark chocolate because apparently there's a chocolatier there. And there's maybe one. I mean, or maybe more than one, but this is Chicago. It's because it's Chicago. But it was a bunch of like dark chocolate. That's the best. I can't remember what it was called, but it was delicious.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:19

But this has, you know, like 60% dark chocolate in the city. I was like, 99%? Like, how much can you go? That's what I want.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:28

Okay. I actually don't know if I've ever seen it more than 90%.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:33

I think she finds a source. I'll let you know. You gotta do I'll report back to you. Yeah, it's a street. I got a guy.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:39

I live in Atlanta, you know. That was that was what I'm saying. She got a guy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:42

Bought it at an alley in the back alley somewhere. Do I have one more or did I uh use up my time? No, it's it's yours because you you did the extra one at the beginning.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:53

If your friends described you in one word, I actually feel like I know what the answer is gonna be.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:58

How can I switch up this answer?

SPEAKER_03 1:14:00

Yeah, yeah. And it's funny, it's like this one's like if your friends described you in one word, what it would be. Actually, I mean, they probably wouldn't describe you as an Irish exeter or an introvert. What would they? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:12

I mean, my my best friends, I can just talk your ear off. And so I'm I'm really loyal. I guess I could say that like. I guess because I'm such an introvert. Like, I, you know, when I have a friend or best friend, like I you will go to Tampa before you have to go to Chicago. Yeah. And I mean, she was like, I was so proud of you. You stayed out the whole time. I was at her cousin's house. Like it wasn't her somewhere. She's like, you stayed the whole time. I was like, I know.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:41

You're like, yeah, I don't live here.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:43

I actually walked out, they're like, please don't Irish exit out. I was like, you don't know me.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:48

Where are you right now? I'm in Birmingham.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:50

Yeah. I'm I'm standing in the yard.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:55

Royal's a good answer. That's a good answer. I see that.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:58

All right. Well, um, so we usually finish the episodes with a custom song. Uh so I need a genre of music from you.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:07

I really want to pick something that make it and see what you can do. Pick like a Disney. Like a Disney. I want to see what you come up with. Like Disney movie. But I also love Disney. Alancan. You know, the main composer. You know, 40.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:24

And I I wrote down, I did write down as far as the the hook or the it would be moonwalk into the bushes.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:30

Oh, that's good. Yeah. Oh man, I can hear like I can hear the like Pocahontas song melody with Moonwalk into the bushes.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:40

It's gonna work great.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:43

So um to close out, I do since uh this will launch actually on June 15th, but later in the day. Uh later in the day, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:49

Later in the day. Um this is the pre-midnight drop.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:53

So I did wanted to uh just remind everybody that this Thursday at Gallery Services is Mark's birthday party. Um otherwise known as Battle of the Brushes. Oh, yeah, that's gonna be going on too. Yeah. Uh IDA events, uh fundraiser. Um so please come by if you can and uh and have fun there and wish Mark a happy birthday. But thank you so much for coming on. Really enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:15

It's not as scary as I thought.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:16

It was you thought it was gonna be scary? Yeah, no, it's gonna be fine. You should though go back to work and tell Ryan that it was terrifying.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:22

Oh yeah. I'm like, we talked about you. Oh, he's gonna be terrified.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:25

Oh no, I shouldn't have to I I we have figured it out the number of times we've given him grief. That I'm like, oh Chad, I think he actually is really nervous. Yeah. Oh no, he is. We're harmless. We don't try to like make you cry or anything.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:40

Anyway, we want we want the person to yell at us at the end. That's a new thing. We didn't we didn't quite we didn't quite do it yet. Yeah, thanks. That's because she's already left. Yeah, we're just talking to ourselves. Yeah, thanks again.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:51

Thanks, Jen.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:52

Yeah, thank you.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:55

Perfect.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:05

When I was young, I dream of all the places, rooms filled with stories and familiar faces. How I spend my days helping visions come alive, building little kingdoms where families can thrive. I walk into the bushes when the answer's on, I slide away for just a moment. Everything feels right. Walk into the bush with a smile. Then I come back with a brand new plan.