Hello! Welcome once again to the Chaise Lounge! This week, Nick May sits down with Alex Alonso, a designer and proud leader of a studio in Miami, Florida! Throughout his life, Alex has experimented with many different interests. He initially pursued engineering, then switched to Spanish Literature. Starting from his senior year, Alex worked and developed in the entertainment industry. One of his friends invited him to start a small studio together, a venture that wouldn't last long. Feeling that their dynamic could not work with them apart, Alex closed that studio and started his own from scra ..read more

Welcome once again to the Chaise Lounge Podcast. It has been a great honor to speak to so many talented and passionate designers over the course of the show. To close out our 30th Season, Nick May sits down with interior designer and marketing specialist Pamela Durkin. Pam's design career began with the usual wide variety of clients and projects. Over the years, her favorite types of projects became increasingly more common. Not wanting to let go of this momentum, Pam set out to study marketing strategies in the world of design. She found that many designers do not pay enough attention to thei ..read more

Hello! Welcome once again to the Chaise Lounge! This week, Nick May sits down with Alex Alonso, a designer and proud leader of a studio in Miami, Florida! Throughout his life, Alex has experimented with many different interests. He initially pursued engineering, then switched to Spanish Literature. Starting from his senior year, Alex worked and developed in the entertainment industry. One of his friends invited him to start a small studio together, a venture that wouldn't last long. Feeling that their dynamic could not work with them apart, Alex closed that studio and started his own from scra ..read more

Welcome once again to the Chaise Lounge Podcast! This week, Nick May sits down with Julien Legeard, a residential and hospitality designer with a powerhouse team in Miami. Julien was born and raised in France. He studied business in university to extend his range of possibilities for a successful career. His interest in the field diminished, but he discovered a passion for craftsmanship, a fascination with people who strive to be exceptional, and an interest in architecture and design. Much to our surprise, Julien did not receive formal education in architecture or design. He educated himself ..read more

Welcome back to the Chaise Lounge Podcast! This week, Nick May chats with a designer, but not an interior designer. Fernando Alvarez and his family own an upholstery business that has existed since the 1960's: Le Jeune Upholstery. Fernando's parents, Consuelo and Osmundo immigrated to Miami from Cuba. They opened a furniture upholstery business, working from sunrise to sunset for several years. As the business grew, they opened a second location, followed by a third one a decade later. Today, Le Jeune is operated by Fernando and his brothers Alex and Gerry. Each brother takes charge of a separ ..read more

Welcome! In this week's Chaise Lounge, Nick May sits down with a returning guest: interior designer Kate Lester! In her previous appearance, Kate walked us through her story of how she worked to become an interior designer and business woman.  A few years have passed since then, and despite the odds, she has not slowed down one bit. Covid caused many of her employees to leave; staff turnover remained unbearably high for a while. Kate picked herself up by the bootstraps and pushed on. Once the dust settled, she rebuilt her team and established procedures to put the business back on track ..read more

Hello, and welcome to the Chaise Lounge! Today we have a double-feature episode for your. This week Nick May sits down with Todd Raymond, a young residential designer on the rise. Furthermore, Nick catches up with our dear friend Gail Doby. Todd's interest in design began in his childhood, when his grandmother gifted him an AD magazine. Growing up, he faced many obstacles that prevented him from studying architecture, as well as other endeavors that caught his interest. After many years of distractions, Todd returned to college go pursue a career in architecture. He went on to work on several ..read more

Welcome back to the Chaise Lounge! This week, Nick May chats with Elizabeth Gill from Elizabeth Gill Interiors in New York! Elizabeth attended George Washington University to study International Business, then later acquired a Master's Degree in Interior Design and Architecture. After graduating, she worked at a traditional design firm in DC, where she learned a few aspects of the trade that seldom are taught in school. A few more years passed before Elizabeth took a risk and started her own company in 2018. One of Elizabeth's inspirations to keep going is people. She always yearned to meet ne ..read more

Welcome back to the Chaise Lounge! This week, Nick May sits down with Anna Smith, owner of Anna Bode located right here in Denver Colorado! Anna grew up in New Hampshire. She found an interest in historic preservation, although science and chemistry were not her strong suits. She then moved to studying history of decorative arts in London, focusing on historic homes and the history of interior design. Eventually she worked for an interior design studio in New York, and later moved Colorado to open her own. Because of her background in historic preservation, Anna often works on older homes, spe ..read more

Welcome! In this week's Chaise Lounge, Nick May sits down with Nicole Salceda, interior designer and owner of Eye For Pretty in Danville, California! Nicole attended St. Mary's to earn a teaching degree. She later got married and the couple purchased a house, which she would decorate and re-decorate. Visitors would ask her if she was an interior designer. She played around with the thought and did design work for friends and family while teaching part-time. After becoming popular on Instagram, Nicole decided to drop her teaching career and officially become an interior designer. She opened her ..read more