Century-Old Kravet Explores Own Heritage with Kravet Couture & Modern Tailor

Based on the title of this blog post, you might think we’re explaining an altered business model from the industry leader in luxury home furnishings. After all, touting a line from Kravet named the Modern Tailor Collection could raise an eyebrow or two. However, such is not the case.

Instead, for those unaware of the company’s ongoing exploration of their heritage, Kravet Couture presents you with a collection of elegant fabrics and complementary wallcoverings. For them, this is a way for them to pay homage to their founder, Samuel Kravet, who emigrated to the US and began working as a tailor more than a century ago.

Considering the source, it should come as no surprise that, above all, “Samuel Kravet’s skilled artistry is mirrored in the exquisite details highlighted in this elegant collection.”

Coordinating Styles and Textures are Featured

So much more than an overly simplified mix 'n match approach to coordination, “The juxtaposition of scale and pattern across the whole collection offers a wide range of coordinating styles. Soft textures are blended with sharper edges and sculptural geometric  patterns; the beauty lies in how the collection sits together, much like how one would put together an outfit.”

With a name like Modern Tailor, this collection has been created as a tribute to runway fashion and trendy design.

“Finely stitched embroideries, pleated fabrics, patch-worked wools, cozy cable chenille, and mélange knits are reinvented into luxurious fabrics and wallcoverings relevant to layered decorating of today.”

Throughout the collection, Kravet continues the theme of a professionally designed and hand-tailored presentation. This is the type of twist on haute couture that will make design clients feel as though their home has become the center of high fashion.

The spotlight on style is forever brightened by, “The tailoring techniques Samuel Kravet fell in love with one century ago [which] are rendered relevant today, and are further brought into the present with updated modern construction and contemporary color stories.”

Bespoke tailoring techniques abound in the collection. “Dresscode features an updated houndstooth pattern, New Suit features a modern patched large stripe, and Proxmire is an exploded weave meant to mimic your favorite cable-knit sweater.”

From the most finely tailored fabrics which can be artfully layered with wallcoverings that add depth and texture to any space, the Modern Tailor Collection from Kravet Couture will challenge even the best designer to match its creative spark.

Get in touch with TD Fall today to discover more about the Modern Tailor Collection from Kravet.

Interior Design Trends and The Pantone Color of the Year for 2021

This year, instead of taking our usual tour of the many opinions and variations of the color of the year for next year, we would like to keep it simple and stick with one, and the most important: The Pantone Colors of the Year for 2021.

There’s a reason for this that you may already have guessed if you’ve read our recent post on goal setting for business in 2021. In that post, we suggest that you try to keep things simple, with modest goals for your design or furnishings business next year. The idea being that, following the turmoil of this uber crazy year, staying calm and lowering expectations in case of crisis would be not only helpful to your business but also less stressful for you.

This type of thinking blends perfectly with what the color experts at Pantone have come up with for us in the New Year. In a somewhat remarkable shift for them, we’re being presented with not one but two colors for 2021.

Unprecedented Times Call for Extraordinary Color Choices

As you may have noticed in the opening paragraph, the newest entry into the traditional annual unveiling by the color matching experts has been made plural. That is, the decision to go with a pair of colors in an extraordinary move to match the unprecedented time in which we find ourselves.

As explained on their website, the choice of these paired colors exudes, “A message of happiness supported by fortitude, the combination of Ultimate Gray + Illuminating is aspirational and gives us hope. We need to feel that everything is going to get brighter – this is essential to the human spirit.”

Indeed, whether your design clients are seeking a hopeful space that is warm and welcoming, or strong and supportive, or perhaps a unique blend of both, you can make that happen. Because these colors offer the chance to bring together what some might think of as conflicting elements, the opportunity to make novel and uncommonly complimentary design choices is unique and exciting.

“[As] two independent colors that highlight how different elements come together to support one another… Ultimate Gray + Illuminating best expresses the mood for Pantone Color of the Year 2021. Practical and rock-solid but at the same time warming and optimistic, the union of Ultimate Gray + Illuminating, is one of strength and positivity. It is a story of color that encapsulates deeper feelings of thoughtfulness with the promise of something sunny and friendly.”

Take a Spiritual Approach to Complimentary Colorways

It should come as no surprise that a need for spirituality is on the rise this year. As an increasing number of Americans express the need to be more “spiritual but not religious” (according to Pew Research), these complementary colorways can be used to enhance that sense. In other words, this unusual pairing can be used to increase the senses of peace, wholeness, and balance among the physical, emotional, social and spiritual aspects of our lives that many seek in the pursuit of healthy spirituality.

“As people look for ways to fortify themselves with energy, clarity, and hope to overcome the continuing uncertainty, spirited and emboldening shades satisfy our quest for vitality. Illuminating is a bright and cheerful yellow sparkling with vivacity, a warming yellow shade imbued with solar power. [While] Ultimate Gray is emblematic of solid and dependable elements that are everlasting and provide a firm foundation. Ultimate Gray quietly assures, encouraging feelings of composure, steadiness, and resilience.”

While choosing these colors for your client’s spaces may not be the only answer to their need for newfound peace, the calming influence combined with the strength of purpose can be promoted in subtle but influential ways.

Whether you're an interior designer or furnishing store owner, Ted has the experience and knowledge to help you adapt to unprecedented times and to employ the latest Pantone Colors of the Year to enhance your client’s home or office environment. Get in touch with TD Fall today.

Sourcing Products and Samples Becoming Less Trying!

You have to love industry jargon, don’t you? Whether the appalling use of “clock it” to describe spiking a football to the ridiculous tech phrase “bleeding edge” to describe something that is “beyond” leading edge, we abuse the language at our own risk. In the design industry, our use of the word sourcing product and/or samples is a bit of gibberish which should make all of us cringe when we hear or use it.

Is the more accurate and grammatically correct phrase “sources of supply” really that difficult to use, instead? (OK, that’s enough blather on a subject most care nothing about!)

Anyway, despite the poor choice of words in the title, in a recent article at Business of Home, A designer’s guide to sourcing and sampling services, author Fred Nicolaus shares some good news about improving access to sources of supply and samples for interior designers.

First, he describes a familiar problem:

“Whether you’re building a massive resource library for your firm or just looking for a new kind of tile, sourcing materials can be a serious drag. There’s the hassle of sifting through endless options online, creating dozens of new accounts, digging up a rep’s contact information—and then keeping track of everything, all while running a business.”

Next, he offers a newly optimistic outlook for smaller design firms:

“Fortunately, there are tech-powered services that help bring order to the chaos. Typically, these sourcing platforms skew toward commercial designers (where there’s more volume of material, hence more money to be made on big orders). However, residential designers can certainly benefit, as well.”

New Tech Has Improved Access to Sources of Supply

While Nicolaus is more than happy to offer details of development and such, we prefer to focus on how these services can benefit the individual designer. From free to somewhat pricey, the four services described below should offer you enough diversity of section to get you heading in the right direction.

Material Bank – Designers create an account with Material Bank (there’s an approval process) and can then browse a library of materials. If you place an order for a sample by midnight EST, it will arrive via FedEx the next morning. Samples are packaged in a single box and come with a return label. The platform also connects designers with reps. Cost: FREE.

Source – Formerly known as KrowdSourced, this is a giant database of product information that designers can search with a variety of filters. Want to find phthalate-free white flooring options? Simple. From there, the platform connects designers with local reps, who answer questions and fill sample requests. Those tools are free. Source also has a premium tier, which assigns the customer a dedicated librarian who can perform research and make recommendations. Cost: Basic tier: FREE. Premium tier: $350/month.

SpecSimple – Designers create an online portal that allows them to centralize information from their favorite vendors, connect with reps, and request samples. The platform tracks products from a jaw-dropping 23,000 vendors, and the goal is to give designers a suite of tools that helps them narrow down what they’re actually looking for. For a cost, SpecSimple can also provide users with research support and assigned reps. Cost: FREE, with upgrades to $2000/year.

DecoratorsBest – Designers create a trade account (the site asks for membership in a trade association like the IIDA or ASID, or a design degree) and can then request samples for most of the represented brands. The manufacturers themselves actually fulfill the requests. For certain lines, designers can also request CFAs. Cost: FREE to designers (consumer samples are $5 each).

It should go without saying that, here at TD Fall, we are more than happy to help you with sourcing (Argh!) the products, samples, and services you need to best serve your business and your client’s design projects.

Further, Ted remains readily available for business consulting support to interior designers and furnishing store owners. Get in touch with TD Fall today.

Service and Availability Are Priorities for Kravet Fabrics and Furnishings

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From guaranteed in-stock fabrics to their innovative online Configurator for creating custom furnishings for your clients, Kravet has made service and availability their highest priority. Perhaps more important from an end-user’s point of view, quality and originality have not suffered in the least.

In fact, since the company’s founding in 1918, the business started by Samuel Kravet and his four sons has become the industry’s primary resource for fabrics and furnishings.

The business has never been the type to rest on its laurels or reputation, but rather, has always labored to remain at the forefront of the design and furnishings industries. As Kravet’s chief process and innovation officer Jesse Lazarus recently proclaimed, “It’s incredibly important to resist assuming you already know what your customers want and need.”

“Suppliers need to bring the threshold to the customer, rather than waiting for that customer to come to the supplier,” he explained. “[All] buyers are consumers in their own right, and their desire for service and availability is shaped by the environment where they do their own private shopping [whether digital or face-to-face]."

What is the Kravet Configurator?

In a time when personal interaction is at the very least frowned upon, and in some cases punishable by force of law, servicing the client demands new and innovative solutions. In some ways, our digital age makes this far easier than feared. In some, less so.

For those who are able to imagine and visualize original approaches to long-standing challenges, as well as new ones, the future can be incredibly bright. And, as many of us have come to expect, Kravet is again leading the way by developing resources and offering digital remedies to the obstacles we are all facing.

For example, imagine being able to fully visualize and customize the furnishings you hope to offer your home design clients. Will that new sofa and chair ensemble appeal to them in fabric A, or would they prefer fabric B? If only you had an image of the pieces in both!

With the Kravet Configurator, you do.

Now, with a 360-degree view of the products you're considering and using their custom Configurator, Kravet has made it much easier for interior designers to visualize their style choices on a variety of furniture frames. As you make choices to customize individual pieces, pricing is automatically updated for you in real-time.

If you're like most interior designers, your buying process begins with requesting samples, so Kravet focused on making that as simple as possible for you too. With a mobile-first strategy in place, Kravet has also simplified the process of reaching out to mobile users and a variety of platforms. This enables you to work seamlessly from your studio or on-site, from a client’s home or office.

Does that sound like a tool you could use in your design business?

NOTE on Availability: At this time, Kravet is continuing to develop and test the program, with an expected rollout coming in the New Year. (Finally, we all have something to look forward to as this crazy year comes to an end!)

For now, it is available on Kravet’s QuickShip program and the Kravet Tailor and Lee Jofa Workroom collection, which are partially up and running. Now would be a great time for you to begin familiarizing yourself with the Configurator so you are proficient in its use when you need it later.

Let Us Help You

As with so many innovative solutions, it can take a bit of time and practice to familiarize yourself and use the Configurator. But hey, that’s what we’re here for. We can answer virtually any question you may have about this virtual design tool (see what we did there?) and would love to guide you in the use of this amazing tool from our favorite luxury furnishings manufacturer.

Also, don’t forget, our founder Ted Fall, a man for whom service and availability have always been priorities, is available for business consulting support to interior designers and furnishing store owners. Get in touch with TD Fall today.

Design Trends and Marketing Priorities After the Pandemic

By now, you know how much we love to share interior design trends here. And yet, we also know that the world may seem a very different place in the wake of the health crisis we’ve dealt with this year. In fact, even marketing priorities have taken a back seat to simple survival for some. 

With that in mind, we’d like to mention a recent article at DesignersToday.com, some industry news about a survey which says “designers rely on resilience, creativity, partners to succeed during a pandemic”.

It comes as no surprise that, according to the survey performed by Steelyard, some “30% [of designers] said that between 50% and 100% of their business with clients was now conducted online.” Despite this shift to online interaction with clients, the survey also found that “virtual appointments with sales reps were ranked as the least-important tool on the list with an average rating of only six on the scale [of ten]”.

Challenges of Virtual Marketing

Needless to say, respondents to the survey were concerned about their ability to market design services in a virtual world. The perceived need to present clients and prospects with samples they can touch and feel rated high on their list of concerns. “Physical samples for finishes, fabrics, etc., will always be important to us regardless of how much we do online,” one designer wrote in the survey’s comments section.

Further, “Outside of virtual appointments, 54% of those surveyed report that they plan to do more product research and sourcing online even after restrictions are lifted. But the challenge of communicating feel, depth, arm height, and more outside of [a] showroom is still a concern and was brought up several times by survey respondents.”

Finally, product availability, safe and timely shipping, and transparency from suppliers were all important to respondents. That is, designers, hope to see a variety of shipping options that address the need for social distancing; so-called “white glove” delivery services that allow clients to feel safe.

What You Can Do

Innovative solutions for client interaction will be the norm for the foreseeable future. While being able to think outside the box will benefit you greatly, you don’t need to do it all yourself. In fact, a little research into what other designers are doing may be all you need to jump-start your business and get your own marketing priorities in order.

Give these ideas a try:

• What services are the busiest designers in your area offering? Check out the social media profiles and websites of some top design professionals and look at their “Services Provided” section. You're likely to see some developing trends that you can work to your own advantage.

• What services are you NOT commonly seeing? There are sure to be categories where services are needed; areas where you could fill the void. Develop services to meet these needs and work to promote them both short and long term.

• What services can you provide that are unique, superior, or at a more competitive price point? You may discover a need for a design pro who is willing to take on smaller projects (or medium or large projects), or with a different pricing structure.

• What home renovation or design challenges do customers have that are unique to your area? Develop plans and services that enable you to better help homeowners solve those challenges.

• Finally… Where have your competitors made changes in their design businesses as a response to the pandemic? Look for specific practices they’ve put in place, such as virtual meetings and other social distancing steps – especially in how they are handling client relationships. (But, don’t forget relationships with contractors and subs, as well.)

The answers to these questions about design trends and marketing priorities in your area will make it clear whether there’s an unmet need you can fulfill to attract clients safely.

Ted continues to offer business consulting support to interior designers and furnishing store owners. With more than 25 years' experience in the luxury furnishings industry and through all sorts of economic crises and natural disasters, he should be able to help you cope with all the changing trends and priorities.

To get in touch with Ted, or for more design trends, business tips, and marketing ideas… Get in touch with TD Fall today.

ICreate Custom Furnishings Program from Kravet

The ICreate Custom Furnishings Program from Kravet enables increased creativity for all interior designers, and their clients.

As an interior designer, your job is to be as creative as possible, within the constraints of your client’s budget, needs, and space. Yet, you’re often restricted by other factors – such as the features and specifications of the furnishings available. In other words, while a manufacturer may offer a variety of designs and styles of a chest of drawers, you are usually required to take them as is, with few (or no) options beyond color or hardware.

Wouldn’t you love it if you could pick and choose from a wider variety of features, such as: faces, bases, finishes, and hardware (including placement)?

With the ICreate program from Kravet, you can. And, you can customize each piece using 360-degree visualization and augmented-reality technology to help you realize your vision. With ICreate, you are able to “choose [your] desired finish, fabric, size, and other features, all while generating virtual renderings that will show [you] how the customized furniture will look in the spaces [you] are ultimately designing.” (ElleDecor.com)

A Custom Design Tool Offers Greater Creativity & Choice

Gone are the restrictions caused by the need to control inventory and reduce production costs and lead times. Gone are the narrowly focused presentations that restrain the innovative use of space. Gone is the possibility that the customized look and feel you promised your clients might be duplicated in another’s home (or office).

“This program offers a designer the creativity and freedom to do what they do best—design!” says Sara Kravet, the vice president of furniture at the company.

Instead, you can choose different top, trim, and base treatments for ottoman customization, in addition to optional decorative elements like tufting, inset trays, or carved legs as your vision to satisfy the needs of your clients dictate.

“These tool sets take the guesswork out of custom furniture and allow the designer to enhance their client presentation,” says Jesse Lazarus, Kravet’s chief innovation officer.

Originally scheduled to launch during the Spring 2020 High Point Market, which was canceled due to the pandemic, the tool will offer customization options for chests, tables, ottomans, benches, beds, and upholstery. There will also be additional special features at designers’ disposal within each selected furniture category, such as nail head trim for a headboard or tufting for an ottoman. Once a given design is complete, the designer will receive a price quote on the spot.

Always ready to take the lead in innovation and design, Kravet’s ICreate Custom Furnishings Program is using the latest visualization technology to help you reach the next level of creativity and service to your clients.

We remain open for business and ready to support you in any way we can. We will continue to share the design trends, like ICreate from Kravet, that we believe will benefit you most as either an interior designer or furnishings retailer. Click here to… Get in touch with TD Fall today.

Kitchen Designs are the Number One Design Trend for 2020

If you read this blog even occasionally (though we hope you read and memorize every word, every week), you know that we believe the kitchen is the most important room in virtually any home. While we certainly do grasp our own redundancy in stating it again – we would now like to offer proof of the importance of kitchen design.

(Yes, we’re NOT the only ones!)

We found a recent article at Houzz.com to be particularly interesting. With the title, 34 Trends That Will Define Home Design in 2020, we fully expected the trends to be evenly distributed among popular home spaces. Imagine our surprise then when we discovered that, of the 34 trends – 22 were all about kitchen design! (YES!)

Of course, we were not really surprised by the value placed on kitchen design by the folks at Houzz. After all, the greatest portion of their target audience is homeowners so it makes perfect sense. Second place may surprise you somewhat, however, because they put quite a bit of focus on bathrooms and very little on living rooms.

(If you still doubt the validity of our argument for the importance of kitchens to families, check out the articles here, here, and here.)

Kitchen Design Trends 2020

While space limitations make it impossible for us to share all 22 of the trends that are listed in the Houzz piece, there are a few that seem particularly interesting. Quick clue – look for the Pantone Color of the Year to be a huge influencer.

Three-tone Kitchen Designs

Two-tone kitchen cabinets — meaning the upper cabinets are one color and the lower cabinets another color, or the perimeter cabinets are one color and the island is a different color — dominated kitchens in the past couple of years. So it’s only natural that designers are building on the trend rather than doing away with it.

In a three-tone kitchen, one more color or material is introduced to create an asymmetry in the palette that helps define zones or functions and keeps the eye moving.

Refaced Kitchen Cabinets

Keeping the cabinet boxes while replacing the drawer and door fronts is an affordable way to dramatically update a kitchen, and it’s an option that homeowners will increasingly turn to.

Here, Kitchen Magic, which specializes in cabinet refacing, enhanced mid-tone oak cabinets to create a refreshing kitchen with the same layout as the former kitchen.

Blue Kitchen Cabinets are Trending

Speaking of blue cabinets, interior designer and color expert Jennifer Ott predicts that the color will catch on even more in 2020. “Both black and navy continue to be popular, and I anticipate seeing them used in even larger doses in 2020, such as for all of the kitchen cabinets rather than just the base cabinets or island,” she says.

“To balance out these dramatic darks, I’m seeing equally liberal use of neutral to warm whites, such as wool and bone white. These are whites that have just the slightest touch of warmth to them, which keeps them clean and crisp-looking.”

If you hope to be ready for the hot trend toward kitchen design this year, we strongly suggest you take a look at the Houzz article today.

Looking for more tips on sustainable design trends, designer marketing tips, and product ideas? Get in touch with TD Fall today.

Fall Market 2019 – Some High Points from High Point Market

High Point Market is always a busy and exciting time for us at TD Fall. Our most recent trip for Fall Market was no exception and, since it’s always helpful to see our furnishings in a realistic setting, we offer some images that we found stunning.

Jaipur Rugs

It can certainly be said that rugs make the room and we agree. Whether as the foundational setting for other furnishings or as decorative wall hangings, it’s hard to imagine more beautifully crafted and displayed floor coverings.

E Lawrence Ltd.

When you want to put the accent on accents, books enhance nearly any space and make a statement about the homeowner. The clever use of book spines on display here can add focus and backbone to any room.

Curated Kravet

The concept behind this new approach to supplying quality furnishings has made a huge impression on the design industry. While availability has been greatly improved, Kravet’s ready-to-ship line remains original and of high quality.

Modern History

Quality craftsmanship, quality finishes, and delicate proportions are all characteristics of the new SB Now collection from Somerset Bay collection from Modern History.

Kravet

Of course, our trip through High Point Fall Market would be incomplete without a look at some furnishings from the preeminent manufacturer in the US. From fabrics to construction and design, the combination of quality and style displayed in these images is truly impressive – as we have come to expect from Kravet.

The new Michael Berman Collection was introduced this October market.

Needless to say, while it can be exhausting, we love going to High Point, and this year’s Fall Market, with so many new home furnishing lines, was no exception.

Looking for more new home furnishing collections, news about fall market, the latest interior design trends, marketing tips, and ideas? Get in touch with TD Fall today.

Interior Design Tips – Master Bath & Kitchen Add Value to Homes

While the kitchen is the most popular room in the house, it’s just one of two rooms that make a huge difference to the value of a home. According to the real estate website Trulia.com, “The rooms buyers most closely inspect (and judge) in a house are the kitchen and master bath. These are the interior spaces where the most value can be added during a sale, so they need to look their best.”

“A well-appointed kitchen will dramatically increase the value of your home, so it’s worth spicing up yours to grab buyer attention. The same holds true for the bathrooms, especially the master bath. A sparkling master bath with clean lines will charm open-house-goers with modern upgrades like dual vanities and soaking tubs.”

Since we’ve addressed kitchen design in other posts, today we will focus on master bath design tips. According to the design pros at Houzz.com, there are 8 Golden Rules of Bathroom Design that are key to creating a terrific bathroom, no matter its size or style.

We’ve chosen to share what we believe are the top five ideas from among those they offer.

Include Plenty of Storage in Master Bath Design

The clutter of too many toiletries, no matter how attractive, can undo your good work in creating a calm space. Rather than fight the inevitable, accept the reality and embrace great bathroom storage.

The key is to think through what you need to store and then design appropriately. Some things are best kept in a drawer, some in a mirrored cabinet and others in a cabinet. Consider how the storage solutions will work as part of the whole room.

Focus on the Details

Even bathrooms with the most expensive fixtures can end up looking disjointed if the details aren’t carefully considered.

One example would be a glass shower screen that comes too close to the side of a vanity. This might look fine from one angle, but what do you see of the vanity through the glass? Will dirt get between them and be difficult to remove?

Another pet peeve is tile that stops halfway up a wall, leaving a horizontal ridge that will collect dust. Either tile the whole wall or set the face of the tile flush with the wall above by adding an extra layer of plasterboard above the tile before the skim coat of plaster.

Make Sure the Master Bath Design is Functional

Fundamentally, a bathroom must work. That means it should feel natural to use and be easy to clean, and all essentials must be accessible, well-functioning and suitably lit. Whatever design you adopt, never let style get in the way of function. That said, you shouldn’t have to compromise.

This bathroom accommodates users of varying heights. Installing sinks and mirrors to suit everyone in the household is both smart and cute. The designers also factored in the sloping ceiling when they put the shower head and adult sink under the highest part and the toilet under the lower part.

Let In Natural Light

Bathrooms often get the space left over after bedrooms take the best spots and windows. But spare a thought for those relaxed and contemplative times spent in the bathroom.

Daylight can be the most wonderful magnifier of space and is particularly important in small bathrooms, such as this one by Custom Kitchens by John Wilkins. The most intense daylight comes from above, so installing skylights is often a great way to flood a room with light while saving the walls for fixtures and furniture.

Size Matters in Master Bath Design

A bathroom is often designed to fit into the smallest space possible, and then people still want a tub, separate shower, twin sinks and a toilet. Give your space a break!

Go for a separate tub and shower only if there’s genuinely enough room; otherwise, combine the two. Remember that the user needs enough room to stand, dry off, and turn around.

Looking for more interior design tips, design trends, marketing tips, new products, and furnishing ideas? Get in touch with TD Fall today.

Designer Marketing Tips – Who is Your Ideal Client (and what do they want from you)?

Like any business, there are certain things you need to do to market yourself as an interior designer. One of the most important designer marketing tips we can offer is that you must create an ideal client profile – a not-so-imaginary sketch of the type of client you would most like to work with.It should go without saying that, as a designer, you must identify your audience if you hope to give them what they want. Having said that, many business owners do not invest the time needed to do this. Instead, they hope and pray their products or services will somehow find an audience on their own. This is unrealistic and almost certain to result in disappointing leads and sales results.There is only one way to reach an audience that is open to your message: you need to know exactly who they are and what they want from you. Creating an ideal client profile will enable you to attract, connect with, and convert potential clients into paying clients – and fans of your work.Of course, this is going to take some research but, it should pay off in the long run. Keep in mind, your goal is to figure out who would benefit the most from your design services. This means you need to know what they like and dislike, how they spend their time, and what their other interests are. This will allow you to find them more easily, make deeper connections, and serve their needs better.Who Are You Working For – Creating Your Client ProfileHere is a list of questions to ask yourself about the audience you want to focus on:

• Where does your ideal client hang out?
  • Are they at offline locations? Does your ideal client hang out at Starbuck’s, chatting with like-minded coffee lovers? Do they hang out at certain clubs or social functions? Do they travel to various business or design conferences?
  • Do they prefer online locations? Is there a “favorite” blog your audience prefers? What about online forums where they swap ideas or critiques of design projects they’ve seen or been a part of? Whose Facebook page is most popular with your potential clients? What other social networks do they love? Whose webinars are they unable to resist?
• What does your ideal client watch, listen to, read? Those you hope to attract as clients may already be part of an audience for someone or something so, it makes sense to find out who or what they love to watch, listen to, and read. Like most of us, they’ll be happy to share the things they enjoy or learn from. Be open and absorb all they have to say – without judgment.
• Who are their mentors and other influencers? You're going to find some trends among your potential clients; subjects, designers, and other influencers who will show up regularly in their comments and shares. Who stands out among your audience and why? Once you identify the Big Names in your niche, you’ll be better able to provide insight and value that meets or exceeds what they are offering to your hoped-for audience.
• What are their other interests? Beyond simple stats (like age, gender, location, ethnic background, education level, and career), your ideal clients will also have interests outside your niche. What else are they passionate about and how do they fulfill that passion? A fully developed client profile has much more value than a simplistic one, enabling you to better serve their needs as their designer of choice.
• What professional enrichment, trainings or events do they attend? Real fans (of anything) tend to invest their time, energy, and resources in more than their own design projects. Many of them will travel to see and meet their favorites in person. Others may invest in training to learn more about the subjects that matter to them. Attendance at speeches and seminars by well-known interior designers or trainers is an indicator that your future audience will be committed to the interior designer who speaks to their needs. Make that designer be YOU!

Remember, you are not a member of the audience you are looking for and it doesn’t matter what you think of the things they enjoy doing, or how they spend their spare time. This is all about them!By narrowly defining your ideal client profile, by putting together more information about them rather than less, you are much more likely to identify the perfect fan for your design services.Looking for more tips on interior design success, new home design trends, designer marketing tips, and product ideas? Get in touch with TD Fall today.