Life By Design Podcast Por DSA arte de portada

Life By Design

Life By Design

De: DSA
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The Designer Society of America has launched a new digital series called Life by Design, which will feature in-depth conversations with interior designers and industry professionals, highlighting the unique missions and stories that make up the fabric of our DSA community.© 2023 Arte
Episodios
  • Following Her Passion: Melissa Fields’ Journey From the U.S. Air Force to Interior Designer

    Following Her Passion: Melissa Fields’ Journey From the U.S. Air Force to Interior Designer
    Aug 12 2025
    Many—well most—of us have a natural talent for the work we do in the interior design industry. We remember rearranging and redesigning our childhood bedrooms over and over again. And we practiced that skill in more ways than we can probably count. But when it comes down to the nitty gritty of what makes each of us successful, and aspires us to be successful for those just starting in the industry, it comes down to passion. And that’s what designer Melissa Fields discovered was driving her love for interior design at the end of a 20-year career in the U.S. Air Force. “Toward the later part of my career is when I really started thinking seriously about getting into design,” says Fields, who is Founder, CEO and Principle Designer at Shades of Gray Design Studio in San Antonio, Texas. “I enjoyed my career [in the Air Force] and it was an amazing experience, but I was ready to do what I was absolutely passionate about doing.” She opened her firm in 2018 and has been able to utilize a lot of her military experiences and lessons in her work. Scroll to learn more about Fields, the passion that drives her successful business today and the insight she shares if someone in the military is considering a switch to interior design in the future, and be sure to check out the full interview.
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    48 m
  • Strategy Was Key When Cheryl Luckett Launched Her Design Business

    Strategy Was Key When Cheryl Luckett Launched Her Design Business
    Jul 15 2025
    Most people don’t typically fly by the seat of their pants when starting a business, whether it’s launching a new app, opening a bakery or starting a design firm. But many people probably aren’t as organized as Cheryl Luckett was when she developed a plan to shift her profession to interior design. Luckett, the principle designer who owns Charlotte, North Carolina-headquartered Dwell by Cheryl, studied family and consumer science, with a concentration in nutrition, at Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee. She says it was a dream job, but it just never felt right for her. “After being at a company for 15 years, I just started to feel like I couldn’t keep up the charade any longer,” Luckett shares. “I was being tapped for opportunities and to climb the corporate ladder, and I just didn’t feel right about it.” She took a career pivot, of sorts, taking a job that gave her a little more free time to do what she truly loves—interior design—and she ended up taking design classes at a junior college. Luckett knew she wanted to jump into interior design full time, but she also knew she personally would need a successful plan to make that happen. “I wanted to make sure I was well-prepared and positioned for success,” she says. “I had a 36-month exit strategy called Project 36. It gave me 36 months to get ready to make that leap, and I think that is what helped me make the leap with complete peace and to feel good about it and to not have that anxiety and nervousness about transitioning from my security’ to this wild world of entrepreneurship.” Since then, Dwell by Cheryl has grown by leaps and bounds, and she’s even been successful at collaborating with top-name brands. We had the pleasure of interviewing Luckett recently, learning about what makes her tick, her advice for transitioning careers and what’s it’s been like for her to collaborate with major brands in our industry.
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    32 m
  • Ericka Saurit's Marketing and Branding: Making Sure Clients See You as the Solution

    Ericka Saurit's Marketing and Branding: Making Sure Clients See You as the Solution
    Jul 15 2025
    “If you don’t give the market the story to talk about, they’ll define your brand’s story for you.” —David Brier, Award-Winning Brand Expert and Rebranding Specialist

    One of the biggest misconceptions Ericka Saurit—founder of Saurit Creative and Marketing School for Creatives—hears from interior designers is that marketing feels salesy.

    However, she believes good marketing can be an educational tool that helps interior designers position themselves as thought leaders, helpers, resources and guides in our industry.

    “The more you feel like that’s true, the less marketing will feel salesy,” she says. “Marketing really isn’t about you. It’s a conversation. It’s all about making sure clients see you as the solution to what they’re looking for.”

    We had the pleasure of interviewing Saurit recently to learn more about her journey in interior design, her Marketing School for Creatives, what strategies she believes interior designers should embrace when looking to gain high-quality clients, evolving trends in digital marketing and much, much more.

    [Click here to read the full article and be sure to watch the full video interview!]
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    52 m
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