Friends of Build Magazine – Details, episodes & analysis

Ted speaks with Mark Johnson, a fourth-generation stonemason and the owner of Architectural Stone. Mark shares his journey from working with his father's masonry business to establishing his own company that specializes in high-end stonework. He discusses notable projects, including the restoration of the Parthenon and collaborations with famous clients like T. Boone Pickens and George W. Bush. Mark emphasizes the importance of quality, education, and innovation in the construction industry, as well as his excitement for future endeavors, including new product lines featuring petrified wood.

TOPICS DISCUSSED

• 01:10 Introduction to Mark Johnson and His Journey
• 02:10 The Evolution of Mark's Career in Stonework
• 04:15 High-Profile Projects: Rockefeller and Ralph Lauren
• 08:36 Restoration of the Parthenon: A Unique Challenge
• 16:15 Working with Notable Clients: T. Boone Pickens and George W. Bush
• 27:25 Innovations in Stonework and Engineering
• 40:50 The Importance of Quality and Education in Construction
• 51:00 Future Endeavors and New Product Lines

CONNECT WITH GUEST

Mark Johnson

• Website
• Instagram
• LinkedIn

KEY QUOTES FROM EPISODE

• "I'm a fourth-generation stonemason."
• "It was pretty much hush hush and we couldn't really tell anyone. And they didn't want anybody to think there were American people working on the Parthenon."
• "There was no such thing as a single shaft monolithic column that big in the world that we know"

Ted speaks with Matt Segerstrom owner of Modern Splendor Homes. Matt’s unique journey from a dairy farm in Wisconsin to becoming a successful entrepreneur in the construction industry is littered with challenges and obstacles that he persevered and overcame. Together, Ted and Matt explore the importance of trade skills, the challenges faced in the construction industry, and the significance of family dynamics and parenting. Matt shares insights on the Desert Dreams project, the role of technology in modern homes, and the necessity of having a strong design team. The conversation concludes with reflections on the future of the construction industry and the importance of resilience and adaptability in achieving success.

TOPICS DISCUSSED

• 1:05 Introduction and Background
• 03:15 Career Path and Early Experiences
• 09:20 Transition to Construction and Entrepreneurship
• 08:53 Family Dynamics and Parenting
• 14:00 The Importance of Trade Skills
• 20:20 Navigating Challenges in the Construction Industry
• 22:00 Desert Dreams Project Overview
• 30:30 Technology in Modern Homes
• 37:20 Building Relationships with Clients
• 39:00 Future of Modern Splendor Homes
• 41:15 The Role of Design in Construction
• 45:25 Final Thoughts and Reflections

CONNECT WITH GUEST

Matthew Segerstrom

• Website
• Instagram
• LinkedIn

KEY QUOTES FROM EPISODE

• "I think the American dream has never been better."
• "A firm believer in a little bit of adversity can go a long ways."
• "We get the opportunity to build other people's dreams."

Ted speaks with Alisha Taylor, an interior designer with Alisha Taylor Interiors,  to discuss her journey in the industry. Alisha shares her experience of building her own successful interior design business and the challenges she faced along the way. She talks about the importance of a team mentality and the value of having a strong team with different superpowers.  Alisha’s story serves as an inspiration for young people who are navigating their own career paths and she enjoys mentoring younger designers in her interior design business.  Join Ted to hear how Alisha has tackled building trust with clients, scaling her business over the years, and where she’s headed next.

TOPICS DISCUSSED

• 02:20 Alisha Taylor's Journey in Interior Design
• 05:45 Building a Successful Interior Design Business
• 11:40 The Value of a Team Mentality in Design
• 22:50 Flexibility and Open-Mindedness in Design Careers
• 27:50 Encouraging children to be successful
• 30:30 Embracing the Journey
• 31:50  Mentoring the Next Generation
• 34:05 The Power of Failure
• 36:45 Guiding Clients through Decision-Making
• 39:30 The Psychology of Design
• 43:20 Spoiling Good Employees and working with great teams
• 53:40 Building Trust through Marketing

CONNECT WITH GUEST

Alisha Taylor

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Instagram

KEY QUOTES FROM EPISODE

• "Flexibility and open-mindedness are key in pursuing a career in design."
• "Having a team mentality and leveraging the strengths of each team member is essential for a successful interior design business."
• "Don't look at the goal as the end goal. The end goal is when we die. Right? We've got to enjoy every part of the journey."

Kenny, along with his business partner Matt Yates, offered to collaborate with Highland and offer their expertise. In 2016, the two bought out their original partner, giving Kenny and Matt 50/50 ownership of the firm.

Listen in as Kenny does a deep dive into what drives him as a business owner in the real estate world. He speaks on his core values, decision-making framework, and how he balances an incredibly busy schedule and time with the family.

He then gives his thoughts on the future of home building and how company owners and those in the trades can adapt to changes in technology and consumer trends.

Topics Discussed: 

• [02:33] Kenny’s background and how he got involved with Highland Custom Homes
• [05:53] Overcoming rejection
• [06:57] Highland Custom Homes’s core values
• [08:00] Kenny’s ventures outside of Highland Custom Homes
• [09:27] Why Kenny loves real estate
• [10:37] What Kenny is most excited about right now
• [12:05] How Kenny makes big decisions
• [13:15] Achieving work-life integration
• [14:55] Kenny’s advice to young entrepreneurs
• [15:12] Why Kenny loves travel
• [17:24] The most special thing about being in Park City
• [19:21] Building in the valley versus building in Park City
• [20:32] Changes in technology for home builders
• [22:03] Architects that inspire Kenny
• [23:23] Kenny’s predictions about the market and supply chain for the next three years
• [26:24] Qualities that Kenny looks for in trade partners
• [27:19] The next stage for Kenny
• [27:50] Kenny on how anyone can live the American Dream
• [31:20] What Kenny learned about success from interviewing countless leaders

Connect with Guest:

• Website 
• Instagram 
• Facebook 
• Houzz 
• YouTube 

Connect with Build Magazine: 

• Website 
• Blog 
• Contact Us
• Instagram 
• Facebook 

Key Quotes from Episode:

• Each person has their strengths. I’m good at some things. I’m not good at everything. When you can surround yourself with people who are experts in what they do, it makes the whole so much better than the individual parts.
• You have to know what you believe in, and when you believe in something strong enough, you can get through any kind of rejection.
• I’ll always be advancing different business interests throughout my life; but, the core of all that will always be people.
• A big part of my life is focusing on the positives. [...] There is so much good in the world, and I choose to focus on those things.
• Success is not a matter of chance—it’s a matter of choice. [...] The world would define success by money and fame; but, real success has a lot more to do with what you can give than what you can gain.

Osmond Designs’s list of accolades include being a seven-time Best of State winner for Interior Design, as well as Best Interior Design in Utah Valley’s Parade of Homes 2011-2019. The firm is also a nine-time Houzz Award winner for Heather Osmond and her “dream-team” for both highest level for client satisfaction and interior design services.

Listen in as Heather shares why she believes that “home is the most important place on Earth,” and how this belief translates into her work as an interior designer. She goes down memory lane, reflecting on how she built what is today the biggest interior design and furniture company in the state.

Topics Discussed: 

• [02:45] Passing on the wisdom of entrepreneurship to the kids
• [05:22] The power of dreaming big
• [09:31] Heather’s all-time favorite client stories
• [11:42] Osmond Designs’s amazing stores
• [18:11] Building the biggest interior design and furniture company in the state
• [22:13] The future of Osmond Designs
• [24:54] What makes Osmond Designs unique
• [28:02] How Pinterest and Houzz changed Osmond Designs
• [31:54] Granny panties at the store
• [34:02] Heather on how anyone can live the American Dream

Connect with Osmond Designs:

• Website 
• Instagram 
• Facebook 

Connect with Build Magazine: 

• Website 
• Blog 
• Contact Us 
• Instagram 
• Facebook 

Key Quotes by Heather:

Building a home is a team effort. It’s not just the interior designer or the electrician or the plumber. Everybody feeling passionate and doing their best is what makes a home incredible.

It’s my sacred responsibility to help [my clients] make their home somewhere they love to be.

You only fail if you don’t get back up, because all of us are going to get knocked down.

What makes Osmond Designs unique and me, specifically, is that I listen to my clients, and I genuinely care about them and their family and how they live.

If you’re willing to live like no one will, you can live like no one can.

Mark is not your typical architect. Our conversation goes deep into his passion for travel, Mediterranean cuisine, philanthropy, and the finer things in life.

He explains why he decided to include a page on his website featuring his favorite family recipes and why he believes that there are few experiences in life that leave lasting memories as the family meal.

Mark also touches on what inspired him to host wine tours and the power of travel to refill his creative tank as a designer.

He and Ted lament the lack of focus on classic styles in design school, but find hope in the fact that more and more clients today have been gravitating toward traditional architecture and backing away from the “boxy” look that dominates contemporary designs.

Finally, Mark goes in-depth on his initiatives to pay-it-forward, as well as his desire to see more of his countrymen living out the American Dream.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• [01:58] The origin of Mark’s recipe book on the Candelaria website
• [05:06] Why Mark began hosting wine tours
• [10:23] How travel refills Mark’s creative tank
• [12:27] The challenges of working with different builders on projects in different locations
• [17:33] Traditional vs contemporary architecture and the emerging “Mediterranean” style
• [20:22] Encouraging aspiring architects to embrace traditional styles
• [28:09] What Mark has learned from working with prestigious clients through the years
• [30:00] Giving back
• [38:30] Mark’s most memorable career moments
• [39:30] Upcoming trends in the industry
• [44:08] Mark on how anyone can live the American Dream

Key Quotes by Mark:

• What I’ve learned from those wine tours is how much they emulate life itself: You can plan this amazing life and this amazing trip, and things will go wrong. It’s what you do when those things go wrong—you can turn them into something amazing. Just keep going. You never know what’s around the next turn.
• Travel refills my creative tank.
• You’re not hiring us for a set of plans but for the experience we’re going to bring to the table.
• Part of our job is to make these old-school professions and crafts sexy again. We’ve got to show the kids how cool they are. When you make something unique and different, it’s very fulfilling. A lot of these kids don’t have an outlet for expression other than a computer.

Believing that “design should express people better than they can express themselves,” Jaque built her brand on the strength of her character, personality, love of the trades, and out-of-the-box creativity.

Listen in as Jaque how she developed a love for design, architecture, and engineering from an early age, as well as her determination to become a role model for women in the industry or who have a desire to enter the industry.

She reflects on her long and varied career path that saw her pushed to the limits of her imagination at Wynn all the way to running a firm that was featured on the cover of Architectural Digest not once, twice, but three times.

Finally, Jaque explains how she is able to soldier on in spite of the countless risks she has taken throughout her career, why she believes that “failing is awesome”, and her belief that a successful designer has to be so sure of their capabilities that they are willing to walk away from their own company if it comes down to it.

Topics Discussed: 

• [02:05] Jaque on the amazing house she recently gave us a tour of
• [05:26] How Jaque got connected with Stephanie Fox of Platinum Homes
• [11:35] Serving as a role model for women in the trades
• [17:03] Changing the story you tell yourself to overcome self-imposed barriers
• [23:32] Jaque’s first big break working at Wynn Las Vegas
• [33:31] The importance of being challenged to think bigger and differently at work
• [38:17] Starting her own firm and being featured on the cover of Architectural Digest thrice
• [41:47] How Jaque interacts with her high-profile clients throughout the process
• [45:29] Asking questions relentlessly in order to be able to design for longevity
• [49:24] Why contemporary architecture will not stand the test of time
• [58:13] Starting a furniture line for existing clients
• [1:02:45] Why Jaque is willing to risk failure in achieving big goals
• [1:04:17] Jaque on how anyone can live the American Dream

Connect with Jaque Bethke Design:

• Website 
• Instagram 
• Facebook 

Connect with Build Magazine: 

• Website 
• Blog 
• Contact Us 
• Instagram 
• Facebook 

Key Quotes from Episode:

• So much of what we do in design is driven by human design—by the nurturing characteristics.
• Failure is not something that should define you as a person. Failure should motivate you to do better. [...] Failing is awesome, because what you take away from it is a lesson. You can use that lesson to empower yourself to help somebody else.
• People are afraid to challenge, but the best work comes from challenge.
• If you involve the children in the process of their home—where they’re going to live, how they’re going to live, what’s going into the areas that they use—they will take more ownership of it and they will help to care for it.
• You are the architect of your journey in life. There are consequences that come with the choices that you make, but you can’t be afraid of them.

Rod kicks off the conversation by expressing his thoughts as to why he believes the construction industry is “broken”. Namely, he believes that small custom builders are lacking proper mentors that can help them scale their careers.

He says that the industry is seeing a decline in artistry, particularly among trim and finish carpenters, because certain skills are not being passed down to these younger trades.

However, regardless of what the future brings and what technologies get introduced into the industry, building a home will always be a “handcrafted experience”—even if it comes to the point where 3D printed homes become the norm.

Rod goes on to reflect on how his upbringing informs the vision-mission, values, and company culture at Cullum Homes. He touches on “The Cullum Difference”, which is to say, “How we communicate with our clients and how quick we are to bring the challenges to the surface.”

Finally, Rod speaks on the most important factor in his life: family. He shares his belief that strong family ties translate positively into every aspect of a person’s life.

He also believes that every single individual who refers to themselves as“American”—no matter how they look or what they believe in—can find success if they embrace the fact that anyone who puts their entire self into their dreams can become whatever they desire to be in the United States.

Topics Discussed: 

• [02:15] Why the construction industry is in dire need of mentorship
• [11:40] Why the level of artistry, especially among finish carpenters, is declining
• [18:32] The return of bigger houses and a wider array of home amenities
• [26:02] Who is Rod Cullum and what led him to establish Cullum Homes?
• [34:31] How Cullum Homes selects their customers
• [40:30] The foundational importance of family
• [51:59] What gets Rod out of bed in the morning?
• [1:00:53] Rod on how anyone can live the American Dream

Connect with Cullum Homes:

• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Pinterest
• Houzz
• YouTube
• LinkedIn

Connect with Build Magazine: 

• Website
• Blog
• Contact Us
• Instagram
• Facebook

Key Quotes from Episode:

• I’ve always believed that the construction industry, overall, is broken. [...] There are no real, strong mentors for small custom builders.
• The design development is the dream. The construction document is how that dream gets executed.
• This industry is about relationships. It’s a very small town. You can’t burn bridges. It’s about making sure you commit to your trade partners and you commit to your customers. You honor that agreement and you expect the same back from them.
• It’s not that we are exceptional; it’s the ideal of America that makes us exceptional.

The spark that led to the founding of MLD took place over 30 years ago when Dan, his brother Joe, and friend Steve Stockfish started delivering appliances for a small builder supplier in Salt Lake City. “The Three Mountain Landers” saw potential in their concept and continued to develop it through the years. Today MLD is made up of 140 employees and spans five locations.

Listen in as Dan talks all things company culture and building a resilient organization. He names “fun” as one of the top qualities he looks for in any new hire and says that he has brought people aboard who were willing to take significant pay cuts to become a member of his positive and dynamic team.

Today, with his continued plans for expansion and move to decentralize operations between each of MLD’s locations, Dan explains how he looks to increase the self-leadership capabilities of his team.

Dan goes on to discuss how he was forced to adapt to the limitations brought on by the Global Financial Crisis in 2008 and, now, COVID-19. He speaks on his biggest lessons learned in times of adversity and how he plans to build on his massive success in the new normal.

Topics Discussed:

• [02:04] The inspiration behind Mountain Land Design
• [07:32] How Dan leads his 140+ employees
• [09:37] Dealing with clients who first walk into the showroom overwhelmed
• [11:44] Buying out MLD and expanding to five locations
• [18:21] How Dan built relationships with incredible vendors
• [21:46] How Dan plans to decentralize operations between each location
• [22:55] Helping your teams lead themselves
• [25:21] The moment Dan and his two partners realized that they made it
• [26:49] Surviving 2008 and being forced to cut the staff in half
• [29:46] MLD’s challenges during the pandemic
• [33:37] Projects that MLD is most excited about right now
• [36:14] The biggest lesson that Dan learned after 32 years in the industry
• [38:42] How Dan almost lost his wallet at a Bronco game
• [41:40] Dan on how anyone can live the American Dream

Connect with Mountain Land Design:

• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook

Connect with Build Magazine:

• Website
• Blog
• Contact Us
• Instagram
• Facebook

Key Quotes from Episode:

• When we’re hiring somebody, we look at, “Are they going to be fun? Are they going to fit with everybody?” Otherwise, they can become buzzkills for the rest of the group.
• It’s not about the money. We have hired people that have taken significant pay cuts to come work for us. We’re a fun factory.

Today Ted speaks with Klaus Baer, COO of WRJ Design, an interior design firm he co-founded with Rush Jenkins in Jackson, WY.

Listen in as Klaus shares how he made the transition from Bear Stearns in New York to co-founding WRJ in Jackson and the inspiration behind one of his original home designs that evoked a “European aesthetic mixed with an American Western heritage style”.

Klaus reflects on his most memorable projects, including his exhibition work for a number of high-profile figures such as Nancy Reagan and Johnny Cash.

He touches on the idea of American excellence and how architects and designers can nurture that symbiotic relationship that leads to truly timeless works of art.

Klaus speaks on the WRJ brand and his partnerships with European craftsmen, and why he puts so much focus on soft skills or aptitudes when hiring new team members.

Finally, he talks about his and Rush’s experience publishing the book Natural Elegance: Luxurious Mountain Living.

Topics Discussed: 

• [04:10] Klaus’s background and career in the interior design space
• [15:39] How working with Nancy Reagan impacted Klaus and his foray into exhibitions
• [23:14] What gilded age architecture can teach us about the American Dream
• [26:14] How Klaus chooses his more “humble” projects apart from prestigious clients
• [31:31] Partnering with European craftsmen and differences between different countries
• [39:36] What most don’t know about doing photography for an interior design book
• [48:14] Getting Natural Elegance: Luxurious Mountain Living published
• [52:41] The importance of fostering soft skills among team members
• [56:05] Skills that Klaus wants to impart onto the next generation of designers
• [59:06] What Klaus is most excited for
• [01:00:33] Klaus on how anyone can live the American Dream

Connect with Klaus Baer & WRJ Design:

• Website 
• Instagram 
• Facebook 
• Book

Connect with Build Magazine:

• Website
• Blog 
• Contact Us
• Instagram
• Facebook

Key Quotes from Episode:

• It doesn’t matter the industry—excellence is excellence.
• Something that looks great today has got to be timeless. It’s got to work 10, 15, ideally 20 years from now if possible.
• As interior designers, we are very focused on the nuance of the human appeal of all the textures and tactile layers that go into the interiors that we work on. Architects are more interested in the form and the shape of the house.
• Being an intern is probably one of the best things a young person can do to really understand if they want to be in the industry.