Talk Shop with Ariel Okin: A Fenimore Lane Production – Details, episodes & analysis

This week we're wrapping up season three with an incredible guest. Elizabeth Lawrence’s design origin story is one to inspire – rising from intern to partner at one of the most prestigious interior design firms in the country. Originally hailing from Wilmington, Delaware, the classically trained interior designer attended the University of Richmond and then the New York School of Interior Design. After graduation, a coveted internship with Bunny Williams led to a job as a Junior Designer, and she rose through the ranks, from Senior Designer to becoming the firm’s first ever Partner – a major accomplishment.

Together, Elizabeth and Bunny run Williams Lawrence, the interior design firm formerly known as Bunny Williams Inc., and the firm’s product line, Bunny Williams Home. Elizabeth has been honored by the New York School of Interior Design, and her work has been widely published in media outlets including Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, House Beautiful, Veranda, Galerie, Milieu, and others, as well as being featured in Bunny’s newest interior design course on Create Academy, “How to Design Your Dream Home.”

Thank you again for joining us for this season and stay tuned for season three coming this Spring!

This week we’re welcoming a mother-daughter duo, the creative forces behind Lee Ann Thornton Interiors. Lee Ann and her daughter, Allie, are known for their soothing color palettes and incredibly warm and inviting interiors, and believe in creating homes filled with meaningful furnishings and charming details that bring joy, comfort, and inspiration. 

Since launching her eponymous boutique design firm in 2003, Lee Ann has developed a reputation for creating high-end residential and commercial projects rooted in classical designs, and infused with an Anglophile thread. In 2016, Allie joined her mom, starting as a project manager, designer, and now, partner. She brings to the team a fresh, preppy, bohemian style, a welcomed thread to Lee Ann’s timeless and classic sensibilities, and each approaches their work with both warmth and thoughtful attention to detail. Lee Ann and Allie’s work has been featured in magazines like House Beautiful, Coastal Living, Luxe, and others, and we are so thrilled to have the mother-daughter duo on today. 

—

Follow Lee Ann and Allie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leeannthorntoninteriors/

Learn more about their firm: https://leeannthornton.com/

This week’s guest cut her teeth on the fabulous sets of Hollywood, before transitioning her set design experience into a career: as one of the most sought-after interior designers in LA.

Mandy Cheng launched her solo design career first as a production and graphic designer in the film industry. You can find her design work in music videos for chart-topping names such as J.Cole, and One Republic, & DJ Snake, and her graphic design on projects ranging from 20th Century Women and Ladybird to Beyonce's Lemonade.

Mandy quickly realized she had a passion for interiors, and she has received widespread acclaim: her work on Emmy Raver-Lampman and Daveed Diggs’s home, landed the April 2021 cover of AD, and she most recently designed Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita’s home, which was featured in AD and their fan-favorite platform, Open Door.

Since she founded Mandy Cheng Design, Mandy has been named to the prestigious AD 100 list for three years in a row, and has designed a wide range of spaces, including residential and commercial, all spanning the country.

---

Learn more about Mandy Cheng’s Design Studio: https://www.mandychengdesign.com/

And follow Mandy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mandychengdesign/

For this week’s episode, it’s a Talk Shop first, as we welcome a duo (!) – lifelong friends and now co-founders,Hannah Weil McKinley and Leah Melby Clinton.

Hannah and Leah first met over a decade ago, during their time spent in editorial at POPSUGAR–a pop culture site that covers all things from fashion to beauty to shopping. After the birth of Hannah’s first daughter, she felt a seismic shift, and began to look for and share more candid stories around motherhood and womanhood. Across the country, Leah started to kick around an idea of creating a space for community. Then the pandemic hit, and the beginnings of In Kind took route.

Printed twice yearly, and available digitally, In Kind is thoughtfully curated and touches on the conversations modern women are having:  about motherhood, career, ambition, personal style, and of course, interiors. As Hannah and Leah say, In Kind is a conversation around the things that really matter, focused on capturing, exploring, and supporting the questions and dreams that women are having with each other. (And I agree, as a personal fan of the magazine.)

---

Learn more about In Kind: https://inkindmagazine.com/

And follow Hannah and Leah on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/hannahmck20

https://www.instagram.com/leahmelbyclinton

We’re thrilled to kick off Season Three with the fifth-generation creative leader of an incredible 125 year-old family business: Jennifer Gracie. Gracie creates some of the most beautiful and beloved custom hand-painted wallpapers in the world, utilized by many esteemed designers and celebrities around the globe.

Founded in 1928 in New York City, James Gracie originally sold custom lamps and home furnishings, until the 1920s, when the company began to offer Chinese and Japanese furniture, screens, and porcelain. Soon after, Gracie became the first company to import hand painted wallpapers to the United States since the 1700’s. Today, the studio has showrooms in New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas, and several exclusive collaborations with luxury companies such as Aerin, Estee Lauder, Stubbs and Wooton, and more.

Our guest this week is Gracie's Creative Director, Jennifer, who oversees the company’s day-to-day operations, social media, new collections, inspirations for custom projects and more. Alongside her brother and company president, Mike, and Jenn’s son and Sales Director, Zach Shea, they continue to carry out Charles R. Gracie’s legacy and maintain the family’s generations-long commitment to exceptional design. 

“The Art of Gracie”, available now from Rizzoli, is a glorious celebration of America’s most storied hand painted wallpaper company, featuring dozens of rooms by today’s top interior designers.

—

Follow Gracie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/graciestudio/

Pick up your own copy of “The Art of Gracie” plus learn more about the upcoming book tour: https://graciestudio.com/the-art-of-gracie-book

Join me, Ariel Okin, interior designer, editor and writer, as I kick off season three of my design podcast, Talk Shop. Each week, I welcome the foremost tastemakers from around the globe to chat about how they built their businesses, where they find inspiration for new projects, and key pieces of advice they’ve learned along the way. And you don’t have to wait long, as we welcome our first guest of season three next Wednesday, September 25th. 

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. See you soon!

In our final episode for the season, the theme is all about lighting a room, live from our second panel from the Fenimore Lane Design Summit, held at the Mayflower Inn & Spa. In partnership with Mitzi, Ariel is joined by fellow Mitzi Tastemaker, Anthony D’Argenzio of Zio and Sons, on the how-tos of decorative lighting and how they've styled some of the most popular fixtures from their Mitzi Tastemaker collections. With a special nod to our moderator Luxe Magazine’s Grace Beuley Hunt. Tune in for their bright and lively discussion! 

Thank you again for joining us for this season and stay tuned for season three coming this Fall!

Follow our panelist and moderator:

Anthony D’Argenzio: https://www.instagram.com/zioandsons/

Grace Beuley Hunt: https://www.instagram.com/gracebeuley/

Learn more about Mitzi’s ceiling, wall and lighting offers: https://mitzi.com/

And their Tastemakers: https://mitzi.com/Tastemakers

Recorded live this past Saturday at the Mayflower Inn and Spa, in partnership with Farrow & Ball, Ariel is joined by two fellow best-in-class panelists to chat color and interior design: This Oak House’s, Annie Meyers-Shyer and Farrow & Ball's Colour Consultant and author, Joa Studholme. Special thank you to our moderator Luxe Magazine’s Grace Beuley Hunt. We sit down to discuss our love of color, how we interact with it in a room, and share a few tips & tricks for choosing the right color for your home. 

Follow our panelists: 

Annie Meyers-Shyer - https://www.instagram.com/thisoakhouse/

Joa Studholme - https://www.instagram.com/joastudholme/

Grace Beuley Hunt - https://www.instagram.com/gracebeuley/

Learn more about Farrow & Ball’s new wallpapers and current color catalog: https://www.farrow-ball.com/

This week Ariel welcomes her friend, Amanda Jones Vaughan. A creative consultant and tastemaker with a career path that runs the gamut from cutting edge interior design startups to fashion powerhouses, Amanda has done it all. From NET-A-PORTER and J. Crew, to most recently, Editor-At-Large for Over The Moon, Amanda’s day-to-day involves overseeing events, content partnerships, and VIP services along with sharing top trends, product picks and styling content for brides and beyond.

After over a decade in Manhattan, Amanda returned to Philadelphia with her husband and 3 lively boys, where she is continuing to provide her keen sense of brand building through a growing consulting and styling business. 

Follow Amanda over on Instagram and to learn where you can subscribe to her weekly newsletter, “That Said,” where she will be sharing her fresh take on aesthetics, an enthusiasm for unique finds and a healthy, humorous dose of motherhood reality. 

https://www.instagram.com/amandajonesvaughan/

Books recommended by Amanda:

Move and Work by Malene Birger: https://www.amazon.com/Move-Work-Malene-Birger/dp/3832798099

Mr & Mrs Clark: Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell: https://www.artbook.com/9788836653768.html

–

Also, we’re not wrapped for the season yet! Come back on May 22nd and the 29th for two special episodes recorded live from the Fenimore Lane Design Summit. And hopefully see you all at the Mayflower Inn on Saturday, May 18th!

Learn more about the Fenimore Lane Design Summit: 

https://aubergeresorts.com/mayflower/experiences/fenimore-lane-design-summit/

On this week’s episode of Talk Shop, Ariel is joined by the accomplished interior designer, Hillary W. Taylor. Having grown up in the San Francisco area, Hillary learned the art of designing the home environment from her mother. After graduating from Princeton, she worked for an investment banking firm, before realizing design might be much more her style, and founding her business, Hillary W Taylor Interiors in 2003.

Known for her neo-traditional design style that seamlessly blends classic elegance with contemporary elements. Her work exudes a sense of refined sophistication, creating spaces that are both timeless and inviting. With a keen eye for detail, Hillary blends colors, textures and patterns to achieve a sense of balance and harmony, with a bit of her own eclectic charm. 

And when Hillary is not in the design studio, one might find her digging in the dirt, on the running trail, or cheering on one of her four children at their sports games, all while awaiting her next plane ride to adventure. 

Learn more about Hillary’s design firm: https://hillarytaylorinteriors.com/