Where Creativity Meets Business with Jamie Young

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Welcome to Boulevard Beat, the podcast where design meets the
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rhythm of everyday life. I'm Megan Bloom, founder of Megan
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Bloom Interiors, joined by my co-host, Krista Rossbund, style and
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design editor at Traditional Home Magazine. Each week, we explore
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timeless design, what's shaping the way we live today, and
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how to create a home that feels as good as
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it looks. Through conversations with designers, creatives, and tastemakers, we
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believe great design isn't just seen, it's felt. Let's get
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into today's episode. Welcome back to Boulevard Beat. Today, we're
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talking about something near and dear to my heart, the
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intersection of creativity and business. We're joined by Jamie Young,
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the creative force behind Jamie Young Company, a brand known
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for its beautiful lighting, distinctive furnishings, and globally inspired designs.
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What started with a simple creative idea has grown into
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a successful company with nearly three decades of experience in
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the home industry. Jamie shares her entrepreneurial journey, the challenges
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and opportunity of building a design business, and her and
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how she continues to find inspiration while evolving her brand.
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It's a wonderful conversation about creativity, taking risks, and turning
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a passion for design into a lasting business. Let's hit
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the boulevard. Well, Jamie, please tell us about the street
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that you grew up on.
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The street I grew up on. Well, it's a funny
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thing because I grew up on a street called Tigertail.
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It's in Brentwood in West LA. And I, as a person,
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wherever I travel in the world... somehow it comes up,
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the street tiger tail. Now I can't tell you, it's
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just a strange phenomenon, but it was, you know, it's
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in the hills in Los Angeles, close to the beach.
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And it was a beautiful part of it still today.
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It's a spectacular part of the town, part of the city.
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But when I grew up, it was, it was really,
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you know, still a sleepy area. And through my travels
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around the world, I, I'm always asking people where they're
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from and I like to connect to people. So I'm
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always like, Oh, where are you from? And if they
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say LA, where in LA, and then there's say a
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West LA. And then I have to, I don't know why,
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but I'm always having to pull that information out of people. And, um,
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I have been in the smallest, farthest parts of this
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globe and met people who grew up on tiger tail
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and That's crazy.
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Small world.
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It is crazy. Like, I'm not kidding. I've been on
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the top of a mountain in Bhutan at Tiger's Nest,
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climbing up there, and we were at this little tea
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spot in the middle of the mountains. And I met
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a woman, and we started the conversation, and it ended
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up that she literally lived on tiger tail. And the
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same thing in India, in Udaipur, in a tiny little
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jewelry shop, completely random place. Rope on Tiger Tail. So
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that's where I grew up.
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Well, it's a great name for sure.
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Yeah.
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Jamie, growing up in Los Angeles, you know, it's a
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city that's just with the hustle and bustle of creatives everywhere.
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And I know you've been surrounded by them. It's certainly
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the vernacular of the city. We'd love to hear your
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experience among art, entertainment, and music and how that shaped
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your childhood.
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I think that it was a critical part of my...
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my point of view, my DNA is how I grew up.
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I grew up in an environment of all creatives, all entrepreneurs.
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So my mom was an artist, a sculptor, a painter.
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She did ceramics, was a big part of who she was.
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And we had a potter's wheel and a kiln in
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my backyard. And then my dad was an entrepreneur. And
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he was a guy from Brooklyn that knew every single
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person in LA, like a very personality out there connector.
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And so my entire life was about creativity, whatever you
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can possibly do, you should go for it. My father's
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favorite expression to me was the world is your oyster.
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I got lucky that I had parents that were that supportive.
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But I was always really inspired by entrepreneurs and creative environments.
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My mom put me in art classes from the time
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I was five years old, maybe. I was designing my
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own bedroom based on going to the Rose Bowl flea
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market and finding antiques and putting things together from the
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time I was seven. I was designing my own clothes
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because I wanted to for big events, for family events.
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So I I definitely grew up in what would probably
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be called a very open, hippie-esque environment, like everything's cool,
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whatever you want to go for, go for. At the
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same time, there was a lot of energy put on,
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you should go for things. Don't think you can't have
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the world and go for it. Don't be afraid of it.
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I love that. Just instilling that in you at a
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young age and always having that a part of your
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life too is great.
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Yeah, it was fun.
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Obviously, one of the key purposes of starting a business
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is you're filling a void in the marketplace. What specifically
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did you feel was missing in the design arena when
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you started your company?
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At the time that I started, you know, I started
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with simple things like concrete cement pots that I found
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on the street in Mexico. And then I put orchids
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in them and drove them up to florists in L.A.
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And that's actually how I started the business is I
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found that these– I had this idea of taking a
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simple terracotta pot and casting it in cement because I
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hadn't seen it. And I loved that it was just
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a new material. And I've always kind of been about
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what's the new material? Take some basic classic and put
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a new spin on it. And that's how I started.
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And then very quickly, my husband and I, my husband
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was a sculptor at the time. I still is. And
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we said we should do some beautiful concrete lamps And
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what I think was missing was beautiful lampshades. The idea
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that lampshades could be more works of art than a white,
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simple shade. And at the time, no one was doing that.
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So we dove in and I love textiles and he
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designed the bases and I designed the shades. So that's
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where we found a niche. I did not start. I
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wasn't like third generation home furnishing business. person. I started
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because I loved design and I loved people. So for me,
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it was more about, and I, of course, you always
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look at things in hindsight. In hindsight, I realized like
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I didn't know anything. I just knew what I loved.
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And I think sometimes that naive part is what is
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a great way to start something because then you don't
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limit your thinking. And that's how I started. And really,
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it was lampshades was it was something I felt was missing.
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Jamie, I think it's so fun that you said that,
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you know, it all started with a little terracotta pot
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and then maybe the lampshade when you launched your business, because.
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You are from L.A. and there's that famous business piece
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of advice that comes from Disney, which it started with
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a little mouse. And it started with that little mouse.
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And then it grew to what we know of a
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behemoth of a brand name. today, which leads me to
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my next question. There's a big difference between starting a business,
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which so many people do, and they do it successfully.
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And I think that is a driver. It's sort of
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a bucket list for a lot of people. They want
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to build something that's their own. But there's a difference
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between that and building a brand. So can you explain
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in your own words what the difference is to you
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and how you've gone about doing both?
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Yeah, it's again, I'm going to go back to when
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I started, I was naive because in a good way,
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I always go back to you start a business. And
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sometimes if you know too much, you might not even
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go for it, right? Because it's hard. There's nothing easy
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about launching a brand or a business or both. And
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then you couple it with manufacturing and shipping. And it's
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a very tough business. But I had a point of
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view and I felt strongly about a design point of
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view as well as I loved the business side. So
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I continued to use both sides of my brain on
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that and hired people who could help me with both.
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Creating a widget, for lack of a better word, is
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hard to do and you could be very successful at
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producing something. Creating a brand in home furnishings 30 years
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ago was almost impossible. It didn't exist in home furnishings
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the same way. You know, you had the designer business,
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and then you had all these kind of what we
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would now call white label companies producing product that were
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selling to retail stores. You didn't have... I was doing
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something that really wasn't out there, and You know, I
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remember my first big PR that I got was in
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El Decor. I happened to have a young friend who
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started at El Decor, and she was looking for– she
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needed to bring, like, who the new company was. And
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I had three lamps and five lampshades. That was it.
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But she talked them into you know, giving me a
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two-page spread. And that friend happened to be Quintana Dunn,
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which is Joan Didion's daughter, who has passed. But she
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was somebody I grew up with, and she was starting
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in her career. And so I got this two-page spread
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in El Decor, and as a maker is what we
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would call them today. They didn't call us makers then.
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I don't know what we were. But it really helped
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me launch both a brand and a company. And then
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Neiman Marcus at the time had this incredible catalog, and
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they were one of the first people really doing this.
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Them and Martha Stewart, I think, were those catalog of home.
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And they put me on the cover. And we're two
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different things that launched our company, both from a brand
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perspective and manufacturing and doing business. So it takes both things.
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I think a brand, you've got to continue with your
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point of view. You have to make sure you're really
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saying something about what you are trying to have as
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a look.
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Yeah.
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And then you have to back it up with a
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really good business model and manufacturing and quality and all
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of those things. Does that answer the question?
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I think that answers the question perfectly. And I'm still
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stuck on the fact that you not only did you
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have wonderful parental influences of creativity, but you had Joan
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Didion nearby, too.
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Wow. I grew up with her daughter. And I think
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that you forget when you grow up in L.A. at
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that time, it There was no social media. So we
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were all it was everybody was blended. Right. And so
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you were around a lot of creative people. I was
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fortunate to be around some really out of the box thinkers.
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And that helped me. It helped me, you know, take
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huge risk.
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Honestly, you've done both building a business and building a
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brand so beautifully. And I think that sometimes what happens is,
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you know, I think I like. appreciate that you've been
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so candid and said you were naive because there is
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a problem with knowing too much oh gosh yeah.
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I I don't I think that there were well I
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remember having this idea when I found these cement pots
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in Mexico and I knew that if I bought that
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there were a dollar on the street right and I
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thought okay I can buy them for a dollar and
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did my math and then sell them to the woods,
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which was this amazing florist in Brentwood for $ 12. And
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I thought, holy cow, like that's an amazing margin. I
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got this. And I remember speaking to one of my
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dad's best friends, who's a business guy. And I said,
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I have this idea and blah, blah, blah. And the
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first thing he said to me is ideas are great,
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but the difference between someone with an idea and a
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business is they know how to execute and never forget that.
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And to take the leap, I needed to be naive.
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And I think that nothing wrong with business school and
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all the learnings, but sometimes as an entrepreneur, you have
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to take risk and being naive really helped me take
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the risk.
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Yeah, it's true for sure.
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So Jamie, a minute ago, you talked about the change,
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not having social media. And I mean, you've witnessed so
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much change in the industry and just life in general
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over the past three decades, the infancy of the internet,
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online shopping, the aforementioned social media. Describe how all of
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these additions to the world have affected your business and
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its growth. And what part of the business do you
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still wish operated in an old school manner? If you do,
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if you feel that way, some people love all the technology.
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I don't, I'm such a, I feel like I should
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have been born 50 years before I was someday.
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I do really embrace technology, but I embrace change that my,
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I am, I am built for change. I love it.
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I love to, to figure out how to take what
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I do and make it relative and relevant, I should say,
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to today. The changes have been phenomenal, right? When we
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first started and we would go to a trade show
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in New York and you would meet a ton of
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people and you would handwrite orders and you would connect
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to each person and then you'd go home or go
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to your hotel room with your salespeople and you would
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add each order up with a calculator and then you
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would put it on some pieces of paper and make
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sure and go, Oh my gosh, look what we did.
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Like there was a tangible excitement to those times. And
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there wasn't as much conflict of how to sell.
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Right.
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So at the time, the only people you really sold
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to were retail stores. That was it. That's, that's who
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existed when we first started. And then, And the biggest
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conflict was you couldn't sell to two or three stores
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on the same street. And then from there, everything else evolved.
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You know, I missed some of those opportunities and didn't
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see the future in certain ways. And then in other ways,
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I dug in and learned and grew with what was needed.
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So I think the thing I miss the most is
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the human relationship part. To me, that's the most fun.
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And other than that, I love that there's so much
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more creativity we can do today. I don't like the
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distraction of technology for any of us. You know, I
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think it, I, I just say, sometimes it just, it
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takes you away from focus, but I do love the creative,
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the access to creativity. I think that that part makes
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it really fun. So, and today, you know, we, we
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evolved with everybody. Um, I remember that Serena and Lily
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were my neighbors at a New York gift show and
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they were younger than me and they had just started,
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but they, um, they were doing bed linens, I think.
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And we would have these conversations and then they said, yeah,
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we're going to go direct to the consumer. And I
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was like, Oh, you are. Oh my goodness. Like that's
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a leap. I don't even know. I didn't even think
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I could. Um, And then obviously you watched how they
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grew a brand, right? So today I just welcome young ideas.
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I welcome fresh ideas and approaches so that we are
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meeting our customers where they are today. I think that's
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the most important thing. Are we meeting our customers? And
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it goes also back to change. I love change. I
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think that changes. It's scary for people. They like to
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do what they do and stay in a formula, but
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change is what keeps us fresh.
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Well, I think some of the issue with change today
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is we used to see change, and now I'm making
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myself sound all old and everything.
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Well, me too.
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When you saw change, it was a slow drip change.
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And now it's overnight.
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And just when you learn how to do the next thing,
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that's already dinosaur because something else has moved along.
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So I.
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Think change is scarier today because 100 years ago, you
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didn't realize what could be done. Now we know what
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can be done. And it's like everything can be done.
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And I think that makes it a little more challenging.
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I agree.
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I think.
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there's no everything in moderation. I mean, you do have
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to really temper and moderate the way that you're thinking.
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I find for what I do is every six months
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I relook and I'm like, okay, are we, are we
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on point? Do we need to shift anything? What does
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it look like? And every couple of years I have
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to really dig in and, We're never going to be
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changing as fast as technology is changing. That's impossible. Right.
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And there's a pendulum like you. Social media is amazing.
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But at the same time, what are all these small,
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wonderful designer events happening all over the country that we
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need to have personal relationships with? And you kind of
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have to continue to go back and forth. I think
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the retail experience is coming back, but it's coming back
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in a way that hopefully retailers are creating true experiences
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and reasons for people to walk into their stores. The
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designer business continues to evolve. And what does that look
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like and how can Jamie Young Company meet those people?
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you can get overwhelmed by so much of it. So
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I guess my job as a leader is to temper
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that and pick one thing and then another. I'm always
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going back and forth on that stuff.
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Jamie, is there a favorite part that you have or
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you think that is most important when it comes to
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maintaining those relationships or meeting the people? You mentioned trade
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shows just a moment ago, but Is there something that
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you love or you think that's more important than something
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else for reasons of engagement with people?
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I think the one-on-one engagement is the best thing I
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could do. It's probably my– the thing that I'm probably
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the best at is that I just love people and
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the connections to people. I love to hear about their lives,
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both personal and their businesses, and what works. and what doesn't.
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And that to me is the most important thing I
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probably have to offer as the president of this company
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is to listen, is to be curious. And you do
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that the most when you're engaging one-on-one for me.
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Well, and you really, you get a different perspective too
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when you're talking directly to the designer and how they're,
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what they're hearing and seeing in the marketplace too.
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Yeah, you do. You got to be open. I always
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think about, I know what I know, but I'm pretty
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clear that I also know what I don't know. You know, like,
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and I try to do that with everybody in the team. Like,
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don't be afraid of not knowing. Don't be afraid of
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making a mistake. Don't be afraid of being like, Wow,
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that is such a cool thing to do.
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How can we.
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Incorporate that in Jamie Young? I think that's it. After
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30 years, 29 years, you have to keep learning. And
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I do feel good about that for myself. You know,
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where I am in my career is that I... I
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still have a lot of enthusiasm about where we're going
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and new creatives and all that stuff. And it's still
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so important.
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Well, Jamie, one of the big things about what you
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do is editing and putting a collection together and all
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your merchandise. Your collections have just such fun novelty pieces
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that are really unique, unique textures. How do you decide
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which of your ideas are worth executing?
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We have a pretty good process that we follow. And
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it's not me alone, for sure. You know, we have
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a great team that we all work together. We have
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creative and marketing and our director of product development and
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myself looking at product and sales coming in. But it
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does start with my gut and our team's gut on
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what's beautiful and what speaks to the DNA of Jamie Young.
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You know, what's the point of view? And then from there,
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we're realistic, right? we look at data, we look at
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what sells, we look at what doesn't sell, we look
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at what's wow, that maybe we don't need to sell
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as much of, but it certainly rounds out what we're
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trying to do. So it's a combination of things, but
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we don't go in with our eyes closed. It's not
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just a gut, oh, I love this. Now, years and
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years ago, it was more of that, right? When it
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was simpler and we're smaller. But today, we do have
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to look at data. We have to look at what
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seems to work. We know that for whatever reasons, a
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white lamp sells better than anything else. And actually, so
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does a blue. So that's important to us. Those are
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some of our best things. We know garden stools. We
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sell a ton of garden stools. And they're garden stools
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that can go in a shower, they can go as
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a side table, or they can go outside. But What
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makes them work for Jamie Young? So we have some
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core data that we'd like to follow. And then we
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always need to have that wild, playful, interesting, unique thing
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that is truly about the art.
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Jamie, I have to pop in for just a second
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because I featured a stool that you guys produced with
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baseball stitching around its edges. And to prepare for this,
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I went back in to see if you still sold that.
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And you do.
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We do. Our leather ottomans are... are still some of
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our top selling items. So I love so much that
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we're not in the fashion business because things last. You
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can buy something or you can design something and it
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can be, it's 15 years that it's been in the line.
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We've added to it. We've, we've, we have all different
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leathers and hides in it, but people, it's still, it
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still looks current and new and fresh in someone's space. It's, Um,
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the quality is fantastic, but yes, we continue to do
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that stuff. And that's part of our DNA. So, yeah, we,
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we have a lot of skews that still work, you know,
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and we look at that all the time, even if
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it's something that I'm sick of that I don't want
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to see anymore. If it's selling, that means it's resonating
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and I'm not going to, you know, cut my nose
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to spite my face as they say, you know, yeah,
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good design and business. I think, um, For your audience
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and for designers out there and people, when you start
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a business, you're doing it for the love of the
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art most of the time, right? I never went into
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this business thinking I was going to be an international
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logistics expert. But unfortunately, or fortunately, whatever you want to
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look at, I now have to be an international logistics
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import export expert or else I can't do my business.
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I need to understand who's making what where and what's
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being charged in tariffs and problems and challenges to do
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a good job. And we want to make money. You know,
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we are in business to stay in business. So I
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got to look at the whole thing.
425
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Well, Jamie, let's talk about lighting. It's a great category
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of your brands. You have such beautiful light fixtures. And
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Krista and I are big fans of lighting in general
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and the impact that it can do in the space.
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And I think what's so spectacular about lighting is it's
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a category that homeowners can have fun with, even if
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they're a little more conservative on their designs. And, you know,
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the good news is that lighting is kind of out
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of the way. So as long as your scale is correct,
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you know, you can really choose whatever style you want.
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But the one thing that comes along with that, too,
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are quality difference. What factors should clients look for when
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00:25:21.900 --> 00:25:25.400
selecting lighting to ensure quality? Is it all about materials?
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Yeah.
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No. Yes, materials are important. Obviously, we've been designing lighting
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using unique materials from around the world. That's been part
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of what we've done since we started. So materials make
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it interesting visually. Scale, critical. Quality, it's the chain, the socket,
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the metal, the finial, the weight of the product. Does
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it lie straight? Does it sit straight? when you're picking vendors,
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do they have enough diversity to find different things? So
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you're not just buying one piece from one vendor and
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hopefully you're, you're really getting in a relationship with that vendor. So,
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so that you can pick their chandeliers, there's portables, table lamps,
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there's floor lamps, there's wall sconces, you know, Jamie Young
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Company has built all of those categories and we continue
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to expand the sort of breadth of what we do. We, we,
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We obviously can't compete with some of the very large
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lighting people out there, but we don't try to. Come
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to us and you're going to get that traditional look,
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our take on it. You're going to get our coastal look.
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You're going to get, we're going to give you something
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great for the mountains, something great for the city or
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the desert, great materials, and it's going to show up
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not broken. It's going to show up. um, packaged really well.
460
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We're in stock. So we get to ship to you
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00:27:00.259 --> 00:27:04.730
in 48 hours. Like we're, we're probably 90% in stock
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00:27:04.789 --> 00:27:07.430
for everything that we offer. So these would be things
463
00:27:07.450 --> 00:27:09.529
that you would want to look at with a vendor are,
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and is the vendor easy to work with? Um, do
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they stand behind their product? Do they have all the
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correct dims and drawings so that when, when we're being specced, it's,
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you know, we're making sure that we're helping the designer
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to get their lighting correct in this space.
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Jamie, we're going to pivot now to vintage and antiques,
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which is not what you do. However, we know that
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buying vintage and antiques has skyrocketed in popularity, especially among
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the younger generation that is very environmentally aware. And frankly,
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they're more aware of consumption too. They really demand the
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story that's behind the product. So how do antiques and
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vintage objects play into what you do? And I'm guessing
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that as you're researching, as you're seeing what's out on
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the market, that you're paying attention to what other people
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are doing too, because your merchandise has to coexist among that.
479
00:28:09.950 --> 00:28:12.230
So what does that look like for you and your team?
480
00:28:12.690 --> 00:28:19.009
Well, I am personally a collector of antiques. I'm personally
481
00:28:19.069 --> 00:28:22.180
a collector of mixing, of The way that I live,
482
00:28:22.220 --> 00:28:25.349
the way that I design my own homes, it's all
483
00:28:25.400 --> 00:28:30.670
about mixing it up. And so I think that that's
484
00:28:30.710 --> 00:28:35.829
how people live. And the reality is that most people
485
00:28:36.529 --> 00:28:42.430
have their grandmother's floor lamp or side table with something
486
00:28:42.509 --> 00:28:45.819
fresh and new on it. So we believe in that
487
00:28:45.880 --> 00:28:50.069
eclectic mix and to dig into it. As far as
488
00:28:50.130 --> 00:28:53.339
inspiration goes, of course, you're always looking what's old is
489
00:28:53.430 --> 00:28:56.339
new again and what's the fresh take on it. We're
490
00:28:56.359 --> 00:29:00.099
also always looking at using natural materials as much as possible.
491
00:29:00.720 --> 00:29:04.960
We don't do huge introductions where it's 300, 400, 500
492
00:29:04.960 --> 00:29:10.200
new SKUs. We're not about that. We just did 54
493
00:29:10.200 --> 00:29:16.000
pieces as new introductions for High Point this coming October.
494
00:29:16.880 --> 00:29:22.420
And we have another– introduction next April. But we're very
495
00:29:22.559 --> 00:29:26.940
mindful of more is not more. You know, there's sort
496
00:29:27.000 --> 00:29:31.099
of a beautiful balance in product, in materials, and who's
497
00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:34.990
making the material, who's making the product to be cognizant
498
00:29:35.609 --> 00:29:40.700
of the consumer today. And also in our marketplaces. where
499
00:29:40.920 --> 00:29:45.180
I am always pushing like mix it up, take the
500
00:29:45.279 --> 00:29:47.539
old with the new because that keeps things fresh.
501
00:29:48.299 --> 00:29:52.000
Also something else that I think influences perhaps more than
502
00:29:52.400 --> 00:29:55.400
anything in the design industry is travel. And I know
503
00:29:55.420 --> 00:29:59.240
that you've done a lot of it. So I Talk
504
00:29:59.279 --> 00:30:02.309
to us about what travel looks like. Again, Megan and
505
00:30:02.349 --> 00:30:06.069
I talk about global influences all the time, just travel
506
00:30:06.109 --> 00:30:09.670
in general. So talk about what that's done for your business,
507
00:30:09.730 --> 00:30:13.509
how it informs design, and how it keeps your eyes fresh.
508
00:30:14.579 --> 00:30:18.660
Yeah. Well, travel's been probably the first thing and reason
509
00:30:18.680 --> 00:30:22.380
we started this company. Honestly, it was like we are,
510
00:30:22.579 --> 00:30:26.539
as my husband, an artist, and me, an entrepreneur and
511
00:30:26.619 --> 00:30:32.829
creative person. we started in India 27 years ago and
512
00:30:32.930 --> 00:30:35.789
that was when cows were walking through the airport. So
513
00:30:36.009 --> 00:30:39.319
it not, not even an exaggeration. It was just literally
514
00:30:39.359 --> 00:30:43.660
cows walking through the airport and we've, it's been part
515
00:30:43.700 --> 00:30:46.680
of our passion to grow a company is the travel
516
00:30:46.960 --> 00:30:51.630
part of it. Um, and what each country does, it's different.
517
00:30:51.990 --> 00:30:57.329
And it's not just about, um, manufacturing mass produced product.
518
00:30:57.390 --> 00:31:01.089
It's really about materials. And so we continue to do that.
519
00:31:01.690 --> 00:31:07.849
We've always, our tagline has been a well-traveled home for years.
520
00:31:08.309 --> 00:31:10.950
Now people are talking about it a lot more and
521
00:31:12.029 --> 00:31:14.750
kind of leaning into it, but that's been our motto
522
00:31:14.789 --> 00:31:17.829
for so long is, and as I said, we started
523
00:31:17.890 --> 00:31:21.420
in India and have just a love affair with India
524
00:31:21.460 --> 00:31:23.400
and that we've had that for so long and so
525
00:31:23.440 --> 00:31:28.319
many friends there and really understand the factories and their capabilities.
526
00:31:28.420 --> 00:31:32.099
In fact, last year we went back to a factory
527
00:31:32.140 --> 00:31:34.960
we hadn't seen in a little while and they were so,
528
00:31:35.579 --> 00:31:39.660
and the man, the father who ran the factory, his
529
00:31:39.720 --> 00:31:41.839
son was now running the factory. The father was there
530
00:31:41.920 --> 00:31:47.240
and the son. And I forgot that the son is
531
00:31:47.299 --> 00:31:52.279
my son's age. And 15 years ago we took our
532
00:31:52.339 --> 00:31:57.549
sons or gosh, I'm almost 18 years ago to this
533
00:31:57.609 --> 00:32:00.710
factory and he, they played with this little, with this
534
00:32:00.910 --> 00:32:05.509
son in, in the backyard of the factory. And they
535
00:32:05.549 --> 00:32:10.809
had a photo of, of my sons and their son
536
00:32:11.210 --> 00:32:15.359
in the front hall of their factory. And I was like, Oh, that,
537
00:32:15.430 --> 00:32:19.960
you know, there's something so emotional about you take all
538
00:32:19.980 --> 00:32:23.470
the business stuff away, the relationships you've built and, And here,
539
00:32:24.250 --> 00:32:29.329
this young man is now running that company. It just,
540
00:32:29.529 --> 00:32:32.450
it means something. You know, we work with people all
541
00:32:32.509 --> 00:32:35.630
over the world, and they're just like us, trying to
542
00:32:35.670 --> 00:32:38.910
make a living in small factories and family run. And
543
00:32:39.410 --> 00:32:43.339
what is the specialty in that region that can do
544
00:32:43.380 --> 00:32:47.259
something great? You know, so... all these years I really
545
00:32:47.319 --> 00:32:50.000
think I've learned so much about where to go for what,
546
00:32:50.279 --> 00:32:53.380
what makes it, what's great. And I'm always constantly inspired.
547
00:32:53.420 --> 00:32:57.170
We're in Indonesia and the Philippines and Vietnam and China
548
00:32:57.369 --> 00:33:03.750
and India and exploring new materials, old materials and how
549
00:33:03.789 --> 00:33:08.960
they look new. So I have such, such loving connection
550
00:33:09.480 --> 00:33:14.230
to the global world of design. Um, And I'm always
551
00:33:14.279 --> 00:33:17.220
blown away by it. And even if I'm not manufacturing
552
00:33:17.279 --> 00:33:20.980
something in a certain country, I'm blown away by design
553
00:33:21.180 --> 00:33:23.859
and what it does for us. And whether we're in
554
00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:27.119
Portugal or we, as I said, we were in Bhutan
555
00:33:27.160 --> 00:33:31.799
in a tiny little country or anywhere else, we get
556
00:33:31.839 --> 00:33:36.180
inspired by what these creators are doing.
557
00:33:36.619 --> 00:33:41.339
Well, it is interesting because it's really art that in
558
00:33:41.579 --> 00:33:45.589
all variations of art, that connects us all just to
559
00:33:45.650 --> 00:33:48.730
each other in present day and throughout history too. When
560
00:33:48.750 --> 00:33:51.049
you look at hieroglyphics, when you look at quilts that
561
00:33:51.109 --> 00:33:55.579
told a story, everything that is created, I think is
562
00:33:55.640 --> 00:33:59.160
beyond just its beauty. It's to say something about a
563
00:33:59.200 --> 00:34:02.480
moment in time or, and, and so, you know, I
564
00:34:02.559 --> 00:34:05.440
love that you have gotten so much out of travel.
565
00:34:05.480 --> 00:34:10.110
I think every, anybody who travels does because it's more about,
566
00:34:10.150 --> 00:34:12.309
you know, I think when we use the word travel, we,
567
00:34:13.190 --> 00:34:16.909
equate that to vacation. And it's always, it's a learning
568
00:34:16.989 --> 00:34:22.530
experience of connecting with people and regions and just enjoying
569
00:34:22.590 --> 00:34:24.610
the beauty that exists all throughout the world, not.
570
00:34:24.530 --> 00:34:28.300
Just where you are. Yeah. And history. My husband is
571
00:34:28.360 --> 00:34:32.400
a huge history nut. I don't know what else to
572
00:34:32.420 --> 00:34:35.639
call him because he has such a deep knowledge of
573
00:34:35.820 --> 00:34:38.940
the history of the world and design and creativity. And
574
00:34:39.519 --> 00:34:44.679
we can go somewhere and you get inspired by the
575
00:34:44.880 --> 00:34:49.420
craziest things, the smallest things that have so much history
576
00:34:49.480 --> 00:34:54.039
and why and how. There's a new museum in Los Angeles,
577
00:34:54.059 --> 00:34:58.250
the Guessin Museum that just opened in LA County Museum area.
578
00:34:58.429 --> 00:35:01.409
And it is, I tell anybody who comes to Los
579
00:35:01.489 --> 00:35:04.010
Angeles needs to spend a day there. It's spiritual. It's
580
00:35:04.050 --> 00:35:08.800
insane how incredible it is. And they take the history
581
00:35:08.860 --> 00:35:12.449
from all over the world and of water jugs, for example,
582
00:35:13.050 --> 00:35:16.400
and what the Korean water jug looked like in the 1800s,
583
00:35:16.650 --> 00:35:19.570
and what the Spanish water jug looked like, and what
584
00:35:19.610 --> 00:35:23.380
the French water jug looked like, and the ceramics that
585
00:35:23.420 --> 00:35:30.000
were produced all with a purpose. They needed water. But
586
00:35:30.280 --> 00:35:33.630
in today's design world, we take those things and we say, wow,
587
00:35:33.690 --> 00:35:37.739
that's just the most perfect accessory. And can we go
588
00:35:37.780 --> 00:35:39.619
to Korea to produce it? Or do we go to
589
00:35:39.679 --> 00:35:44.039
China because they do incredible ceramics? But the history of
590
00:35:44.199 --> 00:35:48.699
why things were made and then how you incorporate that
591
00:35:49.719 --> 00:35:51.610
is what really is exciting.
592
00:35:52.030 --> 00:35:55.469
Jamie, within the design industry, I think it's a dream
593
00:35:55.690 --> 00:35:59.349
of so many people, many designers especially, to build their
594
00:35:59.469 --> 00:36:03.130
own line of products. And you talked about being a
595
00:36:03.190 --> 00:36:06.570
risk taker earlier and how sometimes it's better to be
596
00:36:06.610 --> 00:36:10.570
a little naive. But the one challenge can really be
597
00:36:10.610 --> 00:36:16.190
that inventory. So what are a few key common points
598
00:36:16.250 --> 00:36:19.369
that people should know about before pursuing a business that's
599
00:36:20.010 --> 00:36:22.530
specifically a business that carries inventory?
600
00:36:22.989 --> 00:36:27.809
That is something that you need to understand takes cash.
601
00:36:28.349 --> 00:36:32.690
It really does take an enormous amount of money, great
602
00:36:32.730 --> 00:36:38.639
banking experience and communication and relationships, and a strong operational
603
00:36:38.699 --> 00:36:43.099
ability to know when to do your orders, your cash flow,
604
00:36:43.480 --> 00:36:47.260
your inventory flow. Those things are so important. And today,
605
00:36:47.300 --> 00:36:50.800
they're more important than ever because of the challenges we
606
00:36:50.860 --> 00:36:54.150
face globally in bringing things in. You know, I would
607
00:36:54.190 --> 00:36:57.289
love to produce everything in the U.S., and it's impossible
608
00:36:57.349 --> 00:37:01.070
for what we do. I would do anything to find
609
00:37:01.239 --> 00:37:04.780
local ceramicists and local glassblowers, but then I wouldn't be
610
00:37:04.820 --> 00:37:09.059
able to sell it. And I think that inventory flow,
611
00:37:09.280 --> 00:37:12.739
it's its own art. So I do think that you
612
00:37:12.780 --> 00:37:16.500
need to look at that carefully, and maybe you partner.
613
00:37:16.940 --> 00:37:20.780
If you have great design ideas, but you don't have
614
00:37:20.860 --> 00:37:28.610
an operational background or– maybe the financial ability to do that,
615
00:37:28.630 --> 00:37:32.050
then go partner with someone because somebody needs great design.
616
00:37:32.949 --> 00:37:37.469
Not everybody has great design and the ability to finance it.
617
00:37:37.849 --> 00:37:41.050
But that is a real thing because customers, the one
618
00:37:41.090 --> 00:37:44.469
thing that did change over the years is our friends
619
00:37:44.530 --> 00:37:47.519
at Amazon all of a sudden made everybody want everything tomorrow.
620
00:37:48.599 --> 00:37:51.519
And how do you address that? And if you can't,
621
00:37:52.130 --> 00:37:57.570
You don't have the same ability to grow your business.
622
00:37:59.070 --> 00:38:00.510
That's just a real thing.
623
00:38:00.750 --> 00:38:02.570
Well, and the ability to adapt. And it sounds like
624
00:38:02.590 --> 00:38:04.030
you have done that over the years if you've been
625
00:38:04.050 --> 00:38:07.469
in business for almost 30 years. That's quite an accomplishment.
626
00:38:08.010 --> 00:38:10.159
Tell us what's next for Jamie Young.
627
00:38:10.579 --> 00:38:13.659
So Jamie Young is I like to feel like we
628
00:38:13.780 --> 00:38:18.469
are a legacy brand. that Kristen knows forever, but we're
629
00:38:18.510 --> 00:38:22.170
also a startup. I like the thought process of what
630
00:38:22.250 --> 00:38:27.090
a startup looks like. And we are always reinventing. And
631
00:38:27.110 --> 00:38:30.800
I think that's what's keeping us relevant. We have launched
632
00:38:30.900 --> 00:38:34.599
furniture and we have a lot more to come in
633
00:38:34.619 --> 00:38:39.039
the furniture arena where we're doing incredible chairs and seating
634
00:38:39.739 --> 00:38:45.159
and case goods and building on those two categories. We're
635
00:38:45.199 --> 00:38:48.840
also expanding our chandeliers, expanding our lighting. So all of
636
00:38:48.900 --> 00:38:51.420
our categories we're touching, we're expanding more of, and we're
637
00:38:51.440 --> 00:38:55.380
going to be rolling out more and more. We're speaking
638
00:38:55.460 --> 00:39:01.929
to the interior designer that's looking for great quality inventory
639
00:39:01.969 --> 00:39:06.969
that we can ship quickly and a great partner like vendor.
640
00:39:08.429 --> 00:39:11.050
When I say what's next, it's always about digging into
641
00:39:11.489 --> 00:39:15.309
continuing to be better and better at part at, customer
642
00:39:15.329 --> 00:39:19.489
service at all the stuff that makes a designer's life easier.
643
00:39:19.820 --> 00:39:22.539
So we keep doing that, but the furniture I'm thrilled with,
644
00:39:22.579 --> 00:39:25.820
we're just, we've been working on it. So, oh my gosh. And,
645
00:39:26.170 --> 00:39:30.989
we just launched 54 pieces for this market. And we
646
00:39:31.030 --> 00:39:33.769
have about 100 in next April. And a lot of
647
00:39:33.809 --> 00:39:35.210
it is great, real furniture.
648
00:39:35.510 --> 00:39:36.750
That's exciting. Can't wait to see it.
649
00:39:36.750 --> 00:39:37.840
Yeah, we're excited.
650
00:39:38.590 --> 00:39:40.949
Well, Jamie, we like to end each episode with the
651
00:39:40.989 --> 00:39:43.739
same two questions as well. Tell us about the beach
652
00:39:43.780 --> 00:39:44.599
that keeps you going.
653
00:39:46.260 --> 00:39:48.579
And this is one that keeps me going in that
654
00:39:48.760 --> 00:39:51.320
it helps me with my downtime and it helps me
655
00:39:52.099 --> 00:39:57.769
relax and get my mind clear. And it's romance novels.
656
00:39:58.769 --> 00:40:02.750
I find that sitting and reading a really– well, it
657
00:40:02.789 --> 00:40:05.670
has to be well-written. I'm not so good at the
658
00:40:06.090 --> 00:40:11.380
super silly ones, but I do love a great romance novel.
659
00:40:11.539 --> 00:40:15.309
And I find that it's been– forever I read– Help
660
00:40:15.389 --> 00:40:17.989
self-help books. I still do a little and business books
661
00:40:18.159 --> 00:40:20.900
forever and ever. And one day someone said to me,
662
00:40:20.940 --> 00:40:22.880
do you what do you do you ever just read
663
00:40:22.940 --> 00:40:25.880
for fun anymore? And I was like, I think I
664
00:40:25.920 --> 00:40:30.139
forgot that. So I picked up a romance novel and
665
00:40:30.199 --> 00:40:32.650
now I'm just it's been four years or five years
666
00:40:32.730 --> 00:40:37.010
and I'm completely hooked. And it's the best ability to
667
00:40:37.090 --> 00:40:37.769
just shut down.
668
00:40:38.389 --> 00:40:41.730
It's like the historical ones or are they modern day?
669
00:40:42.929 --> 00:40:45.599
I do all of them. there's some that I do
670
00:40:45.639 --> 00:40:48.559
that are like, um, spy novels. Like my husband will
671
00:40:48.599 --> 00:40:50.960
read a spy novel and I'll read a spy novel.
672
00:40:51.159 --> 00:40:53.659
And I'm like, I think mine's much more fun. You
673
00:40:53.679 --> 00:40:56.820
should try mine. And he's like, Oh my gosh, why
674
00:40:56.880 --> 00:40:59.840
aren't they writing my spy novels like this? Like you go,
675
00:41:00.219 --> 00:41:02.079
you go to the bedroom and the door shuts and
676
00:41:02.139 --> 00:41:04.070
his ends and mine are like, no, we get to
677
00:41:04.090 --> 00:41:06.489
go in the bedroom and then the spy novel. So
678
00:41:06.989 --> 00:41:10.300
I think that there is something about that that makes, um,
679
00:41:10.820 --> 00:41:13.050
You know, I love to have fun. I love to
680
00:41:13.090 --> 00:41:17.210
not be taking things too seriously because life is already
681
00:41:17.230 --> 00:41:20.170
pretty challenging, right? We all have our challenges. So this
682
00:41:20.250 --> 00:41:22.889
is one of those things that keeps me light and
683
00:41:23.130 --> 00:41:23.530
having fun.
684
00:41:24.949 --> 00:41:27.909
What a great beat. And finally, what does your perfect
685
00:41:27.949 --> 00:41:28.730
boulevard look like?
686
00:41:29.590 --> 00:41:32.570
That's changed over the years. I would say it used
687
00:41:32.610 --> 00:41:34.659
to be much more about like walking down the street
688
00:41:34.679 --> 00:41:39.619
in Manhattan and all of the exciting things. buzz of
689
00:41:40.059 --> 00:41:42.980
so many different things happening at once. And today, my
690
00:41:43.019 --> 00:41:47.199
boulevard is probably much more about an open road, whether
691
00:41:47.260 --> 00:41:49.579
it's at the beach or the mountains or the desert.
692
00:41:50.199 --> 00:41:53.929
And it's much more serene and peaceful. And that probably
693
00:41:53.989 --> 00:41:56.309
speaks to the idea that there's so much going on
694
00:41:56.349 --> 00:41:59.190
in my brain that just like the romance novels, I
695
00:41:59.210 --> 00:42:05.599
just need a clear, clean palette to visualize. So I
696
00:42:05.619 --> 00:42:08.719
spent a lot of time in Arizona, out in the desert,
697
00:42:09.340 --> 00:42:13.699
in the mountains, and at the beach. And they equally
698
00:42:13.719 --> 00:42:16.449
do something very peaceful for my brain.
699
00:42:16.780 --> 00:42:19.610
Well, Jamie, it has been such a joy to speak
700
00:42:19.650 --> 00:42:22.969
with you and talk about your business and the creativity
701
00:42:23.010 --> 00:42:26.889
behind it. And just keep doing the same thing. We're
702
00:42:26.929 --> 00:42:29.469
excited to see what you unveil in High Point.
703
00:42:29.510 --> 00:42:30.150
Megan and I are.
704
00:42:30.929 --> 00:42:32.789
privileged in the fact that we get to attend High
705
00:42:32.829 --> 00:42:37.170
Point in this business. And we're just really excited to
706
00:42:37.190 --> 00:42:38.269
see what you come up with next.
707
00:42:38.550 --> 00:42:41.320
So thank you. Thank you guys so much. I hope
708
00:42:41.360 --> 00:42:44.400
this was kind of a good fun for your listeners
709
00:42:44.420 --> 00:42:47.000
to hear about. I know you have all kinds of
710
00:42:47.019 --> 00:42:51.659
people on your platform, but coming from a manufacturer designer
711
00:42:51.739 --> 00:42:55.730
is different than other approaches. So I really enjoyed it.
712
00:42:55.800 --> 00:42:56.619
Thank you so much.
713
00:42:57.820 --> 00:43:00.239
Thank you for listening to Boulevard Beach. If you enjoyed
714
00:43:00.260 --> 00:43:03.059
today's episode, be sure to follow along on Instagram for
715
00:43:03.079 --> 00:43:06.010
more design inspiration and behind the scenes moments. And don't
716
00:43:06.070 --> 00:43:08.349
forget to like and follow the podcast so you never
717
00:43:08.389 --> 00:43:11.010
miss an episode. We'll see you next time on Boulevard Beach.