This week we’re joined by a guest whose prolific work in the architecture and interiors worlds is, quite literally, historic. Ben Pentreath is an English architectural and interior designer, whose firm has become known for its brilliant master-planning and urban development, along with incredibly detailed and beautiful private homes and playful interiors all over the world. As Ben says, “we love designing spaces that work beautifully for the long term, and feel right for the place.” Ben’s...

This week we’re joined by a designer who found her calling for interiors through a lifestyle blog she started on the side of her day job, back in 2009. Alexandra Kaehler (known as Alex!) is a talented interior designer whose work has been recognized on prestigious industry lists such as House Beautiful’s Next Wave and Luxe Magazine’s “Gold List”.  Alex began what she believed to be her dream career in advertising, and soon realized interior design was actually her calling. Through her blog,...

This week we’re honored to welcome an incredibly talented interior designer with a prolific career, Alessandra Branca. Born and raised in Rome, Alessandra has called Chicago home for over 30 years. Alessandra acquired her love for classical beauty from her Italian upbringing, and those roots still speak to her soul today. Her designs are anchored by classical details: rich colors, patterns and textures, antique and custom furnishings, modern and European art, and distinctive accessories. As...

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...

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...

We are thrilled to kick off a new season with a guest who is 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 1898, here in New York City, James Gracie originally sold custom lamps and home furnishings, until the 1920s, when they began to offer Chinese and Japanese...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

This week is all about legacy, as Ariel joined by Eliza Crater Harris, the Chief Creative Officer of American heritage brand, Sister Parish Design. As the great-granddaughter of design icon Sister Parish, Eliza's work honors her family's design legacy by overseeing product development, textile production, visual merchandising, and marketing initiatives for Sister Parish Design. After graduating from the University of St. Andrews in 2011, Eliza began her career in the decorative arts in New...

Ariel’s guest this week has over two decades of experience in the interiors world, both in print and digital. Tori Mellott is the Style Director at Frederic Magazine, and Director of Video Content at Frederic Media. Throughout her storied career, with stops at House Beautiful, Domino Magazine, Martha Stewart and Traditional Home, to name a few, Tori has curated a deep understanding of print and digital storytelling. When she’s not behind the editor’s desk, Tori is a face many know in the...

On this week’s episode of Talk Shop, Ariel is joined by Katie Rosenfeld, a fellow self-taught designer, whose career started on Wall Street, but eventually led to design through starting her blog, Bogle Street, in 2007. Originally from Tampa, Florida, she would spend time in New York and Los Angeles before landing in Massachusetts with her family. In 2012, after her Boston home was published in Better Homes and Gardens, Katie would launch her design career and eventually her own firm, Katie...

Joining Ariel this week is Caroline Gidiere, an acclaimed interior designer and tastemaker based in Birmingham, Alabama. Caroline’s design aesthetic is a modern take on traditional interiors, using beautiful pieces and classic textiles to create spaces that are fresh and timeless. Raised in the South, Caroline’s principles of design were absorbed by watching her mother, a talented seamstress who wasn’t afraid of a complicated pattern or roll of wallpaper. But Caroline didn’t always work in...

Join us this week as we dive into design history with Emily Evans Eerdmans. Emily is the founder of Eerdmans, a fine and decorative arts gallery and consultancy in New York City. Her most recent book, Mario Buatta: Anatomy of a Decorator, is now available. A close friend of Mario’s, Emily oversaw the dispersal of his estate, including the blockbuster auction of the Prince of Chintz’s prized possessions at Sotheby’s. Emily’s book presents the key learnings and decorative history of Buatta, one...

On this week’s episode of Talk Shop, we’re headed to the Northwest and welcoming Seattle-based designer Heidi Caillier to the show. A master of pattern and tone, Heidi is known for her unexpected blend of elements and styles, with her layered, lived-in spaces feeling well-traveled, timeless, and fresh. Drawing on the sentiment of nostalgia, Caillier believes that decor and furniture should possess a timeless quality which grows with the home.  Before starting her Seattle-based full-service...

On this week’s episode of Talk Shop, we’re headed to the Northwest and welcoming Seattle-based designer Heidi Caillier to the show. A master of pattern and tone, Heidi is known for her unexpected blend of elements and styles, with her layered, lived-in spaces feeling well-traveled, timeless, and fresh. Drawing on the sentiment of nostalgia, Caillier believes that decor and furniture should possess a timeless quality which grows with the home.  Before starting her Seattle-based full-service...

This week Ariel welcomes an admirer of design with a different perspective– the client side. Annie Meyers-Shyer has meticulously been documenting the renovation of her family’s historic home in sunny Los Angeles on her instagram account, @thisoakhouse – and it’s quickly become a fan favorite, amassing tens of thousands of followers in a matter of weeks.  Originally from LA, Annie comes from a life grown up in Hollywood, thanks to her filmmaking parents, the iconic writer, director and...

This week on Talk Shop, Ariel welcomes one of the most talented names in design, the queen of contemporary American decorating, Bunny Williams. Known for balancing refined beauty, welcoming livable appeal, and attention to detail, Bunny is one of Architectural Digest’s “AD100 Hall of Fame” members, among many other accolades. Born and raised in the countryside near Charlottesville, Virginia, Bunny moved to New York after college and kicked off her career at the antique gallery Stair &...

On this week’s episode of Talk Shop, Ariel is joined by one of the nation's most beloved and leading experts on contemporary classical architecture, Gil Schafer. A member of Architectural Digest’s AD100, Gil’s work is often referred to as the pinnacle of traditional architecture in today’s time. With a Masters in Architecture from Yale, Gil studied under industry legends, and before founding his own firm, worked for several highly respected firms, including spending (nearly) a decade at...

For our first episode of season two, Ariel welcomes award-winning AD100 interior designer to the stars, Brigette Romanek. Based in Los Angeles, Brigette founded her eponymous firm in 2018, and over the last five years has proven her uncanny ability to create stunning interiors that delight without sacrificing livability.Never trendy, her spaces are fresh, functional, and aesthetically alive – and her star-studded client list is expansive, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Demi Moore, Joe Jonas,...

Join me, Ariel Okin, interior designer, editor and writer, as I kick off season two 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 episode one of the new season is coming this Wednesday, February 21st. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or...

To wrap our first season of Talk Shop, Ariel welcomes Madeleine Luckel, a senior design editor at Architectural Digest, where she covers national and international design, including overseeing web-exclusive home tours and an archive-focused newsletter. With a master of Arts in Costume Studies from NYU and a BA in Classics from Brown University, Madeleine has previously worked at Vogue and Vogue.com where she covered a variety of design-related topics. Along with being one of the loveliest...