Episode 21 - Designing with Duality: Lauren Coburn’s Artistic Journey from Cranbrook to River North

Transcript

00:00

Here we are, another episode of the Powerhouse Smart Cool Collabs podcast. Welcome Powerhouse Smart colleagues, friends, everybody in our world. We are so thrilled to be here today. We have an amazing guest. honored to be able to pull from my network of uh luxury industry professionals who I call the

00:34

coolest leaders who um you know are just living um every day with an attitude of gratitude doing amazing work inspiring so many people often speakers and teachers like our um our guest today is going has been a speaker and will continue to be a speaker for powerhouse

00:52

events and then also you know just about giving back and doing things um in a much more global way, helping humanity, right? Yeah. Yeah. So, today without further ado, I always let my guests introduce themselves because this is commutable. So, it's a little shorter. We could talk

01:08

for a lot longer with each one of our guests, but I like to give them as much air time as possible. So, this is a dear friend of mine. She's an incredible interior designer, and her name is Lauren Coburn, but I'm going to let her share her story. So, Lauren, welcome.

01:24

Hi, Wendy. So, I'm so excited to be here because the guests you have on your show are so impressive and I admire them and I'm honored to be on and I admire you so much. So, I'm really honored to be here. Thank you. Yes. Well, it's just always a pleasure to work with you and every time I just

01:42

hear your voice or see an email from you, I'm like, I gotta watch out. I get to talk to Lauren today. So, that feels the same. And your company has grown so beautifully. you start from the beginning. Where are you from and how did you how did you gosh how did you amass such a beautiful um firm? Go

02:00

ahead. Oh, thank you. I um so I'm originally from the suburbs of Detroit. Uh my mom is a professional artist. My dad was a race car driver opthalmologist and enjoyed art on the side. He was a painter on the side. And so I come from a very rightbrain, leftbrain family um

02:19

who creative but also both very entrepreneurial and have their own businesses and had their own businesses themselves. And so um you know it was clear growing up that I I really wanted to be an artist, but I I could see how difficult you know the art world was with my mom. And so um I think interior

02:38

design I mean I I used to pretend I was an interior designer with my friends. they'd come over and I would use my mom's interior design books from her designer she worked with and um I would play interior decorator and um and I think it just stuck and I think it was

02:53

just something it was a creative, you know, occupation I could go into that might be a little, you know, easier than than becoming an artist would be. Um and just something growing up with my mom and dad always building and designing homes is just something I've always

03:08

loved. And I was always creative. I was always never good at sports. I was always the one who was great at arts and crafts and you know could do anything creative growing up. So um that kind of took me to the Art Institute of Chicago where I got my degree in interior

03:22

architecture. Um I moved to Chicago to go to the Art Institute of Chicago and um got my degree there. And you know in in school I think what a lot of people don't tell you is um I was the least likely to succeed in my class. And um you know sometimes when you're in

03:41

school it's like people don't tell you that the real world might be different and we had a couple of very influential people in our industry come to our last semester critique of the my whole degree was the very last semester. It was the first time we did a high-end residential

03:56

project and those very influential very famous people in our business came up to me and said you're going to do great but you need to stick with high-end residential. Um, and so, you know, after years of crying my way through critiques that I always did badly with and I was

04:13

never good at hand drafting and, you know, it I was just school was never, you know, never came easy to me kind of I think my whole life. But um I then got my dream job with Stanley Tiger and Margaret Mccur who um I had admired their work my whole life and had always

04:30

studied their work and sent them my resume figuring what do I have to lose and um Stanley said, "Your portfolio is horrible, but I really like you and I think you'll be great with my clients." And so he kind of I got thrown in the fire and I got my dream job at 21 years

04:45

old and I was, you know, working for Stanley and Margaret as their only full-time interior designer with all architects in the office. And it was my dream job and uh I just I got thrown in the fire and I had to lot make a lot of friends and ask a lot of questions and

05:00

pretend that I knew what I was doing. Um but it was really an incredible learning experience very early on and I was working with very high-end budgets. um and very high in clientele and and had to learn the business quickly. So um I was with him and then worked for another

05:16

firm after that with all designers and architects and realized that I really missed kind of being in my own world as an interior designer but working with builders and architects um collaboratively from start to finish on projects. So rather than coming in after the home was built or the condo was

05:34

renovated, you know, really wanting to be there from the beginning and really, you know, I I have a a good I have very good instincts with my clients. So really helping my clients being their advocate, helping them through the whole building or renovation process, you

05:49

know, with building homes ground up or renovating condos or, you know, all residential, but really helping my clients through that whole process. Um because there's, you know, architects are great at what they do and builders are great at what they do, but many times there's not that person to really

06:04

hold the client's hand and walk them through the entire process from start to finish. Sure. So, a couple words I got like when you were speaking was artist just like went artist. She's an artist. Of course, because your work may not have been what you thought it was going to be in the

06:20

beginning. It is spectacular today, of course, which is a testament to your talent and how you've groomed that. But I also heard perseverance. I mean, regardless of, you know, how you got kind of turned down a few times, you ended up getting like the dream job, which and it was about you, the

06:40

personality, that heart that comes out when you start talking. And obviously uh Stanley Tiger and Margaret saw the talent that was like this, let's just polish this diamond, right? Yeah. And then the last thing I heard, which of course equates to a lot of the reasons why I'm sure clients are so

06:58

confident with you, is that you you do understand exactly what the architect does, exactly what the contractor does, but yet you know how to weave in that design build process and you are exactly what Stanley and Margaret wanted was that client liaison. You are their

07:17

trusted advisor, their resource. So my question to you my dear is so how do you take that if you're that and build a team around you can do all the projects that come to you because otherwise you'd be turned down a lot of projects. Yes. So I for the first five years of

07:36

business I did everything myself which is not the way to do things but um I didn't you know I didn't know how to hire somebody. I didn't know how to delegate. That was terrifying to me. Um, and when I started my business, I decided to do something totally unorthodox. And I figured, okay, I'm out

07:55

on my own now. Was kind of unexpected. Um, and you know, what can I give clients that that they're not getting from designers? And I think at the time, because this was I've been in business now 21 years, so this has been a long time. And so, back in the day, it was

08:11

all smok and mirrors in our business. And I thought, how can I give people transparency? And I just started interviewing everyone I knew and asked what are the issues? Why do people go through designers like water? Because back in the day they did and um kind of collected everyone's thoughts and I

08:26

think it was like kind of all the same things. It was the you know not knowing what designer costs really are and a lot of smoke and mirrors with that. It's not you know dealing with issues when they come up. You know I'm important until I have a problem and then they won't call

08:40

back or it was kind of these same things and that's kind of how I built my business. But I did everything myself for the first five years because I didn't know how to delegate any of that and I didn't know how to trust anyone with that or how to I figured who would

08:53

want to like learn from me and how do I manage people? Um and then I had my son and I did Dream Home at the Mart which was a big um showhouse that they used to have that was up for nine months and I was the only one that year who did it all by myself with no help. and every

09:11

all the other designers that did the showhouse had teams of people coming and helping them. And I knew then I had to make my I had to hire my first person. So, um I took someone on for she was with me for seven years and she was my right-hand woman with everything. And

09:27

you know, fast forward, I've just I've learned by now, and I've I've made mistakes, and I think I've hired some more junior level people that didn't show the uh the same like loyalty and commitment. And I'm kind of learning now about really what I need to look for in

09:46

a hire and be exposed to great people, which you've helped me with. Um, but really what I need to look for now. And I think, you know, for every designer, it's different. I think for some designers, their their goal is get as big as possible, as fast as possible.

10:02

And I think for me, I've seen so many of my colleagues get so big and have these businesses that on the outside look so successful and they struggle and they're stressed and they feel like they're managing a firm all day and they're not designing anymore. And I've kind of

10:19

after learning from them, I've seen and just in other people I love in my life, like I've seen about about growing businesses so big that you just no longer are doing what you love. You're you're just managing all day. And so, you know, I I the grass has not been greener for me. I've always wanted to

10:37

expand, but I knew that there's definitely a place where I have a sweet spot where I still want to be the face person. I still want to work with clients every day. I want my clients to have access to me. I want them to know they're getting my creative direction on

10:51

all design, but that I have this really strong team of people behind me. And so, you really help me bring in more senior level staff because I want staff that my clients feel, you know, confident, have a lot of experience to help me and support me. And if I can't be there for

11:10

something that they have people they can really rely on that have excellent experience. But I've also learned, you know, it's finding people who are just have great common sense and are very resourceful and are very enthusiastic and they're go-getters. Though that goes so much farther than

11:28

experience on paper. And so, you know, I've learned a lot with that. It's very tricky, I think, to find the right people, but I feel like we are at a point now, which is so exciting, that we just have such a strong team. Um, and everybody's doing what they do best and

11:43

we all work as a team on everything. So, you know, where one person might have more strengths than another, we we kind of all come to it as a team and delegate who does what best because I think even like with collaborations with architects and builders, I tell my clients like you

12:00

will never be able to find people who are the best at what they do unless you create a custom team of people that are the best at what they do. you know, using an architect with designers who work for them or using a designer with architects who they're never going to be

12:15

as good as as finding your own architect, your own designer, your own builder and and creating this kind of bespoke custom team for building a custom house. So, that's kind of, you know, and that's what you do for your clients. That's what we do. Yep. Exactly. And I do love your team

12:31

and you've done a job and and you're now in your showroom, your brick and mortar showroom. and and that's really cool. And you even have space to expand if you need to. Again, not getting too big. You don't have to be the design firm, right? Yeah. We're very excited. We're having

12:48

our best year this year we've ever had. Um we beat our co year, which is very exciting. Um that was like the best year for every designer. But we we really and I and I do I think that opening an and again I mean it took me 21 years to really move to a big office. But I think

13:06

you know it it was the right move. It's the it was the right office. It felt right. And everybody my whole team it's just everyone feels reinvigorated. We have new team members who are just excited to be starting this new chapter with us. And I think it's just it's just

13:22

caused us to be motivated to up the level of everything. We've hired someone now to do our social media because that is my weak point and I hate it and I'm terrible at it. Um, you know, we're having someone help us update our website. I want, you know, everything I

13:38

put out to be really high level. And we've, you know, we've rethought our software. We've gotten all new software, our processes. I mean, we're really trying to strengthen every aspect of what we do. Um, so it's a really exciting time and I I've kind of, you know, I'm I'm at the place where I

13:56

always said was my career goal where I can really focus my day on working with clients, designing, and bringing in new business. And I have this incredibly strong team who can support me in everything I do. So, I don't have to I don't have to be putting my time towards

14:12

anything that, you know, I shouldn't be using my time. I I can really put my time towards the things that I I'm able to do. Well, you know what? I was going to ask you and you led right into it. So, I always say, you know, we need to live with an attitude of gratitude and you do

14:28

that by finding your passion. So, it sounds like, tell me if I'm wrong, that you are kind of like, oh my god, I'm there. So, how would you define that for people? What does it feel like to like be there? It's amazing. It's incredible because I feel like I just, you know, in the past

14:45

I felt like there were so many things I was doing that I'm just frankly are not my strong points. Numbers and spreadsheets and and and things that other people can do better than me, right? But like I'm the only one at my firm that can really truly understand what my clients are looking for

15:03

instinctively. I'm the only one that can really give them my design. I can teach my team how to support me in that and what I'm looking for and guide them with an overall vision and ask, you know, delegate what I need them to do, but I'm the only one that can that knows what's

15:17

in my head as a vision, understands my clients, can make my clients happy, you know, and who really has all these years of experience to really bring to the table. Like the other the other jobs that I I used to hear this from more seasoned designers that I would say, but

15:32

how like how is that possible? that anything you can delegate that doesn't make sense for your time is far better. And putting your time into what you really what not other people can can help you do. That's brilliant. Yeah. I used to always say, you know, take off those hats and

15:48

surround yourself with people that are better than you in those areas because they're not your passion. So I also uh it talked about giving back and you know you know contributing into other groups beyond who Lauren Cobburn's firm is. So tell us about giving back with

16:05

sustainability and a nexus alliance because that is really all about mother earth and you know trying to to be the next you know be conscious of our next generation right. Yes. So, Next House Alliance is comprised of uh very very very extremely talented professionals in Chicago. Uh

16:25

Berilliant Builders is the builder, Nathan Kipniss is the architect, Barretts is the AV company, um Hurst House is the landscape architect, and me and Janet McCann are the designers. And we have lots of wonderful sponsors. Um and I was asked to be part of the group

16:42

about four years ago, but the group was started far before. or I'm kind of like the newer member of the team. Um, we are all professionals who are just on a high-end level. We we build we all do different facets there, you know, brilliant builds and Nathan is the architect and Janet and I are the

17:02

designers, but we the idea behind it is to create a custom collaborative team of individuals. So, if someone's building a home, you don't have to interview all these different people. We come at it, we have great chemistry, we work really well together and we will all be part

17:17

you're working with the partners of each firm and we've all been in business over 25 years. 20 I'm I'm the least at 21 years. Most of them have been at least 25 years. Um, but the idea behind it is that we, you know, we focus on sustainability. Now, when I was asked to

17:35

be a member, you know, I said to Nate, I'm really flattered you're asking me to be a member because of my collaborative abilities in the in the home space, but I don't really know anything about sustainability. And my naive outlook on sustainability is, you know, I don't

17:51

design in a rustic way. I don't, you know, that just didn't feel like my what I do, my design aesthetic. Um, and I've just learned that that's such a myth, like that sustainable homes can be the most decadent, the most luxurious, the most beautiful, the most elegant. It's

18:08

really about using natural materials. And, you know, it's it's there's so many things that go into it. I just think the world hasn't shown examples of beautiful, sustainable homes that are elegant and luxurious. So, I think people think of it as, h, I don't really

18:24

care or I don't really want that. But I think what what we are trying to get people to realize is it's so much more than just just, you know, I I care enough to pay whatever fees to create a sustainable home and I I don't care about solar panels and I don't care about this and that. It's really about

18:43

like we just built the very first passive certified home in Evston and it's I mean as highly sustainable as you can get. Um, and rather than bore you with the technical details, I mean, this is a client who has no dust in her house, absolutely no drafts in the winter. She I mean, her her health and

19:03

wellness is better. She can breathe more easily. There's so many perks to designing a fully custom like a fully sustainable home. And I don't that's a passive certified. It's very, very highly sustainable. You don't have to go to that degree. But our group is here to

19:19

show you if you're going to be building a luxury new home, don't, you know, if you're not concerned about the sustainability, think about resiliency. Think about creating the most resilient home you can. And that's the definition of luxury. Like, you know, make it a

19:33

home that you don't have allergies and there's no dust and no drafts. And these are all things like anyone would pay for. But I think, you know, we're trying to get it out there that there's so much more to building a sustainable home than just like how much you care about, you

19:48

know, the environment. I mean, it's great, but, you know, sometimes people aren't willing to put that extra money in for that. But like, if you really know what you could have in a home, that could be so beneficial. That's luxury, you know, right there. So, absolutely. And um I I worked with

20:04

Nathan originally on the whole premise of Next House Alliance. And I know he's all about creating the smallest footprint on Earth, but meaning on our planet when you're going to build a home. Even if it's custom and it's large, right size, still create right size. Exactly. So, I

20:20

I'm so thrilled that you're working with that group because I I know them all very well and it's a wonderful concept and it's so needed and so many people thought sustainable meant, oh, we got to go with like all the low-end stuff and yeah, that's not it at all. So, I mean, all the highest end wall

20:36

covering companies, they're all coming out now with with beautiful options. I mean, at the end of the day, it's na it's natural. It's using what's natural. So, there's all sorts of beautiful luxury products out there. And the other thing like with the right-sized home is

20:51

even my clients not building sustainable homes since co I think the trend with all the new homes that I've built the trend is creating homes with spaces we will use and creating homes that function for that family. Exactly. And there's no right or wrong about what is

21:10

right for every family. But it's really right-sized is more about rather than small. I think it's about really creating a very very usable, practical, logistically ideal space. Um, and not having rooms you might not use for rooms you might not use anything, you know, for hobbies you don't have,

21:28

right? Air conditioned spaces or spaces that you never use. So, so what I'm going to do in the um below this podcast is I'm going to have link to your website and all how to reach out to you because I know a lot of people that are watching this are in the industry, but

21:43

some of them are consumers or want to work with you. They have a project and they need the interior designer side, especially architects and builders, right? And then um I also will put next house alliance and I want people to you know it's my goal to share my cool

21:57

leaders like yourself that live with an attitude of gratitude and believe in helping others but I want you to to you know get some you know exposure here. So that'll be where everyone can reach you and I always end my podcast and it's always too fast but so I could talk to

22:13

you forever but I always end my podcast with a question for you. So my question for you is how would you define a well-lived life? So what I do when I when you know it some people look at interior design as it's as as like kind of a vain kind of thing. But you know for when I can

22:35

change someone's world through their home and it's somewhere that they're they are so much and that I mean they're they're spending time with family and they're creating memories for me like to make a client happy during the day or to feel like I've solved a problem

22:49

logistically with their home or to make them feel like ah I got what they're looking for that just makes me feel high like I and so the fact that now we've gotten our firm to a place where I I do feel like my op like there's so many opportunities during the day where I

23:05

feel gratitude that like I can work with clients and really I feel good when I can help somebody and and those things put me on a high like when I've had times in the past where I'm a little slow with work I'm not the same vivacious person there just it it creates an energy in me when I can do

23:22

that during the day so I would say during the week it's just being able to really you know use my time for what I do best and what my clients really need me for know I have a really strong team handling the back end of everything and spending the weekends with my family and

23:39

um I try not to do in-person meetings on the weekends unless somebody really needs it but the weekends are really to spend with my family. So So yeah, that beautiful balance of you know love that you can share with your world and your work life but also we never travel. We probably should

23:54

travel more but we're really bad about travel. Well, you can come on the next Africa Impact trip. We're leaving on Saturday for the first one, but we're taking we're taking taking a wait list for the I would love to do go to Africa. Yes, it's on my list. Fantastic. And then I know you're going

24:08

to be um an expert moderator at the luxury conference. Yeah, I can't wait last year. So, thank you for that and bless you, my dear friend. I'm so thrilled that you're living your best life and sharing and mentoring and giving back and helping and um I can't wait to see you again in person.

24:25

Thank you. I can't wait. That's all. Thanks Wendy. Thank you everybody. Reach out to Lauren Coburn. Bye.