✨ Get Your Story Straight.
Join 12k+ leaders and creative professionals across the home industry for Ericka's perspective on brand, business, marketing, design, consumer behavior, AI, and the ideas shaping what's next.
✨ Only Fans...?
Hi there Reader. I've been thinking a lot about Fan Culture lately…not only because it's World Cup season (yasss!) but because it’s one of the clearest examples of collective emotional participation we have. People paint their faces and bodies, rearrange their schedules, scream at televisions, hug and jump with strangers, cry in airports, obsess over pre-game rituals, learn player’s names overnight, and suddenly care very deeply about offsides. That’s fandom. And for brand builders (or anyone...
🎉 Your Day-by-Day Guide to HPMKT!
Hi there Reader! Every High Point Market has its own energy. A vibe, you know? Sure, we all come for the beautiful new introductions. But what stays with me most are the conversations in between...the ones on the shuttle, over cocktails, or scribbled into the margins of your sketchbook that somehow turn into your next big idea. That’s why I’m especially excited for this spring market. Because High Point Market isn’t just about showrooms and parties. It’s about inspiration, ideas ya'll! After...
We think you're pretty smart, too.
🎙️✨ The inside story you’ve been asking for launches today! Hi Reader. I’m so excited to share something we’ve been quietly building behind the scenes…our brand-new podcast, Pretty Smart, is officially live. And Episode 1 drops today. 🎉 S1E1 of The Pretty Smart Podcast drops today! ❤️ We hope you'll listen in! Pretty Smart is what happens when three home-industry insiders (Jane Dagmi, Jessica Duce, and me) finally turn our real-life conversations about design, courage, business, friendship,...
Join me in Vegas!
🔮✨ And let's talk about the future... The future of our industry, the future of your business, and the future of interior design. I hope you'll join us, Reader. Don't miss our third VRDSummit happening this January in Las Vegas. Early bird registration ends Sunday at midnight. We've all been witness over the last few years to the chaotic world in front of us. A world where everything seems in flux...pricing, style, margins, lead times, tariffs, investment trends, buyer psychology. If you've...
The wine study that changed how I think about luxury branding
Hi Reader, Luxury isn't about money. It's about perception. And you have more control over that perception than you think. There's a study I can't stop thinking about. Researchers gave people the exact same wine. But they told one group it was cheap, and another group it was expensive. Brain monitoring revealed something remarkable: those believing they drank expensive wine actually experienced greater pleasure. Not imagined pleasure. Real, measurable, neurological pleasure. Same wine....
🎉 BIG things are happening next week in High Point!
Upcoming events you won't want to miss... Happy fall Reader! Within the few days after HPMKT winds down each April and October, I'm back on the phone setting up time with my industry colleagues and friends to debrief: what really happened in High Point beyond all the inspiring product introductions (which is YES! a huge topic of conversation), but more often, we're putting our heads together to unpack the undercurrent of market—what we overheard in the bathroom line, what people were talking...
Design is the bet EVERY house wins ✨
Hiya Reader. I've been sitting on an announcement for a while now, and it's BIG! Our award-winning, luxury Vacation Rental Design Summit is heading to VEGAS, BABY...and you're invited! 🎉 Mark your calendars for January 24-26, 2026 to join us in Las Vegas, a city where hospitality knows no limits. For this year's event, we're continuing to reimagine what design can do for the vacation rental industry...think desert escapism, Rat Pack glamour, and the thrill of reward. All layered within the...
#FrenchGirlSummer ✨
I turned 50 this year, Reader. A ridiculous and unbelievable event in a year filled with just as many more ridiculous and unbelievable events. And I made a declaration: I’m tired of living on someone else’s time. It’s time for me! So this summer, I committed to the French way of summer-ing—four to six (!!!) opulent weeks of time away…from work, from what’s comfortable, from routine. Of course, owning two businesses necessitates that I can’t fully unplug the entire time, no matter how French...
🌿 This spring, let's change the conversation...
And connect at High Point Market! Hiya Reader. There’s a moment that hits me every April and October—usually as I’m sipping coffee on my terrace in my quiet High Point home, the still chilly mornings all to myself before the sun wakes the birds* and the days get started. It’s the feeling of Market season beginning here—which, as you know, is not just a trade show, but a creative pilgrimage. A place where our industry gathers to show what's new and noteworthy, to talk shop, share stories, and...
The New Language of Luxury ✨
What I learned about craft and the nature of luxury on my recent trip to Paris... A peek inside the extraordinary Féau Boiseries showroom, a playground for the senses in the heart of Paris. We talk about luxury all the time in this industry. But what does it actually mean, Reader? It’s not a price point. Not a label. Not a trend. True luxury is slow, deliberate, and designed to be experienced, not consumed. And yet, in our digital reality—where clients first encounter our work through a...
Join 12k+ leaders and creative professionals across the home industry for Ericka's perspective on brand, business, marketing, design, consumer behavior, AI, and the ideas shaping what's next.