Every article by Rory.

Rory has never come across a boutique creative studio she didn't want to interview. She collects other people's business origin stories the way some people collect vinyl. She does her clearest thinking on long walks along the pier where she lives in California.

01
Learn

Check your data before you switch design software

Test what you can export, what the new system can import, and how the studio will work while its records move.

02
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Use client feedback to write better AI marketing

Collect the words clients use before and after the wedding, sort them by meaning, and give AI a source it can follow.

03
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What to do when furniture arrives damaged

A receiving warehouse should photograph and inspect every item, then tell you about damage before the vendor’s deadline.

04
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What to include in an interior design investment guide

Explain your services, fees, process, and next step before a potential client books a call.

05
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Work out the cost of a client change before approval

Write down what changes, what it costs, which dates move, and who must approve it before the studio acts.

06
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Count the full cost before sourcing the art

Add framing, freight, installation, commission, and studio time before deciding whether an artwork fits the project budget.

07
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Give each wedding timeline one clear job

The planning timeline, run-of-show, and seating plan share data while serving different decisions, owners, and time scales.

08
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Run a capacity audit before wedding season

Test each delivery period for event complexity, founder-only work, team coverage, response coverage, and recovery time before accepting another booking.

09
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Set escalation rules before a remote design project begins

Use five decision tests to separate local calls from choices that require the principal’s approval.

10
Learn Taste Meets Tech #03

Set the review boundary before AI reaches the client

Define the governing source, human check, approval authority, and release evidence for one AI-assisted output before it becomes a client commitment.

11
Discover

Show styling clients the simple plan they need

Clients need decisions, appointments, and handoffs while stylists manage a denser backstage plan for sourcing and preparation.

12
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Why good wedding leads still go cold

Couples take time to decide. Useful follow-up keeps a promising inquiry moving by helping with the choice in front of them.

13
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A stylist creates more value when the client buys less

A persistent wardrobe record lets a personal stylist prove her value through better use, fewer mistakes, and deliberate restraint.

14
Discover

AI makes the first draft easier and the client conversation harder

A realistic AI rendering can make a provisional interior look decided before the designer has checked what the image promises.

15
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When protecting the studio makes a client feel punished

A fair pause process separates work already owed, conditions that have changed, and choices the client still gets to make.

16
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The styling proposal that makes clients say yes

The styling proposals clients say yes to spell out the scope and show the money buying something she can picture.

17
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Terrica's five rules for a wedding proposal that books

The wedding coach Terrica has five rules for a proposal that converts, starting with the sin most planners commit: being boring.

18
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How a destination planner keeps remote couples close

Lisa Makaneole plans Hawaii weddings for couples she rarely meets in person, and her communication stack is why it still feels intimate.

19
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What good client communication looks like in interior design

Efficient, specific, personalized. Three words that sound like a slogan until a supplier delay tests all three at once.

20
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What to actually look for in a wedding planning tool

Before you pay for another all-in-one platform, hold it to three tests: setup you grasp fast, security clients trust, and a look that flatters your brand.

21
Learn Taste Meets Tech #02

What an AI assistant can and can't do for a wedding business

The wedding to-do list never shrinks, so here is where an AI assistant genuinely helps and where it quietly makes things worse.

22
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Why email is quietly failing your wedding business

Email built the wedding industry's client communication, and now the cluttered inbox and the sprawling thread cost planners hours they do not have.

23
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When a design studio outgrows running on memory

A one-person studio can hold everything in its head, right up until the fourth project, when scheduling, invoicing, and client updates start colliding.

24
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A file system that ends the where-did-I-save-that panic

The scattered mess of contracts, questionnaires, references, and moodboards is quietly costing you billable hours every week.

25
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Fake wedding enquiries: scam signs to check

Check whether a wedding enquiry is genuine using the email, event details, venue, payment language, and response to your booking process.

26
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The client collaboration stack that actually earns its place

Interior design runs on client feedback, so the tools worth keeping are the ones that make sharing a visual and getting a decision genuinely faster.

27
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Wedding pricing transparency for planners

Wedding planners can publish starting prices and keep room for custom quotes. See what pricing transparency tells couples and how it qualifies enquiries.

28
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How to price wedding planning services when fully booked

Price each service from annual costs and sustainable capacity, then check whether a full calendar leaves the business enough profit.

29
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Six ways interior designers add income without more clients

When the local market slows, revenue streams next door to your design skills keep the studio steady and cut your dependence on a few big projects.

30
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How to diversify your wedding business without burning out

Extra packages and a la carte add-ons open new revenue and fill the slow months, as long as you resist becoming a jack of all trades.

31
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How to make an interior design portfolio at home

Make an interior design portfolio from your own home with a clear brief, real constraints, process work, and a case study that shows your judgment.

32
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How to build a genuinely sustainable design studio

Construction is one of the most wasteful sectors there is, which makes a designer's move toward sustainability both harder and more worth doing.

33
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Do you need a niche for your wedding planning business?

Narrowing your focus feels like turning couples away, but a sharp niche is what makes the right ones choose you first.

34
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How to answer a bad review as an interior designer

The review itself rarely does the damage. How you answer it, in public, where your next client is reading, decides everything.

35
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How to get testimonials from happy wedding clients

Ask at the right time, send a direct review link, use focused prompts, follow up once, and get permission before sharing a couple’s words.

36
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Become an interior designer without a degree

You can become an interior designer without a degree. Learn which skills to build, how to get experience, and what your portfolio needs to prove.

37
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How to find an interior design mentor

The right interior design mentor helps you make stronger calls on pricing, portfolios, clients, and the parts of the job that usually take years to learn.

38
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Hourly or per project? How to actually choose

Hourly protects you when the scope is fuzzy; a flat rate rewards speed and predictability, so the right pick depends on the work in front of you.

39
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How wedding planners build a trusted vendor circle

Your strongest vendor relationships come from repeat proof: fast replies, shared standards, and referrals you would make without a second thought.

40
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Do you need a personal styling niche?

Picking a lane makes you the stylist a specific client is already searching for, and the expert her friends get sent to next.

41
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How wedding planners repair a bad review

A bad review is easiest to contain when you respond privately, document the facts, and make the next client experience visibly tighter.

42
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How to price interior design work without apologizing for it

Three decisions set your rate: what the package actually includes, what the market bears, and what you need to clear after costs.

43
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Four moves that carry a creative business through a downturn

When the economy turns, the studios that survive are the ones that watched their cash, spread their income, and kept their regulars close.

44
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The handful of numbers a creative business should actually track

You do not need a dashboard of forty metrics. Six numbers tell you whether the studio is healthy, growing, and priced right.

45
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To niche or not: four questions before you specialize

Before you commit an interior design business to one lane, pressure-test it against passion, demand, competition, and your own readiness.

46
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How stylists keep clients coming back, by six who do

Six working stylists on what actually holds a client for years: fast replies, held space, and spotting the wardrobe gap before she does.

47
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Unconventional client questions interior designers should ask

Ten intake questions that surface how a client actually lives, so the brief reflects a real Tuesday and a busy Sunday.

48
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Unconventional client questions personal stylists should ask

The sharpest intake questions surface how a client sees herself, where that image cracks, and what she wants clothes to make easier.

49
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The client questionnaire every personal stylist should keep

A strong client questionnaire helps a stylist uncover taste, confidence blockers, lifestyle demands, and real wardrobe goals before the first recommendation.

50
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Interior design client questionnaire ideas worth keeping

A strong interior design questionnaire should surface decision-makers, daily routines, functional gaps, and the emotional tone a client wants their home to hold.

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