Design That Feels Like Home w/guest Stephanie Castillo

What if your space could make you braver? That’s the question that kept surfacing as we sat down with interior designer and community catalyst Stephanie Castillo of Rumble Interiors. Stephanie started behind a salon chair, felt the strain of long days on her body, and followed a nudge into design school while working full-time and raising two kids. That grit carried into a partnership with Renee, a shared studio that doubles as an event hub, and a bold pivot through COVID that turned challenges into momentum.

We unpack how design goes far beyond pretty rooms. Stephanie shows how feng shui and curated choices change the way we think and feel—why a tense heirloom can drain energy every time you pass it, and how albums, art, and objects with real stories create a home that loves you back. She breaks down hospitality essentials that make customers stay longer and spend more: layered lighting over harsh fluorescents, chairs that actually fit bodies, purse hooks under bars, and textures that invite you to exhale. Thoughtful ambiance is not fluff; it’s strategy.

Stephanie also opens up about the business side. Early tax mistakes, the relief of hiring a bookkeeper, and the power of asking for help became the backbone of her practice. Mentorship threads through everything: from DM’ing a local designer for coffee to building an incubator space for founders who need a launchpad. Her Wine Women Wednesday community even “cash mobs” local shops to turn small purchases into big days. If you’re sitting on a creative dream, her playbook is clear—start tiny, stack wins, find a mentor, and jump when fear says you’re close to something important.

Hit play for a grounded, energizing conversation about design as daily wellbeing, business as community care, and how to shape rooms that help people become who they are. If this resonated, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review so others can find the show. What’s the first small step you’ll take today?

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Transcript

Hellos, Book Plug, Guest Intro

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Okay, welcome to the show. I'll do a quick intro here, and then I've got your first question, which you don't know what it is yet, but it's an easy one that I don't put it on the sheet. Oh yeah. So welcome to Deep Dive with Dr. D. I'm glad you're here. Um I have my guest this week is Stephanie Castillo. Is that Castillo? Castillo. There we go. Okay. And I'm excited to have her. Um we've known each other a while. Uh we'll talk about that, I'm sure. And uh I always do my shameless plug for my book if you haven't gotten it yet. As you should.

SPEAKER_02 0:40

I read it.

SPEAKER_00 0:40

You did? I did. Did I give you a copy?

SPEAKER_02 0:42

Yeah, and you signed it. I bought it.

Stephanie’s Path: Hair To Design

SPEAKER_00 0:44

Okay. You did? Of course you did. This is awesome. So if you uh want to read the short story of The Wild Ride of My Life, uh you can get it wherever books are sold locally in Ellensburg at Pearl Street Books, Gerald's, locally online at Gerald's.com, and then anywhere else you buy books. Uh Amazon, it's an ebook, and I did the audiobook too. So um that's enough of that. It's a beautiful Sunday morning, and I have my friend Stephanie with me. And the first thing I always ask guests to do is introduce themselves to the world. Uh, you've been on some podcasts, so you know how this grows. Um, I, you know, I'm hoping my reach grows, but if someone doesn't know you at all, how do you give your bio? What would you say? Tell us about you.

SPEAKER_02 1:29

Tell us about me. Well, uh interior designer.

SPEAKER_00 1:34

Yes, you are.

SPEAKER_02 1:35

I have not always been. I was a hairstylist for and still do that. Right. I was trying to think about that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:42

That's where we met originally, I think, when you were doing hair somewhere.

SPEAKER_02 1:46

Is that where we originally?

SPEAKER_00 1:47

Where were you at?

SPEAKER_02 1:48

I was at Mango's.

SPEAKER_00 1:49

Yes. Because upstairs?

SPEAKER_02 1:51

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:51

That's where I I there was someone up there that used to cut my hair a long time ago. She ended up moving to Yakima. Oh, she had brown hair, kind not tall, but taller. But that was where I first met you.

SPEAKER_01 2:05

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:05

Okay. Good. Good. Interior designer, hairstylist, do it on the side, maybe.

SPEAKER_02 2:10

I still do it.

SPEAKER_00 2:11

Yeah, okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:12

A little bit. Okay. But it's getting smaller and smaller the more the more the interior design business takes over, the more the hair goes away.

SPEAKER_00 2:20

Great.

SPEAKER_02 2:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:21

So that's what you do for money and love.

SPEAKER_02 2:23

That's what I do for money. I have two children who are in high school and uh a killer husband and great friends and great community. And I'm on the board for the Downtown Association. And I help out with the mural. Oh, the mural project.

SPEAKER_00 2:39

Oh, cool.

SPEAKER_02 2:40

Um that's and then you have to, you know. So volunteering is definitely a thing that I've been doing. Um I did it a long time ago too, but I there's a thing called volunteer burnout. I definitely had that, so I had to step back. Yeah, but then I was ready to cut back in. So, and I just love our town, so it's it's easy to get involved with it.

SPEAKER_00 3:01

And how long have you lived in Allensburg?

SPEAKER_02 3:03

I have lived here 15 years.

SPEAKER_00 3:06

Fifteen, okay. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 3:08

I lived in Wenatchee for three years, two years before that, but uh grew up in Edmonds. Edmonds. So I lived all over Seattle, mainly.

SPEAKER_00 3:15

Okay. Who did I have last week? This happens with my brain. Who did I have on the show last week?

unknown 3:22

I don't remember.

SPEAKER_00 3:23

Oh god, because they were from Oh, no, no, no. It's someone who's going to be on the show. Um he is the manager at T-Mobile, JR, but he goes by a different name. I'm gonna start calling by that name. This happens with me with this in these on the spot things, but he is from that area also. Yeah. Okay, so that's where you were born and raised, and then I was like, Born and raised in Edmunds, yes. Okay. So what brought you to Ellensburg?

SPEAKER_02 3:51

One of those long stories. My brother lived here.

SPEAKER_00 3:55

Okay.

Moving To Ellensburg And Starting Over

SPEAKER_02 3:56

Uh he was one of the first chefs that helped open Swiftwater. Oh, okay. So he was a chef there. His best friend was oh helped open it. So we thought, oh, it'd be fun to live by my brother and his kids and how cool. Okay. And then my brother pretty much left immediately. We're like, so do we chase my brother? Or do we finally so we just decided to settle? But I still commuted. I worked at G Moir's in Seattle, so or I went to work on the West Side every weekend. Wow. Um, but I had little kids, so I could stay home during the week, and then I worked on the weekend, made enough money. And um, my ex-husband, husband at the time, ex-husband now, he worked at the Starlight when we first moved here. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:42

What was his name?

SPEAKER_02 4:43

His name was Herzane. Okay. I mean, his name still is Herzane.

SPEAKER_00 4:47

What was the owner's name? Not Dorothy. Dor it was Doris. Doris. Doris, yeah. I did some work with her on kind of on the risk management side of things. And she was such an awesome name.

SPEAKER_02 4:56

She was a hoot.

SPEAKER_00 4:56

Yeah, she was great.

SPEAKER_02 4:57

Um, and then we I had to, you know, it's really hard to make friends or community when you leave every single weekend. So I decided that I needed to find a job here. Okay. I found mangoes.

SPEAKER_00 5:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 5:10

And I, you know, being a hairstylist over in Seattle, I was charging a lot of money for haircuts. I was making a lot of money, and then I came over here and I had to I think I had to start making minimum wage. Yeah. It was rough. But I started from scratch, it was super humbling and built myself back up again. And then did that for 10 years. And then, you know, COVID is really what changed everything. Okay. Of course.

SPEAKER_01 5:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 5:35

The um I was working at the salon and I had already gone to school for interior design while I was working. And so I started my business immediately, but I was still working in the salon. So when COVID happened, I really enjoyed not working in the salon. And I was like, I don't want to go back. Because I ran it, I did all, you know, I was the manager, I ran it, I did everything, and um I didn't want to navigate all the stuff you had to do at a salon during that time. So I just started you can get a license to travel to people's homes. Um, so that's what I do now. So I just go to people's houses and do hair.

SPEAKER_00 6:13

Oh, that's cool. That gave me a fond memory of uh do you know Alicia Gordon?

SPEAKER_02 6:18

I know the name.

SPEAKER_00 6:19

She's she's uh her salon is on seventh and water. Um she's gonna be mad at me because I don't know the name. But um what it reminded me of is when my mom was in hospice care. She came and and did mom's hair in the world. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, yeah. So yeah. But that's kind of cool. You go into people's homes and you kind of you know see their their place where they live and get it.

SPEAKER_02 6:42

It's a it's a double double dip.

SPEAKER_00 6:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:45

If I can get in your home.

SPEAKER_00 6:46

Oh shoot, yeah. Hey, yeah. Mom and Dad Kel love you.

SPEAKER_02 6:51

Yes, they're so great to work with. They're so fun.

SPEAKER_00 6:53

Yeah, moms.

SPEAKER_02 6:55

Yeah, they are and they have cool vibes, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Style, they're willing to do different things. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:02

Okay, so been in Ellensburg 15 years. Um, married, two kids, yes, high school. Yes, what grades? 11 and 12. Oh wow. They're they're getting close. I know. Okay. Scary. We were just talking downstairs about how time flies. It sure does. Yeah. Grandson Anthony's in ninth grade. That's crazy. It's wild. Yeah. Um, and uh so you and I just went, the uh you guys just did your re-grand opening of the space collective interior, still called, and cool space. And and if I heard you right, you're you guys are thinking of maybe renting out that space.

SPEAKER_02 7:36

Well, we're not thinking about it. We're gonna be able to do it.

SPEAKER_00 7:38

You're gonna see like an event space as well.

SPEAKER_02 7:41

Oh, yeah. And um host classes and have our own classes and host whatever. Yeah. I mean, we just want it to be like last night, right after our grand opening, we hosted a baby shower. Okay. And then it was great. Okay. Yeah, it was great because we we have a little bit of a kitchen in the back and we have a cool you saw it. I did.

SPEAKER_00 8:01

It's a really nice space. Super cool.

SPEAKER_02 8:03

So we're gonna do that, and we're gonna do uh we want to be an incubator for um small businesses. So we're doing that. Actually, got somebody, so she'll start in two weeks. We'll have our first one up.

COVID Pivot And Mobile Hair

SPEAKER_00 8:12

Okay, pretty soon. So you can help launch other people's drinks.

SPEAKER_02 8:16

That is what we want. We kind of our theory, Renee and I we've always said if we all succeed, we all succeed.

unknown 8:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:22

And people are always like, wait, so you guys are both interior designers, but you have your own businesses, so technically you're a competition. It's like, no, not really. Because everybody fit it's it's such a personal like being a hairstylist. You don't like every single person that you sit in sits in your chair, or vice versa. So you get to uh work with people you truly like, and we have we have different design style, and she has things that she likes to do more than I do, and I like things that are she doesn't like to do, so we've we also work together really well.

SPEAKER_00 8:54

Yeah, you guys have been together for a while now.

SPEAKER_02 8:56

We have like eight years almost?

SPEAKER_00 8:59

Super cool.

SPEAKER_02 9:00

Never had a fight.

SPEAKER_00 9:02

R really? Never certainly you've had disagreement.

SPEAKER_02 9:06

I mean, sure, she might like, I really like that table, and I'm like, I don't.

SPEAKER_00 9:11

And you just roll with it, okay.

SPEAKER_02 9:13

It doesn't matter.

SPEAKER_00 9:13

Yeah, yeah. That's cool. I know. Like me and Katrina, you know, kind of different realm, but she's your work wife. Yeah, she is my work wife, yes. Um, me and Katrina don't I mean I can we've been together 15 years and we've had disagreements, but we don't have we've never had a big crazy fight. Yeah. Partly because we disagree and we go, okay, well, let's move on. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:34

Yeah. Well, it's also about communication.

unknown 9:36

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 9:37

It's a very adult thing, but it is such a tiny it's it's everything. Communication is everything with all your people, not your married people, everybody.

SPEAKER_00 9:46

It is.

SPEAKER_02 9:47

Yeah. That's a fact.

SPEAKER_00 9:48

Okay. Okay. Well, thank you for that great introduction. Yes. Um, and uh so you want to dive into a question? Do it. Okay, here we go. And I create these questions if you're watching or listening for each person that comes on the show. Um, I create these questions based on what I know about them, and uh, we kind of roll from there. So you've built something meaningful meaningful through your work with Rumble Interiors. What originally drew you to design and when did you realize it could become more than just a passion?

SPEAKER_02 10:22

Oh, um, well, good question. I have always liked it. I've always been that person that rearranges the room a million times and changes things. I just like change and I I love the freshness that it gives when you feel something different, it feels different in the room. So that's always been with me. Um and my mom was uh always kept a very neat house, kind of like you were saying downstairs. Like you're so my mom definitely influenced that. Granted, her style was you know back in the day it was very 70s, which I still totally love.

SPEAKER_01 10:56

It's coming back.

Space Collective Vision And Incubator

SPEAKER_02 10:57

It is, it has been back, and so but when I was doing hair, my um my back and my hands and my feet things started hurting, and I was like, Am I really gonna stand behind the chair until I'm 65 and do hair? And I'm like, I don't I don't want to do that. So I was like, okay, well, what is my next thing? And uh it was on Instagram and a little pop came up of oh, you can go to interior design school online, and I was like, I didn't even know that was a thing, so um I put a little poster up of it on my bathroom mirror and I just kept looking at it and looking at it, and my husband at the time was like, When are you gonna do that? And I'm like, I don't scared at school. Yeah, I have to go back to school, and I was never really a school person. I went to beauty school and I barely graduated high school, but going to school for uh things that you love though is different, is totally different. So I started, I went back to school, I worked full-time, I had two little kids, and I just made it happen. It took me about a year, and I loved it.

SPEAKER_00 12:04

So you saw the writing on the wall. If you stayed in your current role of I would be decrepit. Yeah. For you, it wasn't it wasn't gonna work, and and your mom, you know, she kind of always kept a neat place, kind of like my mom, and you're just like, oh, this is something I'm interested in.

SPEAKER_02 12:20

And then after, you know, I immediately opened up my business, and then when did you and Renee meet? Well, that's what I was just gonna say. Okay, so okay. I I also didn't know or had never talked to an interior designer in my life.

SPEAKER_00 12:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 12:35

So like I don't even I'm going into this not having any clue how this works. So once again, I get on Instagram and I type in interior designers in Ellensburg. Right. And she was the only one that popped up. Okay. So I sent her a message and I said, Hey, will you get coffee with me and be my mentor? Wow. And she was like, sure. So our first date, she no-showed me. And uh I was like, Oh, if I get next to we have this is a good start. Red flag, red flag. And then she had just it was totally fine. But then we finally got together, and I I tell this story all the time because it was like we're at DM and we're having coffee, and we were probably 20 minutes into our conversation, and I was like, I think we need to do something together. Okay. She goes, I agree. Oh, wow. That fast.

SPEAKER_00 13:20

So you're still in school at this time. I was like, you're done with school. Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_02 13:25

She was working at another place that she um and she had just bought a wall the wallpaper business. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

So she was that wallpaper in the Fifth Avenue house. Yeah, go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 13:36

So we um we just started meeting all the time and like getting together and just trying to hash out. Like I had my own business, she had her own business. We didn't want to be in business together necessarily.

SPEAKER_01 13:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 13:47

We wanted to keep our own entities, and then she brought a third person in, and then we still think we kind of just kept coming back to this one same concept, which was space sharing.

SPEAKER_01 13:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:56

And so we all three went into one building, and I think everybody was so confused what we were doing. We were like, no, we're three different interior designers, we just space share this place. But we I think it took us maybe like a year to get it all figured out, and then um Trev and Renee ended up buying the building that we're in. So we were like, okay, well, this is perfect. So that was a huge remodel. I think it used to be a dentist's office, and it had like 11 different ceiling heights all over the place. We had it was a lot. So got that done, and then I think we opened in October, and then March was COVID. And we were like, okay, well, I guess we'll see if we may, and somehow we made it through that time and uh reopened.

SPEAKER_00 14:44

You guys made it through that time because this is for I did a remodel during COVID, and Renee, we communicated through messaging or something, and she delivered the wallpaper to my door. And I think I don't remember uh how she taught me how to put it on the wall, right? But she you guys navigate, you adapted.

Mentorship, Partnership, And Surviving COVID

SPEAKER_02 15:04

Yeah, we did. You had to, and her, I mean, dang, the wallpaper business during that time went took off crazy. Like I had to go in there and help her and ship wallpaper because everybody was sitting in their homes, right? Yeah, we didn't have anything to go. What can we do? Yeah, lots of wallpaper was leaving. But then we opened back up and um we all just kept working, so yeah, she's been my biggest supporter. She is a huge advocate for us and for me, and she's got my back. And her and Trev are just like yeah, they're awesome, solid, solid people. So we wanted to do, you know, we didn't want to have retail anymore. And um, Sam needed to have a better, it's funny because that spot you'd think, oh, this is not so far off the downtown. Oh, it is. So she needed a better location for retail, and we didn't we didn't think we needed that necessarily. So her going over there is gonna be way better for her business. So we're just gonna be a complete showroom now.

SPEAKER_00 16:04

So okay, but um, yeah, that's how we're gonna and that's where you're adding in the uh renting out the space because you and I think alike, like how can we use this in many ways to make money and and keep the business going and do those things? We're just super into um our community and you you guys are a lot alike. You and Renee are in that, you're very involved, you do a lot of good work for the community, you're both good humans, both smart business women. Like, wow, it's super cool. Thank you. Yeah, it's so um I uh you know my connection to Renee is Trevor, Trevor's dad, yeah, Ken File. He's like a father figure. Yeah, he's great, and Trevor and I have had some really great conversations. Um, yeah. So I have to ask, when and where did you meet mom and dad Kel, my in-laws? Um did they come in?

SPEAKER_02 16:58

They no, they um contacted me.

SPEAKER_00 17:01

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 17:03

She just reached out. I think she followed me on Instagram or something and reached out, and then I went over there and we did one little project and then another one and then another one. And I think she's got she's I think she just loves to do it and change. So I'm like, what last night she was like okay. I think we need I'm like, well, what else?

SPEAKER_00 17:21

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 17:22

I guess your your guest room we could do something with, but your whole like their whole house is already pretty much done.

SPEAKER_00 17:27

Yeah. What you did with that laundroom? Yes, really cool. Because that's a narrow wall. I remember when they said you guys were putting a cabinet in there, I was like, ooh, how's this gonna work? Good job.

SPEAKER_02 17:40

Yeah, well, we had to custom, you know, custom it, make it yeah. You did just make things work, you know.

SPEAKER_00 17:46

Super cool.

SPEAKER_02 17:46

There's really not anything you can't do.

SPEAKER_00 17:49

Hey, I'm with you. And you're speaking to my philosophy and why I have this podcast is to help each individual see they have it within them to do amazing things and look at you go, right?

SPEAKER_02 17:59

Well, I mean, I can't say it's not scary, but I have a um, it's actually a Madonna quote that I have had with me forever, and it uh she once said, if it uh if something scares me, that genu generally means I have to do it. Yeah, and that's pretty much how I roll.

SPEAKER_00 18:14

Yeah, that's cool.

SPEAKER_02 18:15

And I like my uh this tattoo says jump. My favorite Madonna song is called Jump, and I have some of the lyrics on my back. So this I jump into things without really looking, um and I prefer it that way. Yeah, I like to learn as I'm going.

SPEAKER_00 18:32

Different genre, but one of my favorite all-time albums is Van Halen's 1984, you know. Another question?

SPEAKER_02 18:39

Do it, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:40

This is this is cool. Uh, interior design isn't just about aesthetics. Nope. It shapes how people feel in their homes and businesses. How do you think space influences confidence, connection, and daily life?

Why Space Shapes How We Feel

SPEAKER_02 18:57

Honestly, uh, the more I dive into this subject, I it is the top of the list, right? Your home is your happy place, your safe space, your sanctuary. Yes, and uh you should have good energy in it, and it shouldn't make you feel yucky or bad or guilty or um and that's where because I do feng shui as well, so that's where the feng shui comes in. Um which I just always have in the back of my head, regardless if somebody is actually asking for it. But when you walk by, let's say you have a painting that that Uncle Rocco painted, and Uncle Rocco was a jerk. Yeah, and you don't like him, yeah, but you might like the painting, or I don't know, he gave it to you and you feel guilty, whatever. Subconsciously, every time you walk by that, it's gonna affect you. Um same with furniture or whatever. Where did you get that piece of furniture? Um, I'm all about antiques, but where did it come from? Did you did you sage it before you brought it in your house? What is it carrying? Every single thing has energy, everything. So I could pick up in here anything, please, and you could tell a story about it, and it was to me a madon.

SPEAKER_00 20:18

That's funny, that's perfect.

SPEAKER_02 20:20

And you probably have a story about this and have some energy attached to it. Everything, and I can tell just by your space that you you could tell me, we could sit in here for three days and you could tell me about everything. Don't get me going. Yeah, but that's curated design to me. That's what it should be. And we got away from that because it was all about oh, resale value, resale value, resale value. Because housing, you know, it's like you didn't want to do anything too crazy to your home. Yeah. Well, what happened to you? Yeah, I think that's you don't actually live in your house.

SPEAKER_00 20:52

Yeah. You're just waiting to sell it.

SPEAKER_02 20:54

You're just waiting to sell it. So I feel like we're kind of getting a little bit away from that. And um you want to like, I don't really love going to TJ Maxx and buying art. Okay. I want you to go to a concert. I want you to hang your albums on the wall. I um I want you to have a piece that you went to an art gallery and you fell in love with and you so you it's hard to just decorate your house like that. It takes some time and some curation.

SPEAKER_00 21:23

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 21:24

Um, and we can do it, but I love to work with people who have already have things, and let's take those things and that's your personality, and that's who you are on the inside, and let's use those things to express yourself. And that way, when you walk into your room, you feel like I bet you walk in in here every day and sit down. You're like, I love this story. It's my happy space.

unknown 21:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:48

It's you know, and it's something with Katrina and I, as long as we've been together. Oh, well, let me let me say this. So you're you're speaking so powerfully in the in the world of helping people find their path out of, you know, up and out. I preach about your home is your sanctuary. You need I speak about it and you need to protect that space, but also make it your own, right? We we talk about people just need to change their lives, blah, blah, blah. And it's like, where did where are they living? Do they have a safe place to live? Number one. And then what is that space? And so I appreciate that you talk about that. And then I always like to share in a very fond way. My mom, I shared this with you. We always had a clean home. We always had a nice, orderly home, but it wasn't a safe space. Yeah. It was not, it was always changing in that we moved so much. But I think mom what kept her feelings somewhat safe is she always like we would move in the middle of the night, Stephanie, and us kids would wake up and every it was like we'd always been there. It was weird, right? Looking back.

SPEAKER_02 22:53

Yeah, that is that's a little weird.

Curated Design Over Resale Mindset

SPEAKER_00 22:55

So as I've been an adult and find my path up and out, like my home is Katrina's the same, is our safe space. The preschool, she designs it. The kids come in, they feel and we hear that from people. Wow, this is really I feel comfortable here. And you're speaking about how important that is.

SPEAKER_02 23:13

Well, you've all we've all walked into places where you're like, oh god, what I don't this feels terrible. You don't really know why, but it doesn't feel good. That that's just bad feng shui. And then you've walked into places where you're like, this is cool. This feels good. Now I walked downstairs this morning, and you know, and sometimes old houses are a little strange just on their own, but um, you can feel the energy of a place immediately, how it feels and the vibe and the people that are in it. And I mean, your house felt great, but I have definitely walked into places where I'm like something I don't like this. Yeah, and um feng shui has a lot to do with that, and I think if you're intuitive, just in general, you kind of automatically do good feng shui in your house. Um, you know, there's more you can really dive deep into all that stuff. But I just I think that your home is a reflection of who you are, and it should you should not be afraid to express yourself, especially in that place. If you want to have an all-black bathroom with um gold panthers all over the wall, and that brings you joy, you should do that. Yeah, you should absolutely do that. They make these, you know, new homes nowadays is just white.

SPEAKER_01 24:27

White and gray. It is white and gray. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:28

Well, they make them like that because they're for you to do something. Do something with it. And I think a lot of people just don't, it's overwhelming, first of all. It's super overwhelming to figure that out. And so that's where, you know, that's where I come in.

SPEAKER_00 24:40

It's yeah, super cool. So tell me about in the realm of businesses, like what I mean, because I'm thinking about you know, the places I go into and like Fred Meyer or you know, and I and I and I'm a I'm both world kind of guy, small business, big business. Yeah, but so how do you like let's talk about maybe a small business and you walk in? What are you looking for in a space where customers come and go and as far as design and things of that sort?

SPEAKER_02 25:08

Ambiance. I have to have good ambiance. And what's what what does that mean? Well, for me, no fluorescent lights up above. Oh yeah. Um, lighting needs to be more layered, okay. Um, not just coming from down here hard.

SPEAKER_00 25:22

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:22

Look, you got a lamp, you got a lamp, you know, have it maybe some of the floor, maybe I bought that light, I don't like it.

SPEAKER_00 25:28

What was up there before was terrible. It was three light bulbs. But anyway, so you look at ambiance.

SPEAKER_02 25:33

Yeah, definitely ambiance, comfortability of the chairs. Um, I'm I you know my dream job is to design hospitality. So hotels or bars and stuff like that. But like if you sit at a bar at a bar stool, does it turn? That's super like little details. Is there a purse hook? Um, is there a place for my feet to go?

SPEAKER_00 25:55

So the functionality of it's the functionality of that. Yeah, okay, okay.

SPEAKER_02 25:58

Big part of it.

SPEAKER_00 25:58

Um, okay.

SPEAKER_02 25:59

Did they sweep?

SPEAKER_00 26:01

Sure.

SPEAKER_02 26:02

Is it clean?

SPEAKER_00 26:03

Yeah.

Business Spaces: Ambiance And Function

SPEAKER_02 26:04

Um does it feel cozy and inviting, or is it just big, wide, open, bright? Now, some places probably need that, but I've my vibe, my personal vibe is dark and moody and uh uh eclectic, and I'm definitely a maximalist, so I like stuff around me, and uh I I'm always looking for that. There's no the and there are a few places in town that like I walk into Valo and I'm like, oh, I like it in here. Or I walk into Fortuity and I like that in there. Um so that there are some oh um huntsman space.

SPEAKER_00 26:37

Oh, that's such a cool space.

SPEAKER_02 26:39

So cool, right?

SPEAKER_00 26:40

I fucking love that space.

SPEAKER_02 26:41

So there are Why do we love it?

SPEAKER_00 26:43

What is it that we love about it? Because a lot of people say that.

SPEAKER_02 26:45

Because they have thoughtfully designed it. Yeah, it's thoughtful, it's curated, it's the wallpaper that they put in there, the lighting, the the mood, like it's everything. And also their customer service, like it's it that has to be part of it too. But then you go into places like not to throw anybody under the bus, but like, okay, um P to Pit.

SPEAKER_00 27:08

Yeah. So You're not gonna want to hang out in there.

SPEAKER_02 27:12

No, I don't want to hang out there. But what if they tweaked it to make if you want to stay somewhere longer, you're gonna spend more money. Yeah. Bottom line.

unknown 27:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:20

So it's a fact. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:22

Yeah, yeah. Super cool. Thank you for that. That's that's really and I I'm I've always I I shared with like Katrina's the preschool, that's all her, but like in the living room and this, this is all me. I've always loved design. I'm really good at moving. I don't say I shouldn't say that publicly because that's what we did, but I'm also good at seeing a space like Katrina say, Hey, honey, look at this, like the free choice room. Come look at it, and I'll go, let's move this here and making it. I don't know. I've always had that passion to to make spaces cool. Yeah, even my office is on campus. People come in and they're like, This is very David.

SPEAKER_02 27:58

It's well, and this I can walk in here and makes me know know you better, right?

SPEAKER_00 28:03

Yeah, yeah, and I think that's really cool too. Yeah, and comfortable. I want people to feel comfortable. Like mom and dad Kelly, I always talk about their place. They have a super nice place, like HGTV, nice, but you feel comfortable. Absolutely. You walk in there, you feel comfortable because the ambiance, like they're them. So you don't feel like, oh, can I sit down? They're like, no, sit, please be comfortable. Do you want some coffee? Yeah, let's yeah, super cool. Okay. We got two questions left. You're known for doing, and this is a fact, you're known for doing amazing work in the community beyond your business. What motivates you to invest in the people and place around you? Where do you get that from?

Service, Community, And Collaboration

SPEAKER_02 28:48

I first of all, I think it's I I love people. And I'm a people person and I'm not an introvert. And I um I'm constantly I remember when I worked at Gene Warez, I put on my resume. My job is to motivate and inspire creative people. Nice. And I've always had that in my the back of my head, and um, so I'm always wanting to do you miss it, Gianwares? I miss a lot of people, yeah. And clients and my friends that I work there with, you know, every day. I don't miss shopping, going shopping at the mall every day and spending all my money. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:28

It's kind of nice that it's a distance, yeah. Exactly. Okay, sorry, go on. Uh where does it come from the desire to help people in your community?

SPEAKER_02 29:40

You know, somebody asked me this question not long ago when I was redoing my branding. She kept going, why, why? Why do you do this?

SPEAKER_00 29:45

That's what I want.

SPEAKER_02 29:47

And I was like, it is people because hairstylist, people, one-on-one.

SPEAKER_00 29:52

Where does that come from for you? I mean, you could have chosen to be a bookkeeper. Why do you want to be around people and help people help the community? I hear you and Renee all the time. Like Ellensburg, we want to support our why I want to.

SPEAKER_02 30:07

Because I want to see other people succeed.

SPEAKER_00 30:10

Why? Where does it come from?

unknown 30:13

I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 30:15

Did you your mom, your dad, a teacher, childhood? I've never thought about it that deep. That's why it's called deep dive.

SPEAKER_02 30:27

You're making me deep dive. Oh, I get it now. Uh what's your why? What's my why?

SPEAKER_00 30:39

You know, my this might help you. Mine is I crazy chat. You read my book, right? Chaos, chaos. But I had some people, Johnny Ravel, who's Johnny's named after, Mr. Burmeister, my mat, who who actually showed genuine concern for me, right? And so I've lived a crazy life. I've been lifted up and out. I want to give that to others.

SPEAKER_02 30:59

Yeah, I see what you're saying. I think I've had some really influential people, okay, um teachers, instructors, especially in beauty school.

SPEAKER_00 31:11

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 31:12

Um, that were really hard on me.

SPEAKER_00 31:15

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 31:16

That were hard on me because they saw something in me that I didn't see.

SPEAKER_00 31:20

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 31:20

And I had two really important mentors during that time. I'll say now you're making me remember. And um, Lewis Atkins was one of them, and he worked at Gene Warez for years, and he was a big, huge part. He also kind of started me on my whole spirituality path as well. Um, but he made me do things that I didn't think I could do. Okay. And I liked I I needed that. I loved that. Um, and it was never any he was a dude and he was older than me, but it was never like a he never hit on me or, you know, it wasn't anything like that. He just was like, I want to lift you up. And I think that's what I want. I see these people that are young and um they want all these, and I just want to be like, here, just get up and I'll just push you up a little bit. Yeah. So even if I can help them for one step get to where they want to go, or just prove to them that they can, because people are like, I don't think I can do that.

SPEAKER_00 32:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:19

Anybody can do it.

SPEAKER_00 32:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:20

Anybody. Now, obviously, you have to want it.

SPEAKER_00 32:23

Yeah. Not everybody wants to, and you have to do the work.

Early Lessons: Money, Help, And Adaptation

SPEAKER_02 32:26

Um, I think of Sarah, who just opened um a new wellness and amazing, and she's so young and she's doing so many things, and she's so impact impactual um that those are the type of people that I want to give a stepping stone to. Yeah. And I think that's another reason. And Renee and I both feel like that. Um so in the space, we have that incubator space where we get to we get to do that. So we get to help people who might not have a business yet, but maybe want to try. And we're gonna give them a little opportunity. So it's really I just enjoy watching other people's growth. What kind of parent are you?

SPEAKER_00 33:12

I'm a very um how would your kids describe you as a mom?

SPEAKER_02 33:18

Um, well, my daughter calls me a badass.

SPEAKER_00 33:20

Okay. Awesome.

SPEAKER_02 33:21

Yeah. You should have heard the speech she gave about me at my wedding. It was amazing. Uh I think they see that I work hard. Um and they I often make them come and work with me, so they really get it. Um I think that I am I was really strict when they were younger.

SPEAKER_01 33:39

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 33:40

Um and now they I've always told them I trust you until it until you do something.

SPEAKER_00 33:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 33:45

So and they haven't done anything, so they keep getting the trust and they keep getting more and more freedom and so you allow them the space to you empower them to to make choices. Yeah, I hope so.

SPEAKER_00 33:56

I think maybe I certainly have guardrails, right? Of course.

SPEAKER_02 33:59

I might um Steve, my husband, I always been like, uh, you need you might need to let my son like, let him let him go. Yeah, because he's my baby. I'm like, oh, I think I should do that. Oh, I don't know. Okay. Okay, just let him go. And he did it, and he was fine. You know, they gotta let him grow.

SPEAKER_00 34:16

You seem fun.

SPEAKER_02 34:17

I might be fun. I don't know if they think I'm cool or if they think I'm crazy.

SPEAKER_00 34:20

Probably a little of both. Yeah. My gr I I'm thinking of my grandson Anthony, you know, he's 15, and you know, yeah. I know he he said not too long ago that his friends like me. I'm like, oh, cool, okay. You know, because I think you and I are similar in some ways. Um, but I'm not surprised to hear that you um also similar. I was very strict with Tyler when he was young, and then I've evolved and grown and adapted, and I think you've done that since and I think that that's what happens, right?

SPEAKER_02 34:47

Yeah. Well, you grow up yourself too, right? Yeah. Yes. I'm 53. I I know a few more things when I had kids, and now I, you know, I'm lucky that we live in Ellensburg that I can let them just go run around the streets. Yes. Um I don't know that you could do that anywhere nowadays. I mean, unfortunately, there's not a lot for kids to do here, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:09

Yeah, this is true.

SPEAKER_02 35:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:11

All right. Last question for you. Okay. And usually by this question, you've answered some of this, so we'll just see how it goes. And then we'll close it up. Building a business takes risk, resilience, and belief. What were the some of the hardest early lessons you had to learn, and how did that shape the leader you are now? Hmm. What were those early struggles?

SPEAKER_02 35:36

Well, I mean, there were some struggles like when you have to pay your taxes and you didn't realize how much money you needed to save for that. And there was at one point I had a really good year and I thought I saved enough, and I did not, and I it took like all my savings and wiped me back down to like nothing. And I had to pay my and I had to kind of start all over again. So we're not gonna do that again. But that was one of the biggest pieces of advice I got when I started was um get a bookkeeper immediately. Uh so I I did that. That was you know, business-wise, that was a really good piece of advice. Good. Um ask for help. Ask for help, and I think asking for help, I because in the beginning, they don't I think with any schooling, they don't they teach you some stuff, but they don't teach you practical how do you do this and I so that's what Renee was for is I'm like, okay uh how do I how do I do this? What do I do? And she what I love about her is she never made me ever she never makes me feel stupid or like an idiot. She's like, nope, this is how I do it, and she teaches me, and then she's super grateful. I'm so grateful for her. But yeah, um I think what was the question?

SPEAKER_00 36:53

What were some of those early lessons? Um and maybe just thinking about what about COVID? What did that teach you? COVID about how to adapt and evolve.

Courage, Small Steps, And Mentors

SPEAKER_02 37:06

Um it was amazing for me. I like it changed my life in a lot of good ways. Um It got me to uh my business quicker, it got me to um think outside the box, which was scary, risky.

SPEAKER_00 37:34

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:37

I just think you have to have people that believe in you and there are always gonna be people that tell you you can't do things right. And those are the people that you know if somebody in my life is gonna tell me I can't do something, I don't want that person in my life anymore. That's not my people.

SPEAKER_01 37:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:57

So I've really done uh I've curated my core group of people as well, that they all are believers and and I'm vice versa for them, you know. That's why um the another thing that I did during that, which was the Wine Women Wednesday group. Um I started that kind of I started one right before COVID, and I remember we were all like, should we still do this? I don't know. Are we gonna all die in a couple days? And we did it and it was uh fine, and then everything went dead. And then I started it back up again. Um so now we've been doing that for three years, but I don't know what I don't know what I'm talking about anymore. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_00 38:37

You're talking you're fine, you're talking about you how to adapt and how to get through challenges. And you heard something that I talk about, you know, when talking about our home, the next most important thing I talk about is your circle of influence. And I say to students, I say to anyone that will listen to me when I'm doing this about this, that if you have naysayers in your life, delete them.

SPEAKER_01 38:58

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 38:58

Right? And that that can be difficult. I say this with if it's family. Well, you can love from a distance.

SPEAKER_02 39:04

Absolutely. Just because they're family doesn't mean anything.

SPEAKER_00 39:07

And like you were talking about with having Uncle Joe's thing up, you feel that guilt. I'm like, screw that.

SPEAKER_02 39:13

No, yes, right?

SPEAKER_00 39:14

Life's too short. And and I don't, you know, it's not in a mean-spirited way, but I I'm very same, me and Katrina are very picky about who we allow to influence us. And I heard you talking about that in your own way, that it's important to you, and that's how we get through challenges. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 39:31

Yeah, I think people are so cool and talented and interesting, like just fascinating. Um, but not everybody's for everybody. And you know, that's okay. I prefer uh quality over quantity. Yeah. Um, and I I have friendships that go back to kindergarten and people that I still am very, very close to. I have these pockets. Um I've got my kindergarten friends, I've got my elementary friends, I've got my middle school, and then my high school, which are kind of all the same, and then um my beauty school, and then my Jean Warez, and then Mango's, and then EDA friends, and then business friends. So it's like you just get all these little pockets of people that are supportive. That's good. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 40:19

And I think you you know, I'm turning 59 this year, which is wild. And you said you're 53. I think it's also as we age we make different choices in regards to who we allow into our because it's we realize how impactful it is who who we allow to influence our brain.

SPEAKER_02 40:36

If you're not gonna bring me good energy, get the fuck away from me.

SPEAKER_00 40:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:41

Can I say that?

Music, Vibes, And Closing Thank-Yous

SPEAKER_00 40:42

Yeah, just go ahead. Yeah. No, I'm with you. I just you know, I I I say because I got enough going on in my own brain that I need to challenge and throw away that I don't need it coming from external sources. So yeah. This has been great. Okay, final two questions. Your opportunity, if someone listens to this along the way and they're they're wanting to have they have a dream and they're wanting to put it, but they're scared, right? What's a message of encouragement you would give to that person who has that creative dream, but isn't sure they're ready to do it.

SPEAKER_02 41:21

You're never gonna be ready, first of all. You just gotta do it, you just gotta jump in. And I mean, that's my favorite part of starting a business is the beginning part, like the figuring it out. How do I get my business license? How do I do this? How do I do this? And I think I like to think of things, and this comes from being older because I used to, I wanted, I wanted everything right now, and I wanted it done now. So I would do a shitty job at it because I wanted it now, where now I take time. So I'm like, okay, I think of let's say painting a wall, painting a whole room. Oof, that's intimidating, right? Where do I start? And then you put it off, you know, just why don't you just paint a little piece? Oh, and then you end up going a little bit more. But each time you do a little piece, you're getting closer and closer and closer and closer to your goal. So I love uh writing a list. Like you want to start a business, okay. What are the steps that one needs to take? And they could be in different orders, but maybe your first one is what's the name of your business? Okay, let's check that off the list. Okay, next. Do you need a business license? Yeah. Check. Just do little small things, and that makes it not as overwhelming. I'm a jumper, I'm gonna jump in head first without thinking a lot of times. Um, I do think a little bit more now that I'm older, but I still like to just jump into things. Um and you have to have, I think having a mentor is everything. Somebody that is going to encourage you, somebody that's done it before. There's actually a lot of resources in this town. Uh the chamber offers, you can call up these small business people and they will sit down with you and guide you through steps of what you need to do.

SPEAKER_00 43:02

Um well, like you did when you were launching into your interior design. You went on Instagram and you found Renee.

SPEAKER_02 43:09

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 43:09

And you said, Hey, will you mentor me? And she said, Sure.

SPEAKER_02 43:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 43:13

I mean, but that's right. I think that's a but also scary to do to ask a stranger, but look at you now.

SPEAKER_02 43:19

It's funny, I was on another, I was a on a design podcast, and she said, you know, are you would you be okay mentoring any designers? And I said, Yeah, I don't get my name out to anybody. And I had a girl and she reached out and I ended up mentoring her for like a year and a half to like get her business to the next step. And my God, that was it's pretty awesome. Yeah, it was fun to help. I like to see other people succeed, and I like to see well, and I like to see our town have successful businesses, and I like to see people supporting them, and I like to see um, you know, there's a lot of w majority of the downtown businesses are owned by women or ran by women in Ellensburg, which I think is really cool. Um, and so another thing that we do with the Wine Women Wednesday now is we do um what's called like cashmob, cash mob. Where you go into a business and if everybody just spends like five to twenty dollars in one short period of time, you just made their day, maybe two days. So we're gonna we've been going to like restaurants and bars, but we're gonna start moving out into businesses too. Sure. So that's I just that's cool. I just want all these women to be successful. Be successful, and I kind of want us to take over. I feel it's time for women to take over.

SPEAKER_00 44:37

Okay. Yeah. Well, I live with a preschool teacher and owner, you know. I think I'm in charge sometimes with now.

SPEAKER_02 44:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:47

There's certain things you're probably in charge of, yes. Well, that was cool. Okay, last question. What's a question you've always wanted to ask me?

SPEAKER_02 44:53

Well, I kind of maybe got my answer already, but I want to know. Out of these albums in here, if you could only listen to one for the rest of your life.

SPEAKER_00 45:04

Oh, God.

SPEAKER_02 45:05

What's that gonna be?

SPEAKER_00 45:06

Oh, that's that's really difficult. Because I mean we talked about Elton John, but I uh so knee jerk, it would probably be Tom Petty. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 45:14

Yeah, go with that gut. It would be album.

SPEAKER_00 45:17

It would be one of Tom Petty's albums. And uh oh, well, Wildflowers is right there. Okay, so I mean that's knee jerk, but that would also then be difficult because I've been into Whiskey Myers lately. Uh that album I just got Kings of Leon is one of my favorite albums. Favorite albums, really good. So there you go. Okay. Music for me is is I say everything, um, and but kind of like you were talking about different pockets. Um, it depends on the different era of my life. It depends on mood. Like I'm looking at Johnny Blue Skies, which is Sturgil Simpson, like his music and his voice, the record company. So there you go. Knee jerk Tom Petty.

SPEAKER_02 46:01

Are you going to any concerts this year?

SPEAKER_00 46:03

Uh, not any on the calendar, but it'll probably happen.

unknown 46:05

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 46:06

Yeah. Cool.

SPEAKER_00 46:07

Thank you for being on. Yeah. This has been great. I'll pull that back. Oh, thank you. Super cool. Yes. This would be a good one.