Yaron Linett - Weaving Personalities into Design with Formal, Traditional & Celebrating Pet Passions
May 23, 2024
Alimond Studio
As we peeled back the layers of Yaron Linett's world, it became clear that his knack for interior design is as intuitive as his compassion for animals. Tucked within the fabric of our latest episode, Yaron, the brilliant mind behind Formal, Traditional, narrates how he weaves the distinct yarns of his client's personalities into the tapestry of their homes. It's not about his signature—rather, it's the embodiment of their individual taste that guides his hand. From the symbolism of the Siamese cat that adorns his logo to his family's legacy in animal rescue, we trace the threads of Yaron's personal and professional life. As he celebrates his 20th wedding anniversary and welcomes a new feline friend, we learn how transparency, innovative use of VR technology, and a steadfast philosophy of designing safe, functional spaces have marked his journey.
Our conversation with Yaron also spotlights the unsung hero in the creative world: the gatekeeper assistant. This linchpin figure holds the fort, setting boundaries that shelter the artist's creative flow from the hustle of financial and temporal demands. By understanding the value of an interior designer's touch, one might see how Yaron's practice not only saves clients from costly blunders but also grants them the freedom to express themselves through their surroundings. He encourages listeners to cherish their unique design choices, made with intentionality and confidence. So, whether you're a design aficionado or simply someone who admires the love and dedication poured into creating a home, this episode is a celebration of the places and pets we hold dear.
As we peeled back the layers of Yaron Linett's world, it became clear that his knack for interior design is as intuitive as his compassion for animals. Tucked within the fabric of our latest episode, Yaron, the brilliant mind behind Formal, Traditional, narrates how he weaves the distinct yarns of his client's personalities into the tapestry of their homes. It's not about his signature—rather, it's the embodiment of their individual taste that guides his hand. From the symbolism of the Siamese cat that adorns his logo to his family's legacy in animal rescue, we trace the threads of Yaron's personal and professional life. As he celebrates his 20th wedding anniversary and welcomes a new feline friend, we learn how transparency, innovative use of VR technology, and a steadfast philosophy of designing safe, functional spaces have marked his journey.
Our conversation with Yaron also spotlights the unsung hero in the creative world: the gatekeeper assistant. This linchpin figure holds the fort, setting boundaries that shelter the artist's creative flow from the hustle of financial and temporal demands. By understanding the value of an interior designer's touch, one might see how Yaron's practice not only saves clients from costly blunders but also grants them the freedom to express themselves through their surroundings. He encourages listeners to cherish their unique design choices, made with intentionality and confidence. So, whether you're a design aficionado or simply someone who admires the love and dedication poured into creating a home, this episode is a celebration of the places and pets we hold dear.
Speaker 1:
My name is Jeroen Linnett.
Speaker 2:
My business is Formal, Traditional. I'm a full-service luxury commercial and residential interior designer and we help busy people get beautiful, functional, organized spaces. We deliver on time and on budget where they don't have to lift a finger.
Speaker 1:
That's awesome. That's the dream, right? And I noticed on your logo correct me if I'm wrong you have a cat, that's true. Can you tell me a little bit about that and the story behind it?
Speaker 2:
Sure, I try not to be different, simply to be different. But when I first started in interior design, every designer had the same logo, they had the same looking website, they had the same business card and everybody had the same animal it was a greyhound and we chose an elegant alternative the Siamese cat. Siamese, yeah, I had a Siamese cat at the time and I still currently have one rescue Siamese, and we just wanted to be a little different. I'm actually a dog person, my wife is a cat person, but you know, we make it work.
Speaker 1:
That's awesome. I love the story behind that and I love that you chose a cat, even though you're a dog person, because I'm a cat person. They're both great, but I'm more of a cat person, so I'm glad your wife will be happy about that.
Speaker 2:
Last year was our excuse me, yesterday was actually our 20th anniversary. Congratulations, yes, and somehow this weekend we're going to go get another cat, so she wins again.
Speaker 1:
And how many pets do you have? Because I noticed on your Insta I think I saw like a doggy, a kitty.
Speaker 2:
So we say my ideal client is actually a rescue dog that I can pet. People with rescue animals care about something other than themselves. They understand if you get a little fur or something gets chewed on, so they make good clients. So because we maintain the anonymity of all of our clients, a lot of times what we do is we post pictures of their pets.
Speaker 1:
Ah, okay, I was like they have a lot of pets. I love this. I love animals, so I'm here for that, but I love that it's your clients and that you're showcasing.
Speaker 2:
It is mostly my clients' pets, but we do come from an animal rescuing family. My mother is the director of the JSPCA, so if you would like anything you know she's got plenty of them We'll send you one.
Speaker 1:
Perfect, thank you. And now can you tell me a little bit about your story, how you got into this industry with interior design?
Speaker 2:
It just turns out that I am genetically predisposed to be an interior designer. I'm sure in high school I would have been voted least likely to be an interior designer. I'm sure in high school I would have been voted least likely to be an interior designer. But I fell into it and found out that I have perfect color acuity. So I like to joke that I can see every color known to man, and most of them known to women as well.
Speaker 1:
color known to man, and most of them known to women as well. Nice, that's cool, and I guess so from that information, you always knew that you wanted to be in the interior design business, or was there like a moment where you were like, wow, you know what, this is something that I want to do for a living. I actually like doing that.
Speaker 2:
No, I've had a lot of different jobs. I've worked in computer security. I've worked in sales. I managed an audio bookstore. I came in third nationally in the Craft. Behold the Power of Cheese sales competition.
Speaker 1:
Okay.
Speaker 2:
But all of those things are applicable. A lot of people think interior design is being a personal shopper. They think you just pick pretty things out. They don't understand how much math is involved, all the organization, all of the systems and processes behind it. So because we have a solid foundation of systems and follow-up and communication and basic best business practices, it would do well in any industry. But it's also particularly well-suited to interior design and the most important aspect of interior design is actually things being safe and things being functional. So we start with what is the experience you want to have in the place. We bring in the forms necessary to fill that function, and then, of the limited number of things that will do what we need them to do, we, with intention, select the most appealing of those options. So it's sort of that's the funnel that leads down to the end result.
Speaker 1:
Gotcha, and now tell me a little bit about your style. Do you have a particular style or do you mix it up a little bit with a client's idea?
Speaker 2:
Right. So my company's name is Formal, Traditional, which some people say. Well, does that mean you only do formal and traditional things? I used to say I'm not Candice Olson, I'm not, you know, Barry Dixon. I'm not any of any of these people. Nobody is hiring me to do my style. Well, having met all of those people, I know people don't hire them to do their style either. Interior design is like being a ghost writer. You know, I don't design in my voice. I do what the clients want and I make the decisions on their behalf in the way that they would make them if they knew the things that I know. So it's always whatever style and design they want.
Speaker 1:
Gotcha, okay, and then tell me a little bit about this contraption that you brought today, and why.
Speaker 2:
So this is an Oculus, it is a VR headset, and one of the main differences between us and a lot of other designers is that we run well first, a 100% transparent business. We don't hide who we work with, where we get things, how much they cost us, tracking numbers, anything. Our clients get to see everything we do. We have a shared google drive where they can see line items and all out the scope of the work. We will scan the room in 360 degrees, we'll measure, we'll photograph, we then build it in 3D. We make every design decision on the front end, photorealistically, render it in-house and then import it into VR. So we pull out the headset for our presentations and we put it on our client's head and say welcome to your new space, and they can see it before it exists.
Speaker 2:
We're hired exclusively by people who can't envision these things themselves. If they already knew what they wanted and how it was going to look, there would be no purpose in working with somebody who does those things for you. So we we use this to give sight to the blind. They see the whole space as it's going to look, and on our website we have a web page that's entitled WYSIWYG, which is an old acronym for what you see is what you get. Ah, and you can see actually how close our renderings are to the reality the as-builts, yeah. So our clients feel very confident that what we're showing them is nearly identical to what they're going to receive.
Speaker 1:
That is amazing. And how did you come up with this way of showing, I guess, the final product to your clients, like, as opposed to just maybe drawing up a sketch? Like, how did you decide that you wanted to use the Oculus?
Speaker 2:
Well, if the IRS is not listening. We wanted a tax-deductible way for my son to have an Oculus to play with, and my wife loves technology, so every time we get a new toy, we figure out how to incorporate it into our business. We were already designing all of these things and making every decision, but now, instead of having to cut out tiny little pieces of paper or build doll houses, we create virtual doll houses.
Speaker 1:
I love that. That's amazing. I love that you're using the technology that we have available to us and finding a way where it can benefit you and help clients and yourself. So that's awesome. With social media, are you on there? I know you post the pets and all that, but is that something that you put into your marketing plan for your business?
Speaker 2:
We post every single day because I have been told that I have to for the algorithm Correct. So we have our five authentic brand values and that is all we post about. One a day, five days a week. So we are transparent, pet-friendly. We believe in artistry, bespoke work and old world timeless traditions Awesome Craftsmanship, yeah.
Speaker 1:
And I can see that too, like on your website. I love that. I feel like fur babies always will definitely get you those likes and you'll get my attention. I was like wait, I was clicking like all the posts with the little cats. I was like, oh my God, it's a beautiful Bengal cat. It looked like it was gorgeous. I think it was like tiger looking. It had like green blue eyes. It was gorgeous.
Speaker 2:
One of our friends was working with a rescue organization specifically that does Bengals. They were bringing two F1 Bengals through our neighborhood and we stopped and grabbed a couple quick photos. They were really, really stressed out, so we didn't want to make their journey any more difficult. But we've had clients with Bengals too. I can tell you they can be a lot.
Speaker 1:
Rambunctious, I've heard. I've heard that they're a handful but they're so beautiful and cute so it's worth it. And where do you see yourself in five years, like as a person and with your business? Where do you hope that your business will be, expand your location or employees?
Speaker 2:
You know, I really don't think that there's going to be anything different Right now. We work with about four to ten clients a year. We select who we want to work with, people who aren't the ideal fit. We know plenty of other designers who you know. We refer whoever is the best fit for that person and I just like to keep doing the same thing. Every project is unique and we just keep wanting to do the same thing.
Speaker 1:
Okay, no, I love that. You know what you like, you know what you want, and if you're comfortable and it ain't broken, don't fix it right, do you have?
Speaker 2:
any particular projects that stand out to you? That have been. Maybe I know all your projects are probably your favorite and unique, but is there one that stood out to you where you're like you know what? This was very challenging, but it was fun and I came away learning something from this. I think I have learned on, as you mentioned, every project. There are tons of different things as an artist, whether it's myself or my wife. Everything we look at, we say, man, we could have done this differently, we should have done that differently, there could have been a little tweak here or a change there, but you know, that's just what being an artist is like, like a website designer changing a color by one tiny little you know dot of blue up or down, no one will ever know, but you, and then you're gonna. You're gonna obsess for the rest of your life. Man, if, if I just did high reflective white instead of you know salt, it would have been so much better yeah, okay, and your wife is an artist.
Speaker 1:
How often do you guys get to collaborate on these projects? Is it mostly every project?
Speaker 2:
My wife came to work with us about six months, maybe even before that, after we founded our firm in 2016. There was just way too much work, know. I was not going to hire three people to do the work that she can do yeah so she does all of our renderings and any, any art project.
Speaker 2:
Really, she is an extremely talented dual degree holding, you know, multiple medium artist. She does painting. She does digital oil, watercolor casein gouache. She'll grind her own pigments to make her own paint. She does gilding, leather work, porcelain, sculpture, sewing, digitizing, cnc designs, embroidery and every variation of each of these things.
Speaker 1:
A true artist indeed. Oh man, that's a lot of mediums. I love that. How talented. As far as your business goes, who are you outside of it? What kind of things do you like to do?
Speaker 2:
I like to cook. Obviously I love dogs and I like to use overly complicated words. I like to quote song lyrics and I like to pace while I talk on the phone, which I'm told is very relatable.
Speaker 1:
Apparently, more people do it than I thought yeah, okay, I do this thing with my leg. I like constantly like I'm moving, I don't pace, but I move my leg and my husband's always like stop. I'm like okay, sorry, it's like a little Tick inside of us. I don't know, you just have to do it. Restless legs yes, that If you could let any. I guess starting entrepreneur and having systems in place is going to hurt you.
Speaker 2:
Being respectful to everyone you meet and being present and intentional. It's very important to communicate clearly and to do it in a timely manner. Half the game is just returning phone calls and emails to people. You work so hard to find people who say let me give you money in exchange for what you do. For what you do, and then to not just say yes to them is the downfall of many businesses.
Speaker 1:
Wow, okay, thanks for sharing that. And then if you could give our listeners any advice when it comes to setting boundaries, because I know when you're an entrepreneur it's not just nine to five, it can be outside of those hours sometimes. What kind of boundaries do you set to make sure that you have a healthy work-life balance?
Speaker 2:
Sure. So boundaries are super important. You know, the key to all the five-star reviews is not just doing five-star service, but it's also avoiding one-star clients. So one of my favorite buddy designers his name is Corey Damon Jenkins. Years ago he gave a talk where he said if you ignore red flags, the person you betray is future. You so listen to people. You so listen to people, listen to your gut.
Speaker 2:
If someone is telling you at the outset things that make you not confident that this is a good fit, there will be other clients, you know. Find ones who resonate with authentic you. As far as boundaries, sometimes it's easier for someone else to enforce them than it is for ourselves. So one of the first hires I would suggest somebody make is a gatekeeper, an assistant, a wingman. My scheduling is all done through my amazing assistant and she is able to say things that I can't say because I'm the artist and I have to be separated from certain things like the money. People don't like it when you're tied in and they think that's why you're making decisions. But she can say if you don't pay the consultation fee, I will not let him come.
Speaker 2:
And I can just say my hands are tied. What can I do? I don't want to be in trouble with her, it's the same with anything else. I would probably tell people. Of course I can be there at 3 am, you know, on a holiday weekend, saturday night, whatever. But my assistant says I'm sorry, he is available Monday through Friday 9 to 5, not during holidays. Yes, and she stops me from doing the helping everybody that I want to do, because sometimes, if you give too much of yourself, there's just nothing left For yourself.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, that's right. No, I'm glad that you have that assistant that can help you set those boundaries, because I know sometimes it is hard to say like yes, yes, yes, yes and even no sometimes to people.
Speaker 2:
So now you guys know all my secrets.
Speaker 1:
Yes, we do this is how it? Is. Thank you for sharing those. Now, is there anything that I have not touched on that you would like to share with our listeners? Whether it's about you or your business, I just want to make sure I hit all those key points for you.
Speaker 2:
You know, I think it's very, very simple. You know we do things for people on their behalf and we free them up to live their lives. So in the same way you could try and figure out how to do all the things that I do, you could sit there waiting 30 hours for packages that don't show up or for phone calls that don't come back, or instead you can go live your life, work at your job, make more money, enjoy yourself, while we do things faster and less expensively than you can do it yourself.
Speaker 2:
We don't really like to discuss the bottom line of interior design, a lot of people say like well, how much is this going to cost me? You know, the fact is it's hard to monetize a mistake never made. If you bought the wrong thing and you had to redo it all, how much would that cost you? How certain are you that you're going to buy the right thing? But even if I gave you a list of everything to buy, I simply buy it for less than you do, and we split our discounts with our clients, so typically the design fees are offset by the savings on the merchandise. So if you really understand that I do it all for you and it ends up costing the same or less than you could have done it yourself and you get all that time back, really, really makes sense to work with a designer, provided that they listen and do the things you want them to do.
Speaker 1:
That's right, yeah, and it's a good fit, like you said, because not everybody is going to be a good fit.
Speaker 2:
So, I agree with that, and I'm okay with the cat people.
Speaker 1:
Thank you.
Speaker 2:
I've made it. I've made it work out for 20 years.
Speaker 1:
Appreciate that. I mean, you married a cat person too, so that's great. And now for my final question if you could leave our listeners with any message it could be in regards to animal rescue, um life in general, what would that be? Or anything in your industry, what would that message be?
Speaker 2:
All right, so I will avoid the temptation to simply quote song lyrics at you.
Speaker 1:
You can do that too, and then get to the main one, if you want.
Speaker 2:
There's a rose and a fisted glove, and the eagle flies with the dove. And if you can't be with the one you love, honey, love the one you're with.
Speaker 1:
Who's that by?
Speaker 2:
Eagles, the Eagles, okay, yes. That being said, in all seriousness, you can do anything you want. You can have any color you want, you can have any flooring you want, you can have any of these things. We'll stop you from making an objectively bad choice, or we'll at least warn you. We'll say hey, that slip coefficient isn't safe for a wet area. We don't want you falling in the shower and hurting yourself, so let's get you the product that will be safe. But if it's going to be gray or white or green, you can do whatever you want.
Speaker 2:
Some people say you know, I worry about something looking dated or clashing or whatever. None of that matters, as long as it's done with intention. So people might come into your house and say it's not to taste, I don't love this color, I don't love this pattern or style, but as long as there's intention behind it, they'll at least understand what you did. You know, and that makes it easy. They go well. You know, all the doors are this way and all the windows are that way. Maybe I would have wanted them all the same, but at least I understand why. It's comprehensible. So you know, some of these decisions that people agonize over, you don't have to.
Speaker 1:
I love that. Thank you so much for being on the podcast and taking time out of your day to be here. We really appreciate it.
Speaker 2:
Thank you. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it too.
