We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jen Dallas. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jen below.

Hi Jen, thanks for joining us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

I wanted to be an interior designer since I was very young. I have always been sensitive and it greatly enhances my ability to design spaces. My Mom would hear me moving furniture around in the middle of the night when I was supposed to be sleeping. She was not at all surprised when I chose design as a career. After I received my Bachelor degree in Interior design, I pursued my dream to be a hospitality designer. I specialized in hotels, spas and restaurants. Eventually moving to LA from the mid-west, I got a job working for a high-end residential designer in LA. I loved working for her and loved job. Six years later, I had a baby and my priorities changed from living to work to working to live. Looking at your baby’s face shifts everything or at least it did for me. The designer I had been working for encouraged me to start working for myself as she did the same when she had her first child. I often say that having my son opened the door to being the entrepreneur I always knew I was. I knew very young I had that mindset but it wasn’t until I have my son that I gave myself permission to go for it. Having my own studio gave me the freedom to create my own schedule and be the kind of Mother I wanted to be. After the decision was made it all happened pretty quickly. I had a couple of design jobs referred to me from friends which encouraged the process. Graphic design has always been important to me. The first thing i did was design my logo and order business cards. I chose to use my own name as I wanted to provide a personal service for people. I chose my business structure and registered my business. Taking one step at a time, I then got federal and state IDs and applied for licenses and permits. I worked from home for the first six months and then quickly found a studio space outside the home. I launched quickly and took one step at a time to make it happen for myself. I think if I thought too far ahead I might of been overwhelmed to even start. One step at a time and then I was hiring my first assistant and giving design presentations in my own studio.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My interior design practice, Jen Dallas Interior Design Studio, was born from a belief that every environment we design can elevate the lives of the people who dwell there. That through our work — to conceive, design, and install beautiful spaces — we can transform people’s lives. At the heart of our work is a passion to understand a deeply-held vision of home for our clients. I ask alot of questions in the beginning of the design process. What do you dream about. What brings you alive. It is precisely this – bringing to life the most intimate idea of home in a way nobody imagined – for which we are known. When you dream big, you create a kind of magical alchemy. It becomes a complete and nuanced expression of your lifestyle, life stage, and aspirations. I have an extensive knowledge of interior architecture, construction and design. My education and experience are all informed by classical training interpreted with a modern aesthetic.
Which is why we’ve forged a reputation for interiors that impart the patina of age while feeling clean-lined and current. From residences to offices and gardens, our full-service team specializes in the design of both construction built from the ground up and remodels. All of which happen with our masterful partners: builders, project architects, and a constellation of trusted vendors and artisans.

Even more, our approach is holistic. What does that mean, exactly? That we integrate every aspect of your project — from structure and style to setting — into a cohesive whole. From the landscape to a property’s architecture, the surroundings are a source of inspiration. We love what we do and it is evident in our final home installations.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

One of the desires as an interior designer has always been to have our own products out in the marketplace. My studio has its own textiles, wallpaper and ceramic tile lines under the name Maple Jude & Co. We launched the tiles and textiles in 2018. We are represented by tile showrooms across the US and our textiles can be purchased and sourced through the trade at Quintus at the Pacific Design Center. We also sell many products for the home made out of our textiles such as: decorative pillows; table cloths; napkins; tea towels; makeup bags; dog beds and candles. All are available through our website. Just like with the studio, I started the products in the same fashion-one step at a time. A funny story while I was working on the textile collection, creating ceramic tiles were a happy accident! I was drawing a pattern and though it would be an amazing ceramic tile. So I started to reach out to sources and friends in the business to see how we could make that happen. Early this year, our studio launched our first lighting collection and is now working on our first rug collection. There are always lessons to be learned when it comes to having products made. I am glad we chose the route of exceptional quality. I am grateful we started with high expectations. We can the make further decisions on details. Such as: what zippers for the makeup bags are best; Do we need to spend that much on a zipper or can we find a zipper at a better price point. Or next time we launch candles do we want to offer them at a smaller size to allow a better price point. These are some of the things we consider each time we launch products to insure we are considering every avenue to make the products the best they can be. Quality for us is never something we want to jeopardize. We want to always provide a high quality products that are fresh and current. So I guess it is safe to say lessons are an ongoing thing when you are creating products.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

We have slowly and organically created a following on social media. To us it is the only way to do it. The more we are out there being seen the more followers we receive and it has been an exciting journey connecting with people who love our designs and products. The best advice we can offer is go to events. Do a trade show. Make yourself known. When we initially launched our product line we did it at Westedge here in Santa Monica. It was such a great place to launch and be shown to the local design scene. We are actually doing it again this November. The more people that know you and what you do the better audience you will build. We are constantly asking ourselves what is the next steps to get the opportunity to be in front of new customers. I am fairly old fashioned when it comes to reaching out to people and like to write personal notes all of the time. Brands are built with relationships and the knowledge of your product. We want to build brand recognition but it is built slowly one person at a time.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jendallas.com; www.maplejude.com
• Instagram: @jendallas; @maplejude
• Facebook: Jen Dallas Studio; Maple Jude & Co.
• Linkedin: Profile: Jen Dallas; Page: Jen Dallas, Inc.

Image Credits
Jen Dallas, Interior Bar shot- langoworks.com Jen Dallas Lighting collection, Plus wall sconce – Steven Rimlinger