Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to RACHEL NELSON. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

RACHEL , appreciate you joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

Starting Concetti was the biggest risk I’ve ever taken, because I wanted to create a business that does both residential and commercial design differently, more intrinsically tied to the human experience.

The driving force to start my own business was the lack of company culture I experienced when entering the design field after graduating from Kendall College of Art and Design. I had a vision for a unique service offering and how a team should run, so I created it myself!

I had a professor from when I studied abroad in Italy who helped me realize my design specialty was concepts, or “concetti” in Italian. Conceptual design is the intentional use of subtle elements used to elicit a look AND a feeling within a space. That experience shaped the business’ namesake and helped inspire the central focus of our business; beautiful and functional concepts that are customized for each client.

As interior design strategists, Concetti goes beyond aesthetics. We aim to infuse personality, purpose, and meaning into every space we create. Our approach is grounded in deep connections with clients, understanding their unique identities, aspirations, and challenges.

Since founding Concetti nearly 10 years ago, I have consistently pushed the boundaries of traditional design. Concetti is now an award winning studio that has completed nearly 150 projects across Michigan in the last three years and currently has 30 active projects.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Concetti is an award winning Detroit-founded interior design strategy studio specializing in both residential and commercial design. Concetti delivers bold, professional interior design strategies for people who want to co-create spaces that are extensions of who they are – spaces where they can enthusiastically, authentically, and simply be themselves.
Viewing their clients as co-creators and following a three-phase, human-centric strategic approach to design allows the Concetti team to make one thing very clear: They want you to be you. Home you. Work you. Out in the community you. Boldly you.

Phase 1: Discover x Co-Create. During the Discover phase, we will hand you the mic and ask you all the right questions to make sure we’re united on your design aesthetics, your current pain points, and your biggest wants and goals for your project. We’ll then walk through your existing floor plan inch by inch to uncover everything that needs an upgrade, and formulate a detailed assessment that will reveal your visual guidelines—an inspirational view of where we will take your space.

Phase 2: Personalize x Translate. The Personalize phase is exactly as it sounds—this is where we collectively develop your vision by finding, demonstrating, and solidifying exact pieces that will make your space you. We will put our time and attention into gathering multi-dimensional pieces such as furniture, fabrics, colors, and materials that are not only beautiful but also hold meaning in a way that uniquely reflects you.

Phase 3: Advocate x Celebrate. This phase is when your vision becomes reality! Contracts are now signed, construction begins, and we have passed the (very detailed, very capable) torch onto your builders and tradesmen. But don’t worry—we’re still there every step of the way! We will act as your construction advocate, keeping the design we co-created together at the forefront of everyone’s minds to see the project through to completion.

By serving as advocates who empower clients to be bravely, boldly you…Concetti creates spaces that become you.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I believe our human-centric approach built our reputation within our market, because we are able to take an ambiguous, opinion based process and make it clear and easy to understand.

I know that interior design can feel overwhelming – which is why we’re committed to making sure it’s not that way for our clients. What makes Concetti unique is our Process and how it guides our client collaborations. It’s our mission to add personality, purpose, and meaning to our clients’ day-to-day by creating aesthetically beautiful, functional spaces AND solving problems. We provide a holistic interior design strategy experience for our clients and deeply connect with them.

By focusing on conceptual, human-centric design and personalized experiences, we utilize both left and right brain thinking in our human-centric, three-phased approach to design.

Rooted in my extensive experience and market research, our 3-Phase Process to design enables quality assurance and my team’s ability to tailor any project to the client’s specific needs and honor their season of life or business with clarity. At Concetti, bold design means your space works well, feels good, and looks as amazing as you. So when it comes to creating a space that becomes you, we take a uniquely strategic, thorough, and personalized approach to getting every detail just right.

Each phase was created with our clients in mind, taking note of pain points heard and building around them to ensure a streamline strategy. The result is a diverse portfolio of bold, beautiful spaces of both commercial and residential clients from various backgrounds.

Any advice for managing a team?

My biggest piece of advice for managing a team and maintaining high morale is to invest in your people. In this field, there is a lot of high energy. You’ve got to act quickly, and you can burn out. One of the team members said it felt like we’re running a marathon forever. I knew I wasn’t alone—I was talking to other interior designers and they were saying, “Gosh, this is hard. I’m tired. My staff is tired.” I didn’t want my team to burn out, but I wasn’t walking the walk. One day after talking to my team about it, I just decided: We’re having quarterly mental health breaks, and they’re paid. Done.

In the first and third quarters of each year, Concetti employees get Thursday and Friday off, and that Wednesday is a VIP day with their Holistic Life Coach. The team votes on what kind of team-building activity they want—which has been anything from candle-making with essential oils to a tarot card reading. Ideally it is something that nurtures us and sets the tone for a four-day weekend. Then in the second and fourth quarters, employees get a full paid week off in addition to the VIP day.

Additionally, new Concetti employees work one-on-one with their Holistic Life Coach, Sam, to help establish their workflow and to adapt their method of scheduling. Sam offers stress management and, if needed, emotional support, holding space for people because while a new job is exciting, it’s also a big change.

Another thing we came up with are focus weeks, which are the last week of every month. We don’t take any client appointments that week, which allows us to have more heads-down time. The client work continues—the designers have deliverables they’re working on—but not having any meetings frees up my time to dive into operations, financials, our marketing plan and strategy, and to do invoices.

Mental health breaks, boundary-setting, focus weeks and access to a wellness coach changed the team’s morale, and for the first time, they felt like they could truly unplug rather than check their emails or messages after hours or even try staying up to date on vacation. Now I’m really taking that time every month to make sure that I have the headspace to keep the business healthy. We give ourselves permission to slow down and enjoy time off without guilt or judgment, and then come back refreshed, allowing us to be the best version of ourselves for our clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://concetti.studio/
• Instagram: @concetti.studio
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConcettiStudio
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/concettistudio/
• Other: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/adpro/directory/profile/concetti

Image Credits
BRETT MOUNTAIN PHOTOGRAPHY BRITTANY CARRESS