Interior Design Business Podcast: A new kind of BIID Partner

The Interior Design Business (IDB) podcast, the acclaimed monthly series for professional interior designers, is now a Media Partner of the BIID.

Started in December 2018, IDB is co-presented and produced by Jeff Hayward, a marketeer with over 15 years’ experience in interior design at industry consultancy, Wildwood Plus, and Susie Rumbold, a Past President of the British Institute of Interior Design and the founder of design practice, Tessuto Interiors.

We sat down with Jeff to find out more about the series and what we can expect to see from IDB in 2023.

Can you tell us more about the podcast and your thinking behind the series?

I’m the co-owner of Wildwood, a Sussex-based marketing agency that has its roots firmly in the interiors, building and construction sectors. We’ve represented the BIID since 2012 and I first met Susie shortly before she started her term as President of the BIID in 2015. Susie is an incredibly talented and knowledgeable interior designer and a terrific communicator. We connected straightaway.

Working with the BIID and its community, it became clear to me that interior design practices and practitioners have grown, evolved and succeeded thanks to the sharing of ideas and experiences freely given by others. The challenge is that it is simply not always possible for designers to attend every talk, panel discussion or event where they might be able to access insights and advice from others, no matter how interesting or valuable they might be.

That was the thinking behind launching the Interior Design Business back in 2018. We felt that a professionally produced, curated and presented podcast series could offer a really convenient digital communications platform for the interior design community. A place where you can eavesdrop on conversations and pick up great advice at your own listening convenience.

Because of her background, Susie was a natural choice to be co-presenter and she brings depth and relevance to every conversation.

How do you decide which subjects to cover and who to join you in your discussions?

We have regular planning meetings to look at potential topics for the year and we try to schedule episodes as far in advance as we can.  In fact, we’re already looking at topic ideas and potential guests for 2024 and we’re only in March 2023! 

All our guests are selected because they have can speak well on the topics we discuss.

Most recently, Katharine Pooley was fantastic on travel as a design inspiration while BIID President, Matthew Freeman and Anna Burles from Run For The Hills had plenty of good advice and insights for designers on how to work smarter not harder.

We are also open to ideas from within the industry. If you want us to cover something and are comfortable sharing your knowledge with your peers, then, do get in touch!

Where can we listen to the IDB podcast?

People can find us on any podcast platforms including Spotify, Apple and others. In your browser, simply go to www.podfollow.com/the-interior-design-businessand you’ll be taken to the latest episode, using the most suitable app on your device.  

IDB has organised a number of recordings in front of live audiences. How does that work?

Recording in front of a live audience brings a unique energy and excitement to our conversations.

There is a feeling of all being in it together and they tend to take on something of a party atmosphere, which really helps our panellists to relax and enjoy themselves. They’re also an opportunity for us and our panellists to connect directly with our audience in the Q&A and networking afterwards.

We have been very fortunate to be generously hosted in some fantastic venues, like the sofa.com showroom in Chelsea and at design events, such as, DesignCentral and Decorex.

We will host back-to-back live audience recordings at DesignCentral South West on Tuesday and Wednesday 21st and 22nd March. We’ll be going beyond sustainability with Simon Myatt from Havwoods and Mel Meale from Steer Design on day one, then discussing how to make the career change to interior design with Chestnut Interiors and Boaz Studio.

Please do register and come along to any of these shows to get the full IDB experience!      

What is new from IDB?

We’ve just launched a YouTube channel to accompany the audio podcast, allowing designers to watch and listen to many of the discussions that are available as audio recordings.

We’ll also be including other content on the channel, including interviews with designers talking us through especially impressive projects. The first of these is an interview with BIID Member, Susie Pfeiffer from Pfeiffer Design, talking us through their award-winning project which won the Best South East category in the BIID Interior Design Awards 22. This episode will go live on Monday 20th March 2023. 

Why did you want to partner with the BIID?

Lots of the most prestigious and experienced designers in the industry are BIID members, so the crossover has been there from the beginning. We began talking to the BIID to discuss a more official partnership, they recognise that podcasts are here to stay and we are working on a changing canvas, and from there we formed a natural partnership. 

To stay up to date with all things IDB make sure to follow us on Instagram @interiordesignbusinesspod and subscribe to the podcast on you preferred listening platform, as well as on the YouTube channel!

Or email hello@interiordesignbusiness.com with topic ideas and guest suggestions. They promise to respond!