Recent Episodes

161
July 17, 2024

EP 161: GROWING AN ENAMELWARE EMPIRE WITH CARA BARDE

This episode is brought to you by Keena and Co., a premier gift and home agency covering all of the of the western United States. If you're a buyer and you're looking for beautiful contemporary lines, take a look at Keena's brands. Aside from representing stunningly unique and modern brands, they have a solid team of knowledgeable reps that are ready to help you with all your needs. And of course, they always have a bunch of really juicy show specials that are not to be missed. Or if you're a br...
July 10, 2024

EP 160: A BOLD TWIST ON CLASSIC WITH KARYN CANTOR

MC Design Academy is designed to be a space where I get to share my expertise with you, where you'll get to learn all about visual merchandising, design, display, retail, and everything in between. Come along as I practice my craft and be sure to like, subscribe, and follow our socials to keep updated. See you in the merchandising land of MC Design Academy! Karyn Cantor is a true entrepreneur, a dynamic force in both the design and retail realms. With her keen eye for style and a knack for busi...
159
July 3, 2024

EP 159: BALLOONING TO NEW HEIGHTS WITH ASHLEY SODIPO

MC Design Academy is designed to be a space where I get to share my expertise with you, where you'll get to learn all about visual merchandising, design, display, retail, and everything in between. Come along as I practice my craft and be sure to like, subscribe, and follow our socials to keep updated. See you in the merchandising land of MC Design Academy! Ashley Sodipo is the owner of Pink Flamingo Party Co., a luxury party supply, event rental and "over-the-top" balloon installation company. ...
158
June 28, 2024

EP 158: KEEPING THINGS FRESH – JUNE SOLO SHOW WITH MICHELLE

MC Design Academy is designed to be a space where I get to share my expertise with you, where you'll get to learn all about visual merchandising, design, display, retail, and everything in between. Come along as I practice my craft and be sure to like, subscribe, and follow our socials to keep updated. See you in the merchandising land of MC Design Academy! In this solo episode, I break down how I keep things fresh working with a variety of retailers and wholesale showrooms. I’m getting ready f...
157
June 26, 2024

EP 157: OUR VERY FIRST RETAIL ROUND UP WITH NATHAN WALDON, BARBARA MOONEY, AND SARA VILLARI

Send us a Text Message. This week’s episode is sponsored by Fine Lines, a west coast wholesale rep agency with showrooms in Las Vegas and Seattle representing over 50 fabulous gifts, fashion + home lines. Welcome to our very first retail round up! This one features Barbara Mooney from Daisy’s Mercantile, Sara Villari from Occasionette, and Nathan Waldon from Nathan & Co. As retailers, we all have countless questions to ask our fellow retailers, and here, each guest gets the chance to pick the o...
156
June 19, 2024

EP 156: WILDLY IN DEMAND WITH KERRIE FITZGERALD

Send us a Text Message. This episode is sponsored by Patrick & Company, a wholesale sales agency proudly representing nationally and internationally branded companies. Located in the Dallas Market Center, for over 30 years they have been the go-to source for retailers helping to discover those unique, sought-after, and stylish brands. Kerrie Fitzgerald is the founder of Kerrie Fitzgerald LLC, an ecommerce and product business consulting & educational agency. She’s also the host of the top 100 m...
155
June 12, 2024

EP 155: BAKED WITH LOVE: ONE FANTASTIC FARMSTAND WITH MELANIE SCOFIELD

Send us a Text Message. MC Design Academy is designed to be a space where I get to share my expertise with you, where you'll get to learn all about visual merchandising, design, display, retail, and everything in between. Come along as I practice my craft and be sure to like, subscribe, and follow our socials to keep updated. See you in the merchandising land of MC Design Academy! Melanie Scofield is a self-taught baker who started her journey only a few short months ago. Last year, she was dia...
154
June 5, 2024

EP 154: INTERIOR DESIGN MEETS RETAIL WITH SHELLY VAN ROZEBOOM

Send us a Text Message. MC Design Academy is designed to be a space where I get to share my expertise with you, where you'll get to learn all about visual merchandising, design, display, retail, and everything in between. Come along as I practice my craft and be sure to like, subscribe, and follow our socials to keep updated. See you in the merchandising land of MC Design Academy! COVE is the realization of interior designer Shelly Van Rozeboom’s lifelong dream to create a boutique that offers ...
153
May 29, 2024

EP 153: EXCITING UPCOMING SUMMER HIGHLIGHTS WITH MICHELLE

Send us a Text Message. MC Design Academy is designed to be a space where I get to share my expertise with you, where you'll get to learn all about visual merchandising, design, display, retail, and everything in between. Come along as I practice my craft and be sure to like, subscribe, and follow our socials to keep updated. See you in the merchandising land of MC Design Academy! As promised, I’m back with another solo show! Here, I discuss a bunch of things coming up for me, and also some thi...
152
May 22, 2024

EP 152: PURCHASE WITH PURPOSE WITH TARA THORN

Send us a Text Message. MC Design Academy is designed to be a space where I get to share my expertise with you, where you'll get to learn all about visual merchandising, design, display, retail, and everything in between. Come along as I practice my craft and be sure to like, subscribe, and follow our socials to keep updated. See you in the merchandising land of MC Design Academy! Tara Thorn started her jewelry business, Cedar and Cypress Designs, after living in Haiti for five years. Seeing th...
151
May 15, 2024

EP 151: BRIDGING THE GAP FOR BRANDS, DESIGNERS, AND CREATIVES WITH MICHELE DOTY

Send us a Text Message. MC Design Academy is designed to be a space where I get to share my expertise with you, where you'll get to learn all about visual merchandising, design, display, retail, and everything in between. Come along as I practice my craft and be sure to like, subscribe, and follow our socials to keep updated. See you in the merchandising land of MC Design Academy! Michele Doty has been in sales for 30+ years, spending the first half learning and mastering her sales, presentat...
150
May 8, 2024

EP 150: BRANDING IN A NEW GENERATION WITH ALEC SAMMANN

Send us a Text Message. This episode is sponsored by Patrick & Company, a wholesale sales agency proudly representing nationally and internationally branded companies. Located in the Dallas Market Center, for over 30 years they have been the go-to source for retailers helping to discover those unique, sought-after, and stylish brands. Alec Samman is the President and CEO of Peepers, a 4th generation family run eyewear company. Alec and his sister Lindsay joined the business as owners a little o...
149
May 1, 2024

EP 149: A BIG HEART FOR RETAIL WITH PATRICK KEISER

This week’s episode is sponsored by Fine Lines, a west coast wholesale rep agency with showrooms in Las Vegas and Seattle representing over 50 fabulous gifts, fashion + home lines. Patrick Keiser is the Founder and Executive Director of the nonprofit Heart on Main Street. Following a career as a high school educator, Patrick entered the wholesale industry in 2016 with a passion for making a difference in communities. After several years of learning within the wholesale industry, Patrick believ...
148
April 24, 2024

EP 148: ONE POWERFUL PLATTER WITH NORA FLEMING

This episode is sponsored by Patrick & Company, a wholesale sales agency proudly representing nationally and internationally branded companies. Located in the Dallas Market Center, for over 30 years they have been the go-to source for retailers helping to discover those unique, sought-after, and stylish brands. Nora’s story began with a pivotal "a-ha moment" in 2004 at her pottery shop just outside of Chicago, Illinois, where she noticed women returning month after month to create platters for ...
147
April 17, 2024

EP 147: A UNIQUE TAKE ON ANTIQUES WITH NATHAN RAPOSO AND SPENCER HOWARD

This week’s episode is sponsored by Fine Lines, a West Coast wholesale rep agency with showrooms in Las Vegas and Seattle representing over 50 fabulous gifts, fashion + home lines. In 2023, Nathan Raposo and Spencer Howard of Nathan Spencer Home acquired the Agoura Antique Mart in Agoura Hills, California, after operating locations in San Diego, La Jolla, and Venice. Spencer began selling antiques in the 1990s and operated a design and construction firm in Houston, Texas, that specialized in hi...
146
April 10, 2024

EP 146: DON’T SHUT THE FCK UP WITH JASON MAUSSER

This week’s episode is sponsored by @salesproducersinc, a progressive business to business company representing Gift, Lifestyle, Fashion, Personal Care, & Kids lines selling to retail stores with a mission to create long lasting, profitable relationships by adding significant value to our Customer, Vendor, and Team partners. For more information, check out their social media or website, www.salesproducersinc.com. Jason Mauser is the CEO and Founder of Mausser Consulting Inc., a Product Developme...
145
April 3, 2024

EP 145: TACKLING STORE FLIPS WITH MICHELLE

In my monthly solo shows, I’ll be filling you in on what’s been happening in my world, what projects I’m working on, and updates on any exciting news. I’ll also be talking about industry best practices, and in this episode, I’ll share with you how I like to tackle store flips step by step. I also share some of the new projects I’m getting into, including webinars, which I’m really excited about. I’m also going to be offering consultation calls soon, so stay tuned for more information! What’s I...
144
March 27, 2024

EP 144: ALL ABOUT THE NOTED+GIFTED EXPO WITH KATE MURRAY

Kate Murray is the owner of Quick Brown Fox Letterpress, based in the Hudson Valley of New York. Quick Brown Fox makes quirky cards with perfect puns the old-fashioned way: one color at a time, one card at a time, on turn of the century letterpress machines. To pay her dues, Kate worked in two amazing NYC letterpress studios for more than 10 years. When the opportunity came up to salvage and restore two presses, both in pretty bad shape, Quick Brown Fox Letterpress was born. Most of the cards...
143
March 20, 2024

EP 143: KEEPING RETAIL IN THE FAMILY WITH CLIONA AND LARAGH STANDÚN

This week’s episode is sponsored by @salesproducersinc, a progressive business to business company representing Gift, Lifestyle, Fashion, Personal Care, & Kids lines selling to retail stores with a mission to create long lasting, profitable relationships by adding significant value to our Customer, Vendor, and Team partners. For more information, check out their social media or website www.salesproducersinc.com. Sisters Cliona and Laragh Standún run a boutique destination store in Galway, in the...
142
March 13, 2024

EP 142: WINDOWS MATTER WITH AMY MEADOWS

This episode is sponsored by Patrick & Company, a wholesale sales agency proudly representing nationally and internationally branded companies. Located in the Dallas Market Center, for over 30 years they have been the go-to source for retailers helping to discover those unique, sought-after, and stylish brands. For all of us who are merchandisers, Amy Meadows has the dream career. She has over 25 years of experience in window display, visual merchandising, and event planning. Recognized nation...
141
March 6, 2024

EP 141: eCommerce Badassery with Jessica Totillo Coster

This week’s episode is sponsored by Fine Lines, a west coast wholesale rep agency with showrooms in Las Vegas and Seattle representing over 50 fabulous gifts, fashion + home lines. Jessica Totillo Coster is an eCommerce and email marketing strategist for boutique owners and product entrepreneurs. She uses data and experience to help her clients figure out the next best step in their business. Jessica’s a native New Yorker living in LA. She holds a degree in fashion merchandising, has over 20 ye...
140
Feb. 28, 2024

EP 140: HIGHS AND LOWS OF 2023 WITH MICHELLE

MC Design Academy is designed to be a space where I get to share my expertise with you, where you'll get to learn all about visual merchandising, design, display, retail, and everything in between. Come along as I practice my craft and be sure to like, subscribe, and follow our socials to keep updated. See you in the merchandising land of MC Design Academy! It’s finally time for a solo show! Last year, we experienced a ton of highs as well as some pretty low lows. From saying goodbye to our bel...
139
Feb. 21, 2024

EP 139: DIVING HEADFIRST INTO RETAIL WITH SONIA MCMORAN

This week’s episode is sponsored by @salesproducersinc, a progressive business to business company representing Gift, Lifestyle, Fashion, Personal Care, & Kids lines selling to retail stores with a mission to create long lasting, profitable relationships by adding significant value to our Customer, Vendor, and Team partners. For more information, check out their social media or website www.salesproducersinc.com. Sonia McMoran spent more than a decade reporting on interior design and technology t...
138
Feb. 14, 2024

EP138: THE UK SPIN ON MERCHANDISING WITH VERITY DOYLE

This episode is sponsored by Patrick & Company, a wholesale sales agency proudly representing nationally and internationally branded companies. Located in the Dallas Market Center, for over 30 years they have been the go-to source for retailers helping to discover those unique, sought-after, and stylish brands. Verity Doyle is the owner of Verity Gray Design and a freelance retail designer specializing in retail interiors and visual merchandising. Verity has a creative approach that's always cu...