How To Diversify Your Design Talents For Success With Christopher Todd

I love having talented and successful friends on the podcast and Christopher Todd Hall is that and so much more!
 
Christopher not only is a successful 30 year veteran of the design industry, but also has lots of exciting ventures within his company that allow him to spread his creative talents while increasing revenue.

In this fun and very enlightening convo, you will learn:
* How Christopher markets himself in his own very unique way
* The trip across the country that led to the Academy Awards for Christopher
* The retail showroom journey, its ups and downs and lessons for anyone considering starting their own retail showroom
* His Vanessa Williams transition: from fan to friend to business partner
* Insights from an expert on the future of the design industry you won't want to miss.

I adore Christopher. His true down-to-earth honesty and candor and I know you will too. Listen to this episode and consider where you are in your own business and design journey and if there are lessons that can apply to you too.

Spoiler Alert: There will be!
Enjoy!

For more on Christopher Todd:
Website: https://www.christophertodddesign.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ctdesignlv/
Shop Christopher Todd Home Store online: https://www.shopchristophertodd.com/
Vanessa Williams candles: https://www.shopchristophertodd.com/vanessa-williams/

What if you could finally create the interior design business of your dreams while consistently making 6 figures and doing it all with no stress? Join Design Business Fast Track today to make your Design Business dreams a reality!

www.designbusinessfasttrack.com

For all things John: www.johnmcclain.co
For more information on my online Courses & Coaching Program for Interior Designers, visit: https://designsuccessacademy.com/
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Transcript

And the other part about all the different parts of our businesses that we do is, with residential design, and doing floral design, and doing event design, and doing holiday design. That gives us the opportunity to go into homes over and over again. And it's another way to really spread the word about, because 
we go in, it's just a dinner for 14 people, I'm orchestrating the menu. I'm doing the wine pairing. I'm setting up the house. I'm making the flowers for the tables. I'm doing everything.
So when they come in, they say, Oh my gosh, who did all this work? Oh, Christopher does it all. And then I'm at the event. Then they get to meet me. it's the most beautiful plan it's a godsend. I don't know how I put it together, but it just works so beautifully for me.
That's how it all goes together, and we make it all work because truly, all of the things are in a way linked together in some form or fashion. 
Hey, y'all, you're listening to the designer within podcast episode number 44. I'm John McClain and welcome to the designer within podcast, the business minded podcast created for creative entrepreneurs by a creative entrepreneur. That's me. I know firsthand the challenges, but also the victories that can come with our careers. And I'm here to sip and spill the tea with you. It's time to dive deep within yourself and redesign your own business and your life from the inside out.
Together we will uncover secrets and share valuable insights. So prepare for a transformative experience, my friend, because it's time to unleash the designer within. 
 Hey everybody. Welcome back to another episode of the designer within we are on episode four for episode 44. So fun. Right? We're. Itching slowly, almost there to our one year anniversary. Of the podcast. If you're like me, you're just coming back from high point and exhausted, but also exhilarated. if you were there, I hope you had a great time. 
Like I did lots of panels, lots of fun. love seeing all of you there. And if you were there, you might have seen this next guy that I'm going to have on the podcast today. Christopher Todd. He is a fabulous designer based out of Las Vegas, but travels all over the country to do design projects. 
But what I think you're going to love about Christopher is not only his personality, his down to earth way of communicating. And of course his design chops, but also the way that he has multiple revenue streams within his company. It is so interesting to me. 
His story is fascinating, the way that he began his career, the way that he actually did break into doing flowers for the academy awards. Yes, are those academy awards. before he even began working in the industry. I think you're going to find his story exhilarating, inspiring, and also uplifting for yourself. 
 Christopher Todd begin decorating homes at the age of 16, he is an Arkansas native and he specializes in different genres of design that not only include interior design, but event design, including legendary events, like the academy awards, as I said, and luxury auto launches, as well as explicit, floral and holiday decor, where he has designed and decorated celebrity homes, luxury hotels, and retail spaces throughout the U S 
Christopher's award-winning design portfolio offers 30 years of impeccable experience in the industry, knowledge and steals and a discerning eye for detail.
So sit back and relax and enjoy this fabulous interview with my friend and the wonderful designer. Christopher Todd hall.
Christopher, 
I am so happy to have you here. I feel like we had to stop ourselves by the way, for everybody watching and listening, because Christopher and I can probably go on and on for. hours of talking. So we had to stop ourselves before we said too many juicy bits before I hit the record
button on the 
Yeah, you and I can chit chat like my mama says we can talk the horns off a brass billy goat. So we were doing that. Your history and your past is so Varied and so interesting to me, but aside from my, like my general bio that I gave, how in the heck did you get into interior design?
What was the spark? What was the thing for this little Arkansas boy who, decided that interior design. What's something that lights him up?
Well, I really started doing it when I was a kid to a degree. I started with Christmas, and which is still a big part of my company now. But I started with Christmas doing it in my hometown. My hometown has about 8000 people and is very small. And I just started doing that for people. I'm sure it was incredibly horrible.
Looking back on what I started with, but that was, that was the beginnings of it and from there I just created a flair and a knack for what I was good at and I branched off my first, my first part of design was actually in the floral, business. And I got my feet wet with that and gosh, I did so many different things.
I lived in Dallas first and I worked at the Dallas market and I used to set up snow village and everything just built on from from these experiences. And what really started the spark of design is in when I was living in Dallas, I started to work with this company that they specialized in window treatments.
And so, I, I started to learn a lot about window coverings in general, and I approached them one day. I was, all they did was window treatments, and I said, Well, you already sell fabric. Why don't you do bedding and things like that and why don't we working upholstery and those kinds of things.
And so I was 21 at this time. they were like, well, we've never thought of that. And, and we started doing that. And so that was my first dipping my toe into the waters of design with working with them. And from there, it just I grew and grew and grew and my knowledge grew and we just kept going. 
design is one thing, but that's also like an entrepreneurial situation that you just stated there too. Like that was like, Oh yeah, I love window treatments, but by the way, why don't you do this? So that was, that's another
that's always, yeah, that's always been me. I remember when I was in the 8th grade, I remember I was going to help out a local flower shop in my hometown with Valentine's Day. And so, I just decided to take a list. on my own. I took, I made a list up and I walked through, at lunch time or whatever in the eighth grade.
I'm like, did you need to send flowers to anybody? Cause I can take your order right now. Credit cards, especially for an eighth grader. And I was like if you want a bud vase, they're 12. If you want balloons or this and I. I go back to this woman that owns this flower shop and I'm like, I took all these orders today, I brought in like 500 from 8th grade and she was blown away, so I've just always thought, okay, how can we, how can we maximize the profit and potential here, 
not even a lot of designers today are thinking about that. So I think that's amazing that an eighth grader thought about that. That's fantastic. Were your parents or were your mom or grandmother or anybody else artistic or design related?
Did they like to do things like that too? 
Well, my grandmother was, was very crafty, I'll say that. She was Was very good at things, but my mother used to joke and say, I don't know, she calls me Todd called me Todd. She says I don't know where Todd gets it from. I can't stick a weed in a jug. I dunno where that came from. But she was the, the classic Southern debutante, poised, perfectly put together. So that was her saying. So I don't really know where my abilities came from, but I think probably the strongest gene would be my grandmother, my paternal grandmother. She was always doing crafty things and projects and things like
Well, I think it's partially partially the gay gene too. We have that gauging 
inside of us that helps us 
There was do you remember the, It was like Tupperware, but it was called Home Interior Parties. 
Yes. My mother sold it. Yes,
Those brass butterflies and all that. I mean, it was so incredibly horrible. But my grandmother, oh my gosh, she could have built a bronze She had melted down all that crap all over the wall that she had collected from home interiors.
It was everywhere, but she loved it. So, that that's dating us, John. And we talked about that stuff.
but it's all I knew. So to me, that was a little boy who dreamt of doing design. That was my like, Oh my God, this is amazing. Those boxes would come in Christopher and I would literally dive in. I would dive in and my, and it was everybody else's stuff that my mom had, sold to people.
And I would dive in, I would start playing with all their little, trinkets and things. And I would hang all their stuff on our
Yeah.
before she could even give it to the people who paid for it. Right. So, yeah, I know exactly what you're talking
about. But also too, I think, when you grow up in a small town like we did, you have visions of what your life can be and visions of where you want to take your life.
And, and also visions of what. Success looks like, right. And what good design looks like. Did this sort of idea of what beautiful design is changed from what it was when you were in your small town? How has it evolved over the years? Like, what was it when you were in that town where you're like, Oh my gosh, this is how I see, a room turning out. , cause for me, for instance, it was all glitz and glamor and, brights and shinies, which it still is a little bit, but, but how it's evolved to a bit more, but how has yours changed?
did you have a vision in your head as a young kid and how much of that is still a part of who you are now as a designer,
it's definitely evolved and definitely I would say it's, it's more refined for sure, but I think
no home interiors,
don't, I don't do any brass butterflies too much, but In my hometown, there was this store, and it was called Town and Country, and the owners of Town and Country, they brought in, and I'm not exaggerating, they brought in Fabergé eggs, they brought in beautiful Waterford Crystal, they had all these great city traders, all these companies that were way far above what our town had ever seen or anything and I went in there, I went in that store, I actually wound up owning that store it was my first business that I ever owned and I bought it when I was 23 and that was my first, that was my first business endeavor.
But but growing up, I was just mesmerized by this place and had all this stuff. So I really take that as a lot of my first training, I found out about companies and, I remember they used to sell Paragon art. And I remember thinking it was the most stunning stuff I've ever seen in my life. And which it is still beautiful.
I love a lot of it, although I'm partial to original, but, I remember that company in particular, but I think about all the companies that that was so much of an education for me. So early in my life, it was before I was, it was when I was in high school, I would go in and I'll find out all these companies and, and, These companies still exist today, and I can say, too, I was at a arts conference a couple years ago, and I was talking to one of the owners with Paragon, and I said, Oh, I used to buy your stuff, 35 years ago, and he was like, Wow, that's incredible.
And he knew the people that owned the store. So, back to your question. I feel like that was a big training. And then there was also one person who lived in She's actually been texting me today about a project she's helping me on, and she just had a wonderful eye for design. Her name is Lou Ann Dennison, and I've loved her for years, and I just learned so much from her because she had such a great eye.
So I think if you look at things like, look at people that were influential in your life, I still take things away. Like I said, I was just texting her earlier today. Those things never leave you. And You have to make them your own and have to make things your own style. But I think that when those things are embedded in your brain, it just becomes part of who you are.
And I've definitely explored more with my design. I remember my, my old wifi. Password used to be the cave because I liked dark, sultry, that, that was my look. I liked everything just dark, dark, dark. And as you can see now, I'm sitting in my living room and everything's white and colorful and bright.
And so I kind of change, I go with the flow of what I'm feeling and new experiences create new ideas for my brain.
Yeah, I totally feel that. and I agree with you too. You said exactly how I feel, but those little seeds, I think, that are planted, in our past and those things that were a part of our history and little things that we picked up along the way, they're always
Yeah.
Thank you.
and some form or fashion.
And I find that they show their face at little parts in my design process sometime. Oh yeah. That's something I remember from, 20 years ago, 15 years ago, 30 years ago or whatever. Right. It's just so interesting how our past creeps up into our current situations in life, right. No matter what it is.
I think that's just an interesting part of life.
Yes, and also with that, I think that that creates the opportunity to be, I hate it when people say, Oh, I can do all kinds of design because everybody has their look. Everybody has their thing. But I think when you are open to keeping those ideas and playing around with those. That's how you can create different looks for different people, because you've you evolve with your own style, but you still have these tidbits in your brain of what used to be, and you can bring those out when this house that I'm working on in Nashville, it is.
it's almost, it's very European. I'll say that, that is not really my thing so much, but I'm, I'm throwing it down because it's, I have that, I have part of that in me.
I want to jump back to. Evolving and, the entrepreneurial side of things and what you've done. So you have, I don't know how it's happened, but you have this interesting way of flying under the radar yet also being known by almost everybody. You're very interesting to me.
Like you're not this per, and I mean this in the best way. you don't have this braggadocious way of talking about your business or your life or your designs, but yet you're. Extremely talented. You're very well spoken. You have beautiful designs. Your store is great. Your events are great, which we're going to talk about, but yet You're not out there as much as some people are.
Right. So how do you feel you have crafted your marketing over the years to be yourself and not be this person who has to be on, social media all the time and doing this and doing that. You just do it so effortlessly and you do it so honestly.
And I can tell. It comes from a very honest place from you. So what do you think your key is to doing your own marketing from your point of view versus copying what everybody else is doing?
I want to go back to my parents for just a moment. To start that because I have so much I have so many of their qualities of each of them and they've both passed, but my mother, as I said earlier, she was very she was very poised. She had everything together. She was always, I'll say it like this.
She went to the beauty shop as she called it. Every morning to have her hair done. She was just, put together and she did everything right. And I really, really learned from that. Now my dad, he was a he was a school administrator. So he had to always be in charge of things. And he was also, although very, very well put together and very smart, he was also one of those I'm not impressed by you.
I don't care if you're a member of the country club. I don't care who your parents are, and I really don't care what you think about me. And I mean that in a, he didn't do things to be offensive by any means. he was wonderful, but I'm very much like that. If you don't like me, okay, I'm okay with that.
So I feel like combining those two personalities into, into who I am, I think that's really what people get. I am very much, you get what with me. I don't try to pretend. I feel like my work speaks for itself in what I do. I've been through the ringer with my business. I've had ups, I've had downs, I've had lawsuits, I've had everything.
I, I, I'm not trying to cover any of that up because it's made me understand how to do things and what my secret sauce really is. I do things right and I do them right every time. And if I can't do them right, I take. full responsibility for that. And I say, you know what? We messed it up. And instead of, being the being trying to find a scapegoat and say, Oh, well, if the contractor did it, no, it's I recommended the contractor.
It's on me, so I feel like all those things create this genuine personality that it truly is. And, I feel like that is reflected well to my clients and it creates a trust and it creates not only a trust with personality, but also with, with financial, the, the financial part of it.
I feel like people know that I'm legit and I'm not trying to go out and spend their money on something to a new product. I'm not going to do that. So I don't know. I just feel like all those things together, they've really created who I am. And that is, that's who I want to be. And, I'm proud and exceptionally happy for everybody that has the initiative to do all the social media stuff and do all of the things that put their name out there.
I've just chosen a different path to do 
Well, it's worked and it's worked really well for you. And I think that it's a lesson learned for everybody that you don't always have to follow what. The quote gurus are showing you and teaching you and telling you to do that. You can truly forge your own path and create your own version of how you want to succeed.
Were you always this way? Were you always this straightforward person? When you were a young designer, cause I'm, I'm thinking back to when I was young and I was starting out, I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do. And you always still try to hold true of course, to Yourself, but you do tend to listen to outside voices.
So if someone's new and listening, do you have any advice to them of like, thinking back to young Christopher, when he was just starting out of how you would relay these things to someone who was new, would you tell them to do the same thing now? Like just be yourself.
I would tell everybody to just be themselves if, if they can. My, my biggest advice and things that I've learned I really just said it, but I'll reiterate it. Any time, the biggest problem I've had, I'll say it like this. The biggest problem is when you try to cover up a mistake, it never works out.
And I think if you can just, I don't know what to say other than you just have to eat it sometimes and be like, screw it up, and so I think that's really hard for a lot of people to do that. And that's the best advice I can give you is when you can do that and you can be open and honest with your clients, with your friends.
With your employers, with your employees, with everybody, and just say, you know what, I did this instead of trying to find a scapegoat. It's the best advice I can give you, to anybody. It's just, honesty is the best policy on things and it, it builds character and it builds a withstanding relationship with people because they, they know they can trust you.
I have clients that open up bank accounts and put my name on it for our projects so that they don't have to worry with me asking them for checks. It's just That's the kind of trust levels that I've gained with my clients because of that. And I think it's the best philosophy and policy you can have.
Yeah, that speaks volumes right there. And when you own up to something back to your other point, you might have felt like you lost in that moment. But at the end of the day, you're actually winning in the long term because that trust and that success that you're going to have for that client trusting you more and then for them telling other people, Oh, yeah, I trust this person so much because here's what they did.
They owned up to this mistake. So I think that That's so valuable. You and I have other stuff in common too. You actually have a retail store. I used to have a retail store. Retail stores have their own set of issues and their own set of fun, little ups and downs and rollercoaster rides and things like that, that go along with owning. A retail store, just the public in general is a fun
conversation to have. Right. But tell me about what went into your thought process of having a retail store. You have one in Las Vegas and there's some other plans for some new things that are happening, but first of all, tell me why. You wanted to have a retail store because I know some people listening might be thinking, oh, it's a great idea. I've thought about doing that, maybe some of the reasons that you had are aligning with what they're thinking as well, but what's your thought process when you said, oh yes, I want to have a retail store. Here was the reasons why, but why that happened for you,
Funny that you asked that in this order because it goes back to what I was just talking about. And I'm going to bring all that together here in one second. I was doing this design job back in 2015. Okay. And the client they had piles, they have piles of money and we were doing this job and they would it, my part of the, the job was really just the design and the decor and they were doing a lot of things that are like, they were contractor work, they were changing out a lot of things that a contractor was involved, but I had absolutely nothing to do with that and They would leave town and go to their place in Florida for two weeks, and they would come back and they would complain to me about things that the contractor was not doing.
And I, honestly, I didn't, I didn't, I had nothing to do with that. So, in my personality we were just talking about, I simply said, well, you didn't pay me to be your contractor, and so if you'd like for me to be your contractor, I can do that. But that's, that's not what I signed up for, and so I'm paraphrasing here.
So I'm not going to take the blame. Well, that made the wife of the home Very angry that I spoke to her in that manner, and I did not care. Yeah, the truth,
the
truth, and I did not care that that made her mad. Well, what happened is at that point, they completely, we were great friends. They switched on me like that.
They were like, we don't want any of this stuff, and the, and the way I do, and I'm very weird with how I do things, I don't really show my clients, A lot of accessories and stuff that I use because I feel like that limits me too much.
I just go in and I'll be like, okay, we're going to put a number, a budget number in here. for decor and accessories. And then I'll show them if you don't like something, you don't have to keep it. No big deal. And every single thing that they had not signed up on, signed up for, they would not take, and I, this was almost an 8, 000 square foot house.
And I had a 10 by 20 storage room packed full of Really nice home decor and accessories with nothing to do with it. So That was the birthplace of my store So I honestly I I went and I I went to market and I supplemented what I already had with candles and things like that And I found the space And I I signed a lease and I opened a store.
And now that was my third store that I've owned over the years. So I was, I knew what it took to run a store. And I was familiar with all that was involved with it. But it wasn't like I just said, you know what, I feel like I'm going to open a store. I did it a little bit out of necessity.
I also thought that this would be a really good avenue to take to get my name out in Las Vegas because I I had not really done a lot of design work here. I was still traveling. The house I was just talking about was actually in, in northwest Arkansas. So I was still doing a lot of my travel and a lot of my design out of, out of state.
So that really gave me the opportunity. To build a name for myself here in Las Vegas and it works beautifully. It's been, it's been very successful with doing that. I've met some of my greatest friends now. My very best friend just wandered in one day into my store and we met and that was, years ago and He's one of the top realtors in Las Vegas and has referred tons of business to me. And that's just one example. We've had a huge success with the store here over the years. It's been eight years and in four days it will have been eight years since I opened the store. 
Wow. Some people just like the idea of having a retail store. You did it out of necessity because you had a retail store sitting in a warehouse, it's a
storage unit. And then you did it. But you know, I do like the idea. I did it as you were saying, as a calling card, I did it because, Oh yeah, people can come in and see your design aesthetic and understand that part of it, which I think is why a lot of people, designers, I should say, a lot of designers open a retail store is because it does give people a chance to. So your design aesthetic, chat with the designer, get an idea for your personality. So you're saying in those aspects for you, that part was a success for
It was a great success. It was a great, it was a
great success. The biggest misconception or the thing that I think people don't think about in opening a store. And I'm sure you know this quite well is, when you have just a standard Keystone markup You buy 12 and you've got to sell 6 to make your money back, but then you need to restock.
So then you have to spend the money that you've made to restock. And so it's just a never, unless you've got such deep pockets. Or if you need a tax write off, or something like that, and I know that a lot of designers don't have that luxury to do that, so it's, it's definitely a it's definitely a constant catch up, and, and, it's, you can never get ahead unless you really have a, I have some, I have some means of doing that and and it's tough, it's tough.
And you look at your store and you're like, God, if I had all this money right now, that'd be fantastic. I'm sure you understand where 
Well, and 
it's just.
I do, I do totally. And also, it's, it's its own business. Like it's its own entity. It's its own business model. Yes. It's directly related to what we do as designers. And of course we can go and pull. Accessories to put on an installation. Duh, that's the
beauty of it. That's the reason that it's so great
for us. But that aside, you still have to have employees, to bring up customers as they come in, you still have to check the inventory. You have to open up the boxes, all the things. And so it's still its own working business. And I don't want that part to go, by the wayside for people who are considering it.
So it's a lot of
work. It is so much work.
But it is very rewarding.
it's so much work. 
It is very rewarding, and I'm sure, John, you had the same thing. I don't know what your store was called, but I'm assuming it was John McClane Designs or something like that.
Gilded Home. 
so it wasn't
Well, mine is The name of my store is Christopher Todd, so people come in all the time.
So narcissistic you are.
I know, right? But they come in all the time. And they will say, um, people who work in the store, I don't know, let me ask Christopher. They're like, Christopher, I'm like, you're, you're Christopher. I'm like, yeah. It's so funny to me how people associate that because my name's on there, that it's, it's bigger thing.
I'm like, yes, I'm the one with the debt. I'm the one with the problems, the one with the issues that has to handle everything. So it's just, it's just a funny funny misconception that people have on that. But again, it is very rewarding. It is like you said, a great opportunity to have a source to pull from.
We just did it last week on install. It was like, Oh, that box would be perfect right here. Run to the store, get that box. It's a great way to have things and it cuts down on your shopping time and all that kind of stuff. And what you're putting in the house is quality and it's the right thing.
That's it. That's it. You know exactly what you're putting into a project is, is good stuff. the, the downside of that is that when you're not stocking for a project, when you're not sourcing for your own projects and putting things into your projects, you're dependent upon the people walking in to your store to buy things and you're depending on traffic. And, the, the lovely public that we talked about, who may not appreciate the fact that you spent hours and hours and hours trudging around market, trying to find that perfect piece to put in your store. And then all they want is to know, like, when are you putting this on sale? When is this going to be cheaper than what you have it priced at?
Right. So that was the part for me that was hard. Did you, have you found that the retail public side of things, just the walk in traffic is a different animal than you using the store for your own benefit for your design projects.
it's interesting to me that so my first store, I opened it when I was 23. So, some odd years, 25 years, I've had, I've been in retail in some degree and to see the shift and to see how that's changed over the years has been unreal to me. What I notice now is, yes, you're exactly right. Everybody comes in.
When is the sale starting? When, that's the mentality. And I feel like that has been a, that mentality has been driven by, the internet. Everything is sign up now and get 20 percent off. Do this now and get 20 percent off. Which, who is, who is fooled by that? They're just wanting it's it's just to get your information.
It's just that, that's, that's the mentality. That's their thing. But it's really trickled down into our society. The other thing that really annoys me is when people will come in drinking their 7 cup of coffee and they come in and they're like, these candles are 40. Yeah, they are. Those are the cheap ones.
And what really irritates me though, is people that will come in and take the pictures so that they can then cross reference and see where they can get that product cheaply. And for anybody who owns a business and owns a brick and mortar, the expenses that go along with that, it's just, you can't even comprehend.
It's like every day you get something new. It's like, Oh great. I have to pay for this now. Oh great. We have to do this now. Oh, the, the insurance is, there's the liability insurance and the worker's comp and there's all these things that. All tied up together and it's such an expensive endeavor to do and so to have the audacity to come in and say something is too expensive when I'm barely making any money on it to pay for this experience that you're getting to have, excuse me, it's really something that I, I've said this before, I'd rather throw it in the trash than give it to you for free.
on sale, just because it is inconsiderate and rude to me. And I will say this, we've, every designer has gone to HomeGoods. If you say you haven't, you're lying. We've all done it. We've all found things. They've got some great things sometimes, but HomeGoods specializes in going to these manufacturers who have, I know a lot about this, A sample will be created in China or India or wherever.
They'll create the sample and then, yes, the sample will be it'll be approved. And then the company, the factory in China will make 2, 000 of these pieces. And then they're not quite right. They're not exactly how the, Customer wanted them. So, the factory then will say, Okay, we'll sell these to you for pennies on the dollar.
That, then that product, then is what is sold. The gleam in the eye to companies like HomeGoods because they buy these things, they might be slightly flawed, they might be discontinued fragrances or things like that, and that's what the store is stuck with. And I know you know a lot of this, John, I'm just saying this for the general listener.
So it's, it's, Very concerning to me when somebody says, well, you can get this cheaper home goods. You can, but it's not the same. It's never the same. And so, again, I, I love it. I use it. They've got some great things there. But they also make our, our business very difficult. It's hard to see a 28 pillow at HomeGoods and then to justify a 228 pillow.
To a client. So it's made, it's made our industry much tougher, but just always know there is a difference in what you're getting. And so, I don't know how I got on that soapbox, but I stand on it firmly.
No, I, and I will lift you
up higher on it. I'm, I'm with you all the way. There's a, there's a difference just, even back to your retail situation. Like there was an artist who, even if it was bought from, let's say, let's just use a global views, for example. So there was an artist who designed that piece for global views, global views, made that piece global views, sold that piece to you.
You put that piece in your store. So that is a whole chain of events that had to happen to get to that retail setting, right? The fact that someone would come in and just suddenly want to discount on something that, negates the person who designed it negates the vendor who manufactured it.
Negates the designer who spent all the time at market finding the perfect piece that, works so great in the setting of their retail store. That is the part that really pisses me off is when we work so hard and everybody behind the scenes of that works so hard. But as you said, when the internet and when this sort of like instant gratification, grab and go society that we're in, we, they want it right now.
They want it so fast that they don't really think about. All the beauty, all the, the, the art that goes into those things. And, and in choosing, by the way, for everybody who is not a designer listening, choosing a piece that is beautiful and that is quality, and that is timeless, and that is elegant.
And then it is sophisticated. Is an art of itself. Like when someone chooses a piece that you fall in love with at a retail store, that is because someone with a good eye and good talent chose that piece. And so that is my soapbox around that whole thing is because that is the part that you don't get credit for when somebody says, Oh, can I just get this cheaper that annoys me because you are not getting credit for choosing a beautiful piece that they fell in love
Right. And
the one more thing to add to that is you mentioned market. I know that you're a market junkie like me. I love going to market. And it's, it's great and we have great fun and we see all of our friends in the industry. So that's all good and fine. However, you spend about 10, 000 to get to a market.
By the time you buy food and the value, a plane ticket and you buy a hotel or you get a hotel, it's so much money. And although it's fun to see people, the goal or the main reason we're there is product searching for our clients. And all of that has to be paid for some way. I don't just come home from market and there's a 10, 000 of cash sitting there.
Great. we have to factor that into things. So, yeah, the sale culture, it just I'm sure it's just going to get worse and worse and worse, but my way around that to jump to a different topic on that. The only way around that, the only way around the Wayfair world that we live in, or the Amazon world, is to offer, it can't be a product, but offering a service that can't be provided.
And that's absolutely what we do. in our business and you, I know that you are, are very good, John, with all of your coaching and critiquing and how to maximize the dollar. And so we may differ on these things because we do a lot of things above and beyond. I'm not saying we differ on that, but you know, to get things right with a client, if we have to make multiple trips or things.
Those are the kind of service things that I like to provide because I know that if you order that on Amazon and it comes in and you don't like it, that's too bad, but we can do that and we can really take care of the customer. And, and so that's, those are the things that I think anyone moving forward in the industry, they're going to have to provide those kinds of services.
And it may be being from the South and having Southern hospitality. we still do gift wrap at our store. Like the old school days, I loved, every year at Christmas you'd look under the tree and you'd know where everything came from because every store had gift wrap and you knew what their wrap was.
So we still offer that at our stores. Like, you want us to wrap that up? And people, it's like their jaw drops. It's like, you'll wrap this? Absolutely. Do a big beautiful bow? It's just something that, in a city like Las Vegas, you just, that's unheard of. So we try to, I try to find things that you can't get.
Anyplace else, and that kind of sets us apart, and those are our cell tactics for being above and beyond the wafer world.
No, I'm all about that and I'm all about a luxury experience. To me, that person has to pay for a luxury experience to get that luxury experience. And the, and the part that annoys me is when you know those discount people want that luxury experience for the discounted price. Or when a, a design client wants The experience that I'm going to give my luxury client who is spending the amount of money to pay for our time to cover those mistakes that we make and to take all the time to return those things.
That's fine. As long as they're, paying the cost of a luxury service versus someone who's. 
Not paying the cost. Who wants that discounted rate? Who wants that 99, online design consultation that they're getting for whatever services that they're buying and putting in their cart online. That's not what. We provide as, as true luxury designers. That's not the service level, that we're providing.
But but I agree with you with all that, people pay for the service. They get it. That's what they get when they pay for that. it's all about, you get what you pay for. I agree with that. Speaking of getting what you pay for. I just happened to have something beside me here that I light every morning. And for those listening and not seeing this on YouTube, I light my Vanessa Williams candle, and I'm not even joking. This, you thought I'm joking with this, but every day I have, I actually have two, depending upon which mood I'm in. I have a Vanessa Williams candle that I like.
This one's called last midnight. I don't know why that was fitting to, to, to light with you today on this podcast episode, but Hey but this candle is something that you. Created along with Vanessa Williams. And you talked about providing a service that you can't find everywhere and something that is unique.
This is truly, this is, this is unique. This is the only place they can find this is with Vanessa Williams or with you, but you're really good at crafting. Things that people can't not just products by the way, but other services, which we're going to talk about, but tell me how this line came about with Vanessa Williams, what it's about, what's not happened.
There's lots of things happening with it. She was at your store recently here in Las Vegas, which was a fabulous event that you hosted, but. I love the candle line. It's fantastic. But tell me all about it and all the good stuff that you have going on with that. Cause it's really exciting.
Well, Vanessa and I became friends a few years ago, and
it's I had, I had a private label, Candle Mine, that I had developed for my store, and a few, I guess maybe three years ago, She loved one of my fragrances. She loved it. She was like, this is my favorite candle and I would send it to her all the time. And I said, we should really look into doing a, a line of candles for you.
And she has some she has a lot of things in the works coming up. And so I was thinking of it being more or less something that can be used as a giveaway or a collateral for some type of. promotion or things like that. So I thought it would work out well for that. And so the timing was really great.
And so we we collaborated together on those and picked out picked out fragrances, picked out colors and those, all of the candles. There's five different candles that we have currently. We're adding to that, but there are five that we have currently. And those are all different songs from her career.
And I tried to, I actually picked out the, the different song titles that I wanted to use that she approved then, but I tried to find things from different genres, and so, like, Everlasting Love is from the album Everlasting Love. That's probably our most popular candle. Last Midnight is that was actually from a Broadway show Into the Woods that she did.
So there's, there's lots of different I tried to get across the board, from her Broadway to her early albums to her more jazzy albums, to get everyone as their favorite. So that's, that's how that how that idea came about.
well, my favorite is a star bright, actually. I love it. It's so clean and I'm sniffing it right now. It's so clean and fresh. I love that one so much. So you're working on some new stuff with her. I know she's when we're recording this, I don't know when you guys are listening, but she's working on her devil.
Where's Prada show, right? Are you anything related to that? I'm just
We talked about it. We talked about it. And
so the we're going to do, like I said, she has new music coming out. The first single is going to be released in just a few weeks. It's called legs. It's really fun dance song. It's, it's great. And they with the new music, we're, we're looking at doing something that, that kind of works with, with the new music that's coming out.
And We don't have, it's, it's very early, very early stages of doing it, but the candles that you have there, that's called the Signature Collection. We've also got a set of little tins that we call that the Lyric Collection, and they say things like, sometimes the sun goes round the moon, different, just little clips of some of her more famous songs.
And so this new one, we don't really have a name for it, but it's going to be a little bit small. It's going to be in between the 10 and the large to give everybody different price points across the board. And so kind of something for everybody is what I'm hoping for. But Nothing for Delaware's Prada just yet. But we we did talk about that when we were when we met the other day. We actually went to the It's a candle manufacturing company up in Philadelphia, or right outside Philadelphia. And and toured the factory. She made some of the candles.
We marked all those so that we could send people candles that she actually poured herself. So it was it was really fun to do that. But, well, we talked about doing candles for, uh, that's so, she gets to make the call on the candles that we do, that we sell, but those, they go through all different chains of people and things like that to get all the approval.
So I don't know if I have the energy for that or not, but to answer your question, yeah, right now, the only place to buy those is in my store or online on our on our website. But she's building a new website for herself, and they're really gonna, we're gonna transition them over to her website, so people, it's a little confusing now, it's it's like not to throw out an advertisement here, but it's, Shop christophertodd.
com slash Vanessa Dash Williams, and by the time you do all that, it's like, you can't remember all that. So, we're going to do it where we can streamline it easier for her fans that they can do it directly through her, 
Well, and I'll put a link in the show notes if anybody wants to go and grab that as well to where they can find the candles, but they are great. And the event was wonderful. Your story. She's a delight. She's such a sweet, sweet person. And,
just a great, great collaboration that you got.
she is, sorry for talking over you there, but she is she's one of the kindest people, Vanessa is to me like Dolly is to you. And I, she's. I just, I, I fell in love with her years ago and I was always a fan of her music. So to be able to not only meet her, but to become her friend, it's it's really a life changing opportunity.
And, when I, when I discovered after after we had gotten to know each other is that again, obviously I love my parents cause I'm going to reflect back to them now again. But I realized that she and I had. Very similar upbringings and which, to think of a white man from Arkansas and a black woman from New York but, we both had parents, not only educated parents, but educators.
both our parents, her mom and dad were both music teachers. My dad was a high school principal and my mother was a music professional. we, we have the music thing in common. We have and all these things. But I think the most the most standout thing for me with, with our upbringing and our similarities is the fact that we both had parents that pushed us and believed in us and said you do what makes you happy and you learn from your mistakes.
And she and I both made mistakes and we had to learn from them, but, we had the support of our parents, but we didn't have the negativity of, oh, you better not do that. Or, oh, we had people pushing us and to have that in your background, it's so important. And so I feel like that's why we're structured.
The way we are, and I'll tell you, I was just in her house two weeks ago, she actually took me to the airport I was flying out of the Westchester County Airport, which is very close to her house, and I had to lay over in Chicago, and I'm at a restaurant eating, and one of her songs comes on, and I still get, I, the thought is, I can't believe she just dropped me off at the airport.
It's still a very, it's still a very strange thing, but I'm, I'm thrilled with everything that she and I are working on together and have had the opportunity to do together. And you're going to love her new music that's coming out. And so, again, not trying to be an advertisement for her, but she's a very special person and I hope that people will pick up a candle or two or 12 and enjoy it.
I'll make sure you get a 
I can't wait. I can't wait. Well, and what a full circle moment for that little boy from from Arkansas to 
now. I want to pivot a minute before we run out of time today. You do something else in your business. You have so many different arms of your business that I think are so fun and interesting, but you actually love events and you love event planning and you do so. Well, at event planning and you do some really big events and, you did one big event years ago. That was a pretty big event that I think everybody will know about. Tell everybody about that event, and tell me about what that meant to you.
And also what has happened since then and how this is a different, area of your business and, and what revenue streams, so tell me about this event planning side of your business and what that means to you, especially starting with, years ago, how you started out
that kind of goes back, John, to how we started this whole conversation about how I just, just my entrepreneurial spirit of how I do things. And I just had I made out a list of things. I wanted my goals and I did that I think it was like 18 days before my 21st birthday and I had 10 goals And on those goals, one of them actually was to meet Vanessa Williams. But the other one, one of the other ones was to do the flowers at the Academy Awards. I have no idea why.
Honestly, I didn't even know. I didn't even know that they did that. I don't even know where that even came from. But I made it my goal, and by golly, I was gonna do it. And so I was living in Arkansas at the time. And I just decided to get in my car and drive to L. A. And see what I could figure out.
Because I knew that no one would really No, this was before the internet. This was in 2003. well, I mean, it wasn't before the internet. But it was before you could pull it up on your phone and just do things. It was before it was
Yeah.
I got in my car and I drove to LA and I called the Academy of Motion Pictures. I had to call it 1411 information. Did the Academy of Motion Pictures and I was like, who does the flowers for the Academy Awards?
And she was like, excuse me. And long story short, she figured out what I was talking about, and she said a company that's called Charisma Floats does that. Okay, well I don't know what that means. So, I found, I don't even remember how I found the information for Charisma Floats, but I found Charisma Floats, and I remember I went to an internet cafe and in Azusa, California, and went in there and looked up the information for Charisma Floats, and I called them, and I said, Hey, here's who I am, and I do flowers, and I would love to talk to you about doing the Academy Awards.
And the guy was like, Well, we don't really do that. We, we have a team that does that. So thanks, but no thanks. And I'm like, Okay. I said, I have driven Through the entire country to get here and to have this conversation with you. Would you please at least give me five minutes just to look at my portfolio and see if, see what I can do.
And so he agreed to meet with me. His name is Larry Crane. Let me say this piece of information. Charisma floats means they built Rose Bowl parade floats. And so, for so that's why they were in Pasadena, Azusa, that same area.
And so, he said, if you will come out and work with us doing the Rose Parade. We will talk about it at that point, I'm sure. on Christmas day of 2003, I flew out to Pasadena and started doing Rose Bowl Parade of Clothes. And they loved me, they loved my work, and he allowed me to come in and be a part of the Oscars team that year.
And while I was there he said to me, he said, you really need to meet this woman that lives in Las Vegas. She does all the events for the MGM Mirage Company, is what it was called at the time. Now it's called MGM Resort, so that doesn't mean MGM Grand. That's MGM, Bellagio, Mirage, Treasure Island.
Used to be made to look like all So, I was like, okay. So I got in my car, and we drove to Las Vegas, and I was like, I need to meet Cheryl, and I did the same thing with her. And Cheryl liked me I'd love for you to see one of our events. I told her, I was like, I don't have time to really stay here and to be quite honest with you.
I don't have the money. to stay here and get hotel rooms. I just can't do that. I need to, I need to go home. And she said, if you would like to stay, I'll get a room for you and put you up. And so you can see what the events are. I said, okay, sure. And so, the next day, I go, and it was at the Mirage, and they were doing this big elaborate event.
And, I am not joking, John, when I say this, I go in, And doing a soundcheck is Garth Brooks and Tricia Yearwood is also there. She's standing there and I'm from Monticello, Arkansas. She's from Monticello, Georgia. We're having this conversation and I'm honestly like, What? What is going on in my life right now?
What is happening to me right now? It was the most unbelievable thing. And all this just started happening. And so I that's why I moved to Las Vegas. And I, I moved here and I started working with MGM Mirage events. And That, the rest is history. That's what brought me here. to not be too boring and go too long here I, over the years we evolved into more things and and I, I was able to get into the automotive industry.
And so that's, that's really our big clients. Now we do car shows, we do hospitality events for car shows. We actually leave next week for three weeks to go to Kentucky to do an equestrian event for Land Rover. Land Rover is probably our biggest client that we work with, but we also work with Audi, Volkswagen, we've done Rolls Royce events just across the board with the automotive industry.
It's one of those things, again word of mouth, doing what you say, being honest, integrity. It's really built our business, and That's how we've gotten to that, to that point. And it's, it's a big part of our business. It's a lucrative part of our business. And the thing I love about the design business is that it is it does, with, with interior and residential homes, a project can go on and on and on and on.
You're never done. And with an event, This is the day of the event. It has to be done this day. If the table comes in broken, well, honey, you fix it, you figure it out, and you make it happen because they're not going to stop the event because your table came in broken. So it is really, it keeps me on my feet, it keeps me smart, it keeps me it, it, it, just, it's a way to really, Keep me I don't want to say motivated, but it keeps me just on my toes.
It's, it's, it's made me a better, it's made me better at my job. It's made me say, okay, this is what we have to do and we have to figure it out right now. I love that pressure. It is so fun to me, makes me so happy. And then the event's over, it's done, you pack it up and you don't think about it again and then they pay you.
Whereas residential, it it just trickles on and, just people have time to say, Well, I don't really like the hem in that drape there or whatever, it's like, in an event, you can duct tape that baby up and not think twice about it, so it's really a fun, interesting world, and I love that I'm a part of it.
And the other part about all the different parts of our businesses that we do is, with residential design, and doing floral design, and doing event design, and doing holiday design. That gives us the opportunity to go into homes over and over again. And it's another way to really spread the word about, because when you can, we're actually going to do a big event for one of our clients in a couple weeks.
We go in, she's planning a party. It's just a dinner for 14 people, but we're going in. I'm doing, I'm not cooking the food, but I'm orchestrating the menu. I'm doing all that. I'm doing the wine pairing. I'm doing all of this. I'm setting up the house. I'm making the flowers for the tables. I'm doing everything.
So when they come in, they say, Oh my gosh, who did all this work? Oh, Christopher does it all. And then I'm at the event. Then they get to meet me. it's the most beautiful plan that came out of it's a godsend. Honestly, it's just, I don't know how I put it together, but it just works so beautifully for me.
And the same thing with holiday design. When do people have the most parties in their home? During the holidays, so we set up these elaborate homes with this wonderful holiday design, and people with money attract people with money, and they're like, oh my god, who did this for me? Oh, it's a guy out of Las Vegas we fly in.
Well, they want to keep up with the Joneses. Well, they got to have me next year. So it's really turned into a beautiful, a beautiful thing, so. That's how it all goes together, and we make it all work because truly, all of the things are in a way linked together in some form or fashion.
and, and you do throw a great party and you do make a mean charcuterie board like it just like so good. So I can see why people would
That's the beauty, the beauty of being, having a store next to Trader Joe's. It's really, it has really come in handy over the years. Yes.
brilliant marketing because you're actually getting paid to market. And also to something that popped into my head is when are people more happy than at a party or at an event that they're having cocktails and they're having food and they're having great conversation.
Yeah. And then suddenly they're like, Oh my God, I want to have this same experience in my own house and my own event at my own party at my own Christmas, soiree, who can I call? Oh, here's the person to do that. It's, it's absolutely brilliant to take one. Talent that you're so, so good at, and then parlay that into something else.
I think more people should consider avenues and ways of, just basically taking what we're, and not only are you good at it, but you love doing it. And it's a passion for you. And it's almost this zone of genius where you get into it and you, you just love doing it so much. And that comes across with that.
But the fact that you can take that and then turn it into another, Revenue stream and get more business from that, that you're again, getting paid to do is just brilliant to me. Just so brilliant. And the fact, by the way, that this came across, you say it just happened, whatever automatically, no, this came across and happened because you decided to get in your little car and drive from Arkansas to Los Angeles years ago and start this whole thing. And that's what I don't want to be swept under the rug here. I don't want people to forget the fact that this came about. Because you took this risk. Yes, it was a calculated risk, but you took this risk. And in this society again, where people just want to go online and grab something and click something and, post a post and expect miracles to happen.
You literally were boots on the ground doing the hard work, putting in the hard effort, doing things that were probably a little uncomfortable for you. But look what came out of it. One thing led to the other, led to the other, and it literally changed your entire life. So I want people to take that away from this. is you say it so, casually, but it was a big, bold move. And I wish more people would take big, bold moves in their lives and do things that are outside of their comfort zone because it paid off in spades for you, for
Well, one saying that I've always loved is it is not pretentious if it is earned. And that is so true with what you were saying. People, they want, want, want, but they're not willing to earn it. They just want it. And then they, when they don't have it, but they want to act like they have it and they live in this pretend world of, Oh, honey, it's wonderful.
All that. It's just, I think that they beat themselves up because everybody can see through that. Yes. If you think. If you think for one second that people are not seeing through that I'm talking to your listers. I'm talking to you, talking to listers.
If, if you think that people aren't seeing through this shenanigan that you're putting on, you're so wrong because they do.
And, but when you've earned it, I think that may go back to why I don't have to, I don't have to do any of that. 'cause it's like, yeah, I've got the story to back it up, honey. I got out there and went to an internet cafe. You know what that is? Never even heard of that, have you? I'm old! So, but yeah, I do appreciate you saying that.
It's, it's a It was instrumental in doing what I do. And one other thing I'd like to add to one thing you were saying is, I'm very blessed and I have, I do have those talents. I can do flowers, I can do these things that some people may not have the abilities to do, and that's fine if you don't. But there's no reason you should not have those people in your circle.
I have one of my very dearest friends, and I think you've met him, John, Daniel Keeley, who he lives in Arkansas, but he's an extraordinary exterior designer. He's not a landscape person. He's a exterior designer. He does exterior spaces. I have him in my back pocket with my projects because I'm like, We do the inside, but let me tell you who can do your outside.
So it goes to the same thing. If you are a designer and you don't do events or you don't do flowers or something, have a report with people that do so that you can go in and be that concierge service for your client and say, let me take care of all this for you. I know a great party planner. I know a great florist.
I know a great printer. I know a great lawn guy. I know, have everybody in your, in your, I want to say Rolodex because I'm old.
I want to say Rolodex, too.
Let's get our walking cane out and look through our Rolodex, but, but have those contacts available for these people and they thank you and you can That's another revenue building thing, you don't plan the whole thing for free.
Orchestrate all that and send them a bill for it. It's not a huge bill. But it's something that otherwise they would be doing all the work and forwarding it out to other people. And then you build not only a rapport with your client, you build a rapport with these people. And it's just, they're then going to return the favor and send people to you.
That's great advice. Great advice. And you can take that even further. And even if you don't have all the design skills, even on your team, if you're, like, I'm terrible at CAD. I say this all the time, and I hate it. And I don't ever want to be good
Yeah.
Once I start doing it and I'll have to do it.
So I don't ever want to
Same.
So I have people that I paid to do that on my team. And I know you do too, right? So to me, if you're not good at something on your, and you want to do that as a design firm, even bring people in and it doesn't have to be an employee. It could be, 10 99 or whatever, but you can bring somebody in, make you look better and to offer better services to under your bigger umbrella, you can still provide services to people that aren't your forte.
So if you're not. Good at something that you would want to offer, bring somebody in and provide that service through somebody else on your team. That may not, doesn't have to be you. As my point, you don't have to
know, John, we have slogan for my business is I say functional design for quality of living. Because I like to create functional, livable spaces. And so, that kind of goes hand in hand with that. If you are helping somebody live their best life, even if it's with a party or whatever, I just feel like that's important to build this relationship with your client.
And I don't know, the best thing, I think, is to be able to really give your client, I don't want to say give, but, if you can If you could concentrate on providing all these services to your client and taking over so much of the responsibility of things that they have that would fit under that umbrella that you're talking about, I just think it's so smart and just and so appreciative from your clients that, that they have that, have that person in their corner.
I agree. And you do a marvelous, marvelous job of that. So, I mean, my gosh, you've been in business 30 years and you're gosh, you started when you were 10, I guess. Right. Let nine, nine, nine years old. Something like that.
Just turned 49. And so, and I think that's funny too, John, because not too long ago I was, I guess it was last high point. And I know that you do a lot of panels and I do a lot of panels as well. And I was thinking like, why do, why would anyone want to come and listen to me and hear what I have to say?
I just, that was mind boggling to me that somebody would take their time. I'm busy when I go to high point. I don't really have time to. Really sit for an hour and do that and I make myself believe that. And then it, I guess it dawned on me that, I've been doing this a really long time. And I guess what made me think of that is my dad had the same job.
My dad was a high school principal for 34 years. And when I tell people that, that he works as a high school principal for 34 years, people are like, Oh my gosh, I have the same job for 34 years. And I'm right there at that, and not even 50 yet. So it's like, yeah, I guess, I know you can say the same because you're old too.
We, but you know, it's like, oh yeah, we have been around the block. We have, we have experienced that. We have had ups and downs. We can tell people what they can do because generally on these things, it's people that are starting out or they may be young and starting, or they may be older and starting out.
I don't know, but it's just a It's, it's something that we've earned and I had to really, it was just last year that I realized that. I've really earned this. I've really done the work to earn the, the title of being a panelist. I know you've done panels on your own. Well, I guess it'd be a panel if you're doing it on your own.
But you've done talks by yourself for quite some time. This is going to be my first one. 
You're not a sugarcoater whatsoever. And I, I think you should, by the way, stop and pat yourself on the back. And I've probably been way too kind to you in this episode because I give you a hard time all the time in life. So, I've been way too nice to you. I'm going to edit this thing out to where it does not come across as nice as I've been to you. But no, I think you're great. I, I love you. And I think that you've just done a fabulous job with your company and I just admire you in so many ways. But if you were to go back, you talked about accomplishments and all the things.
And I asked everybody this, if you were to go back to little Christopher, coming to Las Vegas and starting to do these events and then deciding to do design, would you change anything? Or would you give him one piece of advice? One thing that you would say, Oh, by the way. Here's something I would tell you to know or to look out for or to be cautious of or to, to know just something, some kind of words of advice that you would give yourself as that, 20 something year old starting out, moving into this whole world of design and, and events and all the things that
Yeah, my biggest piece of advice that I think is good advice for everyone.
It's like a three part advice. You do not know everything. You are not the best at what you do. And there's always someone smarter than you, that can help you. That's the advice I would give myself, because moving here, I had just picked up and moved from Arkansas, and I know everything about everything, and don't try to tell me how to do this because I am Christopher Tonek.
And I've never, I'm joking when I say I've never really had that attitude, but I stepped away from education probably more than I should have. And I don't mean a true education, but just, day to day life if I'd been willing to listen. Instead of being the know it all, I think that I would have gained a lot more information if I'd been open to listening to that.
And I also think the same thing about, everybody's going to say, Oh, I'm just a little whatever, but I think that really knowing that there is so much talent out there. I used to think that I was so good at Christmas trees. Like there's no one better than me. I am so good at this and I do have a very specific I'm very good at what I do with it.
It's very fun to branch off. I always think it's funny when people are like we're interior designers, we do not do Christmas. A lot of some people love it. Some people hate it, but I do Christmas in a big way. 
I love it. I'll always do it. Don't you worry. but I think that's really important advice to really Find people that are better than you because when you can find people that are better than you They will help you be a better person and they're not trying if they're any better than you They're not trying to compete with you there.
They're more than willing to help. It's the people the opposite of that who feel Intimidated or feel challenged by somebody That's my opinion, but that's what I would tell myself going back. I would say, what? They could really help me and they would probably teach me some things if I would be willing to do
I love that. I love that. He's basically you get two ears and one mouth for a purpose, right? Listen twice the amount of time that you speak. So I think that's
great. Good, good advice from a seasoned old, old, old, old, old,
old, old veteran here. That's right,
grandpa. No, Christopher, this has been fantastic. Tell everybody where they can find you. I know you
don't hang out a lot on social media, but you are there sometimes and when people force you to be, so tell everybody, On social media where you are. And then of course your website. And then we'll put links to all of this in the show
My my Instagram is ctdesignlv. That's Christopher Todd. Las Vegas for those that are not following along there. CT design LV. That's my Instagram handle. I am not a big poster. I don't have anybody that helps me do it. So that's only when fun things happen as I actually post my store, which we didn't really talk about this.
My store is in Henderson, Nevada. It's on Sunset and Green Valley Parkway. But actually, we are going to be closing our retail store here in a few weeks and moving just to an office. And our new store location is going to be opening up in Nashville, actually in Brentwood, Tennessee in a few months.
So that is stuff that I will be sharing on Instagram, so it will be, I will be a little more active with that. So, that's new developments. Not many people know about it yet. But we are making that transition into doing that. I'm very excited about it.
And so, there'll be more to that to come in the future.
Breaking
news. You heard it. here first, the new Christopher Todd store in Brentwood in Nashville area. So exciting.
So lots of exciting things. There's all, and you do post on your stories. You're pretty good about keeping the stories up to date. So I do like to follow the stories. You always like pop up. I'm like, wait, where is he right now? He's somewhere like, Oh my God, he's there. Like he was just here yesterday. Like you're, you're always somewhere
interesting. So yeah, and then I'll see you when we're recording this. I'll see you at high point in about a week. So, at the date of this recording, so there you go.
Christopher, thank you
so 
you.
Yeah, it's great. Thank you so much.
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