Hi everyone,
Welcome to Design Talk with David & Anna-Lena!
First off: if you haven’t watched our video trailer yet, do that now! It should be at the top of this post.
Today, we want to share:
What Design Talk with David & Anna-Lena is
Topics we cover
Who we are
Why we started Design Talk
Design Talk’s current and future membership plans
Let’s get started.
What is Design Talk with David & Anna-Lena?
The short version
Design Talk is a newsletter and video podcast that makes interior design approachable and fun.
By combining the perspectives of a beginner (David) and an expert (Anna-Lena), we can meet you wherever you are on your design journey, and help you create attractive spaces that feel like home.
If that’s all you need to know, go ahead and subscribe! Otherwise, read on.
The details
We’re a married couple with different levels of design expertise: Anna-Lena studied design and has plenty of real-world experience, while David is still a design beginner. To put it very simply: David likes to be in nice spaces, but he has difficulty creating them himself.
Over the years of our relationship, our different levels of design expertise have led to some very interesting conversations where our beginner and expert worlds collide. These conversations are learning experiences for both of us:
David gains new interior design knowledge and with each conversation, becomes slightly less of a beginner
Anna-Lena learns about the design topics that beginners think about, and has a better understanding of the stumbling blocks that beginners face when trying to create their own interior designs.
At some point, it dawned on us that the conversations we were having could be interesting for a wider audience, and the idea of a Design Talk podcast was born. Once we started recording episodes, we quickly realized that we couldn’t ignore the visual aspect of design, and decided to add a newsletter and video component to the podcast, plus Pinterest boards as needed to help listeners visualize the topic at hand.
What topics do you cover?
While we were planning Design Talk, it became clear to us that we would need to cover the basic components of design - colors, materials, light, etc - because they are the building blocks you need to successfully create a space where you feel at home.
Note that we use the term “home” quite broadly: there are many business situations where a well-designed space can make colleagues and customers feel more comfortable and at home, and Design Talk will cover interior design in business contexts as well.
We also wanted to take this opportunity to explore creative, out-of-the-box topics that beginners think about, but designers often ignore. For example:
Sophisticated sports fandom - are you a big sports fan, but worry that too much sports decor might be scaring away dates and other visitors? Learn techniques to honor your fandom in a classy way.
Incorporating international design influences - just got back from a holiday in Greece / Central America / Southeast Asia and want to integrate some inspiring designs into your day-to-day life? Learn how to gracefully incorporate these diverse design influences and help the memory of your holiday live on.
This is just a start, and we have a list of many more unorthodox topics we want to cover, so make sure to subscribe if you don’t want to miss them!
We also want to hear from you:
What design topics do you wish someone would talk about, but everyone seems to be ignoring?
Reply or leave a comment, and let us know what's on your mind.
This all sounds great - but who are you guys?
Good question! Let’s introduce ourselves.
Anna-Lena is the founder of ALMEY Design, a boutique design studio focused on providing sustainable interior design for a variety of project sizes and budgets.
She has a wealth of diverse experience in the design field, including:
a university degree in Graphic, Object and Spatial Design
roles in packaging design, set design, and advertising, where as an Art Buyer, she sourced creative talent for major international ad campaigns in the automotive, retail and non-profit industries
working as an independent talent manager for photographers, before returning to her design roots with the launch of ALMEY Design.
David’s job at a maritime data company is far removed from the design world, but he always had an artistic and creative side that Design Talk will hopefully reveal.
He’s also a decent writer and a big Substack fan, and is extremely excited that we are launching a publication on the Substack platform.
Why did you start Design Talk?
The short version
We saw a gap in the interior design world: most publications cater to experts and don't feel relevant to real people.
We want to make interior design approachable and fun, so that people feel welcome in the world of design, and are empowered to create spaces that they want to live in.
The details
Design can be intimidating, especially for beginners. Open a high-end interior design magazine, and several thoughts will likely go through your mind:
“That chair / couch / other piece of furniture does NOT look comfortable.”
“That item costs HOW much?!!”
“Who actually lives like this?”
At the same time, you might see something in the magazine that makes you think: "Wow, that’s gorgeous! How can I make my place look like that?”
By the time you close the magazine, frustration has set in: you’ve caught a glimmer of inspiration, but you don’t know how to turn it into reality.
That’s where Design Talk comes in.
By teaching you the basic building blocks of design, Design Talk will equip you with the vocabulary and skills to you need to start creating spaces you want to live in.
And by covering unconventional topics that matter to you but no one else is talking about, we can give you practical advice that you can start using immediately.
After a while, interior design won’t be quite so intimidating: you’ll be able to open a magazine, gather inspiration, and understand the decisions that the featured designers made and why.
More importantly: you’ll also be much closer to turning your inspiration into reality.
What membership plans do you offer?
During this early phase of Design Talk, we will have a single free membership plan, so we can focus on getting to know our subscribers and settling into a steady publishing rhythm.
Once things are running smoothly, though, we are planning to launch a paid membership option. Here are some ideas for what might be included:
Extra content where we really get into the weeds, and respond to specific member questions and design issues
Live calls where you can show us your space and we can provide ideas and assistance in real time
If this sounds like it might be interesting for you, or if you have any specific ideas that would be valuable, let us know! For now, our main ask is for you to subscribe.
That’s it for today! Let us know what you think about our trailer and plans, and don’t hesitate to share this with anyone who you think might be interested.
Otherwise, stay tuned for more Design Talk soon.
Regards,
David & Anna-Lena
P.S. If you’re on Instagram, you can follow Anna-Lena’s profile to see what she’s up to.
P.P.S. We are also posting our videos to our YouTube channel! Everything we post there will also be available here, but if you give our videos a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel, that will help others discover our work.
Welcome to Design Talk!