Monday Block 1

Monday Block 1

Now.

>> cutting edge design and sophisticated style.

But like most business, they have to change the way they operate.

And we would like to welcome michael mitchell, the co-owner of mitchell hill do you want.

And good to see you.

>> good morning.

>> a lot of where you're sitting right now, that whole wall of fabrics behind you goes to show that you can transform any sort of further or window or you name it to make it personal and beautiful.

But that's just one very small aspect of what you do at mitchell hill.

And maybe you can give our audience an idea of what your business is all about.

>> we're here on king street and beer really a full interior design firm who also has a retail space, and we sell everything from construction materials to hardwood floors, custom fireplaces, cabinet, hardware, we can help people with tile, we do furniture and re-upolter furniture and as well as, we carry the big brands, century and on and on and this is our furniture fabric library, believe it or not, and there's another library at the back of the store that's nothing but drabries.

We sell carpet, so we have a full rug gallery here, and we carry at least 35 different artists innocent.

And so we're also an art gallery.

So what we wanted to do in our new space is create an experience for clients can come in, and whether they're looking for a lamp or to completely renovate a house, any layer that you might need for a custom home is right here.

>> it's like a one-stop shop.

But like so many business, michael, this year has been such a challenge to people.

And let's get into how you've been able to pivot just to accommodate the times in order to survive.

So can you tell us what some of those methods have been for you?

>> we have been on king street for the last ten years, and we were at a smaller space before we moved to this larger space.

But for all of those ten years we ride very much on our tourist trade.

And people being in town, and they would buy a painting or whatever, and i might get on a plane and fly to dallas and do their whole house.

So we really ride on tourism.

And so much locals, which was never the reason, not the reason, but it was never the focus.

So with the loss of tourism, we have really been honing in on our sense of community and working so much locally, i think that people are finding their designers are not traveling and i'm not going to my projects around the country, and designers around the country are no longer coming here.

That part has been wonderful.

And i'm from charleston, so to be able to go to the island or just to i don't know smith street downtown to work on a project has been great.

So we're really finding our sense of community and working locally, which has been pretty wonderful.

>> in order to bridge the gap of distance, you've been doing a lot of virtual tours and zoom calls, and how do you go about designing someone's house over zoom?

>> with zoom, we can do a tour and make suggestion.

And then we can decide if it's right for us to go to the house or if we need to work remotely.

And we've been doing things like that -- i mean we did an entire condo two years ago that i never put my foot n.

But 12 years ago, i did a 6,000 square foot apartment in zurich, switzerland, which i never put my foot n it was interesting, and everything was load food containers and shipped away.

This is not new to the way we do things.

As long as we have proper measurements and our client has common sense and can use a tape measure, we can get through it together.

>> it's a shame that you weren't able to go to the apartment in zurich, switzerland because that would be one of the best places to glow, but in order to incorporate local artists, i know that artwork is such an important part of mitchell hill so.

What are the other artists that you are incorporating in your collection and starting to support.

>> we're recording several people in georgia, a few out in new mexico, believe it or not, and so we're working to pull in some new artists from around the country.

I think in helping people build their art collections, it's important for things to not be one genre and style.

But with my background as an interior designer and an art collector, weevils hung our gallery in a way that looked collected.

So we may not have artists, i may have one, and we're helping people to is it build a real collection of art.

>> i want to hear what you have to say after the commercial, and when we do come back, i want to talk about how you use social media to engage >> welcome pack on this money monday, we have been talking to michael mitchell, co-owner of hill downtown, and it's a awarety.

You have interior designers, of course, but to be able to go to a place and be able to tangibly be able to see and feel things in one space, it's incredibly valuable.

And i want to talk more about the services that you offer.

But first, we were discussing before the break how you were inis corporating other artists, you've been expanding your repertoire, and you've been doing instagram live and talking to some of these artists and getting them familiar with your audience, and doing snark who have you been talking to?

>> with the instagram live, we have been using our stable of artists, and it has been wonderful.

They have been doing what we would do if someone were to come in and commission a painting, sometimes we would take the client to the studio and meet with the artist and talk about what that might be like, but with the instagram live, the artists have been taking over our instagram and showing the process and showing the way they work and experiencing the studio that way, so i feel like it's something that gets lost in purchasing art.

Art, every piece that's hanging in my house, we know the artist, it's a story to tell and it's pieces of them.

If that makes any sense at all, it's nice to see that personal side of it.

>> it's so much more special.

Who are some of the artists that you highlight?

>> recently, it was craig lindberg, and he does these amazing portraits that have this historic quality to them and they're abstract and somewhat spooky if that makes any sense.

I have one of his in my dining room.

And you can almost see the guy's eyes moving, but it's so cool.

It's just one of these place that's we pass by all the time.

And i don't know, it's soulful.

And we continue keep his work in stock.

>> that's great.

And so when i say you're a one-stop shop, i don't want to give the impression that you're not emporium.

But when someone has a project that they're working on can come and speak to you or your partner, tyler hill, to sit down with a professional who has cultivated a network of people who can do specific jobs, which anybody who is a homeowner or working on a project who wants something done and done right needs that professional inpit.

So who are some of the network, members of your network who do specific things?

>> we have wallpaper installers, and i have stair runners, we go a lot of stair runners in the south.

And we have painters in pocket and finishers, and up holsters, those are the laborers, sheet rockers, and repair, i love to put a constance on the wall.

>> you have to break a lit sheet rock to put a constance on the wall.

>> countertop installers, so you can see ports and stone, which is kind of cool.

This place with our history in being a design firm, and also a retail store, when we move to this 12,000 scoot room, we only had 2,000 square feet down the street.

>> it's so much fun, and we're going to share all of that information, and of course our instagram live, which is going to be so fun for so many.

And i want to is thank you for sharing your expertise.

>> it has been wonderful.

>> back