EP 78: How AI for Interior Designers Got Started, Live from The Loft

Jenna Gaidusek has built a business on technology and interior design and teaching that to others in the interior design industry. In this episode, her longtime collaborator Julia Reinert flips the mic and asks the questions for once: how a girl from Vermont who didn't know "interior design" was a career ended up building the AI Social Club.

This episode was recorded live in The Loft inside the AI Social Club, the first one recorded there.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

- Where Jenna's design instincts actually started, years before design school

- What it was like graduating design school straight into the 2010 recession

- Why she built eDesign Tribe in 2018 and why she eventually sold it to Mydoma

- What made her buy the domain AI for Interior Designers in 2022

- Why she builds and breaks every tool herself before she teaches it

- How the AI Social Club became a house you walk through, room by room

THE ONE THING TO TAKE FROM THIS EPISODE

Jenna has never built anything with the intention of selling it. eDesign Tribe, AI for Interior Designers, the AI Social Club, all of it started because she wanted the thing to exist and nobody had built it yet. That's still how she decides what to build today.

ABOUT JULIA REINERT

Julia Reinert runs The Lifestyle Historian, where she helps designers and brands tell their story, with a background in journalism, marketing, brand management, event planning, and writing. She joined the interior design industry in 2022 and works with clients on a fully custom basis, from content and strategy to sponsor relationships and event planning.

Julia is also Jenna's Director of Partnerships and has worked alongside her for nearly two years.

Website: thelifestylehistorian.com

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Gemini — gemini.google.com

Google Workspace — workspace.google.com

Perplexity — perplexity.ai

JOIN US LIVE IN THE LOFT

Episodes are recorded live in The Loft inside the AI Social Club. Members (join free) can join the room, bring questions, and be part of the conversation. The next live recording is next Friday at 11am EST in the loft. Take the tour at theaisocialclub.com.

CONNECT WITH JENNA

aiforinteriordesigners.com | theaisocialclub.com | @aiforinteriordesigners

Support@aiforinteriordesigners.com

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Introduction

02:55 Episode 78, the first live broadcast, with Julia Reinert

06:51 Growing up in Vermont

12:18 Design school during the 2010 recession

20:26 Retail management and hitting a wall

25:22 Launching eDesign Tribe

46:31 Buying the domain, AI for Interior Designers begins

1:00:09 Building the AI Social Club, room by room

Episode 77: The AI Conversation No One Wants to Have

I took the summer off, and I'm not easing back in gently. This week I'm having the conversation I don't see enough people in this industry having out loud: AI development right now does not have enough guardrails, and I think that deserves real attention, even though I still use AI every single day.

Here's the good news I was sitting on all summer. While I was away, I finished building something I've wanted for two years: the AI Social Club, one home for community, ongoing education, and the AI tools I've actually built for design businesses, instead of five subscriptions that were never made for us.

I also get into how I actually use AI day to day (it's almost never a prompt box), why I built this community myself instead of joining an existing one, and the one habit I think every designer needs around backing up their own data so no single tool or company can hold your business hostage.

What you will take away:

• Why I'm calling this Season 4 instead of pretending it's a fresh start
• My honest, specific concerns about how AI models are being developed right now
• Why I built the AI Social Club myself instead of joining an existing community
• How I actually use AI day to day, and why it's almost never a prompt box
• The one habit I want every designer to build around backing up their own data

The one thing to take from this episode: do not let your business depend on a single software or AI tool staying exactly the way it is today. Back up your data locally and in the cloud, both, and choose tools you could walk away from if you had to.

Starting September 24, this show records live in The Loft inside the AI Social Club. It's free to join, and you'll hear the episode a full day before it publishes anywhere else. If this one resonated, follow the show so you never miss an episode, share it with a designer friend, and come join us live at theaisocialclub.com.