This one's all about Swatched, IDS Long Island's design competition and gala that only rolls around every other year — and this fall marks the eighth one. Brian sits down with the two co-chairs running the show: Joey, who a lot of you know from Sights and Sounds on the AV and smart home side of things, and Amber Freedman of North Sea Works, a residential interior designer out of Huntington Station and last year's IDS Designer of the Year.

If you've never been, here's the gist. Designers get one hour, a room layout directive, and a bag of mystery materials, then work the room pulling swatches from sponsor tables to build an original design board — no phones, no outside help, no ChatGPT, everything anonymous. Judges score on creativity and how well each board represents the sponsors, with separate categories for students and seasoned pros. Wrapped around the competition is a real party: a DJ, dance floor, photo booth, a mountain of raffle baskets, and John Tedisco on the mic.

Amber and Joey also get into the part that matters most — the charitable side. This year's proceeds go to the Parkinson's Foundation, the National Kidney Foundation, Tunnel to Towers, and Mama's House. They're still taking sponsorships and raffle donations, and as Amber says, no donation is too small.

Swatched happens this October at Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury. Watch the IDS Long Island website and socials for tickets. Want to donate or reach Amber? amber@northseaworks.com.

You can learn more about our host Brian Berkowitz:

Brian's Website: https://www.brianberkowitzphoto.com

Brian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brianberko

Ever notice how shower drains went from an afterthought to an actual design feature over the last decade? This episode digs into why. Brian sits down with Mike Rizzuto, National Technical Sales at Infinity Drain, whose path started with dropping out of Nassau Community College, apprenticing under a licensed plumber, and spending 14 years as a decorative plumbing buyer at Gracious Home in Manhattan. That curiosity — always asking what a product is made of and what problem it solves — is what led him and founder Jonathan Brill to a plumbing trade show in Europe, where they found linear drains and decided to build something of their own.

Mike breaks down what Infinity Drain actually makes: architectural drainage that turns a drain into a design element, from bold metal statements to nearly invisible tile-insert and slot drains. He explains site-sizable, the bread-and-butter product that lets you move the outlet and adjust the length right on the job site — no perfect measurements or custom-order anxiety required.

From there, the two get into the real advantage of manufacturing in Amityville, Long Island: quick lead times, next-day custom, and a real person on the phone when a job goes sideways. They also cover supply-chain resilience after COVID, the Build America Buy America Act, how to vet a "Made in USA" claim, sustainability and solar, and Mission Belly Full — the charity that's served over 110,000 meals since 2020.

Learn more about Infinity Drain at https://www.infinitydrain.com

You can learn more about our host Brian Berkowitz:

Brian's Website: https://www.brianberkowitzphoto.com

Brian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brianberko

There's a strange math in the design world: eight months to a few years building a room, one afternoon to shoot it, and then those photos represent your work for the next five or ten years. That's exactly where this episode lives. Brian sits down with Jamie of JBT Designs out of northern New Jersey — an interior stylist who came up through the editorial side of the business. She started at Hearst on the startup magazine Shop Etc. and later worked in the photo department at Oprah Magazine before moving into design, and eventually styling full time.

Jamie's whole thing is styling for the camera, and she's great at explaining why that's a completely different skill from styling for real life. When you design for a homeowner, you're styling for their reality — kids, pets, budget. When you style for a shoot, you've got two seconds to tell the story on a four-inch phone screen, and proportion, flow, and the right few props make or break the image. Brian and Jamie dig into what the camera sees that your eye doesn't, where the designer's job ends and the stylist's begins, the three-way dance between designer, stylist, and photographer on shoot day, and some honest advice for designers on a tight budget (spoiler: less is more, and don't skimp on the florals).

Find Jamie: Instagram @jbt_styles | jbtdesigns.com

You can learn more about our host Brian Berkowitz:

Brian's Website: https://www.brianberkowitzphoto.com

Brian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brianberko

On this episode of the IDS Podcast, I sat down with Jennifer Nicholson, Chief Operating Officer of Ronald McDonald House Charities New York Metro, to talk about a project that means a lot to our IDS Long Island chapter — the new Stony Brook Ronald McDonald House, our current Pay It Forward partner.

Jennifer's been with the organization for eighteen years, and she took me all the way back to the beginning: how a Philadelphia Eagles player named Fred Hill started the very first House 51 years ago after his daughter's leukemia treatment, and what it really means to keep families close when their child is in the hospital. We talked about everything the House provides beyond a place to sleep — home-cooked meals from more than 12,000 volunteers a year, transportation, a food pantry, pet therapy, and more.

Then we got into the design side. Jennifer shared how Project Design started at New Hyde Park back in 2013 with one phone call to Kravet, and grew into 70-plus designers reimagining dozens of spaces. The new 60,000-square-foot Stony Brook House will have 30 family guest suites, a wellness center, and IDS Long Island designing the second- and third-floor corridors. Construction's underway, with an opening planned for fall 2027.

Want to get involved? Head to www.ronaldmcdonaldhouseli.org and look for the Stony Brook Project Design tab — there's a way in for everyone, designers included.

You can learn more about our host Brian Berkowitz:

Brian's Website: https://www.brianberkowitzphoto.com

Brian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brianberko

This week Brian sits down with Sal Campitiello of East End Interiors, a name just about every designer on Long Island already knows. Sal is past president of the IDS Long Island chapter and has also served on the national board, so he's watched this community grow from the ground up. In this one, Brian and Sal get into the story behind East End — a family business now 36 years in, started by Sal's mom after she trained at Parsons — and how it made the bold move from retail design to a trade-only showroom built entirely around designer success.

Sal breaks down what a to-the-trade showroom actually does for designers: multi-line sourcing under one roof, back-end order support, in-house receiving and delivery, and getting creative when a claim goes sideways. He also shares where newer designers tend to get tripped up, and why the busiest designers are usually the ones who lean on a sourcing partner so they can stay focused on their business.

The back half is all about Metropolitan Design School, East End's new venture born after Long Island's longtime design school closed in 2022. Sal walks through the four-year road to earning their New York State license, the hands-on in-person curriculum, and why a business class matters so much for creatives — something Brian learned the hard way himself.

Learn more:

East End Interiors — EastEndInteriors.com

Metropolitan Design School — MetDesignSchool.com

Follow both on Instagram, and get on East End's email list for events and open houses.

You can learn more about our host Brian Berkowitz:

Brian's Website: https://www.brianberkowitzphoto.com

Brian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brianberko

Joe Calise is back on the IDS Podcast — and this time we're not talking smart home systems. Joe first joined me in Season 1 to talk about Sights and Sounds, his home integration business, but this episode is all about IDS itself: how the Long Island chapter became what it is today, and what's happening at the national level where Joe now sits on the board.

Joe walks through his own path with IDS, from getting pulled into his first meeting by Nancy Ganser Kalfer (now Nancy Quinn), to becoming Long Island treasurer, then president, and eventually joining the national executive committee. We get into how the organization has grown over the years, why it feels more like family than a trade group, and what running a chapter taught him about how much designers really do beyond decorating.

We also dig into what national is focused on this year — membership growth, the chapter task force, the IDS List that connects homeowners to designer members, and the new member database that makes it easier to find vendors and designers across the country. And of course, we talk about the conference happening this September in Las Vegas at the Bellagio, the Doty Awards gala, and the construction management education that's become a member favorite.

Want to reach Joe about Sights and Sounds? Find him at hometheater.biz or on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. For anything IDS, head to interiordesignsociety.org.

You can learn more about our host Brian Berkowitz:

Brian's Website: https://www.brianberkowitzphoto.com

Brian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brianberko

In the season two finale of the IDS Podcast, host Brian Berkowitz sits down with Jennifer McGraw, a Long Island-based publicist specializing in PR for interior designers. With a background rooted in luxury home marketing, Jennifer shares her journey into this niche and how she helps designers get featured in top publications, land product collaborations, and even secure book deals. The episode dives deep into the value of PR, exploring how being published differs from simply posting on social media—and why it holds significantly more weight in establishing industry authority.

Jennifer outlines the four essential boxes designers must check for publication: standout design, professional photography, expert styling, and a compelling story. She and Brian also explore common mistakes designers make when trying to DIY their PR, emphasizing the importance of properly packaging submissions and understanding editorial timelines and exclusivity rules. They also discuss the rise of room roundups and how these online features can boost visibility and social growth.

Whether you're an emerging designer or a seasoned pro, this episode offers crucial insights into the publishing process and how to leverage it to elevate your brand.

You can learn more about our host Brian Berkowitz:

Brian's Website: https://www.brianberkowitzphoto.com

Brian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brianberko

In this episode of the IDS Podcast, host Brian Berkowitz sits down with three rising voices in the interior design industry—Joey from Sights N Sounds, Jessica from Country Carpet, and Hailey from Elements Lighting and Decor. Representing a new generation, each guest shares their journey into their respective family businesses and reflects on the unique challenges and opportunities that come with stepping into an already established brand.

The conversation dives into how younger professionals are bringing fresh perspectives to tradition-rich companies, embracing new technologies like AI-powered visualization tools, circadian lighting, smart home integration, and VR-enhanced showrooms. Social media’s growing influence is also discussed, including how platforms like Instagram and Pinterest are now essential tools for branding, networking, and even client acquisition.

The guests also tackle the age-related biases they sometimes face, the evolving role of trade shows, and how AI is reshaping everything from customer experience to business operations. Finally, they offer actionable advice to both young professionals entering the industry and seasoned designers looking to connect with the next generation.

You can learn more about our host Brian Berkowitz:

Brian's Website: https://www.brianberkowitzphoto.com

Brian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brianberk