Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Schellert
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
As a luxury interior designer and Past President of ASID, I found myself on pregnancy Bedrest for 34.5 weeks, isolated from connections and the beloved profession that I lived and breathed for over a decade by that time!
I went looking for resources all in one place that would fulfill both business and holistic needs during this time and became frustrated. At the same time, in the age of Amazon, I found that small designers and the value we provide has been eroded by companies that use only designers coming right of school and paying them nothing. These companies promoted them as professionals and in the end, this hurt our entire profession because they weren’t fully qualified to handle the much more challenging projects and materials in luxury design, specifically.
I knew that I had to create it myself, this vision I had to educate consumers on what true design professionals look like and the value they provide, while also partnering with vetted brands to offer programs and resources to support these vetted designer members. We have created private label opportunities that protect them while also making it a part of our T&C that we will never sell third party product against their images. They do have opportunities but it is always at their own discretion. This protects the entire industry and quality brands as well, that their photography is used unethically to promote cheap, knock off products that don’t live up to the images when the consumers buy these things unknowingly. The consumer is left with a bad taste, for both the manufacturers and the designers who paid for these photo shoots, and for our industry as a whole. It’s misrepresentational. I set out to fix that, by working with vetted resources, products and professionals to help correct this, and work directly to a network of discerning clientele. I created and launched our Ethos Interactive app that adds value to our Exclusive designer members by having a marketplace in the VIP subscription, featuring vetted, trade only brands that can be purchased only through our Ethos designer members. We also promote our Ethos designer members on our website as well as in our newly launched publication, Ethos A-List of Luxury Living, which positions them squarely where they belong: as leaders and influencers in the realm of luxury living. They are the magicians testing and curating the best products, for ease of use and practicality as well as for crafting beautiful visual narratives that tell the story of their clients. The life they aspire to as well as the life they are living and expressing, individually. For their client’s businesses, it becomes critical for businesses to visually represent the ideals and branding that resonates with their key demographic. Social media is noisy and competitive so reaching the key clientele via emotional pathways that truly resonate is where these designers shine! We have also just launched a beta program bringing luxury interior designers of Ethos together with vetted luxury realtors around the world, to partner and pair up, to offer more concierge service, referrals and also to create impact driven galas and fundraisers together. We realize how we serve the same communities and that having these partners listed and promoted within our app offers discerning clients incredible value. These are all VETTED resources and professionals, which have been curated over time by these professionals and through Ethos as well as TDC. We are even more excited about the future. Our designer members and professionals, and brands can only join via a referral system. We currently have approximately 50+ of the world’s most professional design principals (not assistants!) serving 16 countries and counting. Luxury products are incredibly expensive to replace in the wrong hands. Having these vetted professionals and resources is the most valuable place a luxury consumer can utilize, anytime, anywhere, day or night, via the app. We have become the world’s first and only Omnichannel platform that offers this level of vetted professionals and resources via an exclusive app, plus insider subscription boxes to benefit all, that offers inspiration via our publication and deeper insights and channels to connect to these professionals for purchase inside of the app. It’s a thoughtfully curated ecosystem of trusted, vetted resources, removed from social media, placed in the pockets via the most trusted app platforms in the world, for access anytime, without all the competition. We then offer direct messaging inside of the app for nurturing connection and new relationships to be fostered for an even better experience.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The challenges that I’ve had to overcome have been by not taking investments into the company, in order to maintain the purity and total control of the Ethos Vision and Mission. It’s been slow growth but not one that I regret at all, as I have been able to take time to work with some amazing brand partners and really get to know these designers. They are like an extended family to me, that I love to promote. We are currently working on new programs that will help directly benefit them even more and offset membership costs, and potentially bring them even more income. A total win-win for the entire Ethos eco-system, by streamlining and having these vetted and trusted resources all in one place.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We have also created and launched an exclusive app, to nurture a vetted eco system of luxury brands, professionals and product for discerning consumers. Ethos Interactive, available on Apple and Google Play. The VIP subscription features a marketplace with access to over 300+ trade only brands that can be purchased through our vetted designers.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
We have some critics who will point out that we have some programs that didn’t make it or weren’t perfect right out of the gate. To that I would say that the endless pursuit of perfection means trying, evaluating and being able to let go of things that don’t serve the whole community. That allows us to turn our focus to the things that actually bring value to the community, such as the technology and Omnichannel platforms, including the magazine, that essentially is our campaign. But it’s delivered in a tasteful, eco conscious way, digitally, to over 200+ countries on the worlds most trusted digital platform, alongside Forbes, Vogue, Architectural Digest and more. Our publisher is heart centered and a powerhouse in her own right, Charlotte Howard Collins, putting us on the path of international visibility and some even more incredible things in the works. We have also aligned with Cindy Christi and Legacy Makers who are some of the top leaders in their professions, making an impact through their Foundations in the world around them. Our partners in Real Estate, Lysi-Bishop (Jody Nelson, CEO) and Kasandra Henry (J and O Realty) have been a dream to work with and identify leading realtors for our partner program. Inside Ethos, we offer a Brand Ambassador Program for our Designer Members and advancement opportunities. Ana Santos has been promoted to Program Director of the Designer/Realtor, representing our designers. She speaks 6 languages fluently and travels the world, so she understands differences in culture. We look within to empower our own members, and bring them additional opportunities to bolster/protect their bottom line and have more resources to care for their families. Private label programs that protect their resources, and allow them to remain in control of the process and end result, as well as making sure they get paid for all of the time they spent designing custom furniture for a client, because they can’t be shopped. We are giving them incredible visibility opportunities, as we just launched our second round of designed color prototypes for Charleston Forge at Las Vegas Market. We plan to take this digitally in future years to allow more designers to participate every year and minimize the amount of prototypes made, so that it’s win win for all. We appreciate the brand partners who have invested in us, to create these programs that protect our beloved designers and this industry. Charleston Forge (you may know them from seeing their product in any one of the Starbucks locations globally) as well as Woodbridge Furniture, Phillips Collection, Johnny Davis Digital, ND4SPD and TDC. We are blessed and incredibly fortunate to get to work with amazing brand partners who are truly invested in our designers, as well. We are now into covering Fashion Weeks for our magazine, thanks to our photojournalist, Lance Miller, an incredible artist and visionary of photography and fashion. We are excited about all that the future holds. Thank you for including us!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ethosdesigncollective.com/
- Instagram: @ethosdesigncollective
