The Market Makers

ANDMORE
  • 5.0 (16)
  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Every creative professional knows the power of a before and after. It’s a classic transformation arc - whether it’s a renovation, glow up, or an old-fashioned make over. But reinvention doesn’t just apply to products or spaces. It also holds true for our lives and our careers. The sketch on the napkin that becomes a collection. The risk that changes everything. The work that turns a brand into a lasting presence. The Market Makers is a weekly podcast from ANDMORE, home to markets that have been the stage for so many of these transformations. Hosted by CEO, Jon Pertchik, each episode pulls back the curtain on the lives of creative professionals across design, furniture, home, lifestyle and beyond. From industry icons like Thom Filicia to leaders at heritage brands like Bassett Furniture, guests share the moments that shaped them, not just the before and after, but the process in between. Whether it’s finding your aesthetic, carving out a niche, scaling a business, or turning a side hustle into a lasting brand, The Market Makers goes beyond the showrooms and into the creative lives of the people shaping how we live, work, and gather. Follow The Market Makers wherever you get your podcasts for new episodes every week.

  1. 6D AGO

    Rasheeda Gray on Refusing to Choose Between Creative and Strategic

    What if the secret to building a successful design firm wasn't choosing between creative and strategic—but refusing to choose at all? Rasheeda Gray is the founder of Gray Space Interiors, and her superpower is operating with both hemispheres of her brain at full capacity. She spent 15 years in marketing for insurance and financial services, rising to Assistant VP at Chubb Insurance. When she launched her design firm, she didn't quit her day job—she worked three jobs simultaneously for three and a half years: corporate 9-5, mom and wife from 5-9, and building Gray Space from 9 PM to 2 AM. Rasheeda shares how she turned a stuffed animal into a designer book bag at 12, why she suppressed her creative side early on because "you can't make a living being creative," and how her corporate background became her competitive advantage. She talks about her detailed questionnaire that converts emotions into design choices and how her husband became a licensed general contractor during COVID so she could stop relying on unreliable contractors. She explains how a DM to designer Cheryl Luckett and her first High Point Market in 2017 shifted her entire business model toward profitability, and wraps with her vision for the next decade: product licensing, television, and evolving Gray Space into a brand, not just a design firm. Follow The Market Makers wherever you get your podcasts for more stories of transformation from the people shaping how we live, work, and gather.

    22 min

  2. FEB 12

    How 100 Goats and a Recession Built a $150M Company

    Dr. Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell are the Beekman Boys—founders of Beekman 1802, a skin health company ranked among Inc.'s fastest-growing. They're also bestselling authors, winners of CBS's The Amazing Race, and living proof that business isn't just financial transactions, it's about community and neighbors. They share how losing their jobs in 2008 left them with nothing but 80 goats and a Google search for "what can we make with goat milk?" That desperate moment became the foundation of a company built on an unusual principle: kindness as a core ingredient. When a major retail order threatened to overwhelm them, their neighbors showed up to help wrap thousands of bars of soap—then bought product to take home. Brent and Josh talk about the power of aiming high (writing Martha Stewart in federal prison worked), reframing goals (they turned The Amazing Race into a branding opportunity and won anyway), and why their biggest collaborations came from simply wanting to help others succeed first. Their new book, Goat Wisdom, argues that the secret to building a greatest-of-all-time business isn't the latest YouTube hack—it's the proverbs your grandparents knew. Make hay while the sun shines. Love thy neighbor. Work hard, never quit, help your neighbor. Follow The Market Makers wherever you get your podcasts for more stories of transformation from the people shaping how we live, work, and gather.

    39 min

  3. FEB 5

    When Scrappy Becomes Your Superpower with Tamara Day

    What if the moment that changed your entire career came down to grabbing a price tag at the same time as someone else at an estate sale? Tamara Day is the designer and host of Bargain Mansion, author of Laid-Back Lux, and the woman who proved that luxury doesn't require an excess of cash—it requires vision. She didn't go to design school. What she had was a grandmother who taught her to create without fear, three babies during the Great Recession, and a $75 secretary she almost didn't buy. Tamara talks about the moment in 2008 when her husband's income dropped 90% and estate sales became survival. She'd take her three sons with a dollar each, teaching them to negotiate, then paint furniture in the driveway while they rode bikes. When she painted her kitchen white with open shelving, every contractor told her it was stupid. Five years later, Joanna Gaines told the world everybody wants it. She shares how guerrilla marketing with Kinko's flyers brought a thousand people through her house twice a year, how a casting director found her through her brother who needed lumber cut, and why budget isn't a limitation—it's her secret sauce. Follow The Market Makers wherever you get your podcasts for more stories of transformation from the people shaping how we live, work, and gather.  Sonnet 4.5

    29 min

  4. JAN 29

    Robert Spilman Jr. on Faith, Culture, and a 122-Year Legacy

    What if your job was to dismantle everything your family built over four generations—not because it failed, but because it was the only way forward? Rob Spilman Jr. is the CEO, Chairman, and President of Bassett Furniture, a 122-year-old American company that started as a sawmill in rural Virginia and survived the Great Depression, World War II, globalization, and the near-total collapse of domestic furniture manufacturing. His great-grandfather founded it in 1902. His grandfather ran it for decades. And when Rob took over in the late '90s, he had to close nearly every factory and let go of 10,000 people to keep the company alive. Rob talks about growing up in a company town where his grandfather's funeral shut down the schools, working in a dimension mill in Arkansas at 14, and the stubbornness that almost kept him from joining the family business. But the hardest part came when he and his cousin Jeff went to China in the early '90s and saw what was coming—a tsunami of overseas production that would wipe out the American furniture industry as they knew it. He explains the impossible decision to pivot into retail, a move his father called crazy, and how they opened stores while simultaneously closing factories. It was messy, terrifying, and necessary. Rob stood in front of those workers time after time, not knowing if he was making the right call, just trusting that culture and balance sheet strength could carry them through what strategy alone couldn't predict. Follow The Market Makers wherever you get your podcasts for more stories of transformation from the people shaping how we live, work, and gather.

    26 min

  5. JAN 22

    How Faith and Fearlessness Built Mikel Welch's Design Career

    What if your biggest career break came from standing at a cash register and asking a stranger with eight assistants to teach you what they do? Mikel Welch is a designer, TV personality, and design expert on the Drew Barrymore Show who built his career on pure instinct, relentless faith, and the willingness to work for free. He moved to New York with $500, a miniature schnauzer, and a borrowed couch—then took overnight shifts at the Container Store while posting free design services on Craigslist just to build a portfolio. Mikel talks about growing up in Detroit building Lego cities as a kid, the 40-minute Crate & Barrel detour that changed his life, and how he learned the business by redesigning green rooms for Michelle Obama and Halle Berry with furniture he'd return the next day. Mikel opens up about imposter syndrome, not being classically trained, and learning that his gift for envisioning spaces isn't something you can teach—it's just in him. He shares the lesson that changed everything: it can't just be about the money. If you're only chasing a paycheck, it'll never work. It has to be about what you give back. Follow The Market Makers wherever you get your podcasts for more stories of transformation from the people shaping how we live, work, and gather.

    34 min

  6. JAN 15

    From Fear to Freedom: Roger Thomas on Authenticity in Design

    What if your job was to create something no one had ever seen before? Not just new, but completely unprecedented. That was the charge Steve and Elaine Wynn gave Roger Thomas when designing Wynn Las Vegas, and it changed everything. Roger Thomas is the legendary designer behind Bellagio, Wynn, and Encore—spaces that redefined luxury in America. For 40 years, he partnered exclusively with Steve and Elaine Wynn to create resort destinations that feel less like hotels and more like living inside the best movie of your life. Roger calls his approach EVOC architecture—evocative architecture—where every design decision starts with a question: How will this make the guest feel? Roger talks about inventing an entirely new design vocabulary because nothing in the marketplace could be used if it had been seen before. He explains how he and his team would walk into design meetings asking: How do we create drama? Romance? Surprise? Joy? And then work backwards from emotion to materiality, using female curves for romance, high contrast for drama, and Matisse's palette for pure joy. But the most powerful part of Roger's story isn't about color theory or custom chandeliers. It's about authenticity. Roger opens up about coming out in his late thirties, quitting drinking, and realizing that surviving his greatest fear gave him the courage to take creative risks he'd never taken before. When he stopped hiding who he was, he stopped playing it safe in his work. That's when the real genius emerged. Roger wraps with his famous sketchbooks—decades of observations, color combinations, and inventions that he draws back on when tasked with the impossible. And he shares what's next: helping build the Las Vegas Museum of Art, a project 45 years in the making. Follow The Market Makers wherever you get your podcasts for more stories of transformation from the people shaping how we live, work, and gather

    37 min

  7. JAN 8

    Diner Deals, Smart Mergers, and Building Ivystone with Doug Cofiell

    What if your biggest advantage wasn't knowing what you wanted to do, but knowing what you definitely didn't want to do? Doug Cofiell had that moment sitting in a college marketing class. He looked around at all the corporate politics in the case studies and thought: this is not me. That clarity led him to take over his dad's rep agency, Ivy Stone, and turn it into one of the most respected firms in the gift and home industry through 18 acquisitions over two decades. Doug talks about starting out with no GPS and no cell phone, building presence in Ohio from scratch with just a map, and how hiring someone better at selling than he was became his template for growth. The turning point came through diner meetings with Ted Goldberg from Drummers Inc.—what started as a potential acquisition became a merger of equals when they realized their businesses were perfectly complementary. Doug explains why most mergers in this industry fail and why his didn't, and how the infrastructure they built specifically for acquisitions became their competitive advantage. He wraps with his philosophy on technology: partner with the best, integrate everything, but never forget that the best orders still happen in person. Follow The Market Makers wherever you get your podcasts for more stories of transformation from the people shaping how we live, work, and gather

    35 min

  8. 12/25/2025

    Happy Holidays from The Market Makers

    This week, a special holiday message. Jon shares his favorite insights from the designers, entrepreneurs, and dreamers who joined us this year on the show, reminding us all to keep building, keep pushing, and stay true to who we are. Thank you for listening and for being part of the Market Makers community. Happy holidays, and here's to 2026!

    5 min
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Trailer

5
out of 5
16 Ratings

About

Every creative professional knows the power of a before and after. It’s a classic transformation arc - whether it’s a renovation, glow up, or an old-fashioned make over. But reinvention doesn’t just apply to products or spaces. It also holds true for our lives and our careers. The sketch on the napkin that becomes a collection. The risk that changes everything. The work that turns a brand into a lasting presence. The Market Makers is a weekly podcast from ANDMORE, home to markets that have been the stage for so many of these transformations. Hosted by CEO, Jon Pertchik, each episode pulls back the curtain on the lives of creative professionals across design, furniture, home, lifestyle and beyond. From industry icons like Thom Filicia to leaders at heritage brands like Bassett Furniture, guests share the moments that shaped them, not just the before and after, but the process in between. Whether it’s finding your aesthetic, carving out a niche, scaling a business, or turning a side hustle into a lasting brand, The Market Makers goes beyond the showrooms and into the creative lives of the people shaping how we live, work, and gather. Follow The Market Makers wherever you get your podcasts for new episodes every week.

Information

  • Creator
    ANDMORE
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    18
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 ANDMORE