Today in The Lounge we have Douglas Graneto of Douglas Graneto Design from Greenwich, Connecticut. Nick has a great conversation with Douglas about shoes, traveling, choosing a career, and finding success. Plus, they dive into marketing and Douglas’ challenges for the future.

Getting to Know Douglas

Douglas is originally from Portland, Oregon, but has been based out of New York City for much of his career. He’s fallen head-over-heels for shoes — recently, he’s loving his double-strap leather Guccis. When he’s not running his top-notch design business, Douglas loves to spend time with his husband and their daughter, or if they’re really lucky, take a trip to Capri! He’s a big proponent of traveling in general, but especially outside of the U.S. for new sights and perspectives.

Beginnings

Interestingly, enough, Douglas didn’t know that he wanted to be an interior design until he was actually working for one. He’s got a degree in art history and only took a few classes related to design, like histories of architecture and furniture, which he really enjoyed. In fact, he didn’t even know that interior design was a viable career! Instead, he learned on the job, working directly under Tony Ingrao — what he calls a “trial by fire,” but he had the talent to get through with flying colors. In his first job, he had many different responsibilities as a project manager and credits Tony for being a great mentor in those 9 years he stayed with the firm.

The Firm Today

Now, Douglas runs his own firm with a staff of four: himself, two project managers, and his husband who runs the office! They focus on residential projects in Connecticut, New York, Miami, and recently took a project in Tennessee. Indeed, much of their projects are acquired by word-of-mouth only, whether that means old clients who put them in touch with friends and family, or an old client that needs a new project. They don’t market themselves but focus instead on social media promotion and volunteer work in their communities, which has gotten them many write-ups in local media! “I feel like being a part of your community is a huge part of a respected designer,” he says. He has recently hired a publicist, though, who has been very successful, and he’s poised to begin marketing himself a bit more to weather lean periods.

Learn more about Douglas at www.douglasgraneto.com!