The Market Makers

Natalie Papier on Why Every Room Starts with a Piece of Art

What if the design philosophy that built your entire career started with a bug up your butt and a blue oil painting from a vintage market? Natalie Papier is the designer behind the book, Start with the Art, lead designer on Magnolia Network's Artfully Designed, and the woman who turned Saturday morning estate sales and a house full of agreeable gray into one of the most recognizable design voices in the country. No design degree. No formal training. Just a crumbling Oak Park Victorian, two napping kids, and a paint can. Natalie talks about growing up watching her dad—a true artist turned contractor—transform a worn-down Victorian by seeing its bones instead of its problems. She explains the philosophy that became her signature: start with a piece of art, pull the colors, and let the room follow. She even asks clients to go into their closets and find the dress that makes them feel like a million bucks. Nine out of ten times, it's a color. She shares what it was like to move to Charlotte two weeks before COVID, build a new client base through Instagram all over again, and why she keeps saying yes to things she's never done before—Airstreams on marinas, a flat in Lisbon, whatever comes next. Follow The Market Makers wherever you get your podcasts for more stories of transformation from the people shaping how we live, work, and gather.

Amber Guyton on Soulful Maximalism and Listening to Your Mom

What if one question changed the entire direction of your career? Amber Guyton is the founder of Blessed Little Bungalow [https://www.blessedlittlebungalow.com/]and a designer known for bold color, soulful maximalism, and black art in every space she touches. She grew up in Pineville, South Carolina—a town so small there were no stoplights and her graduating class had 57 people. She had two corporate careers, an MBA, and was climbing the ladder when she bought a house in San Antonio and decorated the entire thing in one week. Her mom showed up expecting boxes. Instead, she found a finished home—and asked the question that changed everything: "So when are you gonna do this for real?" Amber talks about being the kid who begged to paint her room lavender, then blue, then Mickey Mouse borders—always making her space her own. She explains how she gave herself 90 days to launch a blog that became a business, why her first client was a nursery she refused to let pay her, and how she paid off $100K in debt by throwing every side hustle dollar at it for 22 months. She shares what soulful maximalism really means (intentionality, not clutter), why she sees every ceiling and corner as an opportunity, and how supporting black artists became a signature of her work. Now she's expanding into investment properties—dealing with termites, foundations, and roofs—while still doing what she loves most: helping families blend styles and create spaces that feel like home. Follow The Market Makers wherever you get your podcasts for more stories of transformation from the people shaping how we live, work, and gather.

From Turning Down TV to Winning It All: Michel Smith Boyd's Unlikely Path

What if everything you needed to succeed was already there? Michel Smith Boyd is a two-time HGTV Rock the Block winner and one of the most recognized designers in the country. He grew up in Thibodaux, Louisiana, a small southern town where he thought his lack of exposure would disqualify him from the life he wanted. Turns out, the architecture he loves, the hospitality that defines his work, and the music that scores every room he designs—it all started right there. Michel talks about being a little gay kid named Michelle in the deep south who didn't have a word for what made him different, just a feeling of not fitting in. He found refuge in magazines, fashion, and a sixth-grade English teacher named Miss Lagard who made him feel seen. He explains how a trip to the D&D Building in New York merged everything he loved—textiles, architecture, presentation—and finally gave him a name for what he was supposed to do. He shares the weight of winning Rock the Block and how it changed his client base overnight, why he turned down TV for years before finally saying yes, and the tension between being a public figure and the private, nurturing designer his brand was built on. Michel wraps with where he is now: no longer chasing traditional markers of success, but feeling empowered to define what's next for himself—without needing anyone's approval. His daily job? To become more of himself. Follow The Market Makers wherever you get your podcasts for more stories of transformation from the people shaping how we live, work, and gather.

Mandy Kellogg Rye on Why Pressure Is a Privilege

What if the thing you started for fun—zero thought of failure, zero plan—turned into your life's work? Mandy Kellogg Rye is the founder of Waiting on Martha, a brand she started while drinking wine and watching a movie. She loved Martha Stewart, blogs were just becoming a thing, and she thought: I can do that. Three months later, Martha Stewart invited her to New York. Pottery Barn reached out. Things snowballed fast—because for Mandy, nothing stays small. Mandy talks about going to work with her dad at the wastewater treatment plant when she was five, why her parents never told her no or that a mistake was a bad thing, and the moment crossing a bridge to college when her dad told her: this is your chance—don't come back. She explains why she worked her corporate sales job for four more years while building the blog, why authenticity is the key to selling anything, and why she won't let the women on her team say sorry. She shares the brutal honesty of the last two years—almost quitting, calling her landlord ready to break a 10-year lease, not paying herself so her team gets paid. But she took a week, didn't make a rash decision, and stayed. Now she's reenergized. Because as she puts it: pressure is a privilege. Follow The Market Makers wherever you get your podcasts for more stories of transformation from the people shaping how we live, work, and gather.

Matt Briggs on Why Authenticity Isn't a Strategy—It's the Entire Thing

What if the only time your company failed was when you tried to be like everyone else? Matt Briggs is the CEO of Four Hands, one of the hottest brands in the furniture industry. He grew up in South Africa without TV until he was nine, went to boarding school at 12, and came to America through a Rotary exchange expecting California—and got Peoria, Illinois instead. A ski trip to Colorado changed everything. He fell in love with skiing, took a job as a photographer on the mountain, and started seeing opportunity where others saw transactions. Matt shares how he went from selling $9 Mexican pots for $89 to flying to Austin to buy antique Indian trunks from a guy named Brett who had just started a little company called Four Hands. He explains the pivot from middleman to design house—a Herculean shift that happened because the writing was on the wall: you can't control your destiny buying from creative people and selling to retailers while both sides squeeze you. He talks about two miserably failed attempts at upholstery because he made the mistake of doing what the market was doing instead of staying authentic. The moment Four Hands went back to their DNA—in stock, their aesthetic, their way—it worked. He wraps with why market still matters ("it's like the exam at the end of the semester"), why he acquires tech companies and art printers instead of competitors, and why he still believes you can't fight the human condition. Follow The Market Makers wherever you get your podcasts for more stories of transformation from the people shaping how we live, work, and gather.