Why NKBA Matters with Samantha Vogt

Hello and welcome to Designer Discussions with Jason and Miriam. Today's guest is Samantha Vogt. She's the president of the NKBA Texas North Plains Chapter and a senior interior designer with Jay Wiley Designs. And today we're going to talk about the ins and outs of being part of the NKBA.

Welcome to the Designer Discussions podcast with Jason and Miriam. Tune in each week where we talk about marketing PR and business advice for design professionals. Thanks, Miriam, for the intro. And we're happy to have Samantha here.

How are you doing today, Sam? Good. Happy to be here. So I'm I'm actually happy to have this episode because Samantha is actually the local president of the NKBA, where I'm a member as well.

So I actually asked her to be on here. She was a little hesitant at first, but I'm like, oh, it's gonna be easy and fun. So we're happy to have her on. So for our guest out there, Sam, if you could just explain who you are.

Absolutely. Yeah, so I am an interior designer, as Miriam said, with Jay Wiley Designs. I have been there about five years now. Um, I prior to that, I worked for a small architecture and interior design firm um working on commercial and residential projects.

So I've always kind of been in the residential space, um, always been involved. And I joined the NKBA board as a program chair three almost three years ago, um, enrolled into president um as of this year, and have always been involved, but at different levels at different times of what was available in my life. Um, so it's just kind of a natural fit to roll into it. Awesome.

So, just from your perspective as the president of a local chapter, what do you believe are the benefits of the organization to the design of Romali Hinged? There are there are a lot of benefits. So primarily, NKBA is focused on education and networking. So bringing together the community to better the community.

So they're what kind of makes them different than other organizations is they focus a lot on the research and a lot on the education side of things. So they have their own certification program for you to become a certified designer. You can also do badges, um, which are like specialty badges focused on different areas of the industry. And they put a lot of research into what those resources are, educating the pop population, and then doing market research for everyone on trends, where the market's going, the most kind of important things as a business that you need to know.

And then secondarily, networking. I mean, I know there's a lot of opportunities to network out there, but networking with the right people that you want to work with is important. So NKBA offers a lot of opportunities to network, to get to know people, and honestly build kind of that referral pipeline in an organic way. Okay.

So you're the president now, and as you said, a few years ago, you were just a member, and then you joined and became active. What was that transition of you that you wanted to first become a member of the board and then eventually become the president? So I was involved in NKBA, but just not heavily involved. And I actually talked to Jennifer, who I work with, and said, Hey, I'd love to get more involved.

I know you have been on boards before. Um, and just in general, you have more experience. What are your thoughts? And immediately she was like, Well, there is actually a board position open with NKBA, and I think you do a great job.

So I got introduced to the current board and I'd already known many of them, but just didn't know them super well. Um, started shadowing the current programs chair at the time and was like, okay, I think this is something I could do. And just kind of dove in head first. Uh I I kind of recommend that when it comes to boards.

You're you're gonna be like, I don't know about the time commitment. It's it's nerve-wracking. You're trying to decide if it's something that you can do and do well. But from me.

Yeah, exactly. It's it's scary. I I had the same reaction at first. I was like, I don't know if I want to do this.

Um, but once you get involved, it kind of hooks you because you get to meet so many great people. And the conversations I have frequently with people just like yourself that make the industry so much better. And I genuinely have friends now in the industry from really being on the board and being more involved. I love it.

I love it. So, with the shifts that have happened in the economy over the last few years, where do you see the NKBA's role in the industry with bowling and the economy? So, because NKBA focuses so much on the research and education side, each year they put out a state of the industry where they take all of their market research and say, okay, this is what we're seeing the economy do. This is what we're projecting, and this is how it will impact you.

So it's really important to go and listen to that. They do it at K-Bays. Um, they also share that as a CEU, and you can find out on their website. And that's typically the biggest shift that we're seeing in the market right now is just client expectations and budget and how that shapes what we're doing and how we're doing it.

So they do the a great job when it comes to education, and that's the most important thing. I like it. So you had talked about KBs for the listeners out there that may not know what those acronyms mean. Can you explain that and what that's all about?

Absolutely. So K-Boo's is a kitchen and bath industry show. It happens every year in the first quarter, sometime in February. Uh it they kind of jump around where they host it.

It was in Orlando last year. It's gonna be in Vegas next year. And the industry show basically all the vendors come together and show you the best of what they have and all their new items. So it keeps you kind of ahead on trends, aware of what's out there, all the new products, all the new materials, and can just put you a little more ahead of the game on what's out there and what your clients might be wanting and predicting what they might want.

They also have a lot of CEUs, um, panel discussions. There's been some wonderful ones. We've actually had some of our um our past president and some other members in our chapter have been speakers at the um cabez um panels and just CEUs. Okay.

So, what what's happening in the industry now, what should designers and remodelers be looking for now and in the future, like say two, three years from now? So, I mean, anyone who's in the industry knows that it's constantly changing. There's constantly something new to learn and absorb. Um, right now, I think a lot of the focus is on AI and what that does for the industry and how to be adaptable around that, because client expectations of what they want to see and what they need you to produce to say yes to a project is changing.

So, how can AI help you is always a big one. Um, but then understanding what kind of the shifts are happening in the kitchen and bath space, what are people looking for? What are they wanting, and how we can deliver that where they understand it? Because unfortunately, this industry seems to be people don't get it until they have to to remodel something.

They they don't know what they're doing. You had talked about AI. So, what are your views on AI? It will not ever replace a designer.

I would love to see. Can you say that again? Because we hear that a lot. I actually hear that a lot from remodelers and designers that it will replace them.

So yeah. I I it will not. So we actually had a discussion the other day during one of our um presentations that we had an AI app kind of recording the conversation to say what the selections were and we could use it to create meeting notes. It doesn't have a camera.

So it I was pointing to somebody at the table is like, you picked this tile. AI had no idea what tile I was pointing to. And the number of showrooms we had to pull to get all of the materials. There's AI is a tool, but it can't replace us.

And the number of times I've also looked at um renders where I'm like, oh, that's so cool. There's absolutely no way that that's physically possible. Or, and you can train AI, there's definitely ways to adjust that. But we've seen a couple with a contractor where we were looking at a SARE detail.

We all thought this design was so cool. We wanted to use it at inspiration, and then we figured out it wasn't physically possible based on how that AI image was created. So it is a tool, but it right now it will not replace designers. It will place some of the things we do, but not what what we do.

I like that. I like that. And like I say, I hear that all the time from designers, it will replace me. I'm like, AI is not at the level yet where it can do all that that designers will do and that are paid to do.

So it's mainly used now to help you with the mundane tasks, the things you do over and over again, it can help automate a lot of that stuff. So I agree. Agree hard hard on it. So, with designers and remodelers, how can they use their local NKPA chapter to enhance their own business?

So, kind of going back to what I was saying before, the education side of it, you can really use the tools that NKBA provides to educate yourself and to help predict the future of the industry. So, using that to help really make yourself and your company adaptable. On a day-to-day level, networking, I know everyone, it's like network, network, network. However, if you go and network not to say walk away with a project, but to meet people and genuinely want to connect with them.

Most of our referral referrals come from the industry, whether it's a contractor, whether it's a vendor, and most of them know what our ideal client is. So they are gonna give us a better referral. And it's really helpful to be able to hear from other people like, hey, I'm sending this person your way. I think personality-wise, style-wise, they will be a fit for you, that endorses a client so much more and makes us more excited.

So both between the networking and just using your resources, using the resources NKBA provides is really helpful. One thing um I was kind of curious, because obviously designer discussions is all about education when it comes to marketing and and PR, is like what what kinds of what types of educations and trainings um does the NK NKBA provide? I'm honestly not sure, so I'm curious. So the NKBA provides, so their primary certification is equivalent to like an NCIDQ certification.

So um most people know NCIDQ. NKBA has an equivalent one for most in residential interior designers, you don't have to be certified, but that knowledge is kind of invaluable. It really helps you run your business. So the NKBA focuses on the education for making sure you know the codes and they keep a code book.

So each, I think it's every four years, um, they update a code book and a reference guide for the best placement for a sync location, um, appliance locations, toilet, ADA, all of the things that are important in our codes and residential. Then they also have their specialty badges, which are a remodel, like a remodeler specialty, a cabinetry specialty, kind of a variety of categories where you can take a deep dive and ask the questions and learn so that you have a little bit more background knowledge in specific tasks.

So their education can vary, but those are like their certification programs. And then beyond that, they have connections for any kind of CEO you can think of, business related, um, how to find a client, pipeline, um, really any topic you can think of. For any designers or work modelers that are not involved in any of the organizations, what would you suggest that they do now to learn more about NKBA in their local chapter? If you go online, you can see who your local chapter is, and they typically have who your board members are.

Feel free to reach out to them or um find them on Instagram, find them. There's you can email info at nkba.com, and that will be the person that connects you to whoever's your chapter organizer. So whether it's the president, the membership chair programs, they'll they'll connect you and then they can give you more information about it.

Each chapter is run slightly differently. In Dallas, we're very fortunate that the whole DFW Metroplex is huge. So we have a ton of members, a lot of very active members, and a lot of opportunity to do events. We're hosting one to two events every month.

Um, other chapters, depending on where you're located, it's just a lot smaller. So they they may have less frequent events, but they do like smaller gatherings and different, different types of things. So you can really cater to what you're looking for, but communicate with the board members and they'll they'll lead you in the right direction. I like it.

I like it. Just a question for you. If you were to start over in the industry and you were not involved, you didn't know anybody in the area. Because honestly, this is true because when you came into area, you were new.

So for anybody, so for anybody new to an area, what would you suggest they do to get involved with either NKB or any of the other organizations out there for Vermont? I would say just get involved as quickly as you can. Because I, like Jason said, I'm not from Texas originally. I moved here 10 years ago, and I actually was um the ASID president for my college chapter, and I was on the board as a student rep to the board.

And then when I moved to Texas, I was so focused on like creating a life here that I kind of took a hiatus from being as involved. I still went to vendor events and I just wasn't trying to be as involved as I had been previously. And I wish I had continued that right out of when I had first moved here and not really taking a hiatus because I think that just would have helped me more and I would have been able to grow my knowledge of the industry in the DFW area faster. But if you're new anywhere, it doesn't matter how old you are, um, it's important to be involved and don't be afraid.

Like I think networking can be scary, especially if you're not a very social person or you're more introverted. But if you kind of just dive in and tell them, like, hey, I don't know anyone, or I'm I'm looking to understand more about this, people are very friendly and they'll they want to help you. So dive in and you can also research the different industry organizations. So NKBA, IIDA, ASID, um, Nari, or Nari, they all cater to different parts of the trade.

They all overlap, and we've actually done collaborative events with all of them because we all overlap in the people that we're looking for. But if you're looking for more education or more of a contractor vendor connection, there might be one that's more suited to you than another. I selfishly think NKBACS, and we have kind of that sweet spot of all of them. But we're also a big city, so we get to we get to see everyone.

I love I love it. So now if any of our listeners want to reach out to you, how do they do so? You are happy to email me at my work email, which is Snatha at JYLAYdesigns.com, or reach out to me on Instagram.

Um, either way, I am happy to ask, answer any questions, um, help connect you. If you're interested in NKBA, I can help find who your local chapter is and who the board members are. Um, or if you just have some questions about how to how to be more involved and how to be a good board member, where I can tell you us and along with every other chapter is always looking for people to be more involved. And there's always a way for you to be involved, even if you don't want to be a board member.

I love that. I love that. Samantha, we appreciate your time. And for all of our listeners out there, reach out to her if you have any questions at all.

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