What you'll find...

HiP & COOL:    Techno Pop  ·  Old School

INSiDE SCOOP:   The "Real" Real World  ·   Design Speak  ·  Say What?  ·  What In The World? 

GOiNG PUBLIC:   Go Ahead... Ask Me  ·  Rant & Rave  ·  Light Reading

Our mission.

To bridge the gap between the student / educational community and the professional / manufacturer community of the interior design world, and not to die of boredom while we do it.

Here's but a spoonful of the awfully advantageous content you'll find at plinthandchintz.com...

contributed by James Ledoux [IT training consultant / travel enthusiast / dancing machine]

EDITOR’S NOTE: In his continuous quest for the cutting edge, regular contributor James Ledoux has shoved us (albeit lovingly and willingly) into the new digital audio age. The result? PLiNTH & CHiNTZ’s inaugural podcast, which promises to be the first of many. The irony is that we’re employing this new-fangled technology to address and solve the age-old creativity stumbling blocks of procrastination, self-starting, and follow-through. So read (and listen) on to experience James’ virtual interview with self-proclaimed Life Hacker Merlin Mann, the quick-witted cyberstar who certainly knows how to get things done...

Go here to read the complete article and hear the podcasts.

contributed by Sheree Schold [World Design Day 2005 project leader / ASID & IIDA student member]

EDITOR’S NOTE: Expos, conferences, and seminars may sound a bit intimidating, dry, and exhausting to design professionals and students, but the sheer sum of career-pumping industry knowledge that can be gleaned from attending even a mere fraction of one such event makes them anything but. Between March 29 and April 1, 2006, emerging designer Sheree Schold attended the International Window Coverings Expo in Tampa, Florida, where her goal was to learn as much as possible about this profitable niche market. Whether operating in the hospitality, residential, or commercial design markets, windows abound, and someone’s got to supervise them. The Window Fashions Certified Professionals Program can teach you how to be that someone...

Go here to read the complete article.

contributed by Jenny S. Rebholz [writer / marketing consultant / designer / instructor / mentor / networking machine]

A — B — C… what does each mean to you? Are you the student who always makes the grade and gets the A, or are you the one always striving for the A? Are you so caught up with the letter on the paper that you forget why you are sitting in class? Do you actually retain what you have learned? Reflecting on my time as a student, I am definitely guilty of being an A-focused student; I was always striving for the A. Fortunately, I was equally concerned about producing work I was proud of and could explain. Graduating from school, I was confident in my portfolio and my ability to do my best on the job. I understood that I did not know everything, but I was confident in my ability to problem-solve, do research, ask questions, and be proactive...

Go here to read the complete article.

May 2006 additions to DESIGN SPEAK: Celtic knot (hint: not a Scottish wresting move), fluting, reeding, rough opening, and soffit

Impress your professors / interviewers / co-workers / friends. Visit DESIGN SPEAK.

May 2006 additions to SAY WHAT?: germane, nascent, and pragmatic (We’ll even show you how to use each word in a sentence related to the design industry.)

Just remember: Expand your vocabulary, and you expand your opportunities. Visit SAY WHAT?

Websites we either find helpful, funny or just plain cool.



- The Pros [Corporate Design Foundation, Window Coverings Association of America]
- Productive Sites [Get Human, Universal Packing List]
- Time Killers [Face Recognition Software, Hanzi Smatter]
- Hot Shopping [Audible.com]

Explore a bit of the universe by visiting WHAT IN THE WORLD?

Question for May 2006: I am attending [NeoCon] this year for the first time and was wondering if you have any advice on what not to miss and what is OK to miss. I am planning this alone, so any advice you can offer would be appreciated. Thank you.

submitted by Steven Floyd, Student Member ASID, IIDA & IFDA and answered by Laura McDonald, ASID / IIDA

Go here to read the answer.

We love your comments and suggestions so keep ‘em coming. Speak your mind by submitting your RANTS & RAVES to contact@plinthandchintz.com.


I am absolutely in love with your site and think it's a great thing you're doing this! I am Past President of our student chapter of ASID and would love to hang up some of your flyers. [PLiNTHandCHiNTZ.com] has been an awesome tool for me to use, and I want to share the love. Love the logo by the way – very fun and hip!
- Natalie Oxender from Cincinnati, Ohio

Go here to read more.

by Laura McDonald, ASID / IIDA [Interior Designer / Founder PLiNTH & CHiNTZ and CLUB CHiNTZ / laura@plinthandchintz.com]



Oh, the life of a creative mind. Leave it to Scott Adams’ dead-on, dry-witted Dilbert to paraphrase the process in eight concise cells.

Any design field – whether it be interior, graphic, web, product, industrial, stage, set, etc. – is maddening. Those of us currently in the biz know it all too well, and all of you on the verge of flinging that hard-earned mortarboard will discover it soon enough.

Am I trying to dampen your spirits and dissuade you from chasing The Dream that is the creative career? Absolutely not! Rather, I am simply slipping you a little inside information, empowering you with knowledge that most certainly will quell that first tinge of disappointment resulting from the inevitable epiphany: “The design process is never just about design...”

Go here to read the complete article.