Jane Hallinan, Perkins Eastman, proves that climate talk doesn’t need doom and gloom. She shows how humor and good stories can spark greener choices. Jane gives us a list book recommendation and would like your help in finishing her list. It’s a feel-good episode with a Mr. Rogers-style of neighborliness!
Jane Hallinan, iida, NCIDQ, leed green associate, is an interior designer interested in environmentalism, material health, and honeybees.
She is an Associate at Perkins Eastman in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and practices within the workplace and higher education areas of the firm. This complements her previous design experience in the renovation of existing and historic buildings for commercial, educational, and religious clientele.
In 2017, Hallinan launched Not A Decorator, a brand that focuses on interior design advocacy and is dedicated to further strengthening a respected title for professionals across the industry.
Hallinan was named the 2015 IIDA Member of the Year, was President of the IIDA PA/NJ/DE Chapter from 2015-2018, and was a member of the Contract Magazine Editorial Advisory Board. Jane is known for her active voice within the industry and recently co-authored a submission to the 2020 CoreNet Global Hackathon with a team of IIDA members titled “A View Towards the Workplace of 2024.”
Jane Hallinan | Website | LinkedIn
Doug: [00:00:00] Well, Jane, welcome to
the Love What You Do podcast.
Jane: I'm so excited to be here. Thank you. I'm
Doug: so happy you're here. Um, designer at Perkins Eastman. Yes. Beekeeper, beekeeper, entrepreneur. Mm-hmm. I mean.
Clothing designer or accessory designer? Uh, yeah, just maybe
Jane: primarily in enamel pins. Um, okay. But, um, yeah, at Perkins Eastman, I'm in our Pittsburgh studio. I work within our workplace and college and university practice areas. I also work with our workplace strategy teams and also. Have, uh, a slightly new role as kind of a material specialist, um, helping Perkins Eastman roll out different material health initiatives and oversee our overall strategy across the entire enterprise.
Doug: Awesome. Well, I know that's a personal passion of yours. As is Pittsburgh, as is. So I'm sure we'll get a taste of all of that today. Um, I did ask you to help me think of some provocative questions, like [00:01:00] questions that could get other people thinking differently no matter what the subject. Um, and, and I thought this, this was one was a really interesting one, which is how can humor help?
Better the planet. And it's like, okay, I know how humor can help better people. Uh, you're gonna have to take me there.
Jane: Okay. Um. Is this a great time to talk about my books that I have? Yeah, let's, let's
Doug: just tell us about what you've got going on here.
Jane: Okay. So through the conversation today, I am going to reference a couple of books, um, from some authors that I've found that have been recommended to me that I think is gonna support our conversation, including how can humor, um, help support our climate conversations.
Uh, but I have to make a confession. I have not finished reading any of these books that I'm going to mention today. Um, so while I have ideas from [00:02:00] these conversations and none of these books exactly are about directly related to climate, some of them are, some of them aren't. But I think that there are interesting anecdotes, anecdotes, anecdotes, um, that you can take from these conversations or from these books and that we can apply to different conversations, including.
Climate because climate, for example, is very, you know, doom and gloom at times. Or when it comes to material health and ingredient transparency, we know it has to be durable. It has to be beautiful, and it has to be price, right. Blah, blah, blah. Um, we've heard it. I'm interested in taking the conversation beyond that, looking at what really can intrigue and empower designers to want to make really responsible specifications out of the products that they're, they're incorporating into their projects.
So the first one about how to incorporate humor. The first book is called [00:03:00] Do You Talk Funny by David Nile.
Doug: Let's see, let's see the book here.
Jane: The, this book was recommended to me by a friend. It is about a gentleman named David Nihill, who was terrified of public speaking. So again, not related to climate change or climate health by any means.
Um, so what he did was he spent months, um, becoming a comedian. He be, he dawned the stage name Irish Dave. He's Irish, and his name name is Dave. Okay. And he. I learned about the art of storytelling, entertainment, um, all of these different attributes from comedians that you can incorporate into becoming a more engaging public speaker.
But I think that this is really relevant to climate conversation to, again, to step away from the, the doom and gloom and, um. You know, the stress of, well, [00:04:00] I, what if everything that I specify isn't like just perfect, but how can we have fun while doing it and make people feel good about the selections as well?
Doug: I mean, this is speaking to the heart of what we're trying to do. I mean, this is love what you do. You know, every, everything we do there needs to be an element. Is this, isn't that a Mary Poppins statement? Like everything you do, there needs to be an element of fun. I feel like I just stole that from her
Jane: credit.
Mary Poppins.
Doug: Yeah. Credit Mary Poppins and, and Irish. Dave.
Jane: And Irish. And also who doesn't like to feel good, feel good about what they're doing, feel good about communicating that to the client and. You also feel good at the end of, you know, a rom-com movie. So if we think about incorporating just that joy and fun into our conversation, it helps make the conversation around material health and climate change.
You know, breaking down those barriers. It's a little bit more friendly. [00:05:00] Um, there's lots of acronyms and ingredients and science behind it, and. Trust me, I went to art school and those acronyms and letters and hard to pronounce things, they, it's really daunting. And so I'm eager to look at how, um, some of the.
Comedy habits from this book could be incorporated into the ways that I'm communicating with my teams, communicating with our client why this is important and engaging, and something that they're interested in and want to promote. Um, and how can we also. We can't do this without our manufacturer friends, of course.
And we need the, we need everyone together, our contractors, our installers to be along with us. So, um, no one enjoys just being, you know, told directions or feeling that, like doom and gloom of the pressure of, we specify a lot [00:06:00] of things and how can we feel better about doing it. Both, um, from, you know, from the heart of specifying good things, but also communicating in a way that makes it more enjoyable.
Doug: I, I love that. I, I love that, you know, there's this language element to it, right? So you can communicate, you can bring language in that makes something more fun, right? But there's, um, I interviewed. Someone a, a while ago, Manny Navarro was his name. You know Manny? I know Manny. Of course you do.
Jane: Shout out Manny.
Doug: And he was talking about how um, there was a moment when like things were getting really serious and some of the virtual meetings they were having with a general contractor and they decided to just wear wigs. Oh my. They just went for it, right? And like it went over really well. To the point where they're like all of a sudden, you know, this group along with the client they were working with, you know, they brought their own fun, you know, their own dress up to these meetings [00:07:00] and it became something everyone looked forward to.
Now there's a closet full of wigs, you know,
Jane: I've seen pictures of this. Yeah. Yes.
Doug: And it's like. We probably overlook the impact like what everybody's wanting, like everybody wants that, you know?
Jane: Yeah. Really it's just that level of joy is so relatable whenever the infection infectiousness of love, what you do.
It really carries through to the people that you're communicating with. And so when you're speaking in a fun way and you're passionate about what you're doing and you look like you're having fun while you're doing it, um, that can really make an impact not just to your clients, but to the next generation of designers and architects who are.
Job shadowing us. We're, um, at Perkins Eastman, we, every year, many of our studios are involved in the ACE Student mentoring program, which is an afterschool program for high school students to learn about architecture, [00:08:00] construction and engineering, and also interior design.
Yes. We host a really fun interior design session where we have materials and we do finish boards and we talk about how these things, how we would communicate them and what that means to the environment and to the mood and the students really feed off of the energy that you're giving them. And so, um.
And kind of, you know, thinking about how our, we're all connected in this kind of hippie dippy moment. If you'll, um, I do really think that the energy that you give out, others respond to.
Doug: Yeah, yeah, I agree. I think. That's one of the reasons I think you've done so well for yourself in terms of your personal brand, and I mean, what you're building.
People are, people are drawn to it.
Jane: We have a lot of fun, especially when it comes to, you know, I'm wearing my, uh, one of my favorite, not a decorator enamel pins. Um, this one, I shouldn't have favorites because I do, I [00:09:00] do love every, all the pins, the tote bags. But this one, uh, is inspired by little, um, conversation hearts that you would get it.
Valentine's Day. Oh my gosh. Totally. And the hearts say, can you decorate my house? No,
Doug: no,
Jane: and not a decorator. While it's really inspired by advocacy and strengthening a really respected title for interior designers across the industry, it's also meant to be a, a bit fun and a little tongue in cheek with Sure.
You know, can you decorate my house or take this to your grave? Things like that of, um, and just point blank of not a decorator. Yeah. Um, it's. That way it really opens the door to all the things that interior design is. So it's been fun whenever I'm at the post office dropping things off and they're like, okay, so what does not a decorator mean?
And I'm like, well, here's all the things that interior design is and it [00:10:00] really provides an opportunity to feel that pride of our industry and have a little fun. I'll doing it. I love it. And when you say
Doug: like, that's what it's doing, this is basically a brand of enamel prints. Like it's a, it's a business you've created, essentially.
Yeah. That's really, that. It's not meant to be a get rich program. It's just a, it's a way, it's a way to share pride and joy for this industry.
Jane: It's that fun. You know, opportunity to think about what is it that you do, what makes our industry unique? And then whenever you have to sit at the Thanksgiving table with that uncle that you only see once a year, and they're like, so what are you decorating these days?
Like you're ready with, you know, or response, an elevator pitch of what you do and why you love to do it, and why it's important.
Doug: So it's enamel pins. I know at one point there's bags, you know, there's tote
Jane: bags. Um, um,
Doug: how do we find it?
Jane: Not a decorator.com.
Doug: Okay, that's easy. Or
Jane: on Instagram [00:11:00] at. At not a decorator.
Um, it's really been fun to send pins and tote bags. I have a t-shirt, um, and also a mug. Um, 'cause what a better way to designate. This is my office mug by having a, not a decorator mug. And absolutely. It's fun to show up at NeoCon and see someone carrying that tote bag and I like run up to them like a crazy person and to ask them if I can take a picture of their bag.
But it's so cool. I used to, I used to track all of the states that I've sent tote bags and pins to, I've lost track in the, the coming years I've been doing this for, um. It's 6, 7, 8 years now. Wow. And we have to be getting close to, to all of the states. I have sent a pin to Alaska. Oh, nice. I don't think I've sent a pin to.
Hawaii yet though. Okay. So if there are any listeners from Hawaii, let me know. Yeah, exactly. [00:12:00] I would love to cross Hawaii off my list, but, um, it's cool. Yeah, actually
Doug: just email me and then I'll, I'll send you one, whoever you are, Hawaii listener, whoever the 50th state.
Jane: But it's cool to see designers in because so much of.
F sometimes, um, magazines and publications. We see a lot of design in New York. We see a lot of design in LA and Chicago. I'm here to champion the mid markets like Pittsburgh. Yeah. Um, and I love to see designers that I get orders from, from Idaho and Oklahoma and South Dakota and interior design is happening everywhere, and what they're doing is so exciting and I just love to hear from designers there.
And I can't believe that the pins have made it to those areas. So incredibly thankful that. Other designers enjoy it, find it funny, uh, find it interesting and are eager to wear their [00:13:00] pins or carry their tote bags with them.
Doug: I'm so glad we got into that and that you're able to share that. 'cause I, I think what you're doing is awesome there.
And um,
Jane: thank you
Doug: for new people that are just discovering it. Yeah, that's really exciting. Um. There's other questions here. So literally, I mean, the title, I've got a stack of books here. You, as we get through them, there's a question, uh, what if we get it right? Um, boy, what does that apply to? I mean, I'm, I'm thinking, uh.
You know, thinking about how retrospectively that makes me feel. It's like, oh, did have I gotten it right? You know, did I get it wrong? I, I don't even know what I'm, I don't even know what it is yet.
Jane: Well, it's so interesting you said, you said it right there. Sometimes you're thinking, what if we get it wrong?
And it's that leading with that fear almost of what if, what if we get it wrong? It's a little bit of glass, half full glass, half empty type thinking. [00:14:00] Um, this book is by one of my favorite climate activists, Dr. A Elizabeth Johnson. Has a great name that you have to say altogether. Yes. No kidding. Dr. Ion Elizabeth Johnson, and she spoke at Green Build two years ago as the keynote speaker.
Uh, on the last day I showed up two hours early, the only one in the room ready to sit at the very front table to hear her speak and she just published this book. Um, what if We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures, and this is actually a great. You know, segue or kind of connection from, do you talk funny thinking about that joy and positivity?
We think a lot whenever we're designing about how can we create flexible and adaptable solutions, and sometimes those conversations are rooted more so in, well, if this original plan doesn't work. Well, how [00:15:00] can we adapt the furniture to make it, to make it work? But I'd like to think of adaptable and flexible solutions as what if our initial arrangement, our configuration for collaboration, for heads down thinking is so successful?
Hmm. How can we continue to expand that into other ways? Thinking about more so what if we get it right, how can this become even more successful that we than we had initially thought? And I think of that whenever it comes to material health and ingredient transparency. I think of it too as there's no wrong to making our products healthier, to using better ingredients that aren't detrimental to human and environmental health, so that if.
If we are making it better, it's benefiting the individuals who are making the product. It's benefiting the individuals who are installing the product. If it, if a space is being renovated, [00:16:00] taking the space up, there are only benefits to using ingredients. And making products that will, you know, still be durable and beautiful and priced great, but aren't made up of chemicals or hazardous materials that are either detrimental again to those individuals, making them because they are working in the factories or are detrimental at the end of its life.
When. It may be ending up in a landfill. We're seeing more and more rec reclamation recycling programs. Yep. Um. Refurbished furniture second life. So hopefully we can curb things from going out of the landfill then and finding a second life. But if it does, how can it not leach harmful chemicals into our soil and into our ground and be detrimental to the communities that live most adjacent to these places, which are often, um.
[00:17:00] Um, impoverished communities that are lower income and then are adjacent to these harmful materials that we're specifying So. What helps me sleep better at night is thinking about this, you know, beautiful future where we're specifying these great products. Um, the spaces that we're designing are successful and people are healing and working and thriving in what they are doing in those spaces, learning, um, and they're done in a way that benefits everyone and everything.
Doug: I, I love this like. Going deeper into imagining the upside. Like I, I think there, I mean, there's a bazillion, you know, movies and futures that depict this sort of like, uh, replenished earth, right? And you see the gray skies we're back to the
Jane: doom and gloom.
Doug: I know. And you know what it's like for whatever reason, it's like, [00:18:00] it's easy to imagine that, and it's also easy.
To imagine things as they are now, but to imagine like a much better version of today.
Jane: Mm-hmm.
Doug: Like there just hasn't been enough of that.
Jane: Right. And like
Doug: this is really interesting.
Jane: So I'm excited to read more of this book. I'm also though, however, not. Trying to, um, support toxic positivity. Either we're like, everything's gonna be great.
We're great, everything's gonna be awesome. You're doing great, you're wonderful. The toxic positivity isn't of interest. Me. And I think that Dr. Allen, Elizabeth Johnson has a, she's, her background is in marine biology, and I think has just a fun and joyful way of. Thinking about the work that we're doing, um, thinking about what work needs to be done and really celebrating the contributions, the unique contributions that [00:19:00] each one of us has to bettering the environment and doing it for our friends and family and for our neighbors.
Doug: Um, um, I want to get into the other books also. Thank you. But, um, you know, obviously just. Books and maybe a way of being able to put thoughtful comments on paper like that obviously means a lot to you, like it's part of who you are. What would your book be titled? Like what, what are you writing? What? What would you write and do?
Well, first, do you even want, do you wanna write a book? Like is that something that you can imagine doing in 10 or 15 years? It's so
Jane: interesting. Um. I don't know what I would, I think about all the time how I would, what I would author about ingredient or material ingredients and transparency. Um, I even struggle thinking about how I'm thinking about pitching ideas to conferences and things like that.
[00:20:00] Um, so I'm not entirely sure what I would write or what the, what the cover page or what the title of that would be, but I would surely find ways to talk about. All of my favorite things in there, like these books in Pittsburgh.
Doug: I love it. Okay. And
Jane: not decorate. And probably sports would come along with that too.
Doug: Um, awesome. Um, all right, well, let's, let's get into, uh, you, you, you said neighborhood at the end of the, I did neighborhood at the end of your statement there. So let's get into that. Uh, you, you grew up, I did not know this prior to the interview, but you grew up in the town of Mr. Rogers. Right.
Jane: So I, I actually grew up in central Pennsylvania in a small town, a small city called Altoona, but where I live now is.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which is a hometown, the hometown of Mr. Rogers, and for those who have ever watched Mr. Rogers neighborhood,
Doug: grew up watching. [00:21:00]
Jane: It is a staple in all houses in Western Pennsylvania. Um, thinking about TE or Fred Rogers, um, Mr. Rogers neighborhood for those who aren't familiar, um, was a children's show, um, but really rooted in loving your neighbor, being kind to your neighbor, showing kindness and.
In Pittsburgh, Mr. Rogers is, is in everything that we think about. It's what we think about when we are, you know, designing spaces, um, for our clients that they are our neighbors. It's the spaces that we're developing sometimes are. In neighborhoods adjacent to where my coworkers grew up, and they've seen the transformation that spaces have taken, and so we think a lot about.
Doing things for our neighbors. [00:22:00] Um, we have, uh, in Pittsburgh there are a little, well, they're quite big, um, dinosaurs around the town for the Carnegie Museums. And there's even a, a dinosaur dressed up like Fred Rogers. He had a very famous cardigan he would wear, and every episode would start with him like putting on his shoes.
Um, but again. Doing what's right for our neighbors. We are working in a way to design spaces at Perkins Eastman that are supporting our neighbors because quite literally, our neighbors might be working in these spaces or be, or be teaching in their spaces, or their kids are going to college, um, in spaces that we've designed.
And it's a very, you know, a passion that we have even. At Perkins Eastman right now we're working on this really cool project with a group called the Light Education Initiative, and it is an afterschool [00:23:00] program that is seeking to inspire and empower the next generation of humanitarians and this nonprofit, this organization, the Light Education Initiative, was started by.
My neighbor. Oh, no way. And I could throw a tennis ball from my house to his house. And, um, he started this, um, organization which does such incredible work for K through 12 programs, um,
they have these really great spaces called light centers, which is focused on creating safe spaces in schools for students to become the next generation of leaders. And we're excited to be working with light on some exciting opportunities, and it just goes to show that. You never know what type of, what work your neighbor might be doing, and it will turn into a design project.
Doug: Oh, I love this. Lean into, you know, [00:24:00] your neighborhood a little more. Or even just the word neighborhood just carries an element of friendliness. Um, to it. Gosh. And this, as you were talking about Mr. Rogers, I'm imagining all these people around Pittsburgh with these, uh, WW MRD bracelets on.
Jane: I've never seen any of those.
I wonder if they exist. They must, but we, in Pittsburgh, we know more than anywhere that, that, what do they say? That there's less than two degrees of separation between us in Pittsburgh. I think there's less than half of a degree of separation. Wow. Between us. We show how passionate about we are about our projects and our work and, um, how we are designing them.
The materials that we're using, we're working with. Pittsburgh has an incredible maker community. We have great artisans that are creating, um, things from ceramic tile to lighting to furniture that we are [00:25:00] incorporating into our projects, and it's such a great story to. Work with our neighbors to produce these incredible, um, products for our projects.
And then sharing that joy with our clients that they become, show pieces to them, and it's, we're all supporting our neighbors. So, um, I'm very thankful that we have such an incredible maker and artisan community in Pittsburgh, in that w. We've really embraced at Perkins Eastman, especially in our Pittsburgh studio, incorporating locally made products in , every project.
Doug: You know, I, I think storytelling is. You know, such a big part of obviously picking products, right? It's been
Jane: weaving woven through our book series so far.
Doug: Is there a story you'd love to tell?
Jane: Oh, this is a good one. This probably, uh, this will probably come as no surprise when I get to the punchline for everyone, but [00:26:00] when I was a kid, well, I would go to events and activities with my parents and my, we were always the last ones to leave, and it's because my mom and my dad would talk to every single.
Person.
Doug: It doesn't surprise me
Jane: in the room. I don't know
Doug: them, but it doesn't surprise me. And
Jane: I was always so annoyed as a kid 'cause I just wanted to go do something else. But they talked to everyone. They knew everyone. They knew all of the neighbors up and down the street, wherever event we were at. Like I said, talked to everyone in the room and I have become that exact same person.
When I go to event, I love to talk to every single person in their room. I wanna know everything that's going on with my coworkers and, um, meet our neighbors. I'm the one that's walking our dog through the neighborhood, just like waiting for one of our neighbors to talk to me. Um, but I love knowing the incredible [00:27:00] community that we're working with.
I love, you know, knowing our clients a little bit more. I wanna know what their favorite sports team is. 'cause we also.
Doug: Is this, is this like. Uh, uh, is this a deep curiosity or is this a love of people? Like, which, which one is, or is it, is it somewhere in the middle?
Jane: I'm definitely very curious. Um, but I love talking to people.
Yeah. I think nothing energizes me more than talking to some really interesting people, hearing great stories. I love to hear, you know. More about where people live. I like to hear about, you know, funny stories and funny things that have happened to people because I love watching rom-coms and, you know, feeling good and laughing and um, and so I'm always very interested in just learning more about that.
And I think that's what has made our, um. Industry so unique. It makes, you know, our [00:28:00] studio so unique at Perkins Eastman. These, the coworkers, these are people that I invited to my wedding. Yeah. And that's how close we are with, um, our coworkers, with our friends. Um, and so, yep, whenever, if you invite me to an event, I will be there till the very end there.
Until the end, because I will be talking to every single person, just learning more about them.
Doug: So we had this IIDA round table, uh, here in Chicago in January, and one of the guest speakers was a researcher. Mm-hmm. And professor who uh, was studying like basically social interaction between strangers and the big research.
And it was kind of funny 'cause he tested it on the room and we answered the same as the rest of the world answered. Is that. Basically, uh, he, what he would do is you'd have a stranger that you're gonna talk to and you would, you know, confidentially fill out [00:29:00] how well you expect this to go between one and 10, right?
And then, um, at the end you fill out how well did it go. And inevitably, like everyone has super low expectations. Not you. Okay. Maybe you're an exception. Most people have super low expectations of what a conversation with a stranger would be like. Yet, every time it happens, they, they, outcome is always so much better than what they expected.
And so it's kind of funny, like, like you've already figured this out. You know, like you already, you've already cracked the code. You already know.
Jane: I'm gonna talk about weather sports or how far I probably ran that day, and if one of the, one of those things will be interesting and if all else fails, I'll talk about the environment.
Doug: Well, sports, you know, in Pittsburgh it really just depends, I guess, right?
Jane: Yeah. It's funny [00:30:00] because when I first moved to Pittsburgh. I watched, you know, the sealers and the penguins, but I didn't really care about sports. I actually, um, would tell a lot of, uh, emerging designers or students that I would talk to if, like, it's okay if you don't care about sports, but you just need to know what's happening because you live in Pittsburgh and you need to know if it's baseball season or if it's football season.
And you have to just use that in conversation and then. The more that I did that, then I would get home and then I'm like, well, I know the game's on, so I'll watch that. And now I'm actively beco trying to become more of a pittsburgher all the time. I'll drop a yins in conversation. In Pittsburgh, we say like, Hey, Ys guys.
Okay. Instead of like you all, or Oh, all right. Y'all. We don't say that in Pittsburgh. We say yins yins. So I'm trying to drop yins in email, in conversation, and I just [00:31:00] love the blue collar, um, you know, working class atmosphere of Pittsburgh. I think it's a great place, um, for so many reasons.
Doug: Yeah, this yins thing, it's just got me cracking up.
So like I, you know, I grew up in Connecticut. And, uh, my PE teacher was like a, like a Jersey guy. I remember him. First name was Mark. I can't remember his, his last name, but I can picture him perfectly. And he was always, Hey, you guys shut you's mouth. You know, like it was, that was his like, go-to phrase.
That's like the only thing I remember him ever saying.
Jane: In Pittsburgh, it's almost exactly the same except yins guys. With a Z at the end. That's funny. Wow.
Doug: Wow. Uh, that was quite a fun detour. I'm glad to be went there. You've got one more book on this table. Uh, you'll have to take us through why you've picked this out.
Jane: So this is a particularly hard one that you're probably not gonna read from front to back, but, um, I [00:32:00] brought, it's called the draw down. It's the most comprehensive plan ever proposed to reverse global warming. And what actually really stood out to me about this book is. Really that it talks about avoiding, um, military language.
Doug: Interesting
Jane: because so much, it's as much of the rhetoric and writing about climate change is violent, the war on carbon, the fight against global warming, the frontline battles. Um, I think too that this just. You know, adds to that stress.
Doug: Oh, that doom and gloom. That doom and
Jane: gloom of anxiety. 'cause we're talking about, well we're doing this because we're fighting for the planet and we are.
But it's, you feel a lot of pressure. You feel very small. Um, thinking about how [00:33:00] can I, in my role, make a change that will have a lasting impact. And so I think really it was that line. That sparked my idea for our conversation is, well, if we're not using those types of words in that type of language, to talk about climate, to talk about climate change and the work that we do in interior design and architecture to impact that.
Well, if we're not talking about that way. What else? How else should we think about it? And that's where I thought about with humor, thinking about on the, you know, joy and positivity and thinking about why we do this for our neighbors.
Doug: And I was just about to say, I'm thinking about our neighbors. Like, it just, you've, you've tied it all together so nicely.
Jane: Did I take the punchline from you? No,
Doug: I just, I'm just enthusiastic about it. That's awesome.
Jane: This book in particular has lots of different climate solutions across all different sectors from, um, reducing food waste to, [00:34:00] um, you know. Bio ingredients to empowering girls and women and why that's important to, um, you know, bettering the climate.
And so this is really definitely a coffee table book that you, you know, flip through a little bit, find the topic that, that interests you the most. Um. But it's, you know, incredibly interesting to think about. Again, all of the solutions that are possible within, I'm sure climate, architecture and design is referenced in here as well.
Um, but we all play a unique role, whether it's in the way that we're talking about design or how we're designing the products. Or how we're designing our spaces, these unique opportunities to incorporate, you know, just a little bit to make things better in the work that we do.
Doug: I love it. Um, you, you, you've brought such a positivity today.
Uh, I just, you are the picture of love, what you do, and [00:35:00] I guess I would ask, um, I have a couple love what you do. Questions.
Jane: Okay. Can I, the first
Doug: one? Yeah.
Jane: Can I start with a. Request
Doug: please
Jane: for our listeners. Yes. Um, so we've mentioned a couple of books. Um, I didn't mention exactly. I do have a small Mr.
Rogers book. Um, but between these four that I mentioned, I started with the confession that I haven't read or finished reading these.
Doug: Yes, I love that.
Jane: Which is only so you still
Doug: honest.
Jane: Honest or embarrassing. Um, so I'd like to invite the podcast listeners to read these books with me. Um, if one of the messages from one of these stood out to you, um, hope you'll look for a copy of one.
Um. Let me know, read it. We can read it together. Let's pick a book to start with and see how we can, um, tease out some of these ideas and apply them to material health or to to [00:36:00] design an architecture and talk about that together.
Doug: I absolutely love that. I will join your club.
Jane: My book club. Yes. I, and I'm a terrible book reader.
I'm slow at reading books. You have
Doug: such good intent though. I
Jane: know. I really do. And so that's why I'm hoping, I've gotten invited to other book clubs and I'm like. And they're like, when we review the book, we have a happy hour. And I'm like, I'm a lot better at the happy hour part than the reading the book part, but, um, now I have to stick to it.
These are books and authors that I love and I'm very interested in. So, um, I'll get, use this extra, um, enthusiasm and excitement, um, and interest from the listeners to, to read some of these together.
Doug: You're, you're on record. Like you have. No, I know we have to do this. So
Jane: please, someone tell me you wanna read this with me?
Doug: I'm sure you will get some takers, Jane. Um, alright. Um, I love what you do. Question. This is, um, this [00:37:00] is, you know, every day, like I'm sure every day isn't perfect, right? So how do you love what you do even on days when it's hard to,
Jane: I. I keep a little archive of things, um, either if it's just like in my OneNote on my computer or I've kept, like I've printed out emails that someone has sent.
So on those days where it's really not a lot of fun or it's very challenging, um, I look at these little snips. It might be from a client that says, like, this just went great. Um, we really feel like we're being heard and that this is all coming to life. Um, it might be, um, I've heard from a student, um, from that ACE student mentoring program.
Nice. Um, heard from one student that after our session it [00:38:00] solidified that she wants to go and study interior design in college. Um, and even when. I was more involved in IIDA in our local chapter, putting on an event. Um, got an email from an attendee just saying how awesome it was, how much they loved the conversation.
And I keep those little things nearby and hopefully I find them on days when I'm not feeling so great or when things are challenging, um, that I'll go back and just read those. And it reminds me of that. Awesome. The work awesome that we do is worth doing. That's a Leslie Knob quote from the end of Parks and Rec.
Doug: Oh, nice. Um, that's, that's a beautiful little life hack to that question. And you know, I actually, there's another half of what you said there, which is interesting, which is the person who sent the email. Right. Like it's a great reminder to just [00:39:00] be really generous with our compliments.
Jane: Mm-hmm.
Doug: You know, like I, I think sometimes we feel that we, I think sometimes we don't compliment or we don't validate others because, um, we feel like our compliments are be.
Them
Jane: or it won't matter. Or it won't matter. Yeah, they won't see it and it goes such a long way to just shoot off a quick note. Um, an interesting thing that you heard from them or appreciated that they shared. That goes a long way too. And so maybe other people have little archives of nice notes or things like that that remind them of these, the good times whenever, um, they might be stuck on a really challenging detail or a, you know, a tough DA tough deadline.
It's just something nice to, to look at. And
Doug: everybody loves fan mail. Everybody. They really do. Let's
Jane: bring back fan mail. Let's
Doug: bring back fan mail. Yes. Um, [00:40:00] maybe you'll get some from today's episode. Who knows?
Jane: That would be fun.
Doug: It would be fun. Uh, Jane, you are fantastic.
Jane: Thanks for having me. This is a great time.
We always have a great conversation. Thanks for letting me talk about my favorite things, um, my favorite books that I haven't read, um, to talk about material health, the work that we do at Perkins Eastman, um, that really, you know, fuels my days, um, not a decorator. And yes, Pittsburgh.
Doug: Love it. Thank you, Jane.
Jane: Thank you.