Aspire Design and Home – Designer Friday: Pulp Design Studios
Aspire Design and Home – September 2019
Designer Friday: Pulp Design Studios
By: Andrew Joseph
Beth Dotolo and Carolina Gentry know how to go big. When they launched their interior design firm, Pulp Design Studios, in 2007, they knew that they wanted to make a major impact on the design scene not just locally, but across the country. Now, the design duo has headquarters in Dallas, Seattle, and Los Angeles, where they add color, pattern, and pizazz to residential and commercial spaces looking for something more exciting than the norm. From Asian restaurants to ad executive’s offices, Pulp Design is a small but mighty team with an impressive list of projects and press. Adding elements of their clients’ personality and preference to the spaces they create, Beth and Carolina’s thoughtful and trend-induced regime is widely recognized and revered. Meet the two designers in this week’s Designer Friday!
Andrew Joseph: What’s your go-to bed ritual?
Beth: After I wind down with a great show and a delicious cocktail, I wash my face and go through my aesthetician-directed skin regimen. Then I take CBD drops, apply a lip mask that Carolina turned me onto, and spray my pillow and my husband’s pillow with a lavender & peppermint spray. Then I tell Alexa goodnight to shut the house down.
Carolina: I have to take a shower before I go to bed (I actually take two showers a day). It makes you sleep better and I’m a germ freak so I like for my sheets to be super clean all the time. My husband is the same way. Of course I always wash my face and go thru a five-step process of toners, eye cream, night cream, face vitamins, and serum. I always apply hand lotion and overnight lip mask, too. Women do a lot to themselves every day! As designers, we are running around with sensory overload all day so I’m really into sensory deprivation when sleeping. I always sleep with ear plugs and an eye mask – I know it sounds crazy, but it works for me.
Andrew: Are there qualities in potential clients that you identify that make you know you have to run away?
Beth: When a client wants to be super hands-on and involved, we typically know that is not a good fit for us. While we do have clients who like to be involved, it always costs more in services because it’s hard to see the vision when it’s still in process. The happiest clients are the ones who are super busy, don’t want to lift a finger, and trust our vision and professionalism. We like happy clients and we’ve done a pretty good job with homing in on what we can do to excite our clients even before we sign them on. And they appreciate that about us!
Carolina: I agree with Beth on this one…when a client likes to shop and be hands-on, it always lengthens the design process and results in more hours spent on design services. The projects with the best results and happiest clients are the ones with clients that trust us and let us do our job.
Andrew: If you made a documentary, what would it be about?
Beth: Pulp Design Studios. It should actually be a reality show, but we’d never subject our clients to that. No day is ever the same and we have the best cast of characters who are not only interesting in their own right, but we’re all working together every day to make people’s lives happier, more functional, and… prettier.
Carolina: OMG! Our Pulp Culture! Every day is an adventure at Pulp Design Studios. Never a boring day!
Andrew: Most adventurous thing you’ve done in your life?
Beth: Start Pulp! Nothing is scarier than jumping off on your own. It’s been so challenging and rewarding all at the same time. So glad I have Carolina with me on this wild ride.
Carolina: For sure starting Pulp. I would have never done it without Beth. She is the cliff jumper and I’m the devil’s advocate. That is what has made us such a great team. Well, that and our fierce girl boss power, amazing personalities, and design talent…wink, wink.
Andrew: What’s your current TV obsession?
Beth: I like a good mix… think anything Bravo, mixed with an epic Sunday night drama. Right now I’m re-watching Game of Thrones, along with Big Little Lies and The Handmaid’s Tale. My latest favorite find was the two-season comedy Friends from College on Netflix. I love a good TV show!
Carolina: I’m just obsessed with TV! I really should read more but it cuts into my TV time. I watch a ton of documentaries, love the Vice network, CNN, and PBS. But my true love is Bravo and HBO, any of those shows are always lunch-time topics in the office and are part of our office culture.
About The Designers | Beth Dotolo and Carolina Gentry co-founded Pulp Design Studios in 2007, growing the company into a major brand beyond interior design, including a fabric collection for S.Harris/Fabricut, and their own private label collection of hardware and home entertaining items.
With headquarters in Dallas, Seattle, and Los Angeles and a forward-thinking approach to commerce and design, the duo has established a unique viewpoint that combines luxury design and a flair for the unexpected.
Today, Pulp Design Studios expertly encompasses the realms of retail, interiors, and product design, as the company brings a sense of adventure to the business of design.
Beth and Carolina are known as influencers with an uncanny ability to understand brands and influence consumers, and are followed by tens of thousands of people around the globe.
