A Conversation With ... Melissa Turpin

Tell us about your company.

I opened Unique Tile in 1988. We're a wholesale distributor of tile and stone. We have 15 to 20 employees. We import tiles and buy from manufacturers, and then we sell them to stores. The Carpet Shoppe is one of our dealers that local people know; KPC is one of our dealers. We buy the tile, warehouse it and sell it to people who sell (tile and stone) by the job. We are an industry partner of (the American Society of Interior Designers). I'm also president of The Resource Room, a wholesale showroom for interior designers. It's a sister company that's next door (to Unique Tile). The Resource Room opened in 2000 and has three employees, selling fabric, flooring and everything else (for interior design) wholesale.

How do you stay on top of interior design trends?

I'm in the Color Marketing Group, an international group of people who predict colors that are coming - what's hot now, what's hot in the future. When an interior designer comes in and specifies (a color scheme) for a hotel, if she uses the colors that are current, in five years, all that stuff's going to be out of style, right? An interior designer's got to know what's coming, so that the colors are going to last not five years, but maybe 10 years.

What colors do Color Marketing Group expect to be hot - or not - on the horizon?

Mauve is the next (big) color. Purple is coming in again. Green is going out, and it's being replaced with blue. Gold is going out. There's always some basic, neutral color in a person's house that they work with. In the past, it's been gold, but it's moving toward more of a mushroom color, more in the taupe family.

When does your term as Springfield Design Association president end? Tell us about the group.

There's not a specific term limit, and nobody else wants the job, so who knows when my term will be up. We've actually considered not having a president and vice president, but somebody's got to manage the business part, and that's what I do. We meet once a month, and we learn about something new each month (such as) electronics ... and how to specify for and what to do with (technology-heavy) areas. Next month, we'll go to National Art Shop and learn how to order art and how to come up with some unique things that aren't readily available around Springfield.

What are some key issues local interior designers face?

One of the biggest challenges ... is for people to understand what they do. The minute you say interior designer, it automatically (creates a mindset) that it's going to be too expensive. But an interior designer will actually save you money a lot of times. Designers buy everything wholesale, and they pass those discounts on. Designers know what they're doing so that (customers) don't buy paint that won't work, or things that don't fit, or out-of-date colors, on the residential side. On the commercial side, you have to have an interior designer for the most part, because of life-safety issues. People don't realize, a lot of times, the technical side of the designer's work. Our biggest challenge is making people understand the value. ... Interior designers actually work to keep people safe in an environment, meeting (Americans with Disabilities Act) requirements and (looking at) fire ratings and selecting products that will last.

How is SDA helping to increase awareness of interior designers' roles?

I think we're going to start participating in ArtWalk a little bit to get the word out (with) designers' color boards. (Those are) a work of art, and I think if we could do ArtWalk, it would get more people interested.

Tell us about your family.

My husband, Paul, works at Unique Tile. He's like the conservative side of me. We have no children, but my employees are like family. We have several cats, including two at the office. My mom lives next door to me. We live out in the country, so we do some gardening.Interview by Features Editor Maria Hoover.