Interior Design Pro Shane Reilly on Why Wellness Décor is the Next Big Home Fitness Trend
Show Snapshot:
When the pandemic moved workouts into our living room, interior design pro and serial entrepreneur Shane Reilly tripped over her ugly hand weights and had a lightbulb moment. What came next was Obshay—a first-of-a-kind company bringing wellness décor to market in the form of decorative, sculptural hand weights. We get into home design trends and why wellness decor is a natural evolution of fitness products in daily life (think athleisure and wearable tech like Fitbit). We also get into the benefits of weightlifting, how to incorporate “micro-movements” in your day, and what it takes to build (and sell) companies. Shane has sold two companies, one to Minted.com and one to the Gilt Group.
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Quotable:
The idea of Obshay is all about, what are the products that we can have around us that make it convenient to get more healthy, that look beautiful, and must succeed first, with a level of high design?
Transcript:
Katie Fogarty 0:03
Welcome to A Certain Age, a show for women are unafraid to age out loud. Beauties, I am beyond excited to introduce you to our guest today. She is a serial entrepreneur and author. She is the definition of creativity, innovation, reinvention. She has impeccable taste. She began her career in luxury interior design, wrote an interior design book, then founded two home decor businesses that were acquired by Minted.com and the Gilt Groupe, major players in the home decor and lifestyle space. Somehow not on her resume is the fact that she is my cousin. Shane Reilly joins me today to fill us in on her latest company called Obshay, a first of a kind company offering wellness decor in the form of decorative sculptural hand weights. If you moved your workouts into your living room during the pandemic, or think wellness decor is your Peloton bike doubling as a clothing hanger, stick around and learn what sparked the idea for wellness decor products designed to build muscle while elevating the beauty of your living space. Welcome, Shane.
Shane Reilly 1:10
Hi, Katie.
Katie Fogarty 1:11
This is so fun. You are the very first family member to be on this podcast. It's just, you know, such a treat and I'm really excited. So thank you for being with me. And also thank you for waking up very early on the west coast to join me for this early morning session.
Shane Reilly 1:30
No problem at all. I'm excited to be here. And I always get up early, so that's okay.
Katie Fogarty 1:34
Well, we do not have that in common. That's like a family difference because I love to sleep late. But you're here, we're going to talk about your design background. I know that you are lifelong creative, I know you paint as a team, you, you bring a very visionary eye to luxury interior design. You launched two out of the box interiors companies powered by technology and I want to hear what sparked the idea for Obshay and what exactly is wellness decor?
Shane Reilly 1:59
Well, the original idea actually came during the pandemic, when I stood up from my desk after a long Zoom call and tripped over the dumbbells that I was storing under my desk. I thought to myself, Why are these under my desk, they're under my desk because they're ugly. And it led me to thinking, Well, I know how to make things beautiful. I know what it means to have an object that looks like sculpture that would be accepted by the world of interior designers and such, and just got me thinking like, maybe I could create that.
Katie Fogarty 2:28
Yeah, it makes so much sense because there's been such a, I think a shift around how we have products in our home. I think of you know, the MoMA design store where you can go in and you could find like architectural like ice cream scoopers or, you know, gorgeous vegetable peelers, and we've seen this sort of elevation of our spaces. I think of, I think Instagram's played a role in that. You know, our homes are beautiful, you look at children's nurseries in the home, you see, you know, gorgeous cribs, there's the opportunity to have beautiful products in our home. So, you know, was that something, you know, was it the sense that we could, can tell us a little bit more about, you know, why a weight, why something on your desk and, and the, you know, sort of how you, you took this aha moment of, you know, weights are ugly and actually turned it into a physical product.
Shane Reilly 3:22
Well, what I've seen over my career is it home tends to follow fashion, although it often is years later and a much slower process because the home industry doesn't move quite as fast. And when I think about where, what we've seen changes in fashion over the last couple of decades is of course this whole movement towards athleisure. And clothes being made for an active lifestyle, clothes you can move in, clothes we feel, you feel good in that actually make you healthier. Like a classic example is you know, because so many of us wear sneakers now instead of four inch heels, we're more likely to take the stairs or go for a walk in the middle of the day. So of course those things are good for us. We wear yoga pants to work many of us, were looking for more out of our clothes. And I really believe that home will follow in the same, in the same path. And so you already see lots of trends in the home space, probably led by, you know, the rise of luxury spas and, you know, wonderful places to go for wellness retreats and such.But you're, you're seeing those, the types of elements from those kinds of spaces entering our homes. So architecturally, people are looking for larger windows, for more light. We're looking to bring in natural elements like fire and water and natural stones and woods and such, and this is of course coming into our, the style and aesthetic where you see even color palettes featuring lots of greens and blush pinks and neutrals. I mean, just scroll through Instagram or look around on Pinterest and these are the types of things that are dominating. And I think that comes from this desire to feel comfortable in our, in our spaces and to have our homes really help us feel better in them.
Katie Fogarty 5:13
Yeah.
Shane Reilly 5:13
And then, yeah, go ahead, sorry.
Katie Fogarty 5:15
No, no, go, keep going.
Shane Reilly 5:16
I was just gonna say I, to me, so I see all this happening, and it has been happening for a while. And then, you know, I think during the pandemic, this kind of went into an accelerated, it started accelerating, because as you mentioned, of course, you started seeing sort of, in popular culture, like people having their Peletons in the backgrounds and people bringing weights into their living room and trying to figure out, you know, what am I going to do, my gym is closed. So, you know, actually moving and lifting and getting fit is like, you know, a whole other level, of course, than just sort of, you know, dealing with natural fabrics. But I really believe this is, we're gonna see more and more of this in the future. Because at the end of the day, even though your, to use a Peloton example, it's a beautiful machine and it's way more attractive than the many bikes that came before it, it still is a machine, and it's still a piece of equipment. And so the idea of Obshay is all about, what are the products that we can have around us that make it convenient to get more healthy, that look beautiful, and must succeed, first, with a level of high design?
Katie Fogarty 5:19
Yeah, absolutely. This makes so much, so much sense to me. I mean, I, my yoga studio closed during the pandemic, and all of a sudden, I was exercising in my living room. And it did make me rethink my mat, because I had like a very ugly yoga mat that I didn't need, you know, hanging around in my space. And wellness really is woven into our lives. You mentioned athleisure now being a fashion staple, we have wearable tech like Fitbits. You know, we have this sense that wellness is sort of integrated in how we live our daily lives versus simply heading to the gym and having wellness take place there. So you know, I'm hoping that listeners are going to hop over to your Instagram or Obshay.com to take a look at the decorative weights that we're talking about because they are swirls that really look like sculptures, and you call them decorative weights designed to lift. Can you walk us through a little bit about how you created this product and married form and function?
Shane Reilly 7:22
Sure. So once I had the idea, I just started sketching and started thinking about ideas that I thought might work. And then of course I looked at my own home as reference and then my, just the compendium of ideas I have in my head from all of my years, you know, as, you know, first as an interior designer and then my various businesses, and I have a habit of going to trade shows for fun and such. And I've just been, I've just always been passionate about the home industry. So I started widely looking, looking broadly, and what are all the objects that would make sense. And then I really fell in love with the idea of a Mobius swirl, which is the original inspiration for my first shape, which is a swirl. It's not a perfect Mobius swirl because I spent two years perfecting the grip to make sure it was comfortable to hold, comfortable to pick up, comfortable to put down because I didn't want to feel like, I didn't want it, I didn't want the products to feel like you were picking up just, you know, a vase in your house that could have been made with marble or, or, you know, silver or something like that. This needed to be an object that was beautiful and succeeded as a home decor object, but really was designed to lift.
Katie Fogarty 8:41
Shane, we're heading into a quick break, but when we come back I want you to walk us through what does make the grip so comfortable and silky, what is the, you know, what is the weight, what is the material, and fill us in on that?
AD BREAK
Shane, we're back. We were talking about the Mobius swirl inspiration for your product and how you spent two years perfecting the grip, making it comfortable. I'm literally holding one in my hand right now as we speak and it, and it is comfortable, it is silky. Tell us, you know, what is in this product? When we talk about a decorative weight, what is the poundage? You know, let our listeners in, what does it feel like to hold this in your hand?
Shane Reilly 9:21
Sure. So first of all, the product is made with a really silky smooth silicone over iron. So the iron is for the weight and the silicone is for the feel. And it was really important to me to, being that I'm a designer and I love fine furniture, that the product be able to be put down on any table surface and not scratch it. And I'm the person at dinner parties who's always going around giving everyone a coaster. I just, I can't, get anxious when I see a wine glass -
Katie Fogarty 9:55
I think you got that from your mom or maybe, or maybe our shared aunt Jane. She's, she's a fan of the coaster, she's a fan of the coaster.
Shane Reilly 10:03
Yes, yes. And so and then you know, of course, one thing that I also can't stand when I would lift, would lift other weights is that it would scratch my rings. So I also have always had, you know, gloves or lifting weights, or I've tried to wear them as much as possible, but that's a real pain. So it was really important to figure out how to make this really easy to set down, also to pick up. And the shape of the grip took a lot of effort as well. I basically tested hundreds of people. I would bring, I would make 3d print samples of it and bring it to events and say Hey, could you just pick this up and tell me what you think? All different kinds of sizes. I mean, I brought it to my manicure salon, I brought it to parties. I just would walk around with 3d printed weights.
Katie Fogarty 10:48
You are very buff at this, I mean, I want to see your arm, Shane. Too bad we're recording is over audio, not video, because if you've been carrying these around for two years, you are in shape, my friend.
Shane Reilly 11:01
Oh, well, thank you. But sadly, I need to tell you that a 3d printed model is very light.
Katie Fogarty 11:07
Because these are four pounds, right? These are four pound weights.
Shane Reilly 11:10
Yes, exactly. So the finished product now is four pounds. And I'm coming out with larger and heavier ones and also other shapes and colors. But yes.
Katie Fogarty 11:20
I love it. So, you know, we're lifting these four pound weights. I know your website talks about using these decorative weights is something, in something that you're calling moveable moments. You know, what is that concept? Why is weight training important? And why do you, you know, why is this on your desk? Why should listeners be excited about this product?
Shane Reilly 11:39
Sure, yes. Well, I'll start with why weight training is important. You know, I think there's a lot of data out there that says, you know, weight training is so important for, you know, boosting your brain health, maintaining your muscle, which has a significant impact on your overall longevity and health, fighting bone loss, increasing metabolism, reducing anxiety, improving your sleep. I mean, there's all these reasons and there's a ton of information out there about why it's so important. And I would recommend that, you know, people still go lift weights, you know, three or four times a week, as much as you can with, you know, full body workout. But to your question, what what I'm focused on with Obshay is movable moments. So these are short opportunities throughout your day, maybe it'll only even be three minutes, five minutes, maybe 10, where you can actually lift weights to make sure that you actually get it done. Because what I found is there's days where I meant to go lift weights or get to the gym or, or do something active, and I didn't get there. And meanwhile, I'm just sitting at my desk all day or standing. And so the idea is, again, you don't have a beautiful object that is convenient, and easy to pick up and put down. You don't need to change into workout clothes. So I focus on three types of moveable moments. The first one is at your desk called desk moves. These are things, movements you can do, you can even do them while on a Zoom call often, beneath the camera. Just keep you know, pick up the object and, and lift a little. And then there's also house moves, like while you're standing around, waiting for your kids or, or watching something or having a conversation with your partner or what have you. Waiting for your coffee, pick up an Obshay and just do some reps. And then of course, full body active moves where you know, I think we all started talking about this during the pandemic, but this new realization that it's really important for us to get up and move at least once an hour. So move arms, legs, your whole body, and you might as well grab a weight and incorporate that in.
Katie Fogarty 13:45
Yeah, it makes so much sense. I mean, I sit at my desk a lot as well, for my work, for my day job. And I actually set my iPhone to ring every 25 minutes to get up and do a quick stretch because I found that it helps my back. This notion of micro moments where we capitalize on these tiny chunks of time I think is so so smart because the theme of micro has been repeated on many shows that I've recorded with people. I've had people talking about, you know, I guess sort of most famously, micro joys. I had the author of that book on to talk about finding like little moments of joy in your every day to sort of boost mood and to stabilize you during really hard times. But I've, we've talked about you know, I had a wonderful orthopedist, orthopedic surgeon come on to talk about the importance of like micro movements, just like balancing on one leg while you brush your teeth. These tiny, tiny moments of time can be turned into actual fitness that that helps us and this this notion of doing small reps, I think it feels so manageable when we, in modern life.
Shane Reilly 14:56
Absolutely. And I think especially if anyone has had an injury, like I had an injured shoulder a year ago and you really, it really makes you slow down and think through, what are the small things I can do every day to get a little bit better and back to the strength that I had. And so I think, you know, as we as we age, we sometimes need to recalibrate about our expectations, about our own physical fitness.
Katie Fogarty 15:23
Yeah, absolutely. And we have to work on it. You know, we, I had a wonderful fitness expert, Amanda Thebe, on the show, and she talked about the notion that, you know, what you're doing today is going to impact your your health in 10 years. So you know, we want to incorporate these these daily movements, we want to build bone strength and muscle mass, because that's what keeps our bodies functioning. It's not just about, you know, how we look, it's how we feel and how we operate. So you outlined sort of three broad areas where you think the, the Obshay weights can be used, you know, at your desk, and during different moments where you're maybe in your home waiting for your coffee to brew. How would somebody who purchases your products, be inspired and see some of these workouts? Do you anticipate sharing videos? Do you expect that a customer might, you know, just find that kind of, that workout inspiration elsewhere? What's your thinking on this?
Shane Reilly 16:23
Sure. So we have started building out a library of videos to inspire the different use cases for Obshay. So those can be found on our website and YouTube channel, and will start appearing on Instagram.
Katie Fogarty 16:37
So exciting. So where can listeners find, tell us your website? I'll put it in the show notes. But while we're talking about it, where can they find you?
Shane Reilly 16:45
Sure, it's up Obshay.com, which is o-b-s-h-a-y.com. And that's a great place to start. And we're also on Instagram at @obshayshop.
Katie Fogarty 16:55
Phenomenal. So you're starting with a line of decorative weights. Do you see expanding this product line? I know you mentioned different colors and sizes, do you see other products coming down the road?
Shane Reilly 17:07
Absolutely, there'll be different shapes for different places in the home or office and different colors as well as decorative bases for them to sit on.
Katie Fogarty 17:16
Okay, phenomenal. I love that you have this gorgeous sort of crystal base that, that the weight can, you know, sit on. It really does make it look like a sculpture, it's so clear that you have such a beautiful creative eye. And I would love to switch gears for a minute because your career arc is really creativity as a through line, you worked as an interior designer creating beautiful spaces you democratize access to design via you know, this technology and platforms that you built, that you sort of spun off and sold to other companies. And you've really applied this design vision in different disciplines. And I'm just curious, because you've sort of reinvented your career in different ways, even though there's been this sort of common through line. Do you, do you see that in yourself? Do you think it's easier to reinvent when there is a through line of interests and skills? What's your take on how you've been able to have these different career iterations for yourself?
Shane Reilly 18:12
Well, I guess I would say, I would agree with you, I think I'm sort of fundamentally a creative person. But there's really probably two kinds of creativity. The first is I mean, I do love interior design. I love the spaces, the products, the process, the people involved, and so I just continuously gravitate towards beautiful products and spaces. And because I follow it, it's, it's easy for me to think of the different components of a new business, which is probably honestly the second part of creativity, I see that I have, I guess, which is I love to think about creating new businesses. It's probably a form of creativity for me.
Katie Fogarty 18:56
Absolutely. I think that launching something and bringing something new into the world is such a creative process. For a listener who's thinking, I want to do what Shane's doing. You know, I would love to launch an interior design company, I would love to bring a physical product to market. I've had my own aha moment, but I'm kind of stopped. You know, I, let's, this is sort of a two part question. Do you think it's easier to offer a service based business as you did in the beginning with interior design work? Or is there, or bringing a physical product to the market, which, which has been easier for you?
Shane Reilly 19:34
Well, there, of course, are hard and easy -
Katie Fogarty 19:38
Probably neither of them are easy, right? But you know -
Shane Reilly 19:40
Uh, yes. Let's go with that.
Katie Fogarty 19:41
- you've done, you've done both, you know, you've done both. So you know, what's the difference?
Shane Reilly 19:47
Right. The difference is, well, you say, there's service businesses, but I would, another version of that might be digital businesses. So my first business Decorati that sold to Gilt Groupe was a digital platform, it was a marketplace type thing. And then my second business Guildery was digital, but we had a physical product, we were digitally printing fabrics and soft goods. And that kind of led me to this place of like, I really, I do really like making physical products. So for me, it's been a journey. So I don't know, if I could say one is harder or easier. But probably, I would say that getting started is easier with digital services. Because look, it's become so easy to make a website, to test things on social media and just kind of get moving without a ton of overhead, really different than even it was 10 years ago. With physical product, there isn't really a fast or cheap way to start. You have to, you know, have factories and industrial designers, you have to put up a bunch of capital in the beginning, and you don't see the results for a long time. So if I, if you're making me choose Katie, I would say physical products are harder.
Katie Fogarty 20:59
Physical products, I know but there's something so beautiful about offering something tangible. And you know, it's funny, because I've worked in service based businesses as well, you know, I, I wrote, you know, sort of advertising and marketing copy for years for people, I now offer sort of career coaching, and I create, you know, branding materials for people. And I like doing this, but it's hard, it's hard to scale, a service based business. And sometimes the allure of just sort of bringing something to market and seeing it exist in a physical space, to be on a shelf, feels really exciting. But I think you're right, it's very capital intensive. So, you know, how does that work for you? Are you self funded? Are you looking, you know, to do capital raising, you know, what would be your advice to somebody who's thinking, I do want to go that route? You know, walk us through a little bit of your thinking about how you get started and get the capital?
Shane Reilly 21:57
Sure. Well, my prior two businesses, I did raise money. My first investor was Peter Thiel. And then my second business, I had phenomenal investors, like Forerunner and Cowboy Ventures, and BVG and more. And so I have been down that path of raising money before and seeing how, when you are the founder, then a lot of what you do is spending your time managing that process and preparing for the next one. And for this go around, I just decided I mean, A, you know, we'll see what is the right form of capital for this business in the long run. But for now, I just said, I want to create something. And so I've just been self funded.
Katie Fogarty 22:39
I absolutely love that spirit, you've created incredible companies in the past, you've been able to successfully sell, sell them and move on, and you're up to something that's so exciting right now. Not only are you creating this new product, you're actually creating an entirely new category of products that does not yet exist, right, this notion of wellness decor. And I can see this taking hold, you're really launching something that's eventually going to be in a Restoration Hardware or, you know, Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel. This is, at some point, we're going to look back and wellness decor is going to be something that's fully integrated into our lives. And I'm so excited to be talking to you at the very beginning of this. I am curious, you created these other companies in the past, but you're taking a very big swing, you know, with this, with this idea of creating a new physical product and an entirely new category of products. Do you think aging and getting older and being more experienced has played any role in your ability to take this big swing and this big risk?
Shane Reilly 23:48
Absolutely. And the reason for that is I'm motivated daily. I'm aging right alongside with everyone else, cohort of midlife people. And you know, I think about my health every day. And so it's, I feel like this is something that's authentic to who I am and what I spend my time thinking about.
Katie Fogarty 24:09
Yeah, and you've also, you're pulling from all these past experiences with different companies and different you know, the ups and downs, the roller coaster of being an entrepreneur, I imagine that that actually makes it easier to think about sort of putting yourself into this new lane.
Shane Reilly 24:26
Yes, it does. Thank you.
Katie Fogarty 24:28
Yeah, well, I'm so thrilled. Shane, I know you've got a special offer for everyone who's listening today. Before we move into our speed round, I would love for you to pass it on to A Certain Age listeners.
Shane Reilly 24:40
Sure, your listeners can go to Obshay.com It's o-b-s-h-a-y.com and use the promo code Katie15 at checkout for 15% off.
Katie Fogarty 24:52
You can have one of these on your desk, listeners. I'm swinging it right now. I love it. All right, Shane. We're gonna move into our speed right and this is a great, it's like a big moveable moment. We're ending on a high energy note. If you you know already have an Obshay, or if you've got somebody that's four pounds and you're listening to this, put in your hand while we do this, the speed round. So this is one to two word answers to close. Launching Obshay was:
Shane Reilly 25:20
Invigorating.
Katie Fogarty 25:21
Nice. My Obshay swirl lives here in my own home:
Shane Reilly 25:25
Everywhere. They're all over.
Katie Fogarty 25:28
Oh my god, I love it. I would love to see Obshay on the shelf of this hotel or spa:
Shane Reilly 25:34
Miraval.
Katie Fogarty 25:35
Ooh, nice. Your product is designed to help build muscle and improve wellness. What's another product or activity that helps keep you fit?
Shane Reilly 25:43
Spinning. I'm an avid spinner.
Katie Fogarty 25:45
Nice. Entrepreneurship is a roller coaster. This lifestyle choice or activity keeps me calm:
Shane Reilly 25:51
Spending time with friends.
Katie Fogarty 25:53
Finally, your one word answer to complete the sentence, as I age I feel:
Shane Reilly 25:57
Energized.
Katie Fogarty 25:59
I love it. Shane, I feel energized from talking to you. I'm so excited about what you're bringing to market. I love the fact that you are my first family member who's been on this podcast. Thank you so much for joining me.
Shane Reilly 26:11
Thank you for having me, Katie.
Katie Fogarty 26:13
Yeah, it's been fun. So I want everyone to know that my own Obshay sits on my home office bookshelf. If you want an Obshay of your own, Shane has that generous discount code that she just shared with you all. Please use code Katie15 at checkout, that's code k-a-t-i-e one five. Before we say goodbye, how can people find you and Obshay?
Shane Reilly 26:32
They can go to Obshay.com which is o-b-s-h-a-y.com or they can go to Instagram @obshayshop or they can email me at shane@obhsay.com.
Katie Fogarty 26:45
Fantastic. I'll put all of that into the show notes. Thank you, Shane. This wraps A Certain Age, a show for women who are aging without apology. Before we say goodbye, a massive thank you to everyone who has taken time to write an Apple podcast review. I see and appreciate you. Creating this podcast is so much fun, but it's also an extraordinary amount of work. I love seeing reviews that hype the show up. You are the best. Special thanks to Michael Mancini who composed and produced our theme music. See you next time and until then, age boldly beauties.