I’ve Got A VERY Exciting Announcement… And By “I,” I Mean “We” (Any Guesses???)

Many of you may remember 2019 (remember 2019?) when I released my first Skillshare class. It was a 10 part series breaking down how to find and implement your style – think my book, Styled, but in video form. It turns out that a lot of you spent a lot of time watching it (like, millions of minutes spent watching – thank you very, very, very much if you tuned in), so today we are launching the new series…but it’s not just me. And it’s not just about my style. 

When Skillshare and I got together and brainstormed what a sequel for 2021 would look like, we asked ourselves a few questions. How do we add in more perspectives? Can we feature more design styles? Can we highlight more budgets? How do we make this helpful for an even larger at-home audience looking for home inspiration? (Not sure if you know, but the home design/renovation world has exploded since March.) 

And the answer was obvious: we’d bring in three of my friends, colleagues, and favorite people in the design/blog world to teach their own classes, rooted in their specific artistic processes. So today, I’m excited to share that my second Skillshare series featuring Mikel Welch, Arlyn Hernandez, and Albie Buabeng is live RIGHT NOW. (If you’re like, “hey lady, we get it, I’m already sold, show us!” – here is the direct link where you can watch the classes and get two months of Skillshare for free.) 

Now, even I learned so much from each of these lessons – they’re full of actionable and easy-to-follow instructions, charming smiles, and while sure, I’m personal friends with them…I have to say that watching these folks teach just made me feel so, so, so good. At the end of each class, you can even watch me have a little debrief with them – it’s a fun behind-the-scenes conversation where we chat more personally about design and life. 

But enough about me – let me introduce you to these lessons!!! And again, a million thank yous to Skillshare for allowing us the opportunity to shoot a new series alongside such incredibly talented, hilarious, vibrant friends. Anyway, here’s what you’ll be learning in Season 2…

Mikel Welch – Luxe Design on a Budget

Fun fact – Mikel was an intern very briefly on Secrets From a Stylist. I clearly take zero credit for how his career skyrocketed, but I sure have enjoyed watching it. As a set designer for a lot of TV shows, he knows how to think about making a huge impact in a wallet-friendly, affordable way. Think high-end DIY tricks that he employs in his own house, to help make your home full of personality and ‘wow’ moments, without having a celebrity budget. Plus he’s INSANELY CHARMING, so fun to be around and an altogether generous human being.

And he’s so fun to watch, too. In Luxe Design on a Budget, Mikel will walk you around his own apartment (which looks like a million bucks, BTW) and explain how he planned his space from inspiration to execution – it’s awesome for all of you more analytical thinkers out there who love a step-by-step process. 

He also breaks down where to spend, where to save, and how to translate high-end pieces into your own, realistic budget. (When we worked on class outlines, this particular section of Mikel’s class was called Making Your Space Luxurious AF, so in case it wasn’t clear already, this class is a TOTAL BLAST.) 

My favorite part, though, is hearing him talk about the art of the mix and match – you’ll have to watch his class to see the two super affordable pieces he relies on for making every room sing And in case he didn’t do enough, Mikel also managed to assemble a gallery wall in real-time. I know how we do it here at EHD after years and years of practice, but it was SO HELPFUL watching him break it down in such a quippy, bright, hilarious way. 

Arlyn Hernandez – How to Make Your Inspiration a Reality

There she is, the lovely woman who dedicated two years of her life to this blog and the one we miss every day In her class, Arlyn walks you through the process of how to take your inspiration and actually turn it into your room. Arlyn will moodboard a hypothetical room (I love a case study) and show the process of design for her own living room as well – you know, the one we ran here on EHD – which will show you how a moodboard gets manifested into a real-life room.

If you’ve ever struggled with layouts, design-induced analysis paralysis, budgeting/sourcing woes, or wished you could try on a few different styles in your room…this is the class for you. She’ll break down finding inspiration, how to figure out where to put things, planning for weird-shaped rooms, and how to navigate the “should it be functional or should it be pretty” paradox. And while you’re probably familiar with Arlyn’s written voice, hearing her in real life is SUCH A TREAT. I’m so excited to share this smart, warm, beautiful lady with all of you!  

Arlyn’s such a talented communicator and I couldn’t have asked her to pick a better, more helpful topic. Guys, designing can be HARD – you’re often left with a lot of “what ifs” or you can be bitten by the self-doubt monster (“does this actually look good or do I think this just looks good?”), but this class can really give you a framework to make you feel more confident about designing your own space. Arlyn even walks you through her own problem room – again, you’ll have to watch to see what it is – so you can hear her talk through her own thought process in real-time and how she designed around some tricky architecture. It’s such an incredible resource and I can see myself referring my team, my friends, and readers to this class for years to come. SO GOOD, ARLYN. 

Albie Buabeng – Reversible Design: Fun and Fabulous Ideas for Renters & Commitment-Phobes

And of course, last but not least – our own Albie Buabeng! When I heard that Albie’s class was going to be called Reversible Design, I was like, oh shooooot, well that’s genius (she’s got a marketing background if you can’t tell). Albie’s class is all about taking your home to the next level without losing your security deposit – or, if you’re an owner, it can help you try-on different styles in your home before making any permanent choices. It’s a direct action class, full of specific tips, which you know I love. 

Not to get too proud here, but there’s something really empowering about seeing a stylish, talented woman teach others about the tools they should have in their home and then showing us – in real-time!!! – how to use those tools. I can’t wait for people to watch Albie handling these DIY projects in her own home (you’ll see her swapping lighting, hardware, and more) and for these folks to then walk away feeling confident in their ability to make changes in their own homes. We all deserve to live in a place that we love, owners or not  

By the end of this class, you’ll feel powerful in taking on projects around your own home, knowing that you can un-design them later. I know for a fact that my team, made up of renters, LOVED this class. I also had such an incredible chat with Albie that you’ll be able to watch at the end – we had the best time talking about our projects, our homes, and the value of learning to handle things on your own. I can’t wait for y’all to see it. 

Just Some Fun BTS

Now that you know the classes, I just wanted to take a second to call out ALL of the folks involved in bringing this second season to life. When we shot our first series, Skillshare sent a crew to my house and we spent the whole day filming, styling, and laughing together. Since that wasn’t an option this year (something about a global pandemic), Skillshare had to figure out how to shoot safely. 

And that’s where, for me, Brian Henderson stepped in. We’re lucky enough to have film gear in the house – Brian shoots and edits video content professionally – but basically, we had to set up Zooms with the whole Skillshare team where they watched us set up, helped us frame our shots, analyzed our video footage, monitored our sound levels, and guided us through the whole shooting process remotely. It was an unprecedented shoot for an unprecedented time.

Now, you’ll hear more from the other contributors in the coming weeks about their own shoots – I wanted to give them space to talk about their processes and let them explain their classes in their own words – but to that end, I just wanted to say a big thank you to Mikel, Arlyn, and Albie for agreeing to partner on this project with me. I’d also like to thank Kaye Toal (our Skillshare producer, who is hilarious!), Jack Pollock (Caitlin’s counterpart, and the guy who helped us lock this in), and Alex Gomez Garcia, Alejandro Garcia, and Hassanah Abdul-Wahid (all of whom had to hang around on a lot of Zoom calls and give Brian and I explicit instructions to make sure we were recording the right thing so that it looked and sounded professional). I’m so proud of what we’ve all made together and I can’t wait for everyone to see it.

So if you are home, staring at your walls, not satisfied with your space and paralyzed or scared to start – we’ve got you. We’re teaching a ton of new information from different perspectives and featuring people I really trust. The classes are beginner-friendly, with tips for all…and plus, if you like being a voyeur, you can hang out with (or just watch) me and my dear friends at the end. So stop scrolling on your phone, and get yourselves over to Skillshare to check out our new series. Arlyn, Mikel, Albie, and I will be there waiting. xx

One final thank you to the fine folks at Skillshare for allowing me to gift each of you two months of their awesome service for free. We want to make sure that EVERYONE gets to see this project that we all worked so hard on and I can’t wait for you to get to know Mikel, Albie, and Arlyn in a one-on-one setting. So one final call to action: head here, sign up, watch away, and make sure to drop a note so we can see what you’ve learned. 

The post I’ve Got A VERY Exciting Announcement… And By “I,” I Mean “We” (Any Guesses???) appeared first on Emily Henderson.

from Emily Henderson https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/skillshare-design-classes-intro