KCB Boiler Room Podcast

Last year we were lucky to have Steve Payne of Payne|Buchier Builders on a panel discussion titled “Preservation Vs. Performance,” and we wanted to bring him back to the Boiler Room to revisit two moments—which we played recordings of on the boombox. We also wanted to hear his origin story–which is amazing! In his youth, Steve hitchhiked across the country doing all sorts of jobs in pursuit of actualizing the knowledge he learned from both his father and his Hampshire College geology professor. This fellow woodworker and mountain climber proved to be a major influence on Steve.Steve’s life is also reflective of deep, life-long friendships and profound love, with an acerbic, hair-trigger wit that always brings a laugh or elevates a story.We were blown away with how much of Steve’s story IS the history of Boston’s lumber and woodworking scene. With a start at Downes Lumber, the first company to deliver with a horseless carriage, and continuing at Dixon Brothers, Steve eventually opened up Payne|Bouchier. Kevin also knew and worked with many of this generation who have long passed, so it was a welcomed and heartfelt trip down memory lane.Musically, Steve’s a blues man and has been lucky to see many of these greats live, including in Boston’s historic jazz clubs which have come and gone. Lightnin’ Hopkins, Johnny Copeland, and Delta were some of the legends he mentioned, along with the time he saw B.B. King, Chuck Berry, and Bo Diddley live on the Common.

Editor in Chief of New England Home magazine, Jenna Talbott, stopped by the Boiler Room for a conversation and to sign our copies of It’s Lonely in the Modern World: The Essential Guide to Form, Function and Ennui, a book she co-authored with writer Molly Jane Quinn. Published in 2011, their book expanded on their now infamous Tumblr, Unhappy Hipsters, that struck such a nerve that within hours of the first post The New York Times took notice and made it viral. Quickly, they had a book deal on their hands. And this all started with them making up their own “imagined and irreverent” captions to the gorgeous photos in Dwell magazine.We wanted to know more about this amazing story but to also hear what Jenna had to say about Boston’s design scene and then some. Her Mixtape Story quickly morphed into a story of Boston’s music scene from the 80s to the aughts, with Kevin giving special mention to his times on stage playing at The Rat and after hours at The House of Borax and that one time he rode his scooter over the Tobin Bridge. 

Over the years photographer Greg Premru has shot many of our finished projects. Having him in the Boiler Room for a conversation allowed us to get to know not just Greg’s origin story as a photographer but the story of architectural photoshoots during the time of film, where it could easily take over thirty minutes of prep work to line up one shot. Being a quick adapter to digital cameras, Greg not only had to work hard to convince clients about the new medium but to also find financing for the nearly $60,000 cost of the equipment. Darkrooms and AI came up, along with an unexpected musical element: both Kevin and Greg had something to say about music to listen to while in a darkroom; Kevin grew up with a dark room, spending hours with his dad and brother developing photos. Greg’s solution to the uninspired playlists generated by algorithms—independent radio stations. Greg’s Mixtape Story was all over the place, starting with Simon and Garfunkel to playing in a Cars tribute band. He told us of random Silly Wizard tapes turning up in his car, a Chrysler LaBarron station wagon with simulated wood paneling that had the words “Tuna Boat” detailed on the back. WUMB, a local station out of MIT, KRCL out of Salt Lake, KEXP out of Seattle, and WMUY out of the Vineyard came up, with Kevin chiming in about the great morning and noon lineup on Santa Monica’s KCRW. Live music venues in Somerville also played a central role in Greg’s love for anything “live, raw, and unprocessed.” 

We’ve known Trevor Fulmer before he launched his rug line, but we got to know him better at his launch event in 2024. It felt like a family reunion, meeting his parents and entourage of relatives who were all so proud of him. Two years later, we finally were able to get Trevor into the Boiler Room to ask him about his origins in interior design and his boombox story—it’s an amazing one that  involves both Debbie Gibson and something much bigger than something you can fit on your shoulder: a white Toyota Previa.With over a decade in advertising at some of the most prestigious firms on the East Coast, including stints as creative director, it made sense to us that Trevor’s line of luxury rugs—the Foundations Collection—are so well thought out. The backstory to some of his designs might bring a tear to your eye, in both humorous and heartfelt ways; they’re that...authentic, reflecting back to us the formative moments in his life. They’re also made with all natural materials and purchased directly from the weavers, as per the business model of Landry & Arcari, his partner in this endeavor. We were also able to hear so much more about Trevor’s career in experiential advertising and his transition to interior design. Plus, a totally unexpected sidebar on one of the greatest films ever made, Jaws. 

One of Boston’s most outspoken advocates for the region’s historic buildings, Matthew Dickey has been a familiar face for years. His Instagram, @streetscapecurator, is a testament to storytelling-as-a-public service done right. And it’s so much fun. His visit to the Boiler Room for a longer conversation led to Matthew’s own story of his upbringing just off of Route 66 near St. Louis and how the “Americana” curios associated with it helped form his fascination with architecture. Along the way, the subject of how to properly order a sub was broached, along with “album-side” listening, preservation, and then a deep, deep dive in what’s been happening architecturally in both JP and greater Boston.

After attending the November 2025 B/A/D Talk, we were curious about its origin story. So we invited Paul Reidt (President) and Karla Monkevich (CEO) of Kochman Reidt + Haigh Cabinetmakers to join us in the Boiler Room to tell us more about this long-form discussion series, including the power of drawing, storytelling, travel, bliss—there was so much!B/A/D Talks (Building, Architecture and Design) are the first of their kind in the Boston build-design community, established back in 2014. For a boombox or mixtape story, Karla gave us the Desert Island Music Collection, which is music to listen to if stuck on a desert island, a list she’s been working on for years. Starting with Billy Bragg and Wilco’s “Mermaid Avenue,” the list also included Marvin Gaye, and then a series of "first" albums by the likes of Sinead, REM, and the Beastie Boys.Paul’s music experience was extraordinarily exotic, as he shared the time he had to argue for music to be played, at all, in their mill shop. This ended up involving a consultant, interviews with many of their trade partners, staff, a psychologist, and a retreat to the Cape!

Iris Marcus, expert finisher and leader in the industry, stopped by the Boiler Room to talk shop and music. We’ve been fortunate to have worked with Iris over the years on numerous projects, with most recently, a preservation job salvaging painted treads original to a Beacon Hill brownstone, what we call the FLATS. The clients wanted stained wood matching their floors. We brought Iris in for woodgraining (“faux boix”) the treads, making them look like stained walnut. Iris also shared with us her origin story involving having to petition to study the trades in high school because “girls weren’t allowed to study the trades,” carving her own path to her career, close encounters with celebrities, as well as leaders in the industry, and so much more.Of course, she also shared her boombox story, which was very much a story of music on job sites, the first time we actually covered music on sites! 

Clients Sarah and Josh Muncey were once new clients, starting ten years ago and since then have been ongoing clients as part of our estate care. Their home is featured on our website as the PARAGON. Sarah and Josh shared what it’s like being a KCB client, stretching all the way from before they bought the house, to the long middle of a complete renovation of an amazing historic home, to the sweet beautiful end.Sarah is co-president and chief innovation officer of Neighborhood Villages, an early education and care nonprofit in Boston. Josh is a real estate agent with his own firm, The Muncey Group/Compass. They both are deeply committed to the community of Jamaica Plain, along with other causes that we love, including affordable childcare, stronger communities, and home ownership. We wanted to make sure that we got time to discuss The Welcome Home Fund, “a program that provides down payments for 1st generation homebuyers of color,” (taken from Josh’s website).Sarah also shared her amazing boombox story, which included something we haven’t covered yet on the pod: the “fade out.” We already have Josh’s boombox story in a previous episode. 

Julie Murphy, expert seamstress and owner of Designer Draperies of Boston, sat on a panel with Kevin last May at the Luxury Home Design Summit titled, “Unfiltered Insights: What Works (and What Doesn’t) in B2B Outreach for High-End Design,” along with Taste Design’s Patti Watson and Dustin Hayes as moderator.We had Julie into the Boiler Room to revisit the panel and to hear her origin story that led to Designer Draperies of Boston. Julie also shared with us her Boombox Story that transported us to a playground in Dorchester, where the main concerns had to do with having enough double-D batteries to make it through. We ended the sesh with a very cool “good news” share from Julie that made this episode unexpectedly great. Original Date of Panel at the Luxury Home Design Summit: May 21, 2025 | “Unfiltered Insights: What Works (and What Doesn’t) in B2B Outreach for High-End Design”

In our second installment of “AKA” or “Ask Kevin Anything,” Kevin fields three questions sent in by you! For this episode, Kevin talks about how social media posts have had an impact on what is considered “quality” work in carpentry. This led to a “hot take” involving priming.Technology and AI was the subject of the next question, and this had to do with the construction schedule. Lastly, there’s a hiring crisis when it comes to the trades. Kevin reflects on how times have changed from 15 years ago to today when it comes to hiring carpenters. Do you have questions for Kevin? Head over to our Instagram, @cradockbuilders, and share your questions in our AKA form in the bio.

We're re-releasing an episode in which good friend and partner on numerous projects architect J. B. Clancy cited making his first mixtape as part of why he became an architect. OMD's album, "Architecture and Morality" also played an important role. Building science, beautiful design, and historic preservation also come up, as well as that moment where J.B. Clancy realized that he wanted to get to know Kevin better. Here's our original write-up:Architect J.B. Clancy, of ART Architects, holds the record for guest spots on Boiler Room panels. Along with his work on the SUNFLOWER, an historic stick-style Victorian, J.B. shares a love of Jamaica Plain, the neighborhood in Boston that Kevin has called home most of his life. Cue: “The Renaissance of Jamaica Plain,” a panel discussion we put on during Design Week 2022. J.B. debuted “Setting the Stage: Jamaica Plain Architectural History” for this event. Since then he’s been fine-tuning his presentation, including expanding it to all of New England. This is one amazing episode, where we talk to J.B. about his original presentation and the architecture of Jamaica Plain and more. He also shared his mixtape story, which unexpectedly revealed the origins of his interest in becoming an architect. For anyone who finds music and the curation of playlists an important part of their lives, this will really hit hard. Original date of event: 4/26/22Media partner: New England Home

We’ve started a new series, “AKA” or “Ask Kevin Anything.” And wow, did our listeners deliver! From Kevin’s most difficult issue concerning running a business and then the mantra Kevin uses during dark times to how Kevin goes about creating goals for the future, to a technical question involving external wall material, we had a nice range of subject matter for this first episode, along with many more questions we’ll address in future episodes. Follow the link in the bio for our AKA form if you have a question or would like Kevin to comment on something. 

While I haven’t been able to work with Interior Designer Georgia Zikas yet, she’s been a familiar face for years. At this past Luxury Home Design Summit, we bonded over a presentation involving what Summit presenter Seth Cohen calls “Applied Positivity.” Georgia approached us with coming on the pod to discuss this in more detail, especially with how Cohen employs “hope” as a design construct. We also brought up his approach to curiosity as “the most honest form of optimism.” Georgia’s origin story of how she became a designer allowed for us to explore further this topic in unexpected ways. Notebook culture—writing things down—creativity, and client questionnaires came up, along with so much more. We also got to Georgia’s music story, allowing us to travel back to classic rock on the Cape for bonfires on the beach, Bonnie Raitt, Air Supply, grunge—the list is long!Original Presentation: “Designing With Purpose: The Power of Applied Optimism to Maintain Resilient, Visionary Businesses in Uncertain Times” by Seth Cohen | The Luxury Home Design Summit | May 20-22, 2025

On October 29th, we hosted the New England Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art in a Boiler Room panel discussion titled, “Preservation vs. Performance: Renovation in the Modern Era.” Builders Stephen Payne of Payne | Bouchier and Nick Schiffer of NS Builders, along with Kevin as moderator, took part in a conversation that was so timely, with just the right amount of technical detail and controversy, that we’ve decided to devote an entire podcast episode to it. The audience participation was invaluable here. What an amazing night. We hope to capture more of these panels live so folks who missed them can tune in.Special thanks to our sponsors: Boston Glass Group, Lavallee Systems, and US Green Insulation, along with our courtyard sponsor, a Blade of Grass. Original Presentation: “Preservation vs. Performance: Renovation in the Modern Era” | October 29, 2025

This past May at the Luxury Home Design Summit Steve Siegel had a bit of a “moment.” With about sixty seconds to spare at the mic, he rolled out a description of what he and his company does—structural engineering—in a way that set the room of about 400 designers, builders, architects, and trade partners abuzz. It was great writing and a great delivery, making the work of structural engineering feel like something altogether new. While KCB has worked with Steve on several projects and has known of him for decades, this experience got us thinking that we’d love to hear more.Along with his origin story of how he became an engineer, our conversation with Steve also involved him once again reciting those memorable words at the mic, delivering on subjects like over-engineering, prescriptive principles, navigating the builder relationship, advanced framing, company culture, and more. Steve’s boombox story also included a very cool “way-back” to using cassettes as a way to protect your vinyl. Queen, Jim Croce, Elvis Costello, Carly Simon, and Springsteen also play a huge role for Steve, with a special name drop of Croce’s “Walking Back To Georgia.” Kevin’s song drop was “Death on Two Legs” by Queen. They also went deep with their first vinyl record purchases and, sadly, how Kevin learned the word “warp.” Steve’s one-minute-at-the-mic explanation of structural engineering happened during the Luxury Home Design Summit, Chatham, MA, that took place May 20-22, 2025.

From his role as both managing partner of New England Home magazine and co-founder of the Luxury Home Design Summit, Adam Japko is a force in Boston’s build-design community. With personal interests like fishing and wine tasting rounding him out, Adam is a genuine one-of-a-kind presence. If you’ve ever been lucky enough to hear him present, you know he’s not only comfortable in front of an audience, he’s a serious thinker with a great sense of humor.At this past Luxury Home Design Summit in Chatham, MA, we recorded one of his presentations—two dramatic example stories involving risk, along with one story about positivity. As usual, we played these clips on our boombox and asked Adam to elaborate on what he said. He did not disappoint.We also tried to get Adam to share more about his love of music, but all we got was more about the Grateful Dead…and it blew our minds. Original presentation: Luxury Home Design Summit, Chatham, MA | May 20-22, 2025

On June 14th, 2023, we hosted a PRO New England panel in our Boiler Room on why builders should work with interior designers. Meg McSherry, owner and principal designer of Meg McSherry Interiors in Newton, was one of the designers on the panel.Of all the discussions we’ve hosted, this one stuck out as not just unique but also evergreen; builders and designers are from two very different worlds. This makes the conversation really amazing when we all get together to talk it out.We played one moment from this panel, a comment from a builder who was curious about what he called the “feedback loop” that he encounters, when a plumber, for instance, has to install a toilet that’s spec’d out by a designer, knowing that the toilet has “had problems” and that the “plumber doesn’t want to talk to you,” the designer. “Neither does the electrician. Or my plasterer. Or my painter. He wants to talk to me.”Meg and Kevin revisit this moment during the panel, along with adding fresh perspective gained over the past two years since, including a deep dive on their process, what role ego plays in what they do, and ever-evolving issues revolving around taste and aesthetics.Meg also shared her boombox story. Debbie Gibson, Boys to Men, Bangles, Eminem, Lauren Hill, TLC, and even Janis Joplin were mentioned, but Lizzo made an appearance as well. Original presentation: PRO NE June Meeting: "Remodelers + Interior Design Panel"Original date of panel: 6.14.23

We all know Kevin loves people who put themselves out there. He won’t pass up a chance to talk with someone who is doing new things and not playing it safe. He also values people doing it the right way, with attention paid to detail and focus on an individual’s strengths.Architect Matthew Arnold has been a familiar face in the homebuilding community. Recently, Kevin had a conversation with him where he shared that he left a firm he had been with for 15 years, to strike it out on his own. His new business is called ArnoldAnd. We thought he’d be a great podcast guest and were excited to get to know him better. Little did we know that Matthew’s dad, Les Arnold, was an audio engineer for the likes of Aerosmith and Boston. Matthew discusses the impact that his father’s work had on him and how music plays a role in his life. We also get into what influence from some of his favorite bands, such as Phish, have on the way he views his work.Matthew made the bold move to hang his own shingle after an inspirational trip, with the full support of his wife. Kevin helps him answer questions about growth, staffing, timing and goals in this lively conversation.

This is our second episode of a new series where we do a deep dive in things that are "Hard to Make." I served in the Coast Guard. One of my takeaways was the POD or “Plan of the Day.” We’ve implemented this on our job sites, along with our project managers having their own versions. Ops man Nate McBride and I take some time to talk about what this really looks like in real time, scaled up to job sites, across the company.And if you’d like to scroll through the KCB IG for two “KC in the Truck: POD” reels I reference in this episode, they were on May 21, 2024 and March 31, 2025. 

Architect J.B. Clancy, of ART Architects, holds the record for guest spots on Boiler Room panels. Along with his work on the SUNFLOWER, an historic stick-style Victorian, J.B. shares a love of Jamaica Plain, the neighborhood in Boston that Kevin has called home most of his life. Cue: “The Renaissance of Jamaica Plain,” a panel discussion we put on during Design Week 2022. J.B. debuted “Setting the Stage: Jamaica Plain Architectural History” for this event. Since then he’s been fine-tuning his presentation, including expanding it to all of New England. This is one amazing episode, where we talk to J.B. about his original presentation and the architecture of Jamaica Plain and more. He also shared his mixtape story, which unexpectedly revealed the origins of his interest in becoming an architect. For anyone who finds music and the curation of playlists an important part of their lives, this will really hit hard. Original date of event: 4/26/22Media partner: New England Home

Introducing a series we’re calling “Hard to Make.” This is a story Kevin’s been wanting to tell for decades, the culmination of a lifetime of experiences as a carpenter, woodworker, and general contractor. And so periodically, we’ll drop one of these short episodes into the feed. Our first episode has to do with the concept of “baseline,” as discussed in Jason Schroeder’s book, The Art of the Builder: Elevating Construction Superintendents. KCB Director of Construction Nate McBride had gifted this book to Kevin who, after reading it thought, “Okay, I’m not crazy.” Kevin ended up reading parts of it aloud at an all-company meeting. We revisited clips of this meeting, which covered concepts such as the importance of cleanliness, physical organization, and minimal inventory on a job site. We also discussed how to use baseline to check the pulse of a site. “If it’s not clean,” explains Kevin, “it’s in trouble.”

As part of Boston’s Design Week 2022, Kevin Cradock Builders assembled a panel discussion titled, “The Renaissance of Jamaica Plain.” One of the panelists was Josh Muncey, owner of the home called the Paragon, a Kevin Cradock Builders renovation project. Josh shared moments from that experience working with Kevin, along with his thoughts about Jamaica Plain. In addition to being a resident of Jamaica Plain for almost twenty years, Josh is the founder and leader of The Muncey Group real estate agency and founder of The Welcome Home Fund, a group that helps first-generation homebuyers of color make their downpayment on a home.We took three clips from Josh’s presentation that evening and played them back, hoping he would say more. The clips involved Josh talking about: the ample green space of JP, including the Jamaica Pond and Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum; the feeling of “belonging” that Josh feels is in the JP community; and the “authentic” restaurants, shops, and culture that are so present in a community with activist roots, along with a wide swath of ethnic diversity, income types, and strong LGBTQ+ representation.Josh also came prepared with one amazing boombox story. Beginning with a rundown of his previous Sony and JVC experiences, he went deep with the Panasonic RX-DT707, aka, the Cobra Top. This spurred on a discussion of Strawberries Records in Newton and in Brookline on Harvard Ave (now a Starbucks). Kevin reminisced about going there to pick up the debut album of LL Cool J, “Radio,” and the hit song, “I Can’t Live Without My Radio,” back in October, 1985, which he played on his own Panasonic and then an even deeper dive into “casingles” and the Beastie Boys. Special mention about a book we brought up in the episode, Boston’s Franklin Park: Olmstead, Recreation, and the Modern City by professor of landscape architecture at UMass Amherst Ethan Carr. This book is the first book of its kind on Franklin Park concerning a “full” historical treatment. Josh and Kevin spoke at length about Franklin Park, with Kevin mentioning that not only is he at the park almost every day, the Overlook is his “favorite place” in Boston. Original date of panel: 04/26/2022Media partner: New England Home

In our first special bonus episode, we have Jim Gauthier to talk about Boston Pride, along with his own coming out story and more. Of course, we also asked for Jim’s Pride mixtape rundown, and Jim did NOT disappoint, including a special cinematic shoutout to The Birdcage.

When you are lucky to know someone professionally for nearly 30 years, a bond gets formed. In the case of Kevin and Jim Gauthier, anyone can see how strong their relationship is when they get together. Their openness and comfort with one another really comes through in this wonderful conversation from the Boiler Room. And just wait until you hear them harmonize!Jim covers a lot of ground in this episode and yet we know there is still plenty more to discuss.For now, we were happy to hear him recount stories about his first job and early days of growing up in Western Massachusetts, and from there, learning how the Boston design scene shaped his career. Finally, we learn about what’s next for Jim as he considers what he has to offer to younger generations of designers.The three moments we asked Jim to revisit were from the launch party of his new design and consulting firm, Jim Gauthier & Company. This was a special evening in May of 2024, where the old guard and the rising stars of Boston’s design community turned out. At some point, the music was lowered, and Jim spoke to the room. We were recording and captured the moment in the hopes that we could check back in with Jim to ask him to say more. The prompts we took from that speech are:Jim’s been working since he was eight years old. The summer of 2023 was the first time he took a summer off to think about what was next for him. We wanted to hear more about his origin story, of what that summer off was like, and then how it all informs his new venture.Jim announced he’s starting a new consulting arm called “Advisory Services.” He mentioned he’s been working as an interior designer for 35 years, knows how to run a successful business and make money, and wants to help other interior designers and others in the industry do the same.The “salon collective” program, another arm of his new venture, will involve bringing together an interesting mix of people who might not have contact with each other, part of his larger vision of elevating Boston’s design community.And yes, of course Jim has his own Boombox Story. The impact of music on his life, at an early age, comes through as he effortlessly jumps into the middle verses of "American Pie." Kevin’s willingness to join in brings home the sincerity of their friendship—just a couple of craftsmen who know where they’ve been, and where they’d like to be.

Company culture and how to make it better is a perennial, ever-changing topic in the Boston build-design community. In December of 2024 we assembled a panel of principles—builder, interior designer, and landscape architect, to go deep on the topic of company culture. Tiffany LeBlanc contributed a lot to the discussion, from her position as the founder of Tiffany LeBlanc Design. With Kevin moderating the conversation, we heard some interesting stories and granular examples of how company culture plays a role in each of their businesses.Tiffany was a great podcast guest in this follow-up chat. Her combination of high emotional and social intelligence, along with her experience, allows her to be insightful, hilarious, and almost-but-never inappropriate. What a joy to have this conversation with her.The three moments we asked Tiffany to revisit from the panel discussion—and these were moments we wished she would have said more—were: What’s your favorite part of company culture? Kevin’s was the camaraderie that happens when “people working together doing hard things and having a good time” and also looks like “people having a taste of each other’s lunch.” What are the systems in place that you’ve allowed that helps you blend culture with the actual production and work you’re manifesting?Asking Tiffany to elaborate on what she meant by what she looks for in someone, a “thinking brain.” Tiffany’s boombox story will bring you back to the twisty gravel roads of Vermont that you didn’t know you needed, with Pure Prairie League’s “Amie” spilling out into the ether, along with the Aiwa shelf system that will leave you looking on Ebay for your own. She has suggested gifting the Boiler Room this system that’s collecting dust on a shelf in Vermont. We’re hoping it will happen!Original date of panel: 12/10/2024Media partner: New England Home

Last November Michael Oh, founder and president of TSP Smart Spaces, gave a presentation in the Boiler Room titled, “Beyond AI: Visioning Design & Construction in 2030.” We had Michael back to the Boiler Room to follow up with questions, which we aired last week in Episode 3 of the KCB Boiler Room Podcast. This week we’re airing his original presentation on AI. If you’re in construction, design, architecture, or just want to better understand what artificial intelligence is, this presentation is for you. Thanks, everyone!PS. Since this recording, Kevin has used AI and has much more to say about it. We’ll check back in with Mike Oh in a future episode. 

Of all the panels we’ve hosted, this one on artificial intelligence and predicting what the future, felt like the one that was most in need of a follow up, especially because the speaker is one of the most down-to-earth while simultaneously brilliant and charming people you’ll ever come across, Michael Oh, founder and president of TSP Smart Spaces. The three moments in Michael’s presentation that we most wanted to revisit:the moment during his presentation when he talked about how few people ever ask him what generative AI is the scary “5 people will do what 20 do today” statistic about AI disruption but also opportunity for architectsthe “vanilla middle” and staying away from that, especially in designYou may notice that this sounds like it was our “introductory” podcast. And that’s because it was! We delayed going live in the hopes of getting Mike’s “Boombox Story." Instead, we'll record an entirely new episode with his Boombox Story. Original presentation: “Beyond AI: Visioning Design & Construction in 2030”Original date of panel: 11.12.24

Two years after a panel we hosted about why you should work with interior designers, we invited panelist and interior designer Kristen Rivoli back to the Boiler Room to reminisce, as well as to check in about how things have changed.The three clips we listened to from the original panel: Kevin’s strong feelings on interior designers (16:02); Kristen’s ideas on how to find a designer if you’re a builder (32:00); and the importance of being on the same page with everything before the client gets wedded to something (49:00).Kristen’s “Boombox Story” also came up, with special mention of her “Mixtape Story,” featuring “I Alone,” by Live’s best album, Throwing Copper, back when she was “dating her husband.” Pearl Jam, the Police, and the Beastie Boys also got a shoutout. We were getting major Nora Ephron vibes. Note: we jumped right into this episode with Kristen and Kevin reminiscing about the panel almost as soon as she walked through the front door. Quick to hit the “record” button, this meant we didn’t get the formal introduction to this episode. The subject matter—introducing designers to builders—is something both Kevin and Kristen feel particularly passionate about, so things quickly took off, and the vibe was just too good to interrupt. 

Anything involving a discussion of our team is worth revisiting, so having an entire 90-minute panel on this subject in a room full of some of the best of the best in the Boston build-design community was an awesome experience worthy of numerous podcast episodes. For the first of this revisiting, we went with fellow builder, Eric Adams, of Adams + Beasley Associates. Winner of the Boston Globe’s “Top Places to Work” five years in a row, Eric has a lot to say about how to run a construction company.Eric also shared the first “Boombox Story,” something we'll be asking all of our guests to share in future episodes. While it won’t bring you to tears, it’s unexpectedly amazing. Like if Steven Spielberg was going to do a movie short of a Boombox Story, this would be it.  The three moments we brought Eric in to revisit were Kevin’s favorite part of camaraderie—eating lunch together; Eric’s story of a moment that’s stayed with him involving this adage: “When money isn’t a problem, everything else is”; and another moment Eric had on the panel about democratizing success.