Bobby Berk, Queer Eye

Stacy Shoemaker Rauen: Hey, this is Stacy. I’m here with Bobby Berk. Thank you so much for joining us, Bobby.

Bobby Berk: Thanks for having me.

SSR: So let’s start at the beginning. Where did you grow up?

BB: Start at the very beginning. It’s a very good place to start. I grew up in Missouri in a little bitty town called Mount Vernon. Yeah. That’s about the extent of it. Everything that you imagined?

SSR: Do you go back there?

BB: Yeah, when we were filming Kansas City, I went back a few times to see my parents. Yeah because my parents and my sister all still live there.

SSR: So did you, growing up, did you have a love for design?

BB: It really wasn’t something that you thought of as a career. I mean, I just thought really farming was a career. It wasn’t until my teens, when I saw that first collaboration that Target did with Michael Graves, which I saw, you know, toasters and tea kettles and spatulas and knives that looked cool, and also were functional, you know, like everything before was just utilitarian. And now I’m like, ‘oh things can spark joy’ as Marie [Kondo] would say, and you can eat with them. You know? So that was kind of the first time I thought of design, but I left home at 15 so I didn’t have an education and didn’t think that that was on my horizon. But lo and behold, years later it was.

SSR: So what prompted you to leave home, if you don’t mind me asking.

BB: I was in the closet and I couldn’t stay there anymore.

SSR: Takes a lot though, to take that leap.

BB: It was a very, very small-minded little town. And like one kid had come out and other kids would ran them off the road and almost killed him. So, I knew I had to be able to be myself and I couldn’t do it there, so I left.

SSR: And where did you go?

BB: To the big city of Springfield, Missouri. It had 200,000 people. And then after Springfield, I went to Denver for about three years. Then after Denver, I went to New York for about 14 years and then I moved to LA about four years ago.

SSR: What did you do in the big city in Springfield?

BB: I moved there with about a hundred bucks in a suitcase. I thought I’d get a job as a server, but then I got there and I realize that they’ll only hire you if you have New York City server experience. Then my first job was Restoration Hardware, design manager at their store in Flat Iron. And then after Restoration Hardware, I worked for Bed Bath & Beyond. And then after Bed Bath & Beyond, I worked for a company called Portico. I don’t know if you remember them, the amenities used to be in every Hyatt hotel in the world: Portico spa, all the shampoos, conditioners. But it was also a furniture company originally, and I worked my way up there to creative director and building their e-commerce division. Unfortunately, that company went bankrupt. And so the day it went bankrupt, I cloned the e-commerce division that I had built and I registered bobbyberkhome.com and I’m like, well maybe I’ll sell a sofa or two while I look for another job. And that was 15 years ago. So I sold more than a sofa or two.

SSR: What made you keep going? You know, like, I mean it couldn’t have been easy.

BB: I don’t know. I just think I’ve always had a huge, I just always had a really huge drive to prove myself. You know, when you grow up in a very conservative community that tells you that you’re not right and that you’re broken and that you’re not as good as all your straight peers, you have a really strong drive to prove everyone wrong. You know, and then walk back in like Julia Roberts and be like, big mistake. Huge. Yeah, so I think it was just always kind of this passion, this drive I had just to prove everyone wrong that said I wouldn’t make anything [of myself].

SSR: Yeah. What do you think was your big break then? You know, when you starting out, was it your first job at RH? What was kind of a stepping stone?

BB: Between Bed Bath & Beyond and Portico, I worked for an Italian linen company and they brought me on to help them expand their brand in the U.S. and everything I would try to do, they’d be like, ‘No, no, it’s not good. It’s not going to work. In Italy, we do it this way,’ like flat sheets. Americans like flat sheets. But they’re like, ‘No, we don’t need the flat sheets, a duvet cover and a fitted sheet,’ just stupid things like that that they were like, you’re worthless and you’ll never amount to anything, you’re fired. And then once I opened up my own company online, it started doing well and the brand started becoming well known, and I get a call from the Italian guy one day and he’s like, ‘I see you have a store online and it’s doing well. I have a store in SoHo it’s not doing well, do you want to buy me out?’

So I bought him out and took on a massive amount of debt that he had accrued to get the company. But I looked at it as, you know, brands spend a lifetime getting a store in SoHo. And you know, once you’ve got a store in SoHo that’s kind of like a benchmark like you’re legit. And I’m like, I can skip decades by taking on this debt. And all my friends in finance were like, ‘You’re crazy. This is a really stupid decision.’ But I did it anyways. And I turned it into a bedding sample sale location for about nine months. And I imported really great bedding from Italy and I had a guy standing on the corner in SoHo wearing one of those signs, saying bedding sample sale, and handing out fliers and paid off around $600,000 in debt in about nine months.

And then turned it into Bobby Berk home store. And then Miami, Atlanta, LA. And the brand started doing quite well and being well-known. And so companies started coming to me wanting to license the brand and designs. And the more I licensed out, the more I realized I didn’t want to be in retail anymore. You know, I had been in retail since I left home at 15 and I was, I was over it. So as leases would be up I’d close doors and just licensed more things out. And once I closed my last store, I was able to really focus on design, which is what I loved, and product design. So I was asked by Builder Magazine to do the show homes for the International Builder’s Show. And that was in 2014. I had never designed a whole home before.

I mean I didn’t go to design school, had no idea how to use CAD, but I’m like, ‘Sure, yeah, I’ll do it.’ And at that point, like I didn’t have my stores anymore so I had gotten rid of all my employees as well. So I designed homes using like Photoshop and YouTube and Google and like figuring out how to do it, that they came out really well. So then I hired designers that knew how to do the technical aspects of the things that I didn’t know how to do. And now we have like 12 people in the firm, and we have furniture lines that are launching in countries all over the world: Australia, Kuwait, China, Vietnam, Singapore, Panama, a few others. I can’t remember. But then we’re launching lighting and new rugs. We just launched a new collection of wallpaper. It’s in Target, on target.com. Anthropologie has picked up some of it. Home Depot, Lowe’s, yeah.

SSR: And when you launched Bobby Berk Home at first, when you designing or were you taking other pieces or was it a mixture?

BB: Of course, it’s impossible in this day and age unless you’re selling super expensive stuff to really build anything on a small scale. And unfortunately in America, there aren’t packaging companies here anymore. So if you want to build beautiful casegoods you can, but then you still spend like $400 or $500, literally just to box it because there aren’t any mass packaging companies here. So I would try to do stuff on my own here and there, but it wasn’t cost effective. So I would curate from other companies. I sold Blu Dot and Gus Modern and a lot of other great companies that I would find all over the world and curated them. And then as my stores got bigger, I was able to do more of my own things and now we just solely focus on designing the product.

SSR: Is there one that you like to design more than others?

BB: I would definitely say furniture. Furniture is the most fun.

SSR: But you’re also doing interiors too, correct?

BB: We’re still continuing to do interiors. We have multiple residential projects going on right now. We do predominantly, we work mostly with builders. We like working with builders on residential projects as, I love designing homes. But when you work with residential clients, it’s not just designing, it’s therapy When you’re designing someone’s home that they’re going to live in, it is a very emotional thing and that’s not a bad thing. It’s just the way it is. So for me, especially with the time restraints I have with the show right now, I love working with builders because it’s not emotional to them. It’s just a house they’re building, and we really get to do things from start to finish, from the flooring to the paint to the lighting to the cabinets, the countertops, to the furniture, to the dishes, to the towels, every square inch of the home we get to design.

So for me, that’s fun because you really get to do from start to finish your entire vision. On the other hand, sometimes it’s not as fun with builders because then they’ll value engineer everything. And then you’re like, ‘This isn’t exciting as I hoped it’d be.’ So there’s a happy medium. But recently with the show, we’ve had a lot of other very large residential projects that have come to us. So we might take on a few more. But hotels is something that I’ve wanted to do for years, and I’m thinking I’m really at the place to do it right now. Once Queer Eye slows down a little bit, because that’s the type of project that really needs your full attention and the client really deserves your full attention.

And so, as you know, I literally just flew in from London and I found out three days before London that I was going to London. So my schedule is very up in the air right now. So I’d hate to have a grand opening of a hotel and be like, ‘oh, I’m sorry I had to go to the Emmys now,’ and it’s the Emmys, so I’m going.

SSR: Poor baby, I feel for you.

BB: It’s horrible.

SSR: So let’s talk about Queer Eye. How did you, how did that come about? How were you found?

BB: My publicist had heard that they were recasting for the show, so she put my name in a hat and they liked my brand, they liked me. I remember one of the producers saying he saw my pictures, all this very like architectural hair and was like, that’s perfect. And yes, so I auditioned, and I thought it went horrible.

SSR: What was auditioning like?

BB: The first audition was a Skype interview, and you know, I had set up in my home, like made it sure it looked all pretty behind [me]. And then the power went out in my building about 10, 15 minutes before it was scheduled. So I had no internet. I jumped in my car and ran to my office, which was like a mile away. I get in there, I’m all hot and sweaty and red and the wall behind my desk at the time was black. So then I looked powder and you know, super white and pale, and I just thought it went awful. I was like, there’s no way I’m going to get a callback for this. But then I did and then I was still like, there’s no way I’m going to get this show. I almost just went to Spain with Porcelanosa and didn’t go to the Queer Eye auditions because I didn’t think I was going to get it. But luckily I did.

SSR: What was the second audition like?

BB: The second audition was in person, and at that point they had whittled it down from about 5,000 guys to about 40. Karamo will say 150. I don’t know where in his mind he remembered all those people. But there was about 40. And the first day we were there for about 15 hours. And I think I had about five minutes of actual audition time. It was kind of like speed dating and they had tables set up with executives from Netflix and ITV and Scout Productions.

And we just kinda went every five minutes to another one and there was three of them. So 15 minutes, and then they’re like, ‘Go home. We’ll tell you if you get to come back.’ And so I’m still texting Andy, and I’m like, ‘I might be able to go still. I don’t know,’ because we were leaving Friday morning for Spain. And it wasn’t until like one in the morning, Thursday night that I finally got a call that they wanted me to come back and they’re like, ‘Without giving it away, you’re our first choice.’ And I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is amazing.’ And then I get back there the next day and everyone that was in my category was still there. And I’m like, well what the hell? I thought you said it was the first choice. And like it really messed with my head, but the next day it was [more] testing where they just would rotate us in and out, one person per category and see how we interacted with each other. And the five of us had already kind of become friends and had a little clique, a little friendship where we naturally really liked each other. And I think the executives really saw that, and we got it.

SSR: So you’re on the show. What, what has been the most surprising aspect about this show for you?

BB: The most surprising thing is how successful it’s been. I mean, honestly, we all thought we’d just fill in for six months and then go back to our regular lives and maybe a few people would watch it. We had no idea it was going be as big as it’s been.

SSR: And why do you think it resonates so much?

BB: Mainly because it gives people hope. You know, we’ve all been so divided. I was saying this in London yesterday because it’s the same thing. You know, you’re either Brexit or you’re not Brexit and here you’re either Democrat or Republican, and we’re all so divided that we can’t see each other as people anymore. We only see each other’s political affiliations and who we voted for. So I think a show coming out right in the heat of it all after we’d all been through that election the year before, showing people that you can still find things in common. You can still see everyone as people and you can go into someone’s home who has complete opposite political views as you and still come out being great friends and realizing that none of that matters. And it’s just you need to listen and have that human connection. I think it gives people hope that we’re not going to be divided forever, hopefully.

SSR: Has there been one episode that really has resonated with you or one client?

BB: I think Jess from season three. Her and I had a really great connection. We’re both adopted. We both were told that, you know, our biological sister was actually our cousin growing up. We both left home at 15 because we came out and couldn’t stay at home. I think I just really resonated with her because I saw how hard she was working and I saw a lot of myself in her.

SSR: And then tell us a little bit about how the show works, a little behind the scenes. So do you get to go in beforehand? I mean the design is hard to do in the short amount of time they give you.

BB: I don’t meet the hero at all. Even pictures of them are really taken down around the house. So I don’t know much. But I do have to go in, I have to figure out if the kitchen cabinets are salvageable, if flooring has to be replaced. We’ve got to get measurements. I’ve got to email Carolina at Porcelanosa and tell her what countertops and what flooring I need and I need it in four days. So those types of things, like you can’t get flooring and stuff instantly, so we have to go in and measure window treatments, flooring, things like that. But then, before we even start filming, I usually go out a week or two before the other boys and I get a warehouse and I start doing tons of shopping, and I basically build out my own store in a warehouse.

And that week when I meet the hero and I find out things about them and I learn more about what they like, I go into my store and I start pulling stuff, and I have a big box truck that has shelves all on both sides. And then I make a little mobile store and we park that out front and then we start decorating by pulling stuff off the truck. So we do a lot of pre-planning that allows us to be able to pull it off in three days. My team is from Extreme Home Makeover: Home Edition, who built houses in a week. So  I’ve learned a lot from them and they’ve learned from me, but I’ve learned a lot from them. If we were renewed for more seasons, my two heads are married and they have a thriving event planning company that has been doing really, really well. And every time they go away to Queer Eye, their business partner about disowns them. And so they’re like, ‘If we do Queer Eye again, we can’t come back,” and I’m like, ‘No, I’m going to have to start over with a whole new team,’ which is very stressful, but we’ll make it work.

SSR: And you said you learned a lot from them. Has this made you a better designer? I mean, what have you learned?

BB: You know, one of the great things about the type of work we do with builders, when I design homes and install homes, we’ll install like seven homes in a week. You know, we pull up with four or five semi-trucks full of furniture and we install everything. So I’m kind of used to designing like that. I’m used to installing things really quickly. You know, a lot of other designers, I think Queer Eye might’ve killed them because you know, they’re used to being able to design and install things over weeks, months, years. My design firm kind of prepped me for that. What I think what I’ve learned from them is just they’re really good at staying cool and calm no matter what craziness is going on. They’re  highly organized. We deal with a lot of trade outs, you know, with Porcelanosa and like just keeping everything very organized.

SSR: And what’s it like working with the other four?

BB: It’s great. You know, we’re all really close. You know, it’s funny because if you think about how much time you spend with your best friend over a period of a lifetime, maybe it’s an hour or so a week at the most. We spend, you know, 12 to 15 hours a day, seven days a week for two years together. So we’ve spent more time together than most people do what they’re best friends and their entire lives, which is why we know each other so well.

All the good and the bad. It’s a lot of fun. You know, we’re like brothers. We love each other. Do we fight sometimes? Of course. It’s usually just over temperature cause Karamo is always freezing, and I’m always sweating to death.

SSR: That’s the only fight?

BB: And Jonathan being late, but baby Jonathan has gotten so much better recently. God, season one and two we would leave him because we were, we would always be late because of him so, we’re like, you know what, ‘nope, we’re leaving you.’ But now it’s like sometimes he’s down there before any of us and we’re like, who are you and what have you done with our Jonathan? We’ve all changed and grown a lot in the last two years.

SSR: So how long do you shoot?

BB: Each episode takes a week. Each episode takes a week. So if we’re filming two seasons together, eight episodes, we’re usually gone for almost five, six months.

SSR: Oh wow. And you’re there the whole time?

BB: Pretty much. With the, our filming schedule and the fact that we’re usually always in the Midwest or East Coast, it’s impossible for like Karamo and I to go home on the weekends, because with the time difference and flight times, this doesn’t really work.

SSR: Looking back, I mean do you have a greatest takeaway from all this or do you ever just pinch yourself that this is all happening?

BB: I mean all of that. I definitely, especially how quickly it’s all happened. You know, the first season only came out like a year and two months ago. It feels like it’s been 20 years. We’ve been on the cover of more magazines and at award shows and on other shows than even some of the biggest stars have in their lifetime. So it’s been crazy.

SSR: But yet you still stay really grounded. I mean, you come to HD Expo and you judge the Box for us, which is amazing. It’s this competition we’re doing with Hilton, which we can get to. But you still have very grounded and very, you know, accessible especially to your fans. I mean, what kind of helps you stay that way?

BB: It’s just something that I’m very cognizant of. I make sure that I stay that way. I never want to be too busy for a fan, you know, or too big for a fan. I mean because they’re the reason why I’m here and you know, and just to stay true to my roots. The design business is the reason why I’m here, I know.

SSR: What would be your dream project? What if you could pick it? You know, just put it out in the world. Sometimes when you put things out in the world, they come.

BB: I’d love to do a multiuse project to where it’s a development with retail, hotel, residential, and town homes and single family homes, like a masterplanned community. I think that would be a lot of fun.

SSR: I think that’s where it’s headed. I mean it’s no longer just a singular destination. It has to have multiple aspects. Has there been anything that you’ve seen change since you’ve been doing so many homes and residential? Has anything kind of changed since you started out that you’re paying attention to?

BB: Not really. I mean if you think about it, I’ve only been designing homes for four years.

SSR: What about products then?

BB: No because sadly the last two years of those I’ve been completely cut off from the world.

SSR: Yeah. Has that been the hardest part, kind of traveling and being away?

BB: Definitely. I’ve been away way too much. I bought a home in December and I’ve slept there less than three weeks.

SSR: That’s crazy. So tell us a little bit, so you’re here with us for the Box Challenge, which we partnered with Hilton to challenge a handful of designers to rethink a guestroom in 24 hours and then you’re one of our amazing judges. This is our second year and tell us why you wanted to come back and what kind of fun you get out of seeing all the different presentations and ideas.

BB: I think it’s a very new and exciting way to do things. I don’t think a hotels has ever done this before where they invite, you know, established or up-and-coming designers in to this compete to do amazing new looks. I think the fact that it’s 24 hours really cultivates a sense of creativity and drive that a lot of designers hadn’t felt since school. And it really pushes them further than just doing the same old thing. So it’s a lot of fun to watch new designers but also like Gulla, like the queen of design still in there burning the midnight oil. I mean, doing her design for five minutes and then going out to dinner with us. But when you’re that talented, you can do that.

SSR: Do you feel for them with, you know, the short timeframe?

BB: I mean I have to do that on Queer Eye every week, so I can relate.

SSR: Has there been any kind of cool design trick that you’ve done on Queer Eye that you are really proud of or concept that you did that you were really happy with?

BB: Neil from season one, AJ from season one. Those are just kind of more on my personal aesthetic.

SSR: And what is your personal aesthetic?

BB: More modern, clean, minimal. I love them all. They’re all my babies. It’s hard to choose. The Jones sisters, the barbecue shop, to like not only change their lives personally, but change their business. It literally set them on a different financial course for the rest of their lives. I mean, they have sold hundreds of thousands of bottles of barbecue sauce.

SSR: That’s crazy.

BB: Goosebumps. Just like they’re doing so well.

SSR: That’s just so powerful.You’re doing so much more than just design.

BB: So it’s been, it’s been crazy to see things like that happen.I didn’t think we’d have as big of an impact as we’re having.

SSR: And what’s it like living and moving into these different towns?

BB: Honestly, Atlanta, I didn’t love. It’s really hot. The traffic is horrible. I mean, horrible. We spent half of our day sometimes just trying to get to where we were going. Kansas City though I loved. I grew up in Missouri and so I did not want to go back, but Kansas City has turned into this really great cultural, metropolitan, beautiful city that until it got to November and started snowing, I was like, I could live here, and then it got cold and I’m like, nevermind, I’m going back to LA.

SSR: You’ve been in LA now for four years, right?

BB: In September. Yeah, four years.

SSR: And you were downtown. But you said you just moved outside the city?

BB: No, it’s just up in the hills, in Los Feliz.

SSR: What do you love about LA?

BB: I love how much more chill it is. People are nicer. I love my, the views I have of the rolling hills and the Hollywood sign and the fact that you can go snowboarding and surfing in the same day. It’s much more of an outdoor lifestyle in California. That’s what I love about it.

SSR: And let’s talk a little bit about social media. I mean you have such a great following and what have you learned or what can you impart wisdom on to other people who are trying to figure out social media as a platform that you think works well. Is it just being your authentic self?

BB: Being your authentic self, but if it’s a business being aware of not, not being too much of your authentic self. If you’re trying to build a brand, you need to make sure you think of yourself as a brand and not like put things out there that might tarnish you as a brand.  So I think a good like 50/50 mix of personal and work if you’re a designer is really great, making sure you’re responding to people. The interactions you have is the way you get more followers, when people feel really connected to you. When Instagram comes out with new features like Instagram TV, start using them because when they come out with new features, they like people to use them and you’ll get up higher in their algorithms. I think being authentic and being you and sharing what you love, and people will notice it.

SSR: Last question. Do they make you keep your architectural hair because that’s what they love?

BB: It changes. Like in Japan, I had actually grown it out quite long, and it was getting so long that I started curling it, so I like had this really curly hair in a few episodes. But no, it just works for me. I’m able to give the illusion that I have more than I do.

SSR: Well, thank you so much for being here and taking the time to chat with us.

BB: My pleasure. Thanks for having me.

SSR: Of course.