Michael Talbot (BID ’09) discusses his meandering career path with interior design students.
LSU Department of Interior Design Alumni Michael Talbot of Shaw Industries led a workshop for interior design students on Wednesday, October 23.
Michael Talbot received a Bachelor of Interior Design from the LSU College of Art + Design in 2009 and has experienced an interesting and diverse career ever since. Initially, Associate Professor T.L. Ritchie invited Talbot to speak to her component design class about his role as a sales representative for Shaw Industries. Later the decision was made to invite all interior design students to attend the workshop to hear about Talbot’s non-traditional career path.
Talbot said his real experience began during his two interior design internships at LSU. He interned at both residential and commercial design firms and discovered that while he enjoyed both, perhaps residential design was his true calling. He was an intern at Gensler in New Orleans during the company’s brief attempt to establish an office there.
It was a small office, and they didn’t have a lot of work for him to do, Talbot said. They handed me a LEED book and told me to read it. Talbot became LEED AP certified after his internship at Gensler because of all the time he had spent studying.
After graduation, he said he did what everyone was doing in 2009 and moved to Austin, Texas.
“Unfortunately, as great as it was to be living in Austin, I didn’t have a job,” said Talbot, so he returned to Baton Rouge, where he was offered a job at Commercial Design Interiors, the design firm of Matthew Edmonds and Tracy Burns, professionals in residence at the LSU Department of Interior Design.
At that point, said Talbot, while he thoroughly enjoyed his time at CDI, it had become his personal goal to move to Atlanta, Georgia. He started applying at every design practice he could think of and was frustrated when he wasn’t hired after his first few interviews. He realized that if he really wanted to work in Atlanta, he needed to make the commitment and move there without a job.
“It was a scary step to make,” said Talbot. “I had no idea how it would all work out.”
Talbot received a job offer at an interior design firm within one week after he moved to Atlanta. Three days into his new career, however, he was offered a job at a commercial firm where he had applied earlier and been turned down. Tempted by the company’s benefits package and health insurance, he squelched his reservations about working at a firm known for designing sports complexes and locker rooms.
Talbot said he received a crash course in hospitality and custom work during his two years in commercial design. As much as he enjoyed the experience, though, he was really looking for something more creative.
“That was when I started speaking to sales reps,” he said. Talbot stressed the importance of networking in his career and said it has always been the sales representatives who have the most information and are the first to hear about job opportunities. He learned about job openings at Shaw Industries and Knoll, Inc., and was eventually offered a job with Shaw Industries.
Shaw was interested in hiring him because of his experience and perspective as a commercial designer. At Shaw, Talbot feels he has much more room to be creative. As one of three carpet designers, he has developed two collections of carpet tiles, which launched this year: Hexagon and Beyond the Fold. He displayed samples of both collections at the workshop.
Hexagon carpet tiles at Michael Talbot’s workshop
Talbot said he is currently happy at Shaw and that no two days are alike. He may be working in concept development one day or tufting fabrics the next; some days he is picking out furniture for photo shoots to promote products; other days he is drawing patterns, giving clients tours of the plants, or traveling to conferences and trade shows.
Ultimately, Talbot said his end goal is to own his own residential practice and/or launch his own product line.
The interior design students were interested and engaged and asked Talbot several questions about his unconventional career. When asked about the interview process and how best to prepare, Talbot advised students to take their studio work seriously.
He said that his studio experience at LSU has helped him the most in the interview process, allowing him to show employers an established portfolio of creative projects right out of school.
“You might wonder about the point of these crazy assignments when you’re still in the studio at 3 a.m.,” he said. “Trust me. It’s much better to do the work now with your friends around than by yourself at four in the morning when you don’t have a job.”
As Tracy Burns pointed out during the workshop, “Personality also goes a long way.”
About LSU Department of Interior Design
The LSU Department of Interior Design program emphasizes creative problem solving, research and analysis, and graphic skills. Student activities are supported in the design studios, which form the core of the educational experience. Liberal arts, business, communication, and technical courses are required and complement the program’s strong emphasis on design. For more information, visit interiordesign.lsu.edu.