Collaboration is at the heart of every successful interior design project, and having the right partners can make all the difference. In this special interview-style blog post, I sat down with three of PbyP’s favorite power partners—Matt Ducharme of MGD Builders, Jeffrey Bennett of Monterrey Tile, and Dejan Bosnjak of Initiative Construction. Each of these industry experts brings a unique perspective and specialized knowledge that helps support my small business and bring my design visions to life. From high-quality craftsmanship, innovative materials, and seamless execution to savvy business knowledge, they shared their insights, experiences, and advice. Let’s dive in!
Dejan Bosnjak, at just 23 years old, is a powerhouse in the construction industry, owning his own general contracting business and taking on luxury clientele. Though he only opened Initiative Construction a few years ago, Dejan has an extensive background in construction stemming from his father. His father was an electrical contractor who decided to build a custom home with the help of a contractor. Little did Dejan know that his father’s business venture would lead to his future career. When looking back on that time, Dejan said, “I spent the entire summer with my dad onsite on this custom home project and then realized that I wanted to stay in construction. Fast forward two years, my father decided to build another custom home, but this time he was acting as an owner builder.” Dejan continued to recall his time with his father at the age of fourteen, saying, “I spent the entire summer on-site meeting with inspectors and trade partners and learning the ins and outs of the industry. Fast forward another two years, my father decided to build another custom home.” So now, at sixteen years old, Dejan explained that while his father was extremely busy with projects and attaining financing, “I was playing superintendent or project manager for him. That project was the cherry on top that pointed me in the direction of studying Construction Management at ASU.” Shortly after Dejan graduated, he began Initiative Construction. If that isn’t the coolest origin story, I don’t know what is!
Two of my favorite questions to ask our contractors are what is their favorite project they’ve worked on and what was the most difficult project they’ve had to execute? Dejan’s answers did not disappoint! His favorite project comes from a time when he was working for the Chasse Building Team. “We had the privilege to install the Pat Tillman Mosaic Mural at Tillman Middle School. After the install, the Pat Tillman Foundation and ASU hosted the grand opening of the school, which was broadcast on local news channels.” When I asked Dejan about the most difficult design he’s ever had to execute, his sarcastic humor that I love so much shined bright. “All of [your] projects!” he said, with a quick, lighthearted follow-up of “Just kidding!” His actual answer was a lot more serious. “In 2024, we completed a full gut, remodel, and home addition on a project here in Scottsdale. That project in particular had multiple interior load-bearing walls that the owner wanted us to remove in order to open up the floor plan. Ultimately, this resulted in us creating a structural shoring plan with the structural engineer to shore about 80% of the existing home’s roof over a course of three weeks until all foundation and interior framing work was completed.” If you’re like me and don’t know what shoring is, it’s a process of temporarily supporting a structure to maintain stability and prevent collapse during repairs or remodeling. Dejan goes on to explain, “The obstacle here was creating a safe workspace for all the trades while keeping the existing structure structurally sound. All work was completed, the owner was incredibly happy as a result, and most importantly, everyone involved remained safe.”
I have worked with Dejan on a few projects and have had nothing but a fantastic experience! My designs would not come to fruition without phenomenal contractors such as Dejan, but contractors don’t always need designers (though we’d like to argue that they do). When I asked Dejan what benefits he finds in working with interior designers on his projects, his answer was nothing short of fantastic. “We love working with designers! In fact, we are no longer taking projects without complete designs. Designers elevate the overall outcome of a project, much more than we builders or the owners could ever. They create a flow throughout the spaces…and lay out all of the smallest of details that others do not think about. Some [builders] may argue that they can make decisions on different aspects of building such as tile pattern, grout size, etcetera, which is true to an extent…but the outcome from having a designer lead in these decisions is artwork that people actually live in and use day in and day out.” It is an honor to work with an incredible builder such as Dejan who understands the value of an interior designer. That is what makes us such a great team and gives our clients an exceptional experience!
As we look into the future and the goals Dejan has for this year, he said he is “looking forward to getting into smaller semi-custom development projects…along with larger scale custom homes. We are making breakthroughs in the higher-end luxury market where we believe that we belong. With our attention to detail, strict schedule management, and technological incorporations in our projects, we are slowly shaking the norm and changing the way the luxury custom home market has functioned up to this point.” Check out Initiative Construction on their website and give them a follow on Instagram! Take a look at PbyP’s Instagram and find the projects #TuckerTrail and #HomeAwayFromHome to peek into the work I have done and are doing with Dejan!
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Not only are builders and contractors pivotal in the success of an interior designer, but so are the vendors they specify from! One such vendor is Monterrey Tile and I have the best sales representative, though he is much more than just that. I have known him and been working with him for 11 years and plan to continue for many more to come! The man, the myth, and the legend is none other than Jeffrey Bennett. He has been working in the tile business since 1985, making him a wealth of knowledge and expertise that we trust wholeheartedly. His career began when he took a job at a tile store while he was in college for business. As any smart business student would do, he said he “read a lot of industry publications, and at the time, the [tile] industry was on an upward trajectory, so I figured it was a good business to get into.” Jeffrey was right! In 1990 he started his own tile and stone business in Oregon and saw great success. At the peak of that success, “I employed around 56 people and had 3 stores. We did projects in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, and Northern California.” It wasn’t until 2008 when the economy and construction industry collapsed that he felt it best to switch gears. At the advice of a trusted contractor, Jeffrey decided Arizona was the place to go. “I researched it for about a year, then lined up interviews with about a dozen companies. I flew [to Arizona] and met with the companies and ended up striking a deal with Monterrey Tile.” Thus began the transition and the move! He gave his remaining employees in Oregon notice and shut down his company. Reflecting on that time in his life, Jeffrey said “It was really stressful, but I believed that anything was better than my current situation.” His career with Monterrey Tile began on November 1st, 2012 as the Retail Sales Manager.
Presently, Jeffrey is an Architectural and Designer Solutions Provider. He is uniquely qualified for this position because of his experience and passion for the business. “I’ve traveled around the world in this business, from the stone quarries in Italy and Spain to the quartz and tile factories in the USA,” Jeffrey said. “I started at the bottom as a warehouse order picker…been a salesperson, manager, and owner. I’ve worked on…hotels, shopping malls, and sports arenas.” Monterrey Tile had seen his proficiency and helped him climb the corporate food chain. But why has Jeffrey stuck with this company for so long? Because they are different from other tile distributors. When asked to elaborate, he said it’s partly due to the people Monterrey Tile employs. “From the guys at the order desk to the forklift drivers and customer services peeps, they all have the same attitude- that ‘we [have to] take care of the client’.” The other part that makes Monterrey Tile a standout company to work for and purchase from is its product diversity. “Years ago we diverted from being heavily dependent on Chinese-made goods to buying American,” Jeffrey said. “Now we represent Atlas Concorde USA, Landmark USA, Del Conca USA, and Florim USA”, all of which have Tennessee-based factories. They also distribute many European brands like Anthology and Walker Zanger to name a few. I can attest not only to the variety of products but also to the quality of people who work at Monterrey Tile. Jeffrey is a testament to that. Since he’s been in the industry for as long as he has, we just had to ask him what the coolest design he’s seen done with a tile he’s sold. Excitedly, Jeffrey explained a few, starting with the largest, which was “the Arizona Grand Resort. 30,000 square feet of 12 by 24 porcelain in their common areas.” He then followed that up with the smallest project, which was “a 1-foot by 8-foot stripe of green river rock I had installed in a lady’s powder bath. It was 1 foot wide and went from the floor to the ceiling.” Small, but dramatic! Jeffrey is also incredibly innovative, and that is reflected in his work. “When I owned my tile and stone company, my best friend was a custom builder. He and I did all kinds of outrageous things in his homes from floating countertops and waterfall edges before it was a thing, to incorporating metal and glass with tile that we sourced from machine shops and mirror and glass companies,” said Jeffrey. Of all the projects he described in answer to this question, this next one was my favorite. “I supplied tile, countertops, and tub surrounds for my father’s hotel. We had all of the slab work cut to size by one of my Chinese suppliers. We measured every countertop and tub surround off of the plans and emailed them the drawings with dimensions. They converted our inches to centimeters, and our English to Chinese. When it arrived, it all fit perfectly and was more accurate than the work done by the contractors [we were working with],” Jeffrey said.
This interview with Jeffrey wouldn’t be complete without asking him to divulge tidbits of product knowledge and discuss current trends he is seeing. “We are finally seeing a surge in porcelain [countertop] slabs”, which he is a huge proponent of, as am I! Jeffrey goes on to explain why by saying, “It’s virtually indestructible, can be used outdoors in direct sunlight, and the designs are amazing. Utilizing inkjet and digital imagery, the factories can replicate basic designs like limestone, to the most exotic quartzlites, all at the same price point.” It’s for those reasons that he always recommends porcelain over natural stone. “I love natural stone myself, but I also understand its limitations and variations.” Of course, Jeffrey would know this from his time in the industry, but more so from using natural stone in his own homes. He says that taking care of marble was a pain, and travertine floors easily stained and scratched. “With digitization and inkjet technology the way it is now, I can have limestone-looking floor that will never scratch, stain, or etch,” Jeffrey expressed. Anyone’s bathroom can now have the luxurious look of marble but made from porcelain, relieving the upkeep and expensive cost. Arguably the best thing about porcelain, Jeffrey said, is that it’s “the most durable product you can put on any surface. Floors, walls, countertops, indoor or out, can be enhanced with porcelain…In 50 years it will look the same as it will the day [it’s installed].” To conclude this miraculous interview with Jeffrey, he stated, “I love our business because we are in ‘construction fashion’. Every year there are new colors, textures, and designs. It never gets stale!” Jeffrey is truly paramount to the success of my projects. He consistently goes above and beyond for me, all of his clients, and Monterrey Tile. Check out Monterrey Tile on their website and give them a follow on Instagram! Take a look at PbyP’s website and Instagram and look for the project #MoroccanMesa to see some of the Monterrey Tile products I’ve sourced and installed!
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My last, but certainly not least, featured interview is with Matt Ducharme of MGD Builders. Matt is one of my dearest collaborators in business, assisting on projects currently in the works and co-hosting many networking events with me. One of my favorite things about Matt is how business savvy he is, and how he goes about his personal and professional life with such positivity and exuberance. With that said, I am going to take a bit of a twist for this interview and focus on the topic of starting and maintaining a successful small business!
To start, we first have to learn more about Matt, how he got started in this industry, and what led him to start his own business. “I had a friend who worked for a general contractor, who was hiring for a laborer position. I had spent 6 years working in the commercial sign industry, [then] I wound up being hired on to a company called Hawkey Construction”, Matt explained. “They did residential remodeling almost exclusively. I worked there for 2 and a half years and acquired many skills taught on the job. I then moved to a company called JDI Custom Construction, taking on a position as a superintendent. This was my first role in a leadership capacity, and when the residential construction dried up in the housing crash around ‘06 or ‘07, we were working on restaurant new builds and commercial tenant improvements.” That leadership position kick-started his desire to be a boss. Matt went on to say, “I have a very strong opinion on how businesses should be run and had to deal with a lot of things I found to be improper while working for others.”
Even with the internal struggle of working for others but having such high standards, Matt didn’t venture out on his own until he was “forced to do so” when he was laid off from JDI. “I looked for a job for quite some time but nothing paid more than about $12 an hour and I had a family at home to provide for,” said Matt. As a result, MGD Builders was born on January 1st, 2010. Amusingly, Matt didn’t have a contractor’s license when MGD started. “I was doing whatever work paid money and flying under the radar,” Matt said. These projects were small but plenty, and kept him afloat. Eventually, his projects scaled up and he saved up enough money to get fully licensed in 2014. His continuous goal has always been growth on both the residential and commercial sides of his business. As recently as 2020, Matt stated, “We have focused on luxury residential projects [and] gone through a complete re-branding and built the team that exists today.” Running a small business doesn’t come without its fair share of challenges, the top of which for Matt is hiring and keeping the right employees. To help rectify this, Matt explained that they now use a recruiting service and purposely make the hiring process “long and difficult, which has been effective in weeding out the folks we should not hire anyway.” Matt has also worked hard on formulating position agreement documents and internal structuring systems “that provide roadmaps for employee growth and provide metrics for coaching and improvement”, which have been game-changers. Another continuous hurdle Matt has to overcome is finding and connecting with the right kind of clients. “I hated the idea of marketing for the longest time,” Matt said, “and now we are marketing in 5 or 6 different directions, which is becoming a critical part of our growth strategy.” On the opposite side of the spectrum, operating a small business also provides many moments of pride. For Matt, that comes in the form of “seeing the people I have coached succeed, bringing their own original content and applying it to their participation to create outcomes that are beyond what they thought they could do and way better than anything that I could produce myself.” Matt’s mentality about proper leadership is allowing people to be “a taller version of themselves,” and watching people grow into their taller selves is the reward for him. Matt went on to say that, “measuring backward to see how far we have come and what we have accomplished is exhilarating.”
It’s clear that Matt is rich in knowledge and experience, and is thrilled to share it with others. When asked what advice he’d give to those who are looking to start their own business, he passionately exclaimed, “Ask for help! There have been a ton of things I have read about after learning them the hard way.” To save future business owners that pain, Matt gave the 4-1-1 on his favorite resources. “The Entrepreneur’s Game Plan by Mark Mertel is an excellent, comprehensive resource that can guide a person from business concept to being open for operation,” said Matt. He mentioned two more great books that have been pivotal for him as of late, which are The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann and The Gap and the Gain by Ben Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy. “It’s critical to work on yourself while you work on your business,” Matt stated. “Self-improvement has the effect of improving all of your relationships.”
You might be wondering what other tips Matt has; I sure am! So, I asked and Matt declared, “Manage your cash flow! Use debt as a tool, apply for credit when you do not need it, [and] be careful how you use your resources. If you do not manage money well, it will…reduce your ability to withstand the ebb and flow that can happen with ongoing sales.” What about my readers who are already business owners and need some support? Of course, Matt had advice for that, as well. “Being the boss can be very challenging,” he emphasized. “Leaning into strong friendships and practicing personal care have to be a part of the process for survival. Knowing your limit and taking breaks before burnout keep relationships from being destroyed in the process.” It is that piece of advice that Matt, MGD, and PbyP connected so strongly with, as that is a personal and professional value of mine, too! I couldn’t end this interview without asking Matt what his personal and professional goals are for this year. In true Matt fashion, his answers were both fun and inspirational. “My personal goal is to spend more time doing the things that I want to do outside of work- camping, traveling, connecting with family, [and] wrenching on my old Cadillac,” said Matt. “I am also trying to sort out a concise vision for how I am going to beautify my own home, inside and out.” I made sure to let Matt know if he needs any help in bringing that vision to life that I, an extraordinary designer, am at his disposal!
When speaking on his professional goals for the year, Matt said he aims to “continue growing our team, smooth out our sales process, and grow our network of professional relationships. I am the one who spearheads all of our front-end sales processes and I finally have the bandwidth to focus a large amount of effort in that direction. We have all the support systems in place for success and would like to add two new labor positions…We need the sales numbers to support it and our marketing efforts are beginning to make real traction. Trusting and leaning into the systems that we have created as a team will lend itself to realizing all of these goals. It is almost entirely as simple as showing up and enjoying the ride!” Check out MGD Builders on their website and give them a follow on Instagram! Stay tuned on PbyP’s Instagram for the premier of a project I am working on with MGD Builders and to stay up-to-date on networking events we enjoy hosting with them!
Great business and design is never a solo endeavor—it’s a collaboration between skilled professionals who each bring their expertise to the table. After speaking with Dejan Bosnjak, Jeffrey Bennett, and Matt Ducharme, it’s clear that expert construction, quality materials, and a strong comprehension of the needs of your business are the foundation of any successful project. Their insights highlighted the importance of teamwork, innovation, and attention to detail in creating spaces that are both beautiful and functional, and businesses that can make and attain even the largest of goals. I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with such talented partners and look forward to many more inspiring projects together. If you’re planning a renovation or design project, having the right team in place makes all the difference! Contact us today to work with us!