The Market Makers

What if your biggest career break came from standing at a cash register and asking a stranger with eight assistants to teach you what they do?

Mikel Welch is a designer, TV personality, and design expert on the Drew Barrymore Show who built his career on pure instinct, relentless faith, and the willingness to work for free. He moved to New York with $500, a miniature schnauzer, and a borrowed couch—then took overnight shifts at the Container Store while posting free design services on Craigslist just to build a portfolio.

Mikel talks about growing up in Detroit building Lego cities as a kid, the 40-minute Crate & Barrel detour that changed his life, and how he learned the business by redesigning green rooms for Michelle Obama and Halle Berry with furniture he'd return the next day.

Mikel opens up about imposter syndrome, not being classically trained, and learning that his gift for envisioning spaces isn't something you can teach—it's just in him. He shares the lesson that changed everything: it can't just be about the money. If you're only chasing a paycheck, it'll never work. It has to be about what you give back.

Follow The Market Makers wherever you get your podcasts for more stories of transformation from the people shaping how we live, work, and gather.

What is The Market Makers?

Every creative professional knows the power of a before and after. It’s a classic transformation arc - whether it’s a renovation, glow up, or an old-fashioned make over. But reinvention doesn’t just apply to products or spaces. It also holds true for our lives and our careers. The sketch on the napkin that becomes a collection. The risk that changes everything. The work that turns a brand into a lasting presence.

The Market Makers is a weekly podcast from ANDMORE, home to markets that have been the stage for so many of these transformations. Hosted by CEO, Jon Pertchik, each episode pulls back the curtain on the lives of creative professionals across design, furniture, home, lifestyle and beyond.

From industry icons like Thom Filicia to leaders at heritage brands like Bassett Furniture, guests share the moments that shaped them, not just the before and after, but the process in between.

Whether it’s finding your aesthetic, carving out a niche, scaling a business, or turning a side hustle into a lasting brand, The Market Makers goes beyond the showrooms and into the creative lives of the people shaping how we live, work, and gather.

Follow The Market Makers wherever you get your podcasts for new episodes every week.