Scott CokerPadilla Interior Designer ASID, IIDA

Scott is a native from Dallas, Texas, born and raised, transported to Minneapolis where he received one of three Bachelors degrees, in Interior Design. As a class project, in his final year of Design school, he was challenged to propose a business plan. Instead of writing it out in black in white, he brought it to full fruition and made it a reality. In August 1997, he opened his first Interior Design Studio on Lake Street in Minneapolis and named it “Guilt Trip Interior Design Studio”. Within one year of being open, he had paid himself back the original “start up” monies, expanded his employees from 3 to 15 sales associates, and had 5 NCIDQ Certified Interior Designers working for him, selling his merchandise from his store, grossing 1.2 million dollars in sales. Within the third year of business, he opened his second location in San Diego, California off of University Avenue, followed by a third location in Mesa, Arizona, and a fourth location in Dallas, Texas inside the Dallas Trade Mart. Now grossing over 5 million dollars a year, having over 300 employees, having star studded clients on both the East and West coast’s, having been published in Architectural Digest Magazine, Home and Garden Magazine, House Beautiful Magazine, Metropolis, Midwest Home and Garden, being sought out by producers of TLC for his own cable shows, and winning countless awards within the Design industry he retired from the business in 2007 by selling his company’s to individual buyers. As a result from the sale, he has spent the last 4 years traveling, relaxing, freelancing to his top priority clients and enjoying life as he wishes. He has been an active Board Member of countless organizations over the past 15 years, such as MGRA, Kansas City Passages, The Climb, Minneapolis AIDS Project Center, different PRIDE Committees, ASID, IIDA, DIFFA, Who’s Who, and the list goes on.