My A's to your Q's

One of the things I enjoy the most about being a multi-hyphenate (aka I wear a lot of hats!) are the questions I get on a regular basis. Most often, people ask about my journey, my design aesthetic, or business advice. I love that thinking about my answers causes me to pause and be grateful for my journey, and the experiences I’ve had that allow me to speak with some wisdom on these topics. As much as I try to answer questions via social media, I often don’t get to all of them, so I thought I’d take some time here to answer the questions that pop up most often in my DMs. I hope these can live here, where they can be referenced, but also as a way for me to document where I am now, for future perspective. Here we go!

Q: I’m a new designer and would love to hear any tips you have about getting started!

AG: I recommend getting some kind of education and skill-set training in interior design. I don’t believe everyone who’s interested in design needs a degree in it, but I do believe there are some basics to the process of design, color theory, floorplanning, etc that you need to have a handle on. There’s also technical aspects like drawing programs you may consider taking courses in, as they are valuable skill sets to have. As importantly, I strongly recommend working for an established interior designer before deciding to go out on your own. No matter how strong an education program is, it can’t show you “a day in the life,” and likely won’t offer the kind of experience you can get seeing the inner workings of a design business.

Q: How do you vet potential clients?

AG: We go through several steps. Our process steps include: a client application/questionnaire, an Investment Guide that outlines our process, answers FAQs, and provides some framework for our pricing, then schedule an initial Discovery Call. There’s a lot of “gut instinct” that goes into the vetting process, that honestly, just comes with time and experience. Obviously, it’s great if we “hit it off” with a potential client, personality-wise, but we also ask important questions about how they envision the process to be, why they’re hiring a designer, who makes the decisions about the project, for both the design aspect and the budget. And we really listen to their answers, their body language, etc. Vetting clients is a perpetual learning experience. Every client and project teaches us something about who we prefer to work with, and who would best be suited for someone else.

Q: What’s your favorite kind of project?

AG: My favorite kinds of projects are those where there is a strong level of trust from the client, and the budget to let us do our best work. I gravitate towards remodels and renovations because they often have such a positive impact on how people live, but a purely decorating project can also be incredibly rewarding!

Q: What does “soulful” style mean to you?

AG: Several years ago, a friend used the word “soulful” to describe my design work, and it really resonated. For me, it encapsulates the layered with character, mix of old and new, collected, and sort of frayed-around-the-edges style I gravitate towards, and am often called upon to create for our clients.

Q: How did you get into the design business?

AG: I don’t really look at it as “getting into” the design business as much as discovering that interior design IS a professional business. Growing up, I didn’t know anyone who was an interior designer, so I had no point of reference for it being an actual job. At most, I saw some of my classmate’s mothers who would “help their friends decorate.” It was only after graduating from college, working in sales, going to law school, and moving overseas with my husband and new baby that I was introduced to interior design blogs (this was circa 2008), and I learned there were people out there who were design professionals with credentials, etc. At that point, I recognized design as something I’ve always loved, but never knew it to be a job. I set out to learn all about interior design as a profession, and to explore how I could get into the field. When we moved back to the US in 2013, I took an interior decorating certification course at the local community college, and tried to get work for interior design firms. I didn’t have much luck getting hired because I didn’t have a formal degree or prior experience, so I decided to give it a go myself!