We were lucky to catch up with Adriana Hartung recently and have shared our conversation below.

Adriana, appreciate you joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

It took me a while to come up with a business name that felt authentically ‘me.’ I knew I wanted something punchy that prospective clients could easily remember. I also knew I wanted to incorporate my (personal) name in the business name to convey the level of personalization that goes into the styling process. I ultimately landed on Curate. By Adriana because I love helping others edit their wardrobes and find their perfect look. The word ‘curate’ resonates, since it refers to the careful selection of items.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m in my early thirties and based in NYC. A few of my simple pleasures include: a frothy oat milk latte, vintage shopping, and a curated closet (hence, the business name). I started Curate. By Adriana as a little passion project to help others edit their wardrobes and find their perfect look. I believe anyone can create a polished, effortless wardrobe, regardless of their budget.

Whether refreshing their wardrobe, packing for a vacation, or preparing for an upcoming event, my goal is to help clients streamline the process and create a style that feels unique to them. I believe in balancing classic investment pieces with budget-friendly finds and making getting dressed an enjoyable, stress-free experience.

While I’m still establishing a client base, I’ve been focused on launching my website and Instagram page to build awareness, share styling tips, and inspire others. I couldn’t be more excited to grow and evolve this new-to-me venture in 2025.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

While I’m in the very early stages of building my business, I’ve learned quickly that, as a small business owner, I can’t let my inherent desire for perfection hold me back from making progress. I’m still tweaking my website, offerings, and social media strategy, and I’m sure I’ll continue to evolve them over time. But that’s ok! Taking a test-and-learn approach has made me appreciate hitting the mini milestones even more.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media has been a learning curve for me, but a fun challenge! I’m still figuring out how to build my audience. What I’ve found has worked so far, though, is focusing first and foremost on creating and editing high-quality content to post consistently. While I understand audience growth is important, I want to ensure that when people follow me, they look forward to viewing and engaging with my content.

Creating and editing content is very time-consuming, but I’ve found that building a monthly content calendar in advance helps me. I lay out as much detail as possible to help the ‘future me’ operate more efficiently. For instance, I plan outfits to feature and draft captions in advance. In addition to content creation, I’ve been sharing my page with friends, family, and new people I’ve met along the way, hoping that they’ll find my content interesting and share it with others in their networks.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.curatebyadriana.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/curatebyadriana/