We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Andrea Hutchman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Andrea thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with 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?

I have a good friend who does branding and graphic design. I traded her a kitchen design for help with my logo and business name. Over linch, she asked me to describe how I would describe my design aesthetic. I like bright, punchy colors. I like rooms to feel invigorating and creative. I like spaces with a sense of humor. The word that kept coming up was “poppy”, so I became Poppy Interiors. The only unfortunate thing is that people often think my name is Poppy!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Interior design is a second career for me. I was an actress for many years and worked extensively in theater, producing through my own company. There are many parallels between theater and design. Every client is different, like every character. It’s necessary to try to think like someone else. Lots of project management skills are needed to get the thing off the ground. There’s always something new to learn and something that hasn’t come up before.

I would say my strong suit as a designer is space planning. I love the rethink the flow of a space and redesign it to work better. Because I am an outside eye, so to speak, I can see more easily how to fix a problem. We get used to things when they are in our own homes and don’t see them anymore.

I like to encourage people to be bold and have fun. Your space should bring you joy. Like is too short for boring rooms! I also emphasize that the design process should be fun. I think people can get this grim determination to do a thing right, and that is why so many people have neutral sofas ;)

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I have always paid for professional photography. At times, it has seemed like too big an expense, but beautiful images are the best calling card I have.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

I send client gifts at the end of the year. I should probably do a newsletter (maybe next year!). I do find that asking previous clients to serve as references for me has kept them in the loop.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.poppyinteriors.net
• Instagram: @poppyinteriors
• Facebook: poppyinteriors

Image Credits

patrick kelly
molly haas