We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Aston Moody a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Aston thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
I received my interiors education from the school of hard knocks. I originally earned a BA in English and a Masters in Education but left teaching after 12 years. When I began in the design world, I didn’t have the luxury of going back to school with two young kids and bills to pay, so I just jumped right in. So all of my learning process has come from on-the-job experience and trial and error. I began six years ago working for a local contractor. This one year experience taught me so much about both design, the construction process, and client interactions. When I went out on my own, I learned the rest from just getting out there and doing project after project. Each home and each client taught me something new to change or tweak or do better the next time. Fellow designers local to SC that I have met along the way have been a HUGE part of my learning journey. We converse daily bouncing ideas, sharing sources, talking through problems. I have found that most people in my field are very open and generous and are craving comradery in this industry as was I. I have googled a million things, asked contractors tons of questions, and listened to a lot of design podcasts. I have worked with a business coach and have taken a few online courses. The main process that has been hardest to learn is the business side of owning my own company. Even if I had gone to design school or worked for a designer before I started, I think it would have been hard to learn the back-office portion of this job. So I have created processes and learned programs along the way that scaffold the spending, documenting, sourcing, and billing side of decorating.
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 have always been obsessed with pretty vignettes. I originally wanted to be a wedding planner because I loved pouring through wedding magazines and the thought of putting together a beautiful scene for a wedding. But ended up teaching and when I left that career, I realized that the original love of a beautiful scene was alive and well considering how much time I spent on Pinterest. After decorating for a few friends and taking a job with a contractor, I decided to have a go at this for real. My friends spread my name to people who became clients and from their Aston Moody Interiors was born. We have evolved into a luxury design firm providing elevated, polished rooms that fit our clients’ individual style and needs. We aim to provide both function and beauty and try to create a space that reflects our client’s personality. We dream and design best in the realm of color, and we love to layer and mix pattern on pattern. I want potential clients to know that we (my assistant and I) strive to really listen to client needs and wants and that we work best when our client trusts us.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
My following on social media isn’t astronomical, but because Instagram (along with word of mouth) is the main source of leads for my business, I am proud of building a decent size following. I have done a number of creative, consistent things to build this following. I began with very consistent posting, at least three times a week. I did a home tour series where we toured a different home in SC once a month for 12 months, and because I was able to tag the host and sometimes have the host retag / repost me, that helped drum up following in various places in SC. I collaborated with other small business owners on a number of different giveaways, which is always helpful because then all of those small biz owners are posting about you as well, and anyone entering the giveaway is spreading your name too by tagging their friends. I also co-created an in-person shopping event called The Cola Eclectic and used that as a way to get my name out there. I’ve put ads in local publications that have an online presence and they post about me. I always try to tag vendors if I post something containing their item. All of these decisions have helped build my following to over 14,000 to date.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
The best resources I have found along the way that I wish a fairy god mother had shown me from the start would be podcasts, I love multiple but especially A Well-Designed Business, which has taught me so much about the business side of having my own company, High Point Market and Atlanta Market — I had to figure out how to go, why I should go, and how to get trade accounts at these places and elsewhere. How to run my back-office… I use Excel, GoogleDrive, and Design Files. And how to reach out to other women in the industry for relationships, advice, and help.
Contact Info:
- Website: astonmoodyinteriors.com
- Instagram: @astonmoodyinteriors
- Facebook: Aston Moody Interiors
Image Credits
Three images of rooms (except one) — KJ Films Pink and black office — Christina Hussey Photography Prof pic of me sitting at dining table — Salmon Photo and Video