We recently connected with Chloe Cubbage and have shared our conversation below.

Chloe, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

I started Hive Interiors in the midst of 2020. I came from a toxic work environment where the owner of the design firm had used her initials (an incredibly popular designer business naming strategy) and it felt like we did was masked or overshadowed, you don’t feel like an individual. I wanted to make sure designers who worked with me, and the clients we collaborated with felt included. I’ve always thought of myself as a busy bee … and so the idea of the hive was built. We are all worker bees building beautiful structures and telling our stories.

Chloe, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hi! I’m Chloe Cubbage and I started Hive Interiors in 2020 to share my passion for beautiful spaces with the world.

Hive Interiors is a full-service design studio based in central Virginia with offices in both Richmond and Amherst. Available for local consultation and full-service design or long-distance e-design, we are here to help your home tell your story.

We believe successful design is a collaboration between the client and the designer. We spend our days curating furnishings, finishes + accessories to give you a space you feel good about.

We have started to lean heavily into the holiday mode and offer holiday decorating services for residential client. It is so special to take a blank space for a client and have them come home to a fully decked out home!

I also run a non-profit farm animal sanctuary that is home to over 100 displaced farm animals. Our mission is to be a safe space for neglected, abused or displaced farm animals. We work tirelessly with vets and professionals to rehabilitate bodies and souls of our residents.

We have recently begun working with community partners to help work with underprivileged individuals to share the love and special bond of animals.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

We are almost exclusively a word of mouth company – we do no advertising at this time.

Our clients get our very best 110% of the time. We strive to make every single design job / renovation job / holiday install the best possible.

In this industry, timeline and supply chain and outside labor all add incredible complexity.

We work as a liaison and provide as much transparency as possible to help manage client and contractor expectations.

While we do not take ownership of outside mistakes, we do recognize that they happen and work with clients throughout any hiccups that can happen.

Our client relationships are long lasting and I truly credit that to our work ethic and honesty.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

I met my business partner at a firm we were both working at and it was BFFs at first sight. We learned that we worked well together and tackled some difficult issues that cemented our relationship (in and out of the office).

When I broke off and started Hive, all I was missing was Auburn. It took her about 6 months to decide she wanted to join the team, but we haven’t looked back! I brought her on as a co-owner and it’s the best business decision I’ve ever made.

We have different strengths and weaknesses and they compliment each other incredibly well. We are also good at setting aside time to “just be friends” and we turn business mode off to ensure we continue nurturing our relationship independently of the business.

Contact Info:

• Website: HiveInteriors.com
• Instagram: Hiveinteriorsrva
• Other: Farm sanctuary Instagram – libertymeadowsva

Image Credits
Chloe Cubbage