We were lucky to catch up with Jess Klein recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jess thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

One of my parents’ greatest legacies is caring for their home in a deeply meaningful way. Without a doubt, this was my biggest inspiration for my career path as an interior designer.

I grew up in Oklahoma and when I was a first grader, my family moved to our forever home. My parents were so proud of our simple home and as a family, caring for our home was a core value that really bonded us and gave us a collective appreciation for this space where so many memories were made.

One of our neighbors had a unique passion for design and art, and she helped my mom with updating our home with new furnishings. One of my favorite memories was when my mom allowed me to decorate my own bedroom with our neighbor! My new tan-and-maroon-with-hints-of-leopard (aging myself here) bedroom sparked my early love for interior design, as well as my new-found creative spirit.

Years later, my life changed drastically when my mom passed away when I was a teenager. Living through this experience made me realize exactly how fragile life is and it changed my perspective on how to live. As a result it really encouraged me to figure out life on my own and let me to listen to myself and my interests and curiosities which led me to the place that I am today.

I am forever grateful for the love that my parents put into my childhood home to make it a haven for health, comfort and a lifetime of memories that inspire my work and life today.

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.

I’m Jess Klein, founder of Jess Klein Studio, which is a Boston-based multidisciplinary interior design studio focusing on full-service interior design, from home renovations to furnishings and organizing services, as well as blog and social media partnerships for like-minded brands. We’ve been creating spaces in New England since 2015 and I’ve been humbled to grow the JKS team and our services to serve both residential clients as well as commercial clients.

Our signature approach always involves designing homes and spaces that call to you and encourage you to get comfortable – spaces you really, actually live and work in. We prove that practicality can be friends with distinct style, and that both sophisticated simplicity and warmth can coexist beautifully. We are firm believers that the spaces you spend your time in should be pleasing to the eye but also allow you to go about your day with ease; this is the power of good design. And we want to showcase that power in your own home.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

After discovering my true love of interior design in college, my dreams of creating a life outside of Oklahoma became a reality when I moved to San Diego with my then boyfriend Cody, a budding landscape architect. For the first time, I felt the ability to be in charge of my life more than ever before. As a newcomer, I was motivated to network my way to new connections, including starting a blog, and becoming an early adopter to social media. Through these channels, I got to test my interior design skills and quickly knew I wanted to grow my experience and turn this passion into a full-time career.

After gaining industry experience, I knew residential interior design was my professional happy place. Designing residential homes reinvigorated my passion for creating a space that provides warmth, memories and love – as inspired by my own childhood.

After a few years, Boston came calling and following a cross-country move, successful blog growth, I set out to learn more about this new market and style of homes. After a couple of years, feeling like I always needed a side hustle, I realized I was comfortable in the Boston market and I could create a full pipeline of prospective clients. I launched Oh, I Design Studio in 2015 as the official service-business partner to Oh, I Design blog – and in 2023, I rebranded the entire business to Jess Klein Studio.

Today, I serve clients through Jess Klein Studio by creating simplicity and positivity through well-designed spaces. Built on the core values of trust, accountability, flexibility and selflessness, our team provides a seamless design journey, with emphasis on the melding practicality and distinct style, for local Boston residents and beyond.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I started my original blog, Oh, I Design blog in 2011 and was excited to be an early adopter of this medium. It gave me a creative outlet to share my passion for interior design, and helped make new connections with other bloggers and new industry friends. I joined Twitter at the same time and Instagram shortly thereafter – these social networks amplified my blog and helped me network and get inspired.

For those looking to build a social media presence: the landscape has definitely changed and although I am no expert, I’d recommend doing a personal check-in to make sure you know your ‘why’ and know that it will take some time to build an audience. Having a strategic outlook and setting goals for your emerging social presence will help build your brand the right way, and will be the north star that you’ll always be able to look to as you grow – knowing your “why” helps you focus on what matters to your brand, and block out the noisy things that don’t.     

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jesskleinstudio.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jesskleinstudio/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-klein-6213b430/

Image Credits
Photography credit / Jess Klein branding photos: http://griggieri.com/ Photography credit / interior design photos: https://www.joyellewest.com/