Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kelli Coyle. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Kelli, thanks for 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?

The intention behind my name “Design to Flourish” is simple. I want to create something that comes from me but is quintessentially you, from the initial design, right down to the final flourishes. I pride myself on creating custom work for each of my clients. I love the idea of each piece being hand-touched. It shows how much thought goes into each individual piece of stationery and signage. I really love when couples come to me with “I don’t know if you can do this, but…” It’s that question that usually leads to the creation of some of my favorite pieces.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I always loved crafting from a very early age. As a child, I tried everything I could get my hands on: painting by numbers, creating latch-hook rugs, wearing out my spirograph, even calligraphy. It was this innate passion for art led me to pursue my bachelor’s degree in design and merchandising.

While I ultimately landed in a career in retail operations, I still found myself wanting to create new things and stay inspired. In my free time, I returned to calligraphy. After many hours of practicing, playing around with different styles, cruising Pinterest for inspo, and spilling many, many ink bottles, I successfully taught myself.

When I attended a few calligraphy workshops hosted by talented calligraphers, my husband joked that this whole calligraphy thing was becoming a *very* expensive hobby. It was the push I needed to turn my creative outlet into a legitimate business.

One thing that sets me apart from other wedding vendors is that I’m a one stop shop for all of my couple’s stationery and signage needs– from save the dates, invitations, and anything for the day-of (including over 200 rentals in my inventory!). This means they only have to be in contact with one vendor for all of these things rather than sourcing someone who does invitations, but doesn’t do day of signage or doesn’t have the frames, stands, easels, etc. to display it all beautifully and having to find someone else. I know when I was planning my own wedding the number of vendors you have to be in contact with can be overwhelming, which is why I aim to alleviate this stress by being their one point of contact from beginning to end.

My goal with my couples is to create a stress-free and collaborative experience for one of the most important days of their lives. It’s so humbling to know that my couples trust me to bring their vision to life- it never gets old!

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

Almost exactly a year ago, I decided my brand needed a refresh to make sure I was attracting the right clientele. At the time my goal was to create a better work life balance. I worked full time as a development manager for URBN (overseeing the store openings/remodels for the Anthropologie + BHLDN brands), and I often felt like I was working two full jobs with this “side” hustle. My ultimate goal wasn’t to make this business full time, as I got a lot of enjoyment out of my full time job; it was more about being smart about the clients I was taking on so I didn’t get burned out. I had a moment back in May when I was staying up until 2am for the third night in a row trying to get projects done for multiple weddings that weekend where I realized I wasn’t having fun. Something that was supposed to be an enjoyable, creative outlet was becoming completely draining.

Working with the absolutely incredible team at Carrylove Designs, my new branding and website launched in March. After 6 months (and many more late nights later), I finally came to the realization that there was more growth potential with this business of mine than I saw after 13 years in the corporate world. It was scary to make the leap, but 3 months on the other side of corporate life I couldn’t be happier. I feel like I finally have time to spend time with friends and family, and also get a decent night’s sleep.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

If you would have told me when I first started this business that I would be taking weekly trips to Home Depot for my weddings, I wouldn’t have believed you. I had originally thought the bread and butter of my business would be hand calligraphy and stationery, but it has grown into designing, building and installing larger than life displays.

Over the years I have gone through many a youtube tutorial to teach myself how to use the power tools I’ve accumulated in my garage. Being able to not only design but fully execute and build my couple’s displays is a great sense of accomplishment. I also have so many talented friends from my Anthropologie days that have been a great source of knowledge and help.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.designtoflourish.com
• Instagram: @designtoflourish
• Other: pinterest: @designtoflourish tiktok: @designtoflourish

Image Credits
1- Harper Blankenship Photography 2- Sarah Tribett Photography 3- Paige Vaughn Photography 4- Reagan Wright Photography 5- Kaitlin Rodgers Photography 6- Alicia Leigh Photography 7- Emilie A. Photography 8- Lucy Strove Photography