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

Alright, Kelsey thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

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’m a country girl at heart and that’s why the haywoodmade aesthetic draws inspiration from elements found in nature. Through neutrals and saturated color, we curate multi-faceted spaces that evoke feeling. Streamlined furnishings, performance fabrics, mixed materials and thoughtful touches are our specialty.

You’ll often see a mix of color and pattern in our designs that feels unique, yet approachable. Nothing enters the scheme that doesn’t serve a purpose.

I grew up in a small town in Indiana and come from a family of builders and makers. That background instilled a deep work ethic and trained vision at the core of my being. From an early age I learned, the importance of forming relationships in life and then later, in business. I built upon that after undergrad when I spent the next decade honing my understanding of people in a Human Resources career.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

Leaving my HR career to start haywoodmade was a winding road, but I always knew creating meaningful spaces was what I was seeking. I applied what I learned in my startup days and used the scrappiness needed to start a new company, gain clients, experience and find my niche in the design landscape.

Before that could be my primary focus, I had a new baby and needed a steady source of income. I was fortunate to have my relationships (there they are again!), connect me with another startup in need of HR support. I was able to work part-time helping their people side of the business while focusing on design work at night. It was an exhausting time, but entirely worth it to be able to about a year later be able to focus completely on haywoodmade.

My advice: have an end date in mind if you will be splitting your focus between two sides of your brain or professional life. At some point, you have to bet on yourself and what you know to be your next step!

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

You’re A Badass. I keep this book in the studio and refer back to it when I need a pep talk, to get out of my head, or for a good laugh, this book is SO inspiring. I read it when I was starting the business and it truly made all the difference for my mindset at the time.

Contact Info:

• Website: haywoodmade.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haywoodmade/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/haywoodmade
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/haywoodmade-interiors/about/?viewAsMember=true

Image Credits
Margaret Rajic Photography Styling: Studio Officer