We recently connected with Treci Smith and have shared our conversation below.

Treci, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear how you think where to draw the line in terms of asking friends and family to support your business – what’s okay and what’s over the line?

My Business was inspired by the lifestyle I created for my family. As much as I drive the overall look and feel of our home, it would be impossible to execute my vision without their support. For example, a couple of years ago when I signed up to participate in the One room challenge, I recruited the whole family to help convert my dusty old storage shed into my work studio. My husband and son installed windows and electricity and my girls painted and helped styled the space. It was a challenging eight weeks, but we got the job done. AND it led to opportunities with HGTV.

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

I’m an interior stylist and vintage hunter in San Diego California.

My deep dives into estate sales, thrift stores and even my clients living rooms allows me to style rooms in a way that honor the past, while keeping an eye focused on the future.For me styling is not just about beautiful objects, but about how people live and connect to each other while in the space. My spaces are practical, but uniquely individual and full of soul.

I consults and sell vintage findings from my studio and retail space in San Diego California. I also manages Peppertree Suites, my family’s AirBnB, which was featured on HGTV along with my backyard.

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

As I mentioned before my business is inspired by my home. I’ve always thrifted and sourced vintage pieces to incorporate in my home. As I homed my skills friends and family started reaching out for help styling their homes and from there I built my interior styling business. Throughout the years I’ve collected some great pieces that weren’t exactly a fit for my home or my clients, and so they just kind of lived in my shed. It made since to open a retail space and sell them.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

As a creative I never really adopted a plan for my business-things just happened organically. As the business grows I’m understanding the importance of building a strategy even for the smallest objectives. For example, I’m planning a summer event and rather than waiting until the last minute for inspiration to hit, I’m building out a project plan to ensure its a success.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @trecismithdesigns

Image Credits
@garypaynephotography @tarshajonesphotography @d.shields.photography