IN CONVERSATION WITH ... ANNE HUNTER STUDIO

Many will know that I have a love of fashion and decorating. So, when my daughter, Nicole and her dear friend, Stephanie started a business that speaks to both, I was intrigued.

And what’s great about their site is that it’s about so much more than personal and home styling!

@huntergathererinteriors @sakinsman

Stephanie, let’s start with you. What drew you to personal styling?

It's definitely been a journey! I was drawn to personal styling through my passion for working with people and of course having a love for fashion helped. My mom unintentionally instilled a love for shopping and clothes in me at an early age. We spent probably too much time shopping together while I was growing up, but it's always been some of my most cherished time with her.

After university I found myself working in luxury retail but was overcome by a feeling of wanting to help women with clothes and their wardrobes in a more meaningful way. I didn't want to just sell, sell, sell. I wanted to help women cultivate a style that felt authentic to them as well as guide them in shopping smart and assisting them in creating a wardrobe that is versatile and goes the distance.

On discovering this desire, I enrolled in a Stylist Academy program with fellow stylist, Christie Ressel and soon after began working with private clients and helping them in a meaningful way. I've seen firsthand how the right clothing can influence mood and success. It's probably my favourite thing about what I do, being able to have an impact on someone in a positive way that trickles into their daily life.

Nicole, you have a varied background, so much of which is based in creativity. What is it about interior design that gets you excited?

Interior design, to me, is much more than making your home look nice and put together, it is the curation and intentional design of the space you live your life in. I have always loved playing around and challenging the narratives of what should or shouldn't be in a space, from my teenage bedroom to now I can confidently say nothing is more engaging or fascinating to me than how people interact with space and the adaptions people make when the space changes. I like to keep these concepts top of mind working with clients, supporting them in creating personalized ecosystems in their homes where they can thrive, and enjoy an intentional, curated space.

Tell me how the idea came about to integrate something that each of you is passionate about into a new business?

Great question! Of course, we've been friends for years, but our paths crossed professionally during covid at a luxury retail store in Toronto. We had never worked together before, outside of an improv setting, (that's a story for another day). But, it turned out that we worked really well together, often creating blog content for the company we were with. Turns out we both love creating content and we complete each other's gaps quite well. While there have been earlier iterations of Anne Hunter Studio, we wanted to start in the blog space since it's where our experience lies.

What is the absolute BEST outcome for the work that you are doing? (Which is not your day job, given that both of you work full-time!)

While we both love what we do currently 9-5, I think the dream is to one day have a physical space that can be rented for content creation. We are both passionate about helping people and in addition to assisting with interior design or wardrobe services, we would love to have a hand in helping small businesses create content. We would love to build a community of businesses that help each other in that way.

We live in a throw-away society. I sense that you are looking to change that. Am I right?

You sense right! I think we're both passionate about working with what you have, whether it be for interiors in your home or clothes in your wardrobe. There are definitely ways to rework pieces whether it's a coat of paint or styling a loved piece in a different way. I think this idea is at the forefront of what we're doing in the content we strive to create. We know it can be difficult to look at something you've had for an extended period of time and think about new ways to use it, so part of the hope with AHS is that we can inspire and give new ideas.

Visit: annehunterstudio.org

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