We had the good fortune of connecting with Jennifer Rhode and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jennifer, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My biggest priority has always been my two children and being available for them. As an interior designer I had two options: to work for an established firm or to start my own business. While there is much more financial stability in working for someone else, I realized that I would have far less control over my schedule and the amount of work I took on. Ultimately, the need for flexibility drove my decision. For some, my hours might seem a bit unorthodox – I frequently get up at the crack of dawn to work before my children are awake (I think best in the morning anyway) and I take a lot of meetings on Saturdays when my kids are with their father. Many of my clients appreciate weekend appointments as they work during the week as well and it allows me to have plenty of family time.

What should our readers know about your business?
I have an interior design business based out of Boulder, Colorado. I work on both residential and commercial projects. I think something that sets me apart from other designers is that I like to build off of pieces that have meaning for my clients: their grandmother’s desk, a painting they found on holiday, a quilt sewn by their favorite aunt… I want to help my clients create warm, personal spaces that reflect their family stories, loves and interests while making sure the interiors are also peaceful, highly edited and modern with lots of places for the eye to rest. I call this design approach “Modern Gezellig.” (Gezellig is the Dutch word/concept for “cozy” – I adopted this idea while we were living abroad in Amsterdam.) I also love collaborating with artists and connecting them with my clients. I like to help my clients find art that is meaningful to them – whether it is depicting something they love or made by someone they can meet or represents a special time in their lives. In addition to my design business I have a blog: https://www.jenniferrhode.com. My posts toggle between interviews with artists, product round-ups, design stories about my projects or stories about my children and my adorable dog, Hank.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
In Boulder we might start the day with a pretty walk – my favorite is the Anne U. White trail because it runs along a little creek and is nice and shady. We would lunch at Pizzeria Locale taking care to order lots of the arancinos (fried rice balls) – I often think that if I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life it would be those balls of cheesy rice. Then we would go to my three favorite shops in Boulder: Max (perfectly curated women’s clothes – it feels like you are in NYC), Cedar & Hyde Mercantile (a home shop with all kinds of beautiful pottery, dishes, blankets and art) and Boulder’s newest, Wildflower Nation Supply (an eclectic jewel box of a store with vintage home furnishings and accessories, antique jewelry that has been repurposed and redesigned and lots of local artwork.) In Denver we would museum hop from the Denver Art Museum to the Clyfford Still and finally to the Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art. We would end up at Safta by the Source Hotel in RiNO for the most delicious Mediterranean food, making sure to order the hummus with lamb ragu and crispy chickpeas and a pretty cocktail.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
MANY people deserve A LOT of credit and recognition for the success of my business! The first very smart decision I made was to hire Amy Hubbard, CPA to keep my books and do my accounting. Like many creative people, the math part of the business was not my strong suit and I was sure I would end up getting audited if I didn’t get some help. But Amy is far more than an accountant. Each month when we have our reconciling/billing meeting to prepare my invoices she gives me broad scope encouragement and advice. She has become a dear friend and I cannot imagine how I would have progressed without her. Ashley Wick of Wick and Co. has also been tremendously helpful. She is a trained business coach with a strong background in fashion and lifstyle branding. For me, Ashley felt like a business therapist… she helped me understand how to align my work with my personal values so that now I make all business decisions through that lens. She also helped me create much needed structure and policies and is generally just amazing. This fall I went back to school at the Heritage School of Interior Design in Denver. My business came to a standstill last spring when the pandemic hit and I decided to fill in the holes in my design knowledge and skills while work was slow. I took AutoCAD and SketchUP (I had a STEEP learning curve and I am so grateful for the support and patience of my teachers) as well as a design fundamentals class. The content of the course was extensive and super useful, but what was especially wonderful was exposure to the ideas of my teacher and the other students in my class. Running your own business can be isolating and with the safety restrictions of the pandemic I was not able to travel or visit museums or live shop for inspiration. Seeing the beautiful, unexpected design choices of my classmates was so nourishing and expansive for me. I can’t wait to see what they all end up doing. Of course, my best cheerleaders are my children. “Mama, you GOT this!” my ten year old daughter will sing out when I’m nervous about a presentation. My teenage son is a little more reserved, “Nice!” he’ll say with a nod when I show him a drawing or a board, but I know inside he is swelling.

Website: https://www.jenniferrhode.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenniferrhode/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenniferrhodedesign

Other: blog: https://www.jenniferrhode.com/blog

Image Credits
Headshot: Jessica Braun Interior Photos: Heather Knierim of HBK Photography

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