Anna Giannis Interiors
Interview #52 - Anna Giannis Interiors
A big hello to all my readers! I hope you've had a great week and appreciate you visiting Business Anthropi to read another fantastic business and this week I have a very inspiring one. This blog was long coming, but worth the wait. I understand it's been a tough year on everyone, so breaks now and again are essential to take time out for yourself. I needed this time for myself and enjoyed putting the focus on me and my needs. I have thought about many side projects but am happy to be writing again and love and excited to show you what I have planned.
MEET ANNA!
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of speaking with a very talented designer and stylist of interior spaces, Anna Giannis from Anna Giannis Interiors. Anna's work has led her abroad to work on international projects in New York, Dubai, Shanghai and Europe. Anna’s has completed projects from private residences, residential and commercial styling as well as creating lifestyle homewares ranges.
It's been nearly twenty years since Anna started her business journey. Her design journey wasn't her first career path, Anna initially stepped into the corporate world for five years. She realised this wasn't her calling, and wanted to pursue her creative passion, so she went back to RMIT and completed a design course. Out of university and in her late 20s, Anna then had the opportunity to work for Myer Melbourne in their interior decorating department, which paved the path and exposure to the design industry. It sparked her interest further, and with time and confidence, she decided to slowly start her own business.
Anna always knew she wanted to have her own business and wasn't interested in working for someone else. Anna reflected on her early years as these years were her foundations and where her contacts were first made. To this date, she still works closely with suppliers from many years back when working for Myer. Experience is crucial in Anna's mind, sometimes going out on your own too early can be detrimental, unless you have the right support and contacts you need around you.
Does anything motivate you or give you inspiration for your business or work?
"I think the whole process of creating is inspirational, and I think from the minute I meet a new customer, I get excited, and it's the thrill of meeting someone new and starting another creative journey. This excites and motivates me to create a scheme where I can see what the finished space will look like."
"My late father would be my biggest inspiration. I definitely inherited so much of his creativity and work ethic. There are of course a lot of wonderful designers, but overall, I would say it's him."
Design and interior styling have always been part of Anna's lifestyle and is embedded in her DNA, as she told me. Her mother at a young age gave her the chore of dusting the house every Saturday, so as she went along, Anna would always pick up and move ornaments around the house. Her mother was a seamstress which is where Anna inherited her love for textiles and her father was a builder and furniture maker, so creativity, as we can see, was definitely in her destiny and in her DNA.
For Anna, it's imperative that when she completes a project, her client is left with a positive long-lasting experience and that they are so thrilled about the final result. The lasting impression is what remains and is the memorable experience that Anna wants for her clients. To be able to look back and still talk about the custom-made table, the time and collaboration taken to design a space or house are so important. For Anna, knowing that the clients are happy and wanting to engage her again, as often is the case is paramount.
The design process has many stages but keeping the intention of a positive experience for her clients, is front and foremost and it is what Anna strives for. As for most creative souls in design, she always wants to live up to someone's expectations. I'd imagine like any small business, you care about your clients and want to produce the highest standard of work for them. This goal allows her to check-in regularly, to believe in her work and experience as this is what makes Anna and her business what it is. Anna thoroughly seeks to understand her client's needs and produce what they expect and more.
Anna puts as much of herself into the business as she can, she leans on her experience, making her services and experiences unique and individual as compared to other stylists. Her name is her business, Anna Giannis Interiors. She likes to work with old methods and bring them up to date today with specific materials to create artistic timeless pieces.
What tips would you give to anyone starting in your industry?
"Styling is a lot of things, so first, you need to identify what type of Styling do you want to do. Do you want to style in residences, to decorate, people's homes where they live, or do you want to style commercial spaces, do real estate styling or even event and TV styling. So you need to identify, which path you want to go down and then set about to get some experience. Make sure, you capture your work through great photos. Starting out often means you do many love jobs and believe me, I have done many, and occasionally I still do! Make sure you photograph your work beautifully, that's really important. Also try and get experience, whether it's paid or unpaid and you keep knocking on doors for opportunities… some things in business never change! Later when you are further along your career path and created a name for yourself, the doors will open for you because you have done the long hard work. It is really important for the first five years to learn from someone in business, that they encourage you to do your best work, make mistakes and make as many contacts as possible, so to build your portfolio and confidence."
Throughout Anna's career, she had an amazing opportunity to take her work internationally and has since created many memorable moments in her career. Working in New York is at the top of the list, as well as a significant long stint in China. Not many designers get this opportunity, and for Anna, this certainly caught her by surprise. She had started a homewares range and was producing and manufacturing overseas, and everything took off from there. From having a network and business associates she was lucky enough to branch out and deal with clients worldwide.
Working internationally doesn't downplay Anna’s work locally in Australia. Without a doubt, her International work was a significant career boost for Anna, allowing her to grow dramatically ever since then. She's changed her marketing strategies and utilised social media, which was not present when she started over twenty years ago. Social media added another level to her brand, and she loves knowing that social media allows you to access people across the globe.
Alongside her business projects, Anna started a mentoring program for aspiring designers, stylists, marketing, photography and PR enthusiasts (currently on hold due to Covid restrictions, until further notice). The program has taken on students who are studying in the Styling and Design industry who need to get work experience for their course to gain real-world experience to gain an understanding of deadlines and everything that comes with the being creative. Anna sees this as a way of giving back, to those who need a start in their career as she challenges and often will push them beyond their comfort zones as she understands how crucial experience and knowledge is!
How would you describe your business in one sentence?
A bespoke interior design service
Thank you all for reading another one of my blog posts about Anna’s business. I had an amazing time working with Anna and am thrilled that I can share her story with you all. Make sure to follow Anna on her Instagram page HERE or click the button below for a direct link to her website.
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