What’s the one job everyone wants right now?

Yep, you’ve got it – Everyone wants to be an Interior Stylist.

There’s something really appealing about being an Interior Stylist. It’s creative, it scratches your interior creativity itch and you know you’re self-motivated so you can work well as a freelancer. But what does it really take to be a successful Interior Stylist and how do you find the work you dream of doing? I’m going to share all here today.

In a Nutshell, Interior Stylists need to…

Develop relationships with Interior Stylists, Editorial Staff and interior PRS for commercial styling. For residential styling connect with Interior Designers, architects, estate agents and/or local shops
Get work experience on editorial shoots
Get experience on commercial shoots
Build up your reputation
Build up your work by word of mouth
Develop your portfolio
Share you styling work EVERYWHERE
Keep shouting out about your work
Ask for testimonials from your past clients
Collaborate on test shoots
Be creative in getting work for magazines outside of London

Everything starts with Networking and Building Relationships

If you want to get your name and face out there it all starts with networking and building up your professional relationships. There are lots of elements I’ll cover in this feature that will also help but it all really starts with who you know.

Okay, I know I am going to sound biased but the interior styling world, like so many other industries is based on who you know. The easiest way to find a connection within the interiors community is within InsideStylists.com. There are other interior communities but we are specifically about shooting and writing for editorial, commercial and social content. I would advise you to…

Join Industry Communities
Collaborate with other creatives: for test shoots, supporting other stylists, joining forces and working on features, shoots, blogs, videos, podcasts together. That’s the best way to network.
Reach out to brands and PR agencies for the interior brands you love: I talked a lot about how to reach out to PRs on this post It’s really important to build up relationships with those doing the hiring. That starts with getting on email lists and getting invited to press events so that you can make a connection IRL
Connect with local designers and architects and check if they have any communities or events you can attend.
Visit industry specific events – like Decorex, London Design Week, Clerkenwell Design Week, etc

Get Editorial Work Experience

I hate to say it but the only way to get onto a magazine shoot is to start with work experience. I’ve talked about this extensively on other posts, podcasts and Youtube videos so to recap – Editorial shoots are fast paced, busy and expensive so you need to know what you’re doing before anyone will book you. To get work on a magazine you need styling and photoshoot experience and that starts with getting in front of the right people. Start with one or two shoots as work experience and then you can move on to assisting and styling.

Check out these features for a deeper dive into work experience

https://www.insidestylists.com/workexperience/

https://www.insidestylists.com/how-to-get-work-experience-with-an-interior-stylist/

Finding Residential Clients and Getting Hired

Residential styling can easily be started with local businesses. You can contact local architects, estate agents, designers and small brands who need help with their content or styling photo shoots. There are so many benefits of working with smaller clients to gain experience. It’s a great way to build up your portfolio too. Once they’re happy with your work you can ask them for recommendations.

Use local groups to find freelance opportunities. Nextdoor , Local Whatsapp and local Facebook groups are great for connecting with those looking for help with styling their homes – often to help them sell or rent. Start by being visible on these platforms offering up advice and being useful before you offer your services. Show the value before “selling”.

Styling Consultations

There’s a lot of value in offering affordable consultations to attract new clients. Share that you have a “Summer/Christmas/Birthday offer”. A photographer told me once that they offered to do a half day shoot for a real bargain price just to get their foot in the door. Now they work regualry for major retailers. It was a loss leader but it lead to big things.

Other ideas to get you started…

Offer your Interior Stylist services to local furniture shops, real estate agents, or architects who may need your help for their websites, socials or shopfloors.
Offer consultations or Workshops at local interior shops. This can help you show your expertise and build relationships with potential clients. You never know who’s watching. It also helps build relationships with that brand.
Pitch to Magazines or Blogs. As an expert stylist, you can contribute to articles or be featured in publications which will increase your visibility and credibility.

Social Media

It will come as no surprise to you that you need to be visible and the easiest, free way to do that is to build a consistent brand on Social Media

Start by sharing your work – even if you don’t feel ready. Get it out there. Over time you’ll be able to look back and see how much you’ve progressed. You also never know who is watching and waiting till they’re ready to book you.
Share behind-the-scenes content. People love to follow a journey whether that’s building your brand, how you work or before and after shots.
Keep sharing. The more potential new clients see you the more they grow to know, like and trust you and that’s who people want to work with.

Which Platform?

The social media you focus on will depend on where your clients are. I’ve heard Interior Designers tell me that Instagram is great for branding but doesn’t bring in new clients, whereas I have gained many new clients there just from sharing what I’m doing while on my daily dog walk

LinkedIn is great for interior stylists as that’s where the brands and prs hang out but if you’re looking for residential clients maybe Instagram and TicTok are where your people are hanging out.

Don’t forget about Pinterest.

The longevity of a Pinterest pin far outlasts any other form of social media and can direct your next client straight to your website. Keep posting and linking. It’s a long-term game but well worth it in the end

You Share You: Blog/ Video/ Newsletter

I know first-hand how long it takes to create a blog/video/newsletter so please believe me when I say this is a really good way to reach your audience, and share who you are and what you do. Sharing on social media is a necessary evil but the sweet spot of reaching someone’s inbox or having them follow your blog journey will increase your findability. Keep SEO in mind and sharing pins of all your content and watch the eyes land on your pages. More eyes equals more potential clients.

And don’t forget that your content can establish you as an expert in the field. That’s gold!

You Need A Strong Portfolio

As creatively talented as you are a big-name brand or editorial team aren’t going to book someone with no experience. You need to be able to share your style and experience of shooting and styling and the best way to do that is with a portfolio.

What should be included in a portfolio

Share interior images from spaces you’ve styled. They can be from residential or commercial shoots. You can use your own shots but shots taken by a professional photographer are better (more on test shoots in a sec)
Share shots to showcase a variety of projects you’ve worked on, such as branding shots or product shots. You may have worked on a social media campaign for a brand. These all show the kind of style you have
Before and After Shots: Include photos that highlight the transformation of homes you’ve worked on. Before-and-after images help potential clients understand your vision as a stylist.
Editorial stylists need to be able to turn their hands to any kind of style. Sharing shots in different interior styles will help showcase your ability to style any kind of brief be it modern, traditional, minimalist, eclectic,
Don’t forget about the detail shots: Close-up shots of products, furniture, soft furnishings and accessories can impress your attention to detail.
Personal Projects: If you haven’t had many client projects yet, include personal projects or mood board designs that showcase your creativity and design style.
Collaborations: If you’ve collaborated with other professionals (architects, contractors, artists), mention these collaborations and show how teamwork has enhanced your projects.

Your portfolio is not only a showcase of your work but also an opportunity to tell a story about your skills, creativity, and professionalism. Keep it updated and curated to reflect your best work and to make a strong impression on potential clients or employers. You never know what will spark a conversation so include the weird and wonderful even if it’s not your usual style.

Test Shoots

If you don’t have any (or many) shots to share in a portfolio it’s a great idea to put together a test shoot.

Test shoots are when a new interior stylist and assistant photographer get together to produce shots specifically for building up their skills, experience and portfolios.

Here’s a snippet of how they work

Decide on your shoot’s theme/concept
Get a team – photographer/assistant/florist
Find a location – or a space at home
Find a Brand to work with
Prop for your shoot
Plan your shots
Set up your ‘location’
Style and shoot
Edit the images (or maybe let the photographer do this)
Build your portfolio

Growing Your Business and Reputation

When it comes to building your reputation word of mouth is key. There are many ways to do this – some of which may seem pretty obvious but so you have them in a nice easy to follow list, here’s what I would do to build my reputation and grow my business.

1. Deliver Great Service

It doesn’t take much to go above and beyond in a project. Delivering more than what was promised will always impress a client and will position you top of their thoughts when hiring next time. It could be something as simple as coming up with an extra idea, taking a job off their hands – like writing out a shot list ahead of the shoot day, or sharing bts of the shoot for the client to use on their own social media channels.

2. Build Good Strong Relationships

I have always found being clear and concise with clients so they know the boundaries of the work entailed by a stylist has helped to create a good working relationship. When the client knows what they can expect from you they will feel like they’re in good hands. Your understanding of their needs will make them feel heard and in turn like you value them beyond a pay cheque.

3. Give thanks:

A really simple thing to do is always send a thank you to the photographer for a great shoot and to the client for booking you. You can do this straight after the shoot and send the invoice a few days later.

4. Ask for Referrals

After completing a project, don’t hesitate to ask your clients if they have anyone they could recommend you get in touch with or if they would recommend you to other companies or brands. This is especially relevant for PRs who work with many clients.

Residential Interior Stylists Can Incentivise Referrals: Offer a discount or an incentive for clients who refer new business to you. This will encourage clients to spread the word.

4. Get Feedback

Ask clients for testimonials after a project is completed. Display these on your website, social media – especially LinkedIn, and marketing materials to build credibility. These are great on your website where you share who you’ve worked with.

5. Leverage Your Social Media

Share Client Stories: Post before-and-after photos, client testimonials, and stories on Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. Be sure to tag your clients and the shoot crew so that they are acknowledged but also so they might share it and get your in front of more eyes.
Ask to be tagged: Ask clients to tag you as the Interior Stylist when they share the shots of your styling on social media. Most won’t do this automatically (in fact I have this factored into my contract) This is the epitome of ‘word of mouth’ and will expand your reach and reinforce your brand and style.

One Final (important) point

Before I conclude I would like to add one more point. It is really important to have a clear goal of what you’d like to achieve in your styling career. If you want to work on magazines focus on that area with work experience and building editorial connections. If you want to work on residential projects you’ll need to work differently and connect with local designers, architects and estate agents.

*Write your goal down.

*Be clear and concise about what you want to achieve in your styling career.

*Go get it!

So to conclude, the key points to get your name out there and get clients coming to you rather than you having to chase them is to build up a decent portfolio, do some test shoots and/or get work experience, connect with the right people then get your work out there. Share it, ask others to tag and share you, get connected and stay consistent in your sharing – till you get noticed and get booked.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on getting your name out there. Have I missed anything key off? What do you do? And if you follow any of this advice please let me know how you get on. I’d love to know.

If you’re looking for 1:2:1 advice you can book in a call with Emma.

See more on this on the ‘Work with Emma Page’

If you’d like to join a fabulous Interior Styling, Writing, Assisting and Photographers community check out becoming a member of InsideStylists here

Some other features you may find helpful

Podcast interviews with Interior Stylists

Sally Cullen Sally Cullen shares how she makes interior styling work for her
Laura North Styling outside of London
Charlotte Boyd How to set fire to a shoot location with interior Stylist Charlotte Boyd
Emma Morton-Turner – How I Became an Interior Stylist

How to Get Your Name Out There As An Interior Stylist and Get Hired