By Julie A. Palm
When Emily Winters Posselt is finished with a design project, she wants clients to say, “Oh, my god, that was such fun.”
“I hear from so many clients, ‘I worked with this designer before and it was terrible.’ I don’t want that,” says Posselt, who is principal interior designer for Peabody’s Interiors, a full-service design firm based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
“Stuff is going to come up during a project. There are going to be obstacles we have to overcome. But there’s always a solution. So, I work very hard to make sure we offer the ultimate service experience,” she says. “If you come to us, you don’t have to worry. I’m going to show you all the options. We’re going to talk through it. I’m going to handle the details, and you’re going to have fun along the way. We’re going to laugh a lot, and it’s going to be a really great process.”
Posselt’s own residential design team within the larger firm includes three design assistants, an expediter and a controller.
“I have sort of a boutique firm within a boutique firm,” she says. “I’m doing all new construction from the ground up, completely turnkey, or whole house renovation, completely turnkey.”
In addition to interior design services, Peabody’s operates an 8,000-square-foot home furnishings store, and Posselt does some of the buying for the retail part of the business.
Posselt, who has been with Peabody’s for about 20 years, has projects throughout Wisconsin and in the Chicago metro area, including vacation homes on Wisconsin’s many lakes. She also does work across the country, including projects in Dallas and Naples, Florida.
We chatted with Posselt about how she gets it all done, from how she likes to work with clients to her favorite vendors to what she’s learned to jettison to be more effective. Read on for more.
Design News Now: What do you take with you to every client appointment?
Emily Winters Posselt: “Always in my bag is my laptop, without fail. Also in there is a scale ruler — because you always need a scale ruler — and a tape measure. Those are things I don’t go too far without.”
DNN: What software can you not live without?
EWP: I’m going to be perfectly honest with you. I rely on design assistants to manage the software. A long time ago, I adopted the philosophy that we’re a business and we have to do what makes the most sense according to our skill sets. From a business perspective, it makes the most sense for me to be client forward and designing behind the scenes. It doesn’t make sense for me to spend all day in CAD or Photoshop.
DNN: Given that, how do like to do your actual design work?
EWP: A lot of my initial designing is me pulling samples, fabrics, tiles — tactile pieces. I may do a pencil sketch. My background is actually in art, so I love to draw.
DNN: Where do you like to shop for projects?
EWP: Since we have a retail space here, I’m often pulling from our retail space but once a year, I try to get to Round Top (Texas) to do the show there. I love sourcing Round Top. It’s probably my favorite show I do all year long. We do try once a year to get to High Point Market, as well. And we do the Atlanta Market for accessories, again, typically once a year. But my most inspiring show is Round Top — it’s a lot of one of a kind.
DNN: Who are some of your go-to vendors for furniture and accessories?
EWP: I probably do the bulk of my upholstery with sources like Hickory Chair, Baker and Highland House. … I do a lot of rugs, so I spend a lot of time with my reps from Stark and Kravet and Brunschwig & Fils. But then I also have some antique rug sources in New York that I’ll use for projects, and I have a local rug gallery I’ll go to if I need something a little faster. … I’m kind of all over the board. I feel like I’m constantly doing an internet deep dive for product.
DNN: What does your typical workday look like?
EWP: I probably start around 7 a.m. and go to about nine o’clock at night. Contractors start early and I have to be available. So usually by 7 a.m., I’m fielding phone calls and texts from contractors. And, a lot of times, clients are checking in later on in the day. So, it’s not uncommon for me to still be fielding phone calls and texts from clients at six or seven o’clock at night. … A lot of days I’m on the road doing site visits with one of my assistants. Thank god for hotspots. She’s driving and I’m pounding away on my laptop.
When I can, I try to get a day or two just in my office for design time. Obviously, it doesn’t always work that way, but I love the days when I can actually sit down and focus and really crank on some design. But I also love the days when I’m in front of clients, because I genuinely love being with my clients.
DNN: How do you know if a client is the right fit for Peabody’s and vice versa?
EWP: I try to meet people pretty early on. The sooner you can have a face to face, whether it’s on Zoom or in their home or in my office the better, because you can judge better in a face to face if it’s a good fit. … Somebody is a good fit for me if they really appreciate fine design and are willing to trust the process and appreciate the fact that they need someone to sort of steer the ship.
DNN: Do you like to take clients shopping with you?
EWP: I would say that’s happening less and less. More and more they want me to just show them options. If it’s a client I have not worked with before, I try to start out with sort of a good, better, best scenario so I can see what’s most important to them. For some people, that’s the upholstery. For some people, it’s the light fixtures. For some people, it’s art. For some people, it’s a mix. I try to give them some variety so they are in the driver’s seat but, ultimately, quality is very important to me, and I don’t want to steer you toward something you’re going to have issues with in a few years. So, we have a lot of conversations about expectations.
DNN: What’s a change you’ve made in your business that’s made a significant, positive difference?
EWP: I think it goes back to what we were talking about earlier — playing to people’s strengths and weaknesses. I think that has helped our business tremendously. In addition, I’ve had to embrace social media, so hiring somebody to do my social media for me has been lovely!
DNN: Who are your sounding boards?
EWP: Kelly (Boecker, Peabody’s president and CEO) and I have a lot of conversations, and I have a design assistant, Jen Malek, who was hired as a design assistant, but I jokingly refer to her as the chief of staff. I find myself talking to her a lot, bouncing ideas off her. Jen’s background is in recruiting … and she has become absolutely my right hand. Her brain thinks in very logical, methodical ways. She’s insanely organized and structured and I can’t imagine life without her. I jokingly say that if she tells me she’s quitting, then I’m retiring. That’s not to say I don’t adore all my staff. Everybody is amazing and they all bring such an impressive skill set. But Jen is the one I use the most as a sounding board.
DNN: What would you like to be doing more of?
EWP: The more I can design and create, the happier I am. Finding new fabrics, finding the perfect light fixture, sifting through a pile of rugs to find the perfect fit — I absolutely thrive on all of that. And I love the relationship end of what I do. I love being able to build relationships with local artisans so that I’m sourcing their product and giving back to the community in that way.
What emerges from Posselt’s approach is a clear philosophy: great design is only part of the equation. The experience of getting there matters just as much. By leaning into structure, delegation, and trust, she has created a process that not only delivers results but redefines what clients expect from working with a designer.
