We had the good fortune of connecting with Jessica Bowdoin and Kristen Yonson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica and Kristen, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Our ability to pivot and evolve with our customers and clients has been crucial for our success. We launched our brand in 2014 when e-design was a brand new concept and our clients were primarily young moms, living in their starter homes and looking for easy and affordable ways to get a “magazine look” in their space.

A lot of our clients were intimidated by the concept of professional design and our brand felt welcoming and approachable, often using humor and authenticity to build a connection. As young moms ourselves, we could relate to the decorating dilemmas they were facing. We earned their trust and confidence creating a real community of like-minded individuals who know what they like, but need a little help getting there.

Nearly 8 years later, a lot of our early adopters have matured and their lifestyles have evolved. They’re able to spend a bit more and want to do less of the legwork in terms of executing their designs. We kept hearing the same feedback and fielding the same questions, so we gave them what they were asking for with our full-service interior design offering.

We would post images of our designs and get bombarded with questions about where to buy certain pieces, so we launched an online shop where our social media followers and blog readers could access the items we were using for our design clients.

What started as a platform for e-design has evolved into a one-stop-shop for all things home. Whether you’re gathering tips and ideas on our blog, shopping our collection of home decor, or working with our professional designers (in-person or online), we meet you wherever you are in the design process.

We’ve seen other companies in this space come and go over the years, but we’ve stayed flexible and adaptable to pivot and adapt as the market changes. To keep growing and stay relevant in any business, you have to adjust and evolve. Keep your ears open and listen to your customers. Build the business they’re asking for, rather than the business you think they want.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

We didn’t start our careers as designers, so our professional paths have taken some interesting turns to lead us where we are today.

Kristen’s background is technology and advertising sales, and Jessica’s is public relations and marketing. We’ve both always been passionate about design and loved decorating our own homes, but it wasn’t until we were exposed to design day in and day out with SwatchPop!, that it went from a hobby to a career. We’re in a rather unique position that we wear two hats to work each day, business owner and creative talent.

Entrepreneurship is certainly not all glamour and “girl power.” It’s an absolute beast and we tell any new business owner that they should be prepared to eat, sleep and dream it, if you want to get your business off the ground. There were many long hours and a plethora of challenges to overcome in the early days of SwatchPop!

Kristen and Jessica often joke that they are the perfect ying and yang team. Jessica’s strengths are Kristen’s weaknesses and vice versa. Over the years, we’ve been able to pick up the slack for one another when one is facing some personal or professional struggle. We continually learn from each other.

We’re so proud of this brand that we’ve created together and the way it’s not only fulfilled a need, but provided a source of entertainment and fun for so many. Our “SwatchPoppers” are truly a community where we can laugh, share, and comiserate over the challenges of daily home life and our decorating dilemmas.


Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We’re suburban girls, so we love Halcyon, Avalon, and downtown Alpharetta and Roswell for eating, shopping and live entertainment. Find us on a patio with a drink or a perfect Saturday night!

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?
Our success has most definitely been a group effort. The support and guidance of our investors, advisors and other entrepreneurs have gotten us where we are today. Our team back in 2014 when we launched is still our core team today (plus, some amazing new additions). We’re grateful for our developer, Ryan Crisp, and our lead investor, Edwin Marcial, for taking the lead on our technology. Our content manager and lead designer, Heather Hess, continues to bring fun and relevant content to our social media accounts and blog. We couldn’t do what we do without the talent of our virtual design team spread all across the country, and our team here in Atlanta headed that helps keep our full-service design program running smoothly. As they say, it takes a village!

Website: www.swatchpop.com

Instagram: instagram.com/swatchpop

Facebook: facebook.com/swatchpop

Other: Other instagram handles: @swatchpopjess @swatchpopkris

Image Credits
Lauren Carnes, photographer

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutAtlanta is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.