Meet Jeanne K Chung | Creative Director & Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jeanne K Chung and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jeanne K, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Authenticity is everything. We don’t do it for the numbers, or the accolades. We do what we do because we love what we do – the process of designing, the challenges, and seeing the end result. Building a business is not a quick and easy task. It has its ups and downs – good things don’t happen overnight. So you have to learn to stay the course. In this day of social media, everything looks fabulous. But we all know that isn’t the case. It takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears so why not show that as well? Maybe not on the main feed, but I definitely like to show what goes into executing a design to perfection. Everything is meant to look effortless, but is anything but that! Authenticity is also about cultivating the right relationships and trust, and learning how to say no when you realize something is not the right fit.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Before becoming an interior designer, I spent 20 years in fashion design. Because of this, I approach designing for interiors, the same way I do for fashion – in 3D. I designed, draping fabric on a mannequin and walked around the mannequin to examine and manipulate the design. Instead of black and white line drawings on a piece of paper, I have to build out a model of the space so that I can experience the space and examine it from every angle in the room, much like designing on a mannequin.

I’m excited about modern technology and the infinite possibilities. At the moment I am testing out how our clients can experience the spaces we’ve designed for them in VR so that they have realistic expectations of how their space will look and feel. This is all before any work is done – because it’s more efficient and less costly to make changes BEFORE construction and not during. I realized early on that our clients can’t see things the same way a designer might. It is hard for them to imagine, so instead we SHOW them.

As a brand, we are always looking forward and asking ourselves what can we do better. We can never rest on our laurels but continue to learn, which is why I love to travel. I travel to trade shows and industry events every chance I get, because seeing new product, meeting new people, visiting foreign cities – it all inspires us to think outside the box and informs what we do. If you take a look at the many homes we’ve designed, you’ll see that we never do the same thing twice. Our homes should just as unique as we are so there is no reason to do anything cookie cutter.

Through my many travels around the country (and world), I have collected some amazing resources, so with that, we opened Cozy Stylish Chic – an upscale showroom/design center to service both the consumer and design trade. Before we opened the showroom, it was so hard to find unique and quality resources such as wallpaper, upholstery fabric, and furnishings on this side of town, but now we’ve got it all. And if we don’t we have exactly what we need, we have the resources to have it custom made.

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.
I love to eat and normally frequent the places around my neighborhood, which happens to be Old Pasadena, where our store is located. Before I pop into work for the day, I head over to Delight Pastry on Raymond. There, I love their pistachio Matcha croissant – to die for! On the way back to the office, I might pop into Amara for a Hot Aztec Mocha Latte – it’s a really rich and decadent mocha latte but isn’t too overly sweet, with a little kick of chili powder. If it’s a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, a trip to the Pasadena Museum of History…but only downstairs to the archives. I love history – especially local Pasadena history. Going into the archives and finding old photos and articles about the building we occupy in Old Pasadena and looking at photos of the city when it was only land and very few buildings is pretty exciting. Look how far we’ve come! For my mid-afternoon pick me up, I head up the street to Jin Tea on Greet St, where I am a creature of habit and always get the Signature #1 with half sugar/less ice. As for dinner, some of my favorite spots are Perle and Pez Coasta Kitchen. A refreshing cocktail with an interesting twist along with flavorful appetizers and a delicately prepared meal by the best chefs in town is always a satisfying night on the town with my husband Ray. And even better with friends!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to acknowledge Adam Japko and the conference he founded and leads – the Design Influencers Leadership Conference. Without this connection early on in my career, I wouldn’t have learned the value of networking, building relationships, and the power of storytelling.

Website: https://www.cozystylishchic.com/

Instagram: @cozystylishchic (showroom) @jkchunginteriors (interior design)

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanne-k-chung/

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

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cozy-stylish-chic-pasadena

Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cozystylishchic

Image Credits
Dylan J Riley