Brooks & Tenn
Sarah Stapp has been passionate about interior design since she was a little girl - always repainting and rearranging her room; daydreaming about furniture and reimagining interior spaces! In 2021, she co-founded Brooks & Tenn, a design-build firm with her husband, with a vision of creating inspired spaces that make a house feel truly like a home and a sanctuary.
Sarah has always been driven by creativity and is invested in maintaining the integrity and history of the homes that she has the opportunity to design. She set out on her interior design journey with the intention of creating spaces that encourage people to deeply connect with their homes, lives and families.
She believes that home is the foundation for life and loves working with clients to design a home that reflects who they are and what brings them joy. Sarah brings an unwavering entrepreneurial spirit to Brooks & Tenn, allowing the business to accelerate its growth through creativity and hard work. She truly loves what she does, and brings enthusiasm to all of her projects, both large and small. Whether you are looking to create your forever home or simply update a smaller space within your home, Sarah will help bring your vision to life!
The INTERVIEW
Q: First things first... what is the name of your business and how did you choose it?
A: Brooks & Tenn... we named our business after our two oldest children (Addeline Tennley and Anderson Holbrook). Shortly after starting this business, we found out we were adding baby #3 (Finn Oliver) to our family - sorry Finn, we will catch you on the next one!! We wanted to name if after our kiddos because all of this work is for them... to provide for and to show them what it looks like to work hard, do something you love and that you can truly dream up anything from nothing.
Q: What excites you about the community of Women-Owned Wednesdays?
A: Women rock and we need to lift each other up and support one another!! We are creative geniuses, problem solvers and just general badasses for lack of a better word! I think it is so important to surround ourselves with other women who are going to push us to keep pursuing our passions, lift us up when we fall and inspire us to be our best selves both personally and professionally.
Q: Where did the idea for Brooks and Tenn come from?
A: After many years of having family and friends ask why we hadn’t gone into business together, in 2021 Hoke and I finally joined forces. With my background in interior design and his in construction, we decided to give it a go and have loved collaborating together, along with creating incredible and beautiful spaces for our clients.
Q: What was your mission when starting out?
A: Honestly, we didn't really give our mission much thought when we first started out. We were just dipping our toes in the design-build waters to see if we would get any traction! Now that we have had some time to reflect on what that is and grow, our main goal is to create beautiful, functional, and inspiring spaces that truly make our clients feel like their home is their sanctuary.
Q: Who or what inspires you?
A: I find inspiration daily - whether it be from fellow designers, architecture, nature... I find tons of inspiration when we travel and even from my walks in my neighborhood. In life, my family is my inspiration to do and be better not only as a designer but as a mom, wife, sister, friend, and business owner. My parents are a huge inspiration as well: my mom as an entrepreneur and business owner, and my dad who worked two jobs to help build my mom’s business! Seeing my mom’s business take off and my Dad's support to make it happen was just incredible!
Q: How do you start your day and how do you make it productive?
A: I start my day with the chaos of getting three little humans up and out the door, which can sometimes be a circus. After everyone is where they need to be I like to run through emails and my list of to-do items so that I know what I need to accomplish. I love having hand-written to-do lists... something about actually crossing something off when it is done is so satisfying!! Did I also mention coffee?
Q: What have been the most important factors that you have learned with the success of your business?
A: Honesty, reliability, and a good sense of humor. Things aren't always going to go according to plan (i.e. older home renovations and their hidden gems!), but it is how you deal with the cards you are dealt. We have found that being upfront and honest with our clients has never veered us in the wrong direction… and it doesn't hurt to be able to laugh at the oddities that you encounter along the way in this business. My husband's family has a saying, "Be good and kind and sweet and true" and I feel like we try to uphold this mentality in our business as well as our personal lives. Word-of-mouth goes a long way, and the only way to achieve that success is to be true to your clients, true to yourself and put out a quality product that you not only stand behind, but are proud to stand behind.
Q: What have you failed at recently and how did you overcome it?
A: I have failed at balancing my time between being a business owner and being a mom. It is a really hard juggle of work and family, especially with kids, and figuring out how to divide my time has been super difficult. I have had to take a step back at times, to really figure out what needs my attention in that moment, day, week, month, etc. and figure out how to better manage my time so that I feel like I can be successful at work and successful at home.
Q: What advice would you give your 17-year old self?
A: Be confident! You can do anything if you set your mind to it. At 17 I really wanted to be an architect, but quickly gave up on that when I found out that it was a 5-year major which involved quite a bit of math. In my career now, I do quite a bit of space planning and sketching, which is truly one of my favorite parts of the job. I think that I would have been really happy had I continued down that path rather than taking another route.
Q: What are your favorite online resources for your business?
A: We use Google for email, calendars, Google docs, etc. and I think that this functions really well for us for day-to-day. I also utilize Canva for the more creative aspects of our business, which I love!
Q: What keeps you going and growing your business?
A: I love what I am doing and have aspirations/visions of future projects and what Brooks and Tenn can be. I am excited to grow our business which is a huge driving force - I am excited to transform our clients’ homes, feel proud to put our stamp on it and send it out into the world. I want my kids to see and know that I love what I do and am passionate about it. I think it’s' important to set that precedence for them, that they too can have a career that they love!
Q: Share what you do daily/weekly to include personal development in your life for growth?
A: I follow multiple designers/bloggers/influencers who are so inspiring, I participate in trainings from vendors, designers, and other specialists to stay up to date, and most importantly I make time (even if its' only a little a day) for myself. I think it is so important to have protected time to unwind, think, relax, read, foster creativity, and make sure that I am in good shape both physically and mentally! I love getting outside- especially going for walks, doing yardwork and gardening and love listening to music or a good podcast while doing it! A hard lesson that I learned is that I can't be the best version of myself or put out my best work if I am constantly running on ‘E’!
Q: What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, build and grow a brand or a business today?
A: Jump right into the deep end - its' truly sink or swim! Use your connections as a starting point to get the word out. Do things the right way - don't cut corners, be open, honest, and up front. Stay true to yourself and trust your gut. Delegate if you can - this is something that I really struggled with because I am type "A" and want to be in control of everything. I was hard pressed to outsource the branding of Brooks & Tenn (logo, website, etc.) but I am beyond thankful that I did- it would have taken me forever to get that together and it turned out so much better than I could have ever imagined!
Q: What do you do to unwind and take time away from your business?
A: My vice is trash TV; however, I love to be outside, listen to music, go out to dinner with friends and have margaritas with my husband, Hoke!!
Q: What is your motto or mantra that you live by?
A: Be good and kind and sweet and true.
Q: What vision do you have for yourself in the near future, personally or professionally?
A: I would love to scale our business and take on even more design projects! I am excited to give my own home a little facelift! Personally, I am striving to read more, get to bed earlier, be more present and appreciate all of life's blessings!
Q: How do you support other women-owned businesses?
A: I love referring others to women-owned businesses! Word-of-mouth marketing is priceless, and a good referral can go a long way! Promote them, refer them, partner with them, shop them!!
Women-Owned VIBES
My guilty pleasure is: Watching trash TV at night and ice cream... literally cannot say no!
Best time management tip: Keep your to-do list and calendar updated. Carve out time for your tasks so that you can focus and prioritize!
The best book I've read in the past year: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles and a close second is Establishing Home by Jean Stoffer (amazing designer/mom!!)
My most listen-to podcast, song or artist is: Podcast: Watch What Crappens (they hilariously recap all of the trash TV I watch). Music: really into 90's music right now- some great throwback jams that are just awesome!
Greatest gift I have ever received: My kiddos!!
Three things that I cannot live without: Family, friends, and sushi!
Most useful advice my mother has given me: To stay true to myself no matter what.
The coolest person I've ever met is: Dave Matthews!!!!
Lake, Mountains, Beach? Beach (I feel like I should say mountains, but I love the beach so much, it makes me so happy!!)
Quality I cherish most in a friend is: Loyalty (and a good sense of humor).
The title of my autobiography would be: My Awkward Life as I have had so, so many awkward interactions with people throughout the years... something about my face must give off vibes of "tell me your strangest most personal story!"