Episode Transcript
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Charlie McDermott (00:00):
This is the
Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Mike Murphy.
Mike Murphy (00:12):
Thank you, Charlie.
Yes, I am Mike Murphy, host ofthe Good Neighbor Podcast.
We talk to local businessowners, influencers, people that
I think you should know andpeople that want you to know
them, and one of the people thatI have with me today is Kelly
Kuehneman.
She is the owner of Signa StyleHome.
She's got a beautiful website,signastyle.
(00:33):
com, that I've taken a peek at.
There's a lot there, so I don'tknow that we will ever really
be able to get to everythingthat you do today, Kelly, but
we're going to get to some of it, and so, that being said, say
hello and tell us what you do.
Kelly Kuehneman (00:53):
Absolutely
Thanks for having me.
By the way, as he said, I'mKelly Keeneman.
I am the founder and owner ofCigna Style Home, which is the
retail portion of my brand.
I actually have another portion, that's Kelly and Elise
Interiors, which embodiesinterior design.
The name Cigna Style itselfcame from me, combining the
words signature and style intoone, because that truly is the
(01:16):
premise behind my brand helpingpeople find their signature
style Cigna Style Home.
I'm online.
As he said, I'm also in threePainted Tree Boutique locations
Crestview Hills, Kentucky,Cincinnati, Ohio and Franklin,
Tennessee and basically I offercurated home decor options for
(01:39):
shoppers, and what I mean bythat is it's not just your
everyday finds.
I try to incorporate uniqueitems that you don't see
everywhere else, you don'talways find on Amazon.
I have a range of price pointsto fit all budgets and I really
just try to find unique things.
It could include vintage andantiques modern type stuff you
(02:03):
name it.
Include vintage and antiquesmodern type stuff, you name it.
And then the Kellyanne Eliseinteriors.
I do everything from e-designto full service interior design.
So both both aspects of mybusiness are really rooted in my
passion to help people createspaces that feel beautiful,
personal, functional, with thegoal being that they are
timeless and intentional andunique to you.
(02:26):
Know, you, the customer.
Mike Murphy (02:29):
So when did you cut
your teeth in this business?
You know what got you started,whenever that was.
Kelly Kuehneman (02:35):
You know I've
had a love for design ever since
I was a little kid.
I started out loving art.
I paint, I draw, you know Imade all kinds of crafts.
As I grew older I started toget a love for vintage and
antiques.
I spent time refinishingantiques.
I have multiple antiques in myhome.
I even did the.
You know the upcycling and thepainting furniture that became
(02:57):
so popular.
But one thing I recognized as Iwas kind of on this journey, is
that our environment, our spaces, they impact how we feel.
So I started to think aboutthat.
You know, a room can feel cozyor it can feel cold and it has a
lot to do with, you know, thethings that we put in it.
So I took the leap to turn mypassion into a business and I
(03:20):
first started out doing pop-upshows.
You know vendor events.
I first started out doingpop-up shows.
You know vendor events.
Those grew over the years andyou know curating more pieces
and kind of molding my, mydesign process, so to speak, and
it's organically grown to whereI am today.
Mike Murphy (03:38):
So do you subscribe
to the theory of feng shui, or
is it your version of a fengshui?
Kelly Kuehneman (03:46):
You know, I
think it's each individual
person's version of feng shui oris it your version of a feng
shui?
You know, I think it's eachindividual person's version of
feng shui, because I really tryto find when I'm talking to you
know, customers, clients,whatnot.
I'm trying to discern whatresonates with them you know,
everybody's different.
You know, some people are reallyinto modern contemporary design
, others like more traditionalor transitional, and that's OK.
(04:13):
And ultimately, you know, a lotof people fall for the latest
trends and the fads, and that'sOK too.
There's a way to incorporatethe latest trends into your home
without going too overboard.
That one day then you wake upand you go, well, shoot, that's
not a trend anymore.
Day then you wake up and you go, well, shoot, that's not a
trend anymore.
And now I gotta re, you know,redo my whole house.
So I try to help people, um,kind of figure all that out and,
like I said, it really is apersonal choice.
The goal is to find a spacethat you, as the homeowner,
(04:37):
resonate with, that you like.
That's, you know, works for you.
Mike Murphy (04:39):
It may not work for
everybody else, but it works
for you okay and that they'reable to um have some control
over it long after you've leftand made your recommendations
and whatnot, because I could seesome people hiring you and then
you do what you do andeverything is perfect in the way
they want it, and then they'reafraid to ever touch it again.
(05:00):
They're not allowed to moveanything.
You have to feel comfortable inyour home and that's what makes
you feel like a home.
Kelly Kuehneman (05:07):
Well, you know,
I think you know, a lot of us
watch those DIY shows and theJoanna.
Gaines of the world.
And they are phenomenal, butthey are very staged.
And I mean I myself, I like tostage my house, I like to shop
in my own house.
So rather than, you know,spending a lot of money
sometimes if I want to changethings up, I just shop rooms.
I encourage people to do that,you know.
Go in your house, swapsomething from one room into
(05:28):
another and it can change thewhole look of the room.
And it can also inspire you tomaybe change the paint color or
just change the throw pillows onthe couch or what have you.
But I think it is important torecognize that your room doesn't
always have to be completelystaged they still have to be
lived in it that your roomdoesn't always have to be
completely staged they stillhave to be lived in, it still
has to be functional, and thefunctionality of a room is
extremely important.
Mike Murphy (05:49):
I had somebody ask
me once.
They came down to my lowerlevel kind of where I do a lot
of my working.
I mean, we've got pool tableson here, it's a whole.
I don't know.
It's a utilitarian space, it'salways changing.
And people say, is it alwaysstaged?
And I had never thought of itthat way.
My response was no, I'm anempty nester.
(06:10):
I just don't have kids runningaround.
I'm moving things.
That makes a big difference.
Yeah, when something goessomewhere it kind of tends to
stay there.
But then you know, every oncein a while I change the
functionality of a room and Imove things around.
My wife comes down here and shelooks around and things are
different.
And functionality of a room andI move things around and my
wife comes down here and shelooks around and things are
different and she's asking mewhat the hell are you doing?
Kelly Kuehneman (06:30):
I'm like it's
just, I needed to do it, so just
let me be Yep, yeah, Isometimes drive my husband a
little crazy because, like Isaid, I do, I love to redecorate
and you know.
You know, if I had an endlessbudget, if we all had endless
budgets, I mean sure you couldjust go crazy, right?
But you have to be realisticand some things you might find
too.
You know, you rearrange a roomor you put new pieces in it and
at first it feels wonderful,you're excited about it, but
(06:53):
after you sit with it for awhile, it may not, it may not
evoke that same kind of feeling,and so you know that's okay.
You just you got to shift andyou got to change, and that's
what I try to help people do too, is to recognize that, like I
said, the rooms need to befunctional, lived in, but
personal to you and your story,so that it works for you.
Mike Murphy (07:18):
So you sort of
addressed this a little bit
earlier in saying that you shopfrom different rooms and you
kind of move things around.
I wondered, like you know, isthis one of those?
The emperor has no clothes sortof thing, or whatever.
That is Bottom line being isyour home a showcase or is your
home a mess?
Kelly Kuehneman (07:31):
Well, I'm also
a little OCD.
I have a lot OCD if you talk tomy family.
So my house is seldom a mess.
It may not always be past thewhite glove finger test, but I
am a really neat, tidy person.
You know, chaos causes meanxiety.
When I was a kid I used todrive my mom crazy.
She would clean my room anddust and I would go in my room
(07:52):
and you know like on my desk Iwould, if she had moved my you
know pencil holder or somethinglike two inches too far, I would
go and move it back Like I wasreally bad.
I'm not as bad anymore, but Iwill say like when I'm
decorating for Christmas,because I always say Christmas
threw up at my house, I, youknow, I do all the things very
tasteful but it's like in allthe rooms and I can sometimes
decorate and, you know, stepback and then move things and
(08:14):
then step back again.
And because I am like aperfectionist but I don't
encourage other people to belike that I'm a little over the
top.
Mike Murphy (08:21):
Yeah, yeah, yeah,
yeah.
Yeah, my wife was complaining Idon't know if that's the right
word, but you know how she puteverything out for Christmas and
she worked so hard at it andeverything looks so beautiful.
But then she said, when peoplecome over, they don't tell me
how beautiful it is.
It's like if we forget that.
(08:42):
You know, we work so hard atsomething and we're just wanting
some sort of validation.
The bottom line is, we allthink how beautiful it is, we
just don't say it, and so that'ssomething that we need to be
more cognizant of, just in life,I guess.
Kelly Kuehneman (09:01):
I agree
wholeheartedly.
Mike Murphy (09:03):
The beauty that
you're putting out in the world.
I think I'm sure a lot ofpeople appreciate it.
We just need to all say it.
So there's there's some morelife coaching coming out of me.
I need life coaching and hereI'm giving it.
So there's, there's some morelife coaching coming out of me.
I need life coaching and hereI'm giving it.
So there's something wrong withthat.
So, when somebody approachesyou or you go to I mean when you
find a client, however, that iswhat does the process look like
(09:25):
in terms of starting thatrelationship, the process of
doing what you do for them.
Kelly Kuehneman (09:30):
Well, I mean,
it's pretty much like anything.
You do your due diligence first, right.
So a lot of questions, you knowif someone comes to me and
something that's you know, maybemore formal.
So you go through a series ofquestions to try to pinpoint.
(10:01):
And sometimes they don't knowright, sometimes it's you know I
don't know what I like.
And that's okay too, becausethen you just kind of coach them
and you show them pictures andsay you know, what do you like
here, what don't you like?
And so then I can kind ofdetermine from those questions
and those pictures kind of whattheir style is or maybe is, and
lots of times it's a combinationof many styles, and then we
(10:22):
kind of build off of that.
Mike Murphy (10:23):
Okay, yeah, that's
a good point.
People can't always communicatewhat it is they want, but I
think pictures is one way, likeyou mentioned Pinterest, kind of
look at different styles andwhatever resonates with you, pin
those, save them, whatever andshow you, and that's one way of
communicating without knowingthe terminology necessarily.
Kelly Kuehneman (10:47):
Right.
Mike Murphy (10:48):
So you personally
like what is your favorite decor
style.
Kelly Kuehneman (10:54):
You personally
like.
What is your favorite decorstyle?
You know I try to blend currenttrends with artful pieces and
timeless pieces.
I would say I'm moretransitional.
You know there's aspects ofmore modern, contemporary stuff
that I like.
I don't have really that lookin my house per se, but I can
create that for other peoplesand I like it.
(11:15):
My house is more transitional.
I mean, I've got, like I said,I have antiques in my home and
then I have newer pieces and Ireally enjoy marrying those,
those pieces together.
Um, I do try to recommend topeople now you might have a room
where you decide to go reallybold.
You know they have what's that'scalled color washing, where you
do the ceiling and all the trimand the walls and it's all one
(11:37):
color, and lots of times it's adeep, bold color, you know, for
a dramatic impact, maybe a studyor you know that kind of thing,
and those can be beautiful.
Um, a lot of times, though, Itry to sway customers too, that
you know, aside from maybe thatone room where you want to do
that dramatic effect, the rest,rest of the house is oftentimes
wise especially if you havelower ceilings or a small house
(11:58):
or you don't have a lot ofnatural light, to keep the walls
more a neutral, lighter color,and then you can bring all the
color and excitement that youwant into the room via the
furnishings, whether it's blindsor drapes, or throw pillows on
the couch, the furniture, thearea rugs, you know, vases with
flowers.
And the beautiful thing aboutthat is, if you tire of it or if
(12:22):
you want to change it you know,in combination with the seasons
you can do so relativelyinexpensively.
You can have pillow coverswhere you keep the inserts and
just swap out the covers and youcan change the whole look of
your couch or your living roomand you don't have to worry
about repainting the whole.
You know all the walls, so youknow.
It's little things like thatthat I try to help customers, um
you know, figure out what theywant and and kind of point them
(12:44):
into the direction that maybesuits their home best yeah, good
point.
Mike Murphy (12:48):
So you were talking
about like hg tv earlier and
those home decor shows orwhatever.
That's.
One term that we've all heardis pops of color.
You know, you got your neutralbase or whatever and then you
bring in your themes throughpops of color and you can change
those out through pillowcoverings and throws and things
(13:09):
like that, yeah, so yeah, Icould see the value in having
somebody come in and at leastget the process going and get a
good basic layout, designwhatever, and then just allowing
you to have some creativelicense to just kind of slowly
(13:31):
tweak and reinvent seasonally,right, right.
Kelly Kuehneman (13:36):
Okay, you know
it's just like when people you
know go to sell their home andthe realtor says you need to
remove all the personal lookingstuff, you need to, like, pull
some of the stuff, the clutteroff the counters and stuff.
And the reason being is a lotof buyers when they walk into a
home they can't see the bigpicture they can't visualize.
You know either their things inthe home or just how to
(13:56):
decorate the home itself.
So if you have a lot ofbusyness and clutter, that works
well for you.
It's not always best whenyou're selling a home.
So I also encourage people ifthey're putting their house on
the market, they need helpstaging it, you know, to help
kind of streamline it so thatwhen a buyer or potential buyer
walks in the house they can say,okay, I can see, you know that
(14:18):
size couch works.
But you know you try to removea lot of the personal stuff
because they don't want to seeyour stuff in there.
They want to.
You want them to envision theirfamily portrait of, you know,
the fireplace and stuff.
So you know I also can helpwith that if customers are, you
know, in that stage of life.
Mike Murphy (14:36):
So I could
understand why realtors might
love you.
You're helping them, You'remaking their job easier.
Okay, Well, very good.
So what is your favorite partof what you do?
I know there are multiplethings you do for people, but
what really gets you excited?
What makes you?
What's most rewarding for you?
Kelly Kuehneman (14:54):
I guess you
know, really, it's just it's
hearing back from customers whenthey're just so excited, like I
know myself, when I dosomething in my own house and I,
you know, rearrange it orredesign it or whatever and you
just sit back and you're like,wow, this just makes me feel so
good.
And when a customer says that,or even if they buy something
from my retail store and they'relike, oh, I just love this
(15:16):
piece.
I've been looking for somethingfor the longest time that was
different and this is perfect.
It's the perfect size, you know, or it tells a story, or if
it's a vintage type piece I havea series in my store called the
found collection, which areauthentic, vintage and antique
pieces, a lot of pottery andwhatnot.
And you know, when people findthose, they're like, wow, this
(15:38):
is just so unique, Nobody elseis going to have something like
this, and you know a lot ofpeople like that.
And then, too, there's thosepieces that you know someone
says, oh, this reminds me of mygrandmother, or this reminds me
of you know a story of when.
And that's nice too, justknowing that you can tie some
kind of memory or story and helpput that in a person's home
(15:58):
Cause.
Again, part of my goal is tohelp it feel intentional and
lived in.
But I want it to tell eachindividual story.
I want them to go into theirhome and truly make it.
You know, from a house to ahome.
Mike Murphy (16:11):
Yeah, at the end of
the day, you're really just
making people happy.
There's different routes youtake, but yeah, you're making
people happy.
So you mentioned the paintedtree boutiques.
When somebody goes to a paintedtree, what are they going to
see there from you?
Kelly Kuehneman (16:28):
Well, for me
they're going to see a multitude
of stuff.
I mean, I do tend to have, um,I have some hand design stuff,
um, cause I am an artist bybackground.
Um, I have a graphic designbackground as well, so there are
some hand pieces in there, buta lot of it's just like I said.
I have the found collection,which has um, antique and true
(16:50):
authentic vintage pieces, andthen I have modern day stuff,
but I do try to find, like Isaid before, unique pieces.
You know, you may find somethings that you're gonna see
similar, you know, in a Targetor an Amazon or HomeGoods or
whatever, but I try, I strive tofind pieces that you're not
gonna see everywhere else.
And then the other thing thatyou see in my store is the way
(17:11):
my store is set up.
I have like a fireplace mantleon the back wall and there's
bookcases, so it kind of feelslike a home.
And you know typicalmerchandising, like when you go
into a big box store you see alot of product and it's just
lined up in a row and you know Itry to decorate my space as if
it were a home.
So, and the goal being that ithelps people visualize how they
(17:32):
could see that in their ownspace.
So lots of times too, you know,I may have five of the same
item in there, but I won't putall five together.
I'll have them spaced out inthe store and I'll have other
pieces with it so they can seehow to curate similar pieces
that might work.
That you know.
Maybe they have somethingsimilar at home in terms of size
, or a vase that works well withthis other item, or maybe they
like the whole grouping.
(17:52):
So that's something they seefrom MySpace and Painted Tree in
general.
You're going to see a wholemultitude of things.
Mike Murphy (17:59):
Right.
Right, it's a great facility,so let's take a departure from
the business talk and talk aboutfamily talk.
So I'll usually ask businessowners what does family look
like to you?
So are you married with kids orare you like what's that look
like?
Just describe your family forus, please.
Kelly Kuehneman (18:20):
Married with
one daughter.
She is 27 and I'm extremelyproud of her.
She graduated from UK in publichealth and then decided that
she really wanted to be a nurse.
So she went back and putherself through college again
through Xavier's ABSN program,graduated this past December,
and now she is a nurse atChildren's Hospital.
Mike Murphy (18:41):
So and it's.
Kelly Kuehneman (18:41):
National Nurses
Week.
So more power to her and allthe nurses out there.
Mike Murphy (18:47):
So we've talked
about your daughter.
What about your husband?
What does he do?
What's his name?
Let's shout him out.
Just how long have you beenmarried?
Kelly Kuehneman (18:56):
Okay, my
husband's name is Tom and he
likes to be difficult because hespells it T-H-O-M.
Which people are like Tom andhe's like no, it's like Thomas.
So, but he's a jack of alltrades.
One of the things we do thatboth of us love to do is DIY
projects, and when we moved intothis house six years ago, we
have literally gutted this wholehouse and remodeled it, so he
(19:20):
has a lot of the same kind ofpassion that I do for design and
you know, fixing homes andwhatnot.
He can do the CAD drawings too.
We've been married over 30years.
Like I said, we have the onedaughter.
We both have an immense love ofanimals.
We've always had dogs.
Mike Murphy (19:38):
I'm a dog person
too, so I get that I love dogs.
Okay, when you guys go and dofun stuff, what do you do?
Do you like to vacation?
Do you like to cruise?
Do you like hiking?
What do you do?
Kelly Kuehneman (19:54):
I love anything
outdoors.
Now I I'll preface that bysaying when the weather's nice.
I am not a cold weather person,I hate winter.
I often say that I don't knowwhy I live here.
I should live like in the South, where it's warm more times out
of the year.
But we both we love to beoutside.
I like working in the yard, Ilove taking walks, and you know,
being out in nature, love goingto the beach and you know,
(20:17):
given that I do have a stronglove for animals, I love love
being with my dog.
I take him for a walk every day, so yeah, dog's a big
commitment.
Mike Murphy (20:27):
If you're going to,
you know do the right thing.
You can't just have a dog andmake them sit in the corner all
day.
Yeah, so yeah, being a doglover is part of responsible pet
care.
Kelly Kuehneman (20:40):
That's right.
And we typically have more thanone, but unfortunately we've
lost a few over recent years, sowe're down to just the one
little guy, but sometimes hefeels like we've got more than
one.
Mike Murphy (20:50):
So losing a dog is
a terrible thing, it's, but, but
we digress yeah, that's athat's a tough subject.
It's but, but we digress yeah,that's a that's a tough subject.
It really is, yeah.
So let's see.
One thing I wanted to ask youis do you have a typical client
really?
Like I asked before, like youknow, when you come across a
(21:11):
client, however that might be,let's just talk about that.
What's what's the typical way aclient might be?
Let's just talk about that.
Kelly Kuehneman (21:19):
What's what's
the typical way a client and
that you and a client come tomeet.
You know it, it dependssometimes when I'm in painted
tree because I'll be refreshingmy space during business hours.
Lots of times it's, you know, Iget to meet the customers,
which is really really nice, andsometimes, you know, nothing
comes of it.
Other times it's just a niceconversation.
But there are times that peoplereach out and they're like oh,
(21:39):
you offer this service and thisservice too.
I'd love, you know, for you to,to help me out, and, and lots
of times then we'll, you know,we'll communicate via email or
whatever.
Some people just go direct tomy website.
There's a contact form there,and then on the Kellyanne Elise
interior site there's even aspot where you can fill out like
a design questionnaire.
So it allows you to go throughand pick out you know, what room
(22:02):
that you're looking forassistance with, tell what you
like about it, what you don't.
You can upload pictures, thatkind of thing, but a lot of it's
just word of mouth.
You know it's, you know.
Mike Murphy (22:13):
Kind of like any
entrepreneur, you get your
clients however you can.
Like you know.
Kind of like any entrepreneur,you get your clients however you
can.
You know it's many differentpaths to to the people that we,
that we help.
Kelly Kuehneman (22:22):
That's right.
Mike Murphy (22:24):
So one thing I want
to make sure before we sign off
is, if somebody does want toreach out to you as they're
hearing this what's the best waythey can reach you and what are
?
Kelly Kuehneman (22:35):
you know a
couple ways that they typically
can reach you um, probably theeasiest is via the website, just
so that you know, I ensure thatI have the correct spelling and
email address and whatnot,because, as we well know I mean,
I know myself the older I get,my handwriting isn't what it
used to be and I sometimes Ilook at it and I think what did
I just write?
(22:55):
So this way, you know, it's alltyped out and nice and pretty,
um, but they can go tosignastylecom or to
kellyannalisecom, either one ofthose Um, and there's links to
both, you know, redirecting tothe other Um.
I'm also on, you know, all thesocial media channels.
I'm on Facebook as Cigna StyleHome, which the username is just
(23:18):
at Cigna Style, and then onInstagram it's at Cigna Style
Home, and Instagram is nicebecause you'll see a lot of the
I mean you see it on Facebooktoo a lot of the pictures and
stuff that some of my productand whatnot that's in the stores
.
You can see highlights andstories and you know know that
stuff, it's kind of easier tonavigate I think,
Mike Murphy (23:40):
than facebook um,
but instagram lends itself well
to visuals and things like that,so it's a nice gallery setting.
So yes okay, uh, is thereanything that we haven't talked
about?
Before we sign off that, um,you maybe have on your punch
list of things to make surepeople know about you.
Kelly Kuehneman (23:58):
I'd say one
thing is to know that my
business, both aspects of it,are deeply personal.
So you know whether I'm curatingproducts for, you know, my
retail stores, I'm working on aproject for a customer or a
consultation, regardless, it'sall it's deeply personal.
You know, I'm trying to findpieces that speak to that
individual person Because, likeI said, at the end of the day,
(24:21):
you know, it's not just aboutaesthetics, it's not about just
creating a space that you knowthat feels pretty, it's really
about making it functional andfitting for that person's
lifestyle, you know, to bringout their personality.
So when someone comes to visittheir home, you know, even if
it's just the decor pieces intheir home, it kind of tells you
(24:42):
something about the individualthat lives there and it really
does make a house feel like ahome, and so I would want people
to know that.
That's.
My goal is to, you know, tohelp them with design, either
through the products that I sellor through my services that
it's intentional and timelessand it's, you know, unique to
(25:04):
them.
Mike Murphy (25:04):
Well, very good.
It sounds like if somebodyneeds your services.
You are a very warm personality.
You seem to know what you'redoing.
Thank you People can, I feel,trust you, and so I could see
why people would want to reachout to you.
So you're welcome.
You and I have not really hadFaceTime together till today, so
(25:25):
this has been a niceconversation to have.
I feel like I've gotten to knowyou pretty quickly and at least
how you operate, and you know Itry to build up that know like
and trust factor, and I thinkwe've kind of checked those
boxes today.
So thanks for spending timewith us and just kind of
explaining to the community whatyou do.
I'll say to the peoplelistening if you think you might
(25:48):
want to reach out to Kelly,then by gum, do it.
She's just showing you how todo it and she told you what she
can help you with.
So yeah, that being said, it'sbeen a pleasure to talk with you
today, Kelly, and for everybodyout there listening, this is
the Good Neighbor Podcast.
I'll always sign off by sayingeverybody out there until we
(26:10):
talk next time.
Everybody, please be good toyour neighbor.
So long, everybody, Bye-bye.
Charlie McDermott (26:15):
Thanks for
listening to the good neighbor
podcast union.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to GNP unioncom.
That's GNP unioncom, or call usat 8, 5, 9, 6, 5, 1, 8, 3, 3, 0
.