Meet Anna Brettschneider, Multidisciplinary Designer and Creator Behind coolstuff.nyc

You might know Anna from her colorful Instagram or her company Coolstuff NYC. If not, we're thrilled to introduce you to her today!

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‍Anna's work is deeply defined by color, curiosity, and a positive outlook. Lately, she has felt inspired by the changing leaves, hosting friends for dinner, and new pillows.

Describe yourself in 3 emojis.

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Briefly tell us about your design journey.

After graduating from SCAD in textile design, I fell into the world of rugs. I am constantly inspired by seeing a space come together with each additional rug, pillow, or coffee table book. I pour this love for interiors as a whole into my freelance work as an interior stylist. Helping those who love design but have trouble knowing where to start and how to choose a color palette is extremely rewarding for me. I can be someone who pushes someone to paint their walls pink, go for an unconventional color palette, and revamp their space, which is pretty powerful! Having this background in rug design, I typically begin a space design with what is going on the floor to anchor the palette for the room.

Where do you find your inspiration?

I find inspiration in all kinds of places. Most recently, this has been in attending speaker panels of powerful designers with unique points of view. Seeing somewhere get to where they are from where they started is endlessly inspiring to a young designer. More literally, I find inspiration for interiors and designs in runway shows, interior magazines, landscapes, and unintentional color palettes seen on the NYC streets.

Tell us about a designer or artist you love. What about them and their work are you drawn to?

Frances Palmer is a ceramicist trained as an art historian who creates elegant pieces that BEG you to run out and create a dahlia floral bouquet. Her work inspires me in its simple but organic nature. The little floral urn vase shape with handles is timeless.

What do you do on your time off to recharge creatively?

The most fulfilling thing one can do is spend time in nature. A recent long weekend spent driving around the Catskill mountains has given me the fall recharge I needed! A change in scenery and pace will always do the trick when your brain needs a little reset to get back to creating.

What's the best thing you've consumed recently?

Being in a world of overconsumption in terms of imagery, TV, etc...it's important to remember the things that stick out to us at the moment. More literally, I ate the best grapes I have ever had recently—concord grapes purchased from the market at Patti Ann's. Otherwise, my new vintage Matisse coffee table book from Troubled Sleep Books has been all-consuming eye candy.