A conversation with Angela Houska of @hello..haveaseat

Right now, more than ever, (at least in my lifetime) people are waking up to the realization that so much of what we love or are drawn to may not have been things we ever consciously thought of ourselves.

Trends, aesthetics and urgency are shoved in our faces in an algorithmic onslaught of capitalistic money grabs, and we’re rejecting it – fully – even if we don’t quite know how yet.

I think we’re all craving originality, slowness and authentic curation instead of being fed a constant Jetstream of meaningless objects, personalities and aesthetics.

When find yourself at @hello.haveaseat, that slow, home-grown, gently expansive sense of taste thoughtfully crafted is exactly what you’ll feel, and that’s exactly why I wanted to talk to Angela for this month’s Alchemy Transmissions.

I’ve known Angela in periphery since college, but we recently reconnected through a mutual friend (shout out, Rachel!), and I can assure you, she is as much of a vibe in real life as she is online – and that’s something I deeply admire.

I’m so drawn to Angela’s work because you can feel the groundedness in her approach – her values and motivations are palpable. And while that’s rare, it’s achievable with focused practice, lived intention and a genuine desire for your inner world to align with your outer space.

I am someone who has performed for love, safety and admiration, mostly unconsciously, most of my life, so witnessing Angela’s clear connection to herself and subsequent expression through her work has become a bit of a guiding light for me as I’ve left the corporate world and endeavored to make a living as a creative service provider.

I just knew I wanted to learn from her, and I was delighted when she agreed to let me interview her for this series.

Without further ado, let’s get into our conversation with Angela of Hello, Have a Seat.

Question 1:

I have been absolutely obsessed with your Instagram account ever since I started following you. You have such cool style, and after meeting you in person, it all makes sense. Cool is as cool does! Tell us who you are and what your account is about, and if you wouldn’t mind, how you decided to start it in the first place.

Liz: Thank you for this! I find your response so clear — I think a lot of people, myself included, struggle to just claim and state exactly who they are without apology. I’ve long believed that this type of clarity comes with time, while that can be true, it can also be true that claiming your stated identity can reverse engineer you into the world and life you want to inhabit. That’s what your response just lit up for me.

Question 2:

As an artist, it’s very clear that you have a clear sense of taste and style – where do you find inspiration, or rather, how to do you practice cultivating it? If someone looked at your page and thought, “I would love to do this,” where might you tell them to start?

Question 3:

I think people stop short of learning what their own personal expression looks and feels like because we like having an example to follow. But I think the secret is that having no “model” is the whole point. What do you think is often misunderstood about discovering and expressing your own taste?

Liz: THIS: The constant steam of “finished” online is so, so, so deceiving. What we see in an photo is never the first attempt or the first outcome. Uncertainty, IS the blueprint. You have to not know and search for the answer in order to find it. And that means messing up, getting it wrong and flopping a little. I actually genuinely don’t believe in “failure,” because even the worst situation contains knowledge and wisdom to glean. A failed attempt just means an attempt that didn’t work. Next.

Question 4:

I don’t think anything can be created in a vacuum – everything has to come from a co-creation somewhere. Who or what has been most impactful on your creativity? Your content is so rich – where does that spark come from?

Question 5:

Ok, now you have to tell us, what’s absolute fucking bullshit?

Liz: Ooooof. What a permission slip. 1. Fuck the patriarchy. 2. Just START. This is something so many people refuse to do because they feel too embarrassed to put themselves on display, they’re afraid of judgement, or they feel like starting with what they have isn’t enough. Personally, I’ve been working on overcoming this myself! I use Canva to make just about everything, and I think it’s so much fun, but I constantly worry people won’t take me seriously because I’m not using high tech design software. YET, I’ve found that my clients don’t actually care at all. They like the vision. They like the vibe. They want to learn. That’s it.

Question 6:

Your home and home design is a prominent feature in your work, so I’m dying to ask: What has personal expression in your home done for your life? How has creating such a personal and beautiful space shaped the way you approach creativity in any area?

I have absolutely no notes. This is it in a nutshell.

Question 7:

Ok, I’ve plugged your account like 5 times, is that where you prefer to connect, or is there somewhere else we should go?

Angela, thank you SO much for taking the time to share your work with us. This has been so much fun, and the inspired feeling is mutual.

Everyone — you can find Angela on Instagram at @hello.haveaseat, her website, or email her at hello.haveaseat@gmail.com.

What’s Next?

If you’re sensing a common theme between Angela’s work and the work of Alchemy of Home, it’s that we both strive to create spaces that truly reflect who you are, bringing your inner world to life in your outer space.

There are so many ways to do that, and I absolutely love sharing space (sorry, that’s so corny, but true) with other creators and professionals in this field because there is room for everyone. I hope this interview was as uplifting and inspiring for you as it was for me — if so, go give Angela a follow!

And if we’re not connected yet, make sure you subscribe to the Alchemy Archive newsletter so you never miss amazing interviews like this one.

Thanks for reading.