Wyndmoor resident Anne Jarvis Thomas always knew she wanted to work with her hands for a living. The only problem was finding a path to do so. After graduating from Germantown Friends School, Thomas made a “scary decision” in 2006 to enroll as a fine arts major with a painting concentration at the University of Delaware. However, this risk paid off.
“I followed what I was always good at, what I always loved, and it has been amazing,” Thomas told the Local. “I managed to never have a job that didn’t use my degree.”
After a successful career in the corporate field, Thomas has switched her focus to Anne Made Designs, her design company that provides services such as window displays, murals, color consulting, wedding design, and interior design.
Corporate career
Thomas began her artistic career with a role at Anthropologie creating store window displays. She remained there for seven years, learning valuable skills in the creation of impermanent art, since every display only lasted one season.
She then transitioned to a job in event design, mostly creating flower arrangements, signage, and backdrops for weddings. Through this role, Thomas learned that the same rules of texture, color, and composition typically applied to fine art also applied to floral designs.
Her next job was at an interior design company called Havenly, before moving to Tennessee for three years to be the creative director for Altar’d State, a women’s clothing brand. Thomas then moved back to Philadelphia and worked for Sherwin Williams, meeting with clients as a color consultant.
Through all of these roles, Thomas noticed a pattern.
“I kept finding myself working for these corporate companies, somehow able to make fine art,” Thomas said. “I feel really grateful that I have found those little spots in those big companies to use my skills and to show the value that there is still in making art, not just digitally, but by hand.”
Anne Made Designs
After leaving Sherwin Williams last summer, Thomas made her side business — Anne Made Designs — into her full-time career. When she started the business, Thomas realized that she didn’t need to put herself in a box.
“When I started Anne Made Designs… I was like, ‘I should probably pick a lane,’” Thomas reflected. “‘Am I doing retail window displays or am I doing murals? Am I doing interior design or am I doing floral? What is my lane?’ Then, the more I had people asking me to help them with stuff, the more I realized I can be a jack-of-all-trades. I don’t have to choose one lane. If there is any specialty that I have, it’s that I can do it all when it comes to art and design in spaces.”
This all-encompassing design consulting has worked out well for Thomas, who has attracted a clientele with her services. An average day might range from staging a home and painting a mural in a child’s nursery to offering color consultations and mapping out where to hang posters.
Thomas’ favorite part of the job is interpreting her clients’ visions.
“Bringing to life their imagination and the excitement that they have when they describe something and I show it to them is so gratifying,” Thomas said. “When I meet with a client who’s like, ‘I want this room to feel cozy, but not small. I want it to feel warm but not like a cave.’ Then picking out a color and being like, ‘This is a color you’re describing.’ And they’re like, ‘Whoa.’ That’s a really satisfying experience for me and also it makes them happy, hopefully.”
Handmade touch
With four children under the age of seven, Thomas is not only busy with her business.
“[My children] are my world,” Thomas said. “It’s exciting to see what their interests are — I always loved art, and even if it’s not art, what they blossom into and what they fall in love with, the way that I fell in love with art.”
Although her career is focused on art, Thomas said she also has artistic hobbies. She enjoys embroidery and has a series of framed botanical embroideries where the roots are left as loose threads.
This handmade touch is something Thomas said cannot be replaced.
“With AI and stuff, it feels really daunting, but I do think there are some things that it just will never be able to replace,” Thomas said. “That touch of hand is one of those things.”
Learn more at annejthomas.com or @anne_made_ on Instagram.
Maggie Dougherty can be reached at Margaret@chestnuthilllocal.com.
