An Interview with Penny Mustard Buyer Emily Ware

Our incredible selections are designed by equally-incredible people. We are so lucky to have Emily on Penny Mustard’s team as a Merchandising Manager/Buyer for our Greendale, WI location. Her keen eye for new trends, timeless design, and all things beautiful is truly on point. She recently took a quick break from her work to answer a few questions.

How did you become part of the Penny Mustard family?

I have my degree in retail merchandising and a concentration in interior design. I started in sales at Penny Mustard’s Greenfield, WI location in 2008 when the recession was prevalent. After a year and a half they asked me to start buying for them, and it kind of snowballed from there, allowing me to give more input to visual merchandising, trends, and design.

What trends are still in fashion?

I see a lot of gray that continues to be very strong. I think, being in the Midwest, we get styles later in the year than if we were on the coast, so we hold onto those styles a little bit longer.

What design choices are most surprising to you?

How people tend to go dark with a whole room full of furniture. For small spaces, I think the brighter, the better, so that it’s not so heavy. I’m happy, though, that rustic furniture is still in – kind of the beat-up, reclaimed look. When you’re working with solid wood, it’s easy to touch-up and repair, especially because I’m an aggressive vacuum-er.

If you could design one room on repeat, what room would it be?

Informal living rooms. I like them because you can have lots of kinds of entertainment. But then I can totally see myself going the complete other way and really focusing on non-screen time entertainment with my love of books. Or how I could make it more of a working living room. I love to add a little writing desk as a console behind a sofa for work and play in the same area.

Who are your favorite designers/builders?

Alison Victoria(of HGTV’sWindy City Rehab). I’m seeing what is on TV and on Pinterest and everything is all coastal. They’re, like, “Isn’t this yacht thing great?” I’m like, “No, we don’t have those here.” So it’s nice to see someone who’s focused on Midwest trends. I really like her a lot, and I recently posted inspiration from her as far as what I’m buying for our showrooms.

To see what Emily is curating for Penny Mustard, stop by any of our showrooms and take a look around.