Style is not limited to what we wear. It shapes the spaces we inhabit, the places we explore, the objects we preserve and even the way we see ourselves. Across the Springfield area, creative professionals are using observation, experience and careful listening to help people live with greater beauty, confidence and intention.
To Kristal Hicks, owner and travel designer at Top Tier Travel Group in Nixa, people appreciate beauty more when they broaden their worldview. This is the sensibility that Hicks, a global traveler, brings to her work; she returned from France just days before we spoke, with a family trip to Alaska on the calendar. “Travel opens your eyes and gives you a different perspective on life. For instance, you may think you enjoy the beach, but then you travel to the mountains and it fills your soul differently,” she says. “People often come to us envisioning an idea for travel that we realize is not something that they actually want after our consultation. You get personalization from someone with experience who can help you have those little aha moments.”
Those aha moments are all part of a day’s work for Stephanie Ireland, principal architect at Ireland Architects in Springfield. She, too, draws on her life experience, which includes traveling — “But traveling could mean to Arkansas or to Europe,” she notes — to give her fresh perspectives. “Paying attention to the world with my eyes and my imagination allows me to see the potential in objects,” she says. “I try to learn from other industries and products that I see in everyday life. So, for example, an object that is used for trucking could be a concept useful in a residential project.”
Ireland understands that the idea of “beauty” can vary widely by client and project, but one thing remains the same: how the space makes the client feel when they enter it is what matters.
Jeremiah Lee is also a visual thinker, but some of the beauty he creates as lead designer for Rock Solid Renovations in Ozark is unseen at first glance. Lee has been with the company that his father started for 22 years. “It might not always catch your eye, but it’s evident that something has been done right: a room just feels calm, a cabinet door closes with a certain feel,” he says. “It shows quality and thoughtfulness.”
This comes from skill and observation. Before discussing finishes or fixtures, Lee asks about how clients live: how they move through the house, where they leave their keys, where the kids do homework, what rooms are not used. “Good design is different for every project,” he says. “Listening to your client and pairing that with experience gives results that are not only beautiful but are well-designed and function in a way that fits the client's needs.”
What we wear, too, plays a role in how we feel as we move through spaces and interact in our community. Lindsey Harris, founder and creative director at Finnic, is inspired by — and promotes — what she calls “quiet style confidence.” She seeks to help people feel inspired and polished, rather than chasing trends. “I love looks that do not scream for attention but make the women wearing them feel like the most interesting person in the room,” she says. “We curate timeless looks so women can have their own long-lasting style.”
Harris says creativity in fashion also means having an eye for editing. “There are thousands of clothing options,” she says, “but the magic happens when you edit that down to a collection that reveals your best personal style.”
Like clothing, jewelry can become an expression of personal style, identity and story. At Maxon Fine Jewelry in Springfield, owner Jessica Harmison-Olson considers both personal meaning and everyday use when approaching a piece, whether it’s an heirloom in a new setting or the birthstone of a child. “We find out how the jewelry will be worn: A piece designed to be worn at galas will be different than one that can be incorporated into everyday life for an active mom or a woman who works out daily,” she says. “We find out what is important to clients, what they want to showcase, as well as their lifestyle before we start designing.”
Understanding people and meeting them where they are in terms of personality and energy level is an important component in a beauty experience, notes Serena Woods, founder of The Beauty Factory. When Woods opened her own salon in 2017, she wanted to create an experience that was more natural, nurturing and relaxing. “Hair appointments are high touch, so it’s important to have a good connection with your stylist,” she says. That connection also informs how clients are paired with stylists, taking into account both the services they want and how they prefer to interact.
Woods, a clean beauty advocate who uses green products, encourages clients to work with what their hair naturally does rather than against it when selecting styles. “We help people realize their own natural beauty,” she says. “That brings confidence, which allows them to live their lives and be an asset to their own community and not hold back because they don’t feel good about themselves.”
Inspired by nature, Woods often spends hours in her garden, just enjoying and observing — a practice that translates into her styling. “When I am formulating someone’s hair color, I think about the way it's going to look in the sun,” she says. “I try to duplicate what nature and light do naturally when cutting hair: When they step out of their car and the wind picks their hair up, I want it to drop effortlessly beautiful.”
Woods encourages clients and her stylists to celebrate the unique beauty within everyone. “There is no single person who is exactly the same,” she says. “When we surround ourselves with the things that bring out the parts of us that light us up, we bloom — and then we will be an energy bubble in our community.”
Across disciplines, that may be the common thread of personal style: paying close enough attention to recognize what belongs, what matters and what brings out the best in the people we serve.
“Paying attention to the world with my eyes and my imagination allows me to see the potential in objects.”
We help people realize their own natural beauty...That brings confidence."