Hey there!
This is a story about a boy named Andy…
Born and raised
just outside of Richmond, VA, I’ve been creating for as long as I can remember—beginning with pausing my VHS of Aladdin so I could learn how to draw Jafar (where my love of villains began). Throughout my adolescence , I rearranged or repainted my bedroom at least twice a year. There was something deeply satisfying about treating a room like a puzzle—mixing color, layout, lighting, and materials until everything came together. My parents still tell people that when I eventually moved out there was at least ½” of paint built up on the walls.
My creativity grew outside of just art and design: I played the French Horn for 7 years, conducted the marching band as drum major, and served as a dance captain in show choir. When it was time to apply for college, I was either going into interior design or music…cut to the all-nighters working on studio projects at VCU. I graduated at the top of my class and overall in the School of Arts for my year, something that doesn’t mean much now, but I’m still proud of that achievement.
I began my career
I began my career designing K–12 and higher-ed spaces before moving to smbw, where I shifted focus to corporate and hospitality work. There, my passion for branding and graphics really took off—I got to work on visual components for projects like the 1717 Innovation Center, Market 34, and a corporate conference center.
After a few years, I transitioned fully into branding and graphics with Determined by Design, creating branding assets for the company and supporting several interiors projects. Eventually, I missed the design of physical space, and returned to smbw, where I’m now a senior interior designer, project manager, and our brand ambassador (just call me Brandy).
I began my career
I began my career designing K–12 and higher-ed spaces before moving to smbw, where I shifted focus to corporate and hospitality work. There, my passion for branding and graphics really took off—I got to work on visual components for projects like the 1717 Innovation Center, Market 34, and a corporate conference center.
After a few years, I transitioned fully into branding and graphics with Determined by Design, creating branding assets for the company and supporting several interiors projects. Eventually, I missed the design of physical space, and returned to smbw, where I’m now a senior interior designer, project manager, and our brand ambassador (just call me Brandy).
Today
I’m married to my wonderful and supportive husband, Danny, a realtor with Compass. We met in a gay kickball league, which if you had told me when I was younger I’d meet my husband through sports, I would have never believed it. We live in Goochland, VA with our two dachshunds—Ru Paw and Dolly Pawton. They’re the ones who run the house, and they know it.
In my free time, you’ll find me doing carpentry and renovating our home—currently in the process of constructing built-ins for our office. I enjoy a good fantasy novel-just finished The Codex Alera series. And if you see me driving by, chances are I’m either singing along to Britney or the Wicked soundtrack. I also love making pizza, eating pizza, and offering a good pun whenever the moment kneads it.
Born and raised
just outside of Richmond, VA, I’ve been creating for as long as I can remember—beginning with pausing my VHS of Aladdin so I could learn how to draw Jafar (where my love of villains began). And after we got a Super Nintendo, I started recreating video-game player guides on printer paper, fascinated by their layouts and graphics. Also started writing in all caps then, too, which maybe was the universe setting me up for a career in design.
As a kid, I rearranged and repainted my bedroom at least twice a year. There was something deeply satisfying about treating a room like a puzzle—mixing color, layout, lighting, and materials until everything clicked into place. My parents still tell people that when I eventually moved out there was at least ½” of paint built-up on the walls.
My creativity grew outside of just art and design: I played French horn for 7 years, became drum major in marching band, and served as a dance captain in show choir. When it was time to apply for college, I was either going into interior design or music…cut to the all-nighters working on studio projects at VCU, where I honed my skills as a interior designer and fueled my passion for graphic design. Laying out presentation boards felt just like crafting those player guides I loved growing up—just on a much larger scale than my little scribbles on 8.5 x 11 paper.
I began my career designing K–12 and higher-ed spaces before moving to smbw, where I shifted focus to corporate and hospitality work. There, my passion for branding and graphics really took off—I got to work on visual components for projects like the 1717 Innovation Center, Market 34, and a corporate conference center.
After a few years, I transitioned fully into branding and graphics with Determined by Design, creating branding assets for the company and supporting several interiors projects. Eventually, I missed the design of physical space, and returned to smbw, where I’m now a senior interior designer, project manager, and our brand ambassador (just call me Brandy).
I’m married to my wonderful and supportive husband, Danny, a realtor with Compass. We live in Goochland, VA with our two dachshunds—Ru Paw and Dolly Pawton—who, if we’re being honest, run the house. They definitely are not spoiled…
In my free time, you’ll find me doing carpentry and renovating our home—currently building custom built-ins for our office. I also love making pizza, eating pizza, and crafting a good pun whenever the moment kneads it.