What do you do
in your role?
As a single owner, I wear all
the hats. I am the client
liaison, interior designer,
industrial designer, purchasing
agent, stylist, brand
consultant, and often also the
graphic designer or art
consultant. As a designer, I
work in all phases of a project
from initial site visits and
feasibility studies with the
client, through visioning and
design, full documentation (in
close coordination with
architects) through construction
administration and oversight to help
preserve the client’s vision throughout
the execution. In addition to full service
interior design, Starling Studio offers
furniture procurement so I also act as
purchasing agent. I also consult on
branding, graphics, signage, and styling
for Starling Studio clients as well as in
collaboration with design colleagues
throughout the country. A lot of my
procurement clients are actually design
colleagues and friends at other firms.
What drives you to be successful?
I grew up in performing arts, and I
actually studied Dance Performance and
Musical Theater before changing gears
and focusing on Interior Design with
intent to go into set design. Ironically, at
the time I graduated from UGA, there
was no film industry in Atlanta, so I
focused on hospitality and restaurant
design instead. I put myself through
college behind a bar, so restaurant
design came naturally to me. I absolutely
LOVE the restaurant world, perhaps
because of the drama that comes with it.
I adore my clients, their visions, their
20 IN THEIR 40s
FAMILY:
Husband, Brent;
Children, Ryder and Parker
CITY OF RESIDENCE: Smyrna
VOLUNTEER WORK:
MUST Ministries (Summer/ School
Break Lunch Program), Rise Up for
Christ (Christian after school program),
Teasley PTA (graphic designer), the
Giving Kitchen (donor and volunteer)
AWARDS AND HONORS:
Top accolades include ASID (American
Society of Interior Designers) Best in
Show and Gold Award for Warhorse
(private club, Atlanta), IIDA (International
Interior Design Association) Best
of the Best, also for Warhorse (private
club, Atlanta), ULI (Urban Land
Institute) Project of the Year for the
historic preservation of the Flatiron
Building, Atlanta. Other design awards
include IIDA Best of the Best Awards in
Hospitality for Seed Kitchen and Bar
and Hotel Indigo Nashville. ASID
Design Excellence Awards for Cooks &
Soldiers, Cibo e Beve, Holeman and
Finch, Flip Burger Boutique, Drift Fish
House & Oyster Bar, and the Hub at
Holiday Inn.
AGE 42
AMY
Price
Owner, Principal
Starling Studio
ability to create art and tell their story
with food and drink. My job is to create
the set for their show, to help them tell
their story. That’s what drives me- I want
to lift them up from behind the scenes.
What are some of your hobbies
outside of work? My husband and I
love to travel and we’re total foodies.
Kid-free weekend getaways (pre-COVID)
are usually spent eating and drinking our
way through one of our favorite cities
(Chicago and NYC most regularly). I love
to hike (I have two young kids and a
one-year- old Walker Coonhound pup),
so we’ve hit a lot of trails this year. I
LOVE live music and the theater so I’m
usually dragging the hubby to a concert
or the kids to the theater.
What lessons have you learned
in 2020? 2020 has taught me that I
am not a patient person! I’ve learned
that I’m terrible at teaching common
core math (namely long division- what is
this wizardry?!) and that my restaurant
and hospitality clients are among the
most generous and adaptable entrepreneurs
in this country. Seriously, these
44 COBB LIFE | JANUARY 2021