Meet the Founder

Hope Arbery | Interior Designer & Workroom Owner

It all began in 2002 when my next door neighbor broke her arm and asked me to help her in her own workroom. Little did she know that I had designed clothes of my own since age 9 and that playing with fabrics was one of my favorite things to do! I helped her until she healed and then my other friends started asking for help in their own homes. My business quickly evolved to full service interior design - while I still operated my workroom to serve many other interior designers.

Owning a business in the home industry has given me a deep appreciation for all the creativity and beauty home professionals bring into the world. Every designer, workroom fabricator, and installer is so talented, smart, and creative, and pours his or her heart into each project.  

However, my heart aches for the people in our industry. We often have the deck stacked against us, feel intimidated by technology, and are constantly running in five directions at once. (Designing and creating custom home products is much more difficult and time-consuming than one would think.) We have to have a designer’s eye, a mathematician’s brain, and the efficiency of a well-oiled machine.  

It is almost impossible (and too costly) to hire and train someone to help in the workroom because of the complexity of all the details. Like many of you, I worked harder and harder, trying to stay on top of my projects.  On top of that, most of us are also carrying a lot of other responsibilities - our families, our homes - leaving little time for any self-care.

This used to be my life.

I could see the inefficiencies in my own workflows and knew I could no longer ignore them. That’s why I decided to create QUIPA, a platform that streamlines the entire custom soft furnishings process, from initial concept to installation day. QUIPA stands for Quick Intelligent Personal Assistant and is designed to walk you through the custom design process so you can succeed in business and in life.