This summer, unlike any other, has our social calendars booked solid! Cocktail parties, summer cookouts, and not to mention all of the 2020 weddings that were pushed to this summer are filling our weekends with celebration and joy! After being trapped inside for 18 months...we don't hate it! So in the height of this social season we thought it would be fun to host a Guest Curator on the blog who shows off her creative mind and innovative eye behind the scenes of these summer events. Introducing Guest Curator, Katrina Hutchins! Katrina Hutchins Events is a boutique, luxury, full-service wedding and event-planning company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in 2011, Katrina, the principle planner, has grown into a recognizable brand, leading to national and international work. A Florida native (and now Charlotte local), Katrina received her undergraduate degree from the University of Florida and a Master's of Health Services Administration from the University of Michigan. After a career in health care consulting, a wedding of her own, and a move to Charlotte, Katrina felt the need to fulfill her creative side and thus launched Katrina Hutchins Events. Through the launch and ever growing success, Katrina has paired her business acumen and management experience with her impeccable taste and natural eye for design. And the wedding world thanks her for it! Hosting Katrina is such a treat for us at Well + Wonder. In contrast to the interior designers we often host - Katrina's insights into how art can be incorporated into events and parties reminds us that creativity, beauty, and artwork is not just reserved for paintings hanging on walls. It influences our daily lives, our special occasions, and is meant to enjoy in every way possible! Get inspired by Katrina like we have by reading her responses to our rapid-fire Q&A as well as see what Well + Wonder paintings are currently on her wishlist. Thank you, Katrina, for your time and your thoughts and without further adieu we are pleased to say Introducing Guest Curator, Katrina Hutchins!
Baking Over Cooking by Christy King - I love this for a kitchen piece. The artist uses realism so perfectly with the subject matter in this painting—you really believe you’re looking at a photograph. I love mixing different types/mediums of art in a home.
All is Not Lost by AK Hardeman - The colors in this painting make me really happy. The small red marking is my favorite part—if that was missing, the piece would feel incomplete in my opinion. “All is not lost”—feels like there is hope in this!
Fuzzy Fête by Sallie Strickland - There is something very whimsical to me about water color painting, and the bees add to that whimsy in this one. I love how playful this is, my kids would adore it!
Bug Study 31 by Elisabeth Hays - Growing up in Florida, I certainly have ‘no fear’ when it comes to the creepy crawlies of the world. I think insects are incredibly beautiful when you see them up close, so I love this one. Painting something that most people run and scream from and showing its beauty is a wonderful thing.
Tell us about yourself.
My name is Katrina Hutchins and I live in Charlotte, NC with my husband and two boys (almost 7 and 5).I am in my 10th year of business as a wedding and event planner at Katrina Hutchins Events. Growing up in Florida combined with my love for travel and interiors has certainly shaped who I am as an event designer today. I love filling my own, personal, home with as much art as I can!
Why did you start your blog/brand/business?
I am a wedding and event planner! I started the business after getting married in 2011 and falling in love with the process, the vendors and the creative/design aspect of it.
What is your biggest score online to date?
I scored a vintage Murano chandelier from the 70s that is hanging in our dining room—it’s such a unique find!
It is said to look for art that "makes your heart skip a beat." What aspects of art make your heart skip?
Color and something that evokes a personal reminder or feeling. I most recently purchased a portrait of a Sugar Glider dressed up in old English clothing in Charleston. I saw it and the sugar glider immediately reminded me of my 5-year-old because of the facial expression. Did I set out to find a sugar glider painting? No, but I feel like it found me.
When and where do you get the biggest surge of inspiration? Travel, undoubtedly. Travel, architecture, other cultures, foods, customs—always makes my mind expand and my inspiration start to swirl!
The key to making a house a home? What does a home need more of and less of?
The KEY is to collect over time. I too often am seeing home owners purchase all furnishings/décor at once so it’s ‘finished’—to me that feels contrived and unnatural (not like a home). Collect over time, buy pieces you LOVE, find pieces with meaning. Layer things in, use texture, make it feel comfortable—that feels like ‘home’
Tell us a bit about your corner of the world – where do you live and what do you love about it?
I live in Charlotte, NC with my husband and two boys. Charlotte is amazing because it’s a slice of the South, but becoming increasingly metropolitan with each passing day—it’s really the best of both worlds.
