As the daughter of a man known globally for his artistic talents and influence, Andra’s devotion to the arts is no surprise. After stints in both NYC and Los Angeles, she relocated to Nashville nearly a decade ago to raise her family and work magic with her luxury textile design business.
Work & Life
TNE: Quote, mantra, or saying that has meaning in your life…
AE: “Know thyself” – in the stillness of myself I have found great creative space and great spiritual connection.
TNE: Where did you find the love for what you do?
AE: 15 years ago I was a struggling actor in LA, questioning my life’s purpose, having waited tables for 10+ years. I was 33 at the time and fell in love with an art called textile design. It was then that I remembered, I had loved it along – I started drawing patterns when I was 9 years old.
TNE: What excites you to get out of bed every morning?
AE: The only thing that would excite me to get out of bed in the morning is a hot bath. I have been known to take 3 baths a day.
TNE: Who in your life has made a major impact?
AE: My acting coach in LA, Anthony Meindl, who taught me that if I bring my authentic self to the world, it will indeed listen.
TNE: Favorite vacation spot or place you love to stay/escape:
AE: I will probably grow old in the Russian River Valley in California, a place where so many family memories have been made in the midst of great wine, shallow beaches, and a Redwood forest.
TNE: Where is your eye drawn when looking at interiors?
AE: Ironically, I have always been afraid to use color, so my eye is always drawn to the boldest and bravest of interiors, to risk-taking choices, to clashing colors. Neutrals rather bore me!
TNE: What’s the most unconventional fabric use you’ve seen?
AE: A client once ordered our upholstery fabric to have 2 suits custom made for himself.
TNE: What meaningful lesson have you learned through quarantine and how do you plan to incorporate that mindset or lesson into your life moving forward?
AE: I am still struggling with the lesson. The quarantine combined with a commonly slow summer has really given me time and space to look at and focus on myself in terms of self-care and what that even means. I was very resistant to it in the beginning. I was hanging onto anxiety, watching the news, pow-wowing with friends to gripe, and using the pandemic to justify all the negative energy I could muster up. But now (every day is a chance to start again): I am meditating. I am sleeping in later, taking long walks (running, even), praying daily to appreciate the miracles in my life that I have at this very moment while asking for the wisdom to be able to use the gifts that I have to expand in every direction. And ALL of this often feels hard. I fall off, I get back on. I get critical, I forgive myself. I move on. Oh, and I’m letting my hair grow out grey (as if I could make things any more challenging)!
TNE: Due to the pandemic, many people are now working from home. What are your best tips, tricks, and advice for a productive at-home workspace?
AE: I am very fortunate to have a studio that is a 5-minute drive from our home in East Nashville, so I haven’t really had to work from home. For this reason, it has become an unexpected sanctuary. No one has been allowed in or out due to COVID, so it feels like a real retreat – a place where I can hear my own thoughts.
My Routine
TNE: What’s the ideal way to start your day?
AE: Ideal… sit outside and listen to the birds, the wind and the sounds, make a collagen protein shake, a hot cup of coffee in my favorite china cup & saucer, a hot bath, sing along to “Morning Has Broken” on Spotify, and a major snuggle with my 9-year-old and 2-year-old. Reality…choose 1 or 2 of these and be grateful anyway.
TNE: What do you never leave home without?
AE: Italian hand lotion, peppermint oil, and Kiehl’s lip balm.
TNE: Most random thing we might find in your bag…
AE: Probably a pair of dice. You never know when they might come in handy.
TNE: Who you count on for glam…
AE: For hair, Kip Abernathy at Green Pea Salon in 12th South. For nails, Poppy & Monroe in Germantown. For my face, Retief Skincare in Green Hills.
TNE: The best way to combat stress?
AE: Not necessarily in this order- Prayer, hot baths, sex, hot yoga, wine. Or, in place of wine, a CALM magnesium supplement.
TNE: Your favorite way to reconnect with family?
AE: Food equals love for me – I am a stickler for family meals and have a no-tolerance policy for conflict or stress at the dinner table.
My City
TNE: How long have you been in Nashville?
AE: I moved here from Manhattan 7 years ago this past February.
TNE: Your neighborhood…
AE: East Nashville
TNE: Coolest neighborhood treasure/place…
AE: Shelby Bottoms Greenway
TNE: Go-to spots for meeting friends…
AE: For wine, I’m a back porch/dinner party kind of gal. For a great cocktail (in fact, the very best cocktail) Attaboy speakeasy in East Nashville is my go-to. For a coffee, the pour-over at Barista Parlor is so good I will drink it black.
TNE: Favorite spot to bring the kids…
AE: A splurge but a favorite-Rolf & Daughters! My husband and I are foodies, so we have a tendency to eat out a lot with our kids. They love the lemon-garlic chicken and the garganelli pasta – it puts a huge smile on my face to see them eat good food! (A bonus – mama and daddy drinks)!
TNE: Places you get exercise (gym, parks, wherever)…
AE: My favorite local yoga studio is Hot Yoga East Nashville.
TNE: One thing you love most about living in Music City…
AE: The people! Nashville has a bright, ambitious, supportive, gifted, and sincere community willing to lift each other up. I have made the very best friends of my life here, and they have opened my heart and inspired me to be more, give more, and love more.
TNE: The thing that you don’t love so much…
AE: Traffic, of course.
TNE: Events or involvements that are close to your heart…
AE: I am proud to have co-founded the Eggleston Art Foundation in Memphis with my brothers to forward the artistic and cultural legacy of my father!
