Meet Julie Purpura, the owner and design director of Avenir Creative, a hospitality interior design firm.

Julie is a dear friend of Martha Mae and co-founder of The Center of Order and Experimentation. She is a passionate visionary with an excellent sense of humor. She appreciates the mundane and weird, as well as the beautiful and polished. You can nearly always find Julie crafting, she loves all things miniature, or listening to podcasts about ghost stories.

We can't wait for you to learn more about our friend Julie!









Hi Julie! Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
I grew up in the low country of South Carolina, as in, swamp land near the coast. I was really good at art and had even planned to attend college to become an art teacher. At the time, I didn’t even know interior design was a thing, but I stumbled on a classroom with beautiful 3D drawings. At first, I thought, “Oh I can do that,” and then I ended up falling in love with it. I knew I wanted to work in hospitality, so when I graduated, I moved to the nearest largest city, which was Chicago. I spent the first 15 or so years working at hospitality firms, and started Avenir in 2016.

What excited you and sparked your creativity and curiosity as a child? 
As a kid, I’d read the many copies of Country Living my mom kept in our home. I’d go through them and memorize every page, every room, just loving the country-looking frills and ‘90s aesthetic of the time. I’d take graph paper and draw what I’d want my house to look like, from the kitchen to the living room. On the occasion I’d get in trouble with my parents, they’d send me to my room. And instead of being upset, I’d create floor plans that would have an escape route from my bedroom to the garage, where my parents kept their hidden stash of Girl Scout cookies. What’s better is that they worked, and I never got caught.

What drew you to interior design and world building? Were there spaces that felt inspirational and transformative when you were starting out?
I’d always enjoyed art as a student, but realized that the crux of it really came from wanting to design beautiful spaces; spaces where people can walk in and have an experience with one another. Hospitality design allows me to play with all sorts of concepts, where every project has its own story. When I first started in interior design, I remember flipping through a book and spotting O’Hare Airport and its iconic LED squiggle lights. You know what I’m referring to. It’s embarrassing now, but back in college, I couldn’t help but think, “Wow, that’s interior design,”.

Are there any spaces or places that are a touchstone in your design work?  
When I first got to Chicago, I wanted to get all the Southern influences out of my system. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to embrace it, even though it’s the total opposite of Avenir’s style. While not exactly a touchstone throughout my career, I think it’s fair to say that Charleston has continued to influence my design work, whether because it’s a source of comfort or it acts as a point of reference of what exactly I don’t want to see in a project. 

How did you decide to start Avenir Creative? What was the vision for your business when you started?
Avenir was conceived more so out of need. I was just let go from my job, and that propelled me to not only start my own company, but actually have fun with it. I knew I wanted to form a smaller team that was highly creative and collaborative. I also wanted to emphasize a looser hierarchy, that way designs weren’t getting watered down as they went up the chain of designers. I take my career seriously, but I learned early on that working myself to death doesn’t equate to success. I sought to create a healthy work-life balance for my team, where they could have personal time to thrive while improving as designers in the workspace over time. The original concepts of Avenir were a little out here, I’ll admit, but I really wanted to do something different because it was the first time I was able to express my true self.

As we started conceptualizing The Center of Order and Experimentation together, what were some of the key influences for the interior and brand design? What are some of your favorite design elements in the space?
The biggest pieces of inspiration for COE came from post-Cold War era aesthetics. Brutalist architecture, decades-old post offices, even deriving inspiration from books with images from North Korea. I absolutely love the shop’s carpeted front desk, the wood contact paper on the walls, and the grocery store shelves all around. We had just come out of 2020, with this feeling that the world was going to end, and we realized that the last time the world felt like that was the Cold War. COE was not only designed after this concept, but the products we carry also embody a necessity where you’d want to have them at the end of the world. 

If you were to design your IDEAL space, without any constraints (budget, client needs, etc.), what elements would you incorporate? 
I’m grateful to say that my team and I are currently building out the ideal space through our new office in West Loop. I’ve liked the 1960s and ‘70 aesthetics since college, from their colors and carpeting to sunken lounges and modern interpretations, and we’re bringing certain aspects to this new space. Think sophisticated retro, like bright reds and dark woods. But if I could create anything...a roller rink. Definitely a roller rink.

You’ve experienced so much growth at Avenir in the past year! What have you learned from growing a team and client roster?
I find that growing a healthy team is the most important part of running a business. But it’s hard finding that. I aim to search for those who are respectful, self-motivated, team players, and just overall, great people. But it’s all a give and take. As a business owner, I want to make sure I’m building a sustainable work environment for my team, which means competitive benefits, creating a great work culture, and then choosing clients that gets the team excited about projects. It can be difficult, but I ultimately want to craft a space where my team will want to stay as long as possible.

Could you tell us more about the book you’re about to be featured in?
I was featured alongside over 60 women in an upcoming book by Amanda Jane Jones and Jennifer Fernandez, MOTHER / FOUNDER. It follows the trials and triumphs of being a successful entrepreneur while raising a family. I had the incredible opportunity to talk about starting Avenir nearly 10 years ago, co-founding The Center of Order and Experimentation with Jean Cate in 2021, and starting a family with my wife 5 years ago. It was such an honor to be a part of this project, and I’m so excited to see it come to fruition.

When you are out and about in Chicago, where can people find you? 
I’ll usually be around the Wicker Park farmers market every Sunday. But most likely, you’ll be able to find me in my own backyard, gardening and pretending to be a landscaper.

What are you currently loving at Martha Mae?
I always love Jean’s paintings. They’re beautiful, yes, but also incredibly expressive. You can always tell when she has conflict brewing in her mind and see the subsequent resolution throughout her art. When I look at them, they inspire empathy. Most of the artwork I have in my home is made by Jean.

Julie's Picks