Welcome to the Interior Perspective, where luxury real estate meets timeless design. I'm Nicole Fisher, a Hudson-based interior designer working with the region's most exclusive properties. Each week, we sit down with top brokers to explore the stories, insights, and inspirations behind the most remarkable homes on the market. This is your front row seat to the art of elevated living. Let's get started. Hello and welcome back to The Interior Perspective. One of the things I've always believed is that design isn't limited to what we create. It's in how we live, how we dress, how we curate our days. My guest today knows that connection intimately. Bree Chambers built her early career in fashion before making a move, both literally and creatively, from the city to upstate New York. And now as a realtor with the Upstate Curious team, she helps others reimagine what life can look like beyond the city limits. I love her story because it's not just about real estate. It's about reinvention. It's about how the same sense of style and intuition that once guided her in fashion now shapes how she sees people find their homes that fit who they truly are. In today's conversation, we're going to talk about creativity. We're going to talk about lifestyle and the courage to evolve and how moving upstate isn't just the change of address, but a complete Bree, welcome. Hello, hello. Thank you Oh, I'm so happy you are here. It feels like it's been a while since we've attempted to chat and I'm so excited we get to do so today. So I love your story. Take us back to the beginning. What was the world in fashion like? How did you make this transition? Tell me about the line Yeah, so I'll go even back before that. I grew up in Iowa. Okay, so even funnier transition to get from Iowa to New York because when I grew up, I didn't know there was a world in fashion. I didn't even know that was an option. So I went to University of Iowa, got a degree in communications, which led me to an internship in New York City at Mademoiselle Magazine, just through communications and media. And that internship is really what catapulted me to my first, I guess, my first reinvention, right, from like literally growing up on a farm in Iowa to moving to New York City when I was 21 with no money, you know, the typical story, working at a magazine as an intern. And then eventually I got hired as an assistant to the market editor, which was in fashion at Mademoiselle. And while I was there, I was like, huh, this is really cool. We're pulling and we're pulling things for stories, but I think I want to be the one making the clothes. And I, you know, so again, that was the introduction where I was like, oh, I didn't know I could have this career. And from there, I applied to the design program at Parsons and got in. Like, I'm still laughing about, I'm not even sure what I would have submitted to get in. Maybe like, you know, some kind of collage, not exactly sure. This was in 2001 and got in and did their two-year design program and from there went right into the industry and for about 12 years worked in mass market fashion which you know, is kind of where the money was at. You couldn't really make money with some of the small brands. So I moved up quickly, was a design director, and at that point did a lot of traveling, traveling around the world, getting trend, going to London, going to Paris, doing all the trend shopping six or seven times a year, which was exhausting, but you know, at that time in my life, really fun. And then I started to realize, and this is interesting because I was really a part of this fast fashion movement that didn't have a name yet. That's just what the industry was like. We have to produce and we have to go and find and produce and buy. And I didn't realize that I was contributing to that world. And once I did, I had had this vision and feeling that I wanted to create my own line that was made in the USA because at this point all production had shipped over to China. And I wanted to use sustainable fabrics, slow fashion, and I wanted to create this like bridge between yoga wear and New York City running around the streets wear. And that was before the word athleisure was even around. So in 2011, because I had the contacts in the industry and pattern makers and sample hands and all that fun stuff, I was able to start my own brand, which was called Nesh New York City, named after Ganesha, which was Hindu deity. I'd also just done a yoga teacher training. So it was like a big part of, my philosophy. I'd also just had my second child who was six months old when I decided to go on this crazy adventure. But yeah, but did that and You know, I did a lot of freelancing while I was doing that, because if anyone's ever started a business, it takes a while to make money. So while I was starting this brand, and we did get into some amazing stores, we were in Barney's, we were in Fred Siegel, all these big, amazing stores, but at the same time, mall, business, I know, I know, I know. So I would still do consulting and design work. And then that ran, we ran that for almost eight years and had a store on Gansevoort Street. And my philosophy again, like I had my sewing machines in the store and the workers, and it was really more of a workshop. You could come in, you could get your pants hemmed, you could... do all that fun stuff. Yeah. And then, um, you know, we started getting knocked off by the Lulu lemons and the bigger companies. And at that point people didn't understand quality and sustainability and, um, kind of figured that, you know, we tried, we did it. And in 2018 ended up having to close the company. Um, And then long story short, my friend was the head of The Gap and he said, I literally had like two minutes to mourn losing a business, to going into this role at The Gap, because they needed someone in women's right away. So jumped into that and then the pandemic hit. And the pandemic hit and we had a house upstate, thank you. That was one of the smart investments that we, made in our lifetime. So we'd used it as as Weekend and Airbnb and did all that fun stuff. And literally March 12th or whatever that day was, we moved upstate and never came So that is where, yeah, that is where a big pivot started to happen. Did you still work The gap laid off everybody when the pandemic came. So no, I did not. I did get hired right away at a clothing company for Steve that was producing apparel for Steve Madden. And I commuted for about six months and I was like, not going to do it. And that's when I have kids and I wanted to be closer to them and being at school. And that's really when I started thinking, okay, it's time to make the shift. Obviously I love textile and creativity and all that, but that industry, it wasn't going to be my next phase, So you made a very impactful decision to move away from What was that transition like? Yeah, to move away from fashion on that type of level, it can be very toxic, taxing, taxing on the body, taxing mentally. And at that time I had gotten this through Upstate Life, one of my friends had a connection at Marist University and said, they have this amazing fashion school. You should try to go teach there since you've had a business, sustainability, all this fun stuff. And I was like, huh, I never even thought about that. She introduced me and I started adjuncting and teaching some classes. So that to me felt like that's how I was going to solve the, Like, I went to school for fashion, this is my life. Like that first identity kind of change was, I'm not completely walking away from it. I'm going to contribute in a different way. And that's going to be my connection, right? That's incredible that you're able to keep some, you know, even if it's a small piece, not being able to let that go. And having it as me giving back to the students versus this feeling of that's how I make my money and that's how I, you know what I mean? Like it takes a little bit of the toxic nature out of the industry and just can be more of the fun and creative stuff, which is why a lot of us get into it. So yeah, so that was the first pivot where I was like, okay, I think I can make this work. And then, Tandemly, my husband has always been in real estate in New York City. So we started buying, investing, flipping in our 20s. I mean, meaning like we bought our first New York City studio apartment, you know, when I think we were like 24 years old and he's, he's been in it for a really long time. And that was, I kind of loved it more than him, which I thought was hilarious. I was like, can I come with you? Like when you're going to do showings? Cause I just obsessed, like loved going into these buildings and seeing these apartments and yeah. So always had that desire. And when we moved upstate, Compass, who's our brokerage, wasn't up here yet. And so they were just starting to like, you know, explore coming up here. And that's when my husband, you know, he was like, I think you Okay. So then tell me about that transition with being with Compass Upstate and kind of that career shift. How did you introduce yourself to And that was, um, you know, again, we build our identities in our careers and our jobs. And like, for me at that point was, was definitely going through, mourning what I thought that I was and then not fully embracing now what the next step was. And Funny enough, and you met Diana, we met on a photo shoot. Her son had introduced her to this team up in Compass and my husband's ex-business partner was on, his wife was on this team. We showed up at this team photo shoot day one and kind of knew that team wasn't right, but me and Diana connected. And the second that we connected, it just felt like, I've got a partner in this and it didn't matter what what else was happening and we have literally been sharing all our deals and doing our deals together ever since and building our identity. you know, we were, again, we were on this team at Compass, really out of Westchester, because again, they weren't up in the real Hudson Valley yet. And we went to go listen to a talk, like a women's motivational talk, and Megan Brown White, who owns Upstate Curious, was speaking there. And afterwards, we spoke, and all of a sudden, Diana and I were like, Wow, this is the kind of team, this is the culture that we want to be on. And within a few months, she had asked us to join and Compass ended up taking over Upstate Curious. So it was this kind of weird I never think it's weird, because I'm an absolute manifester. So I do believe all of these things kind of go together. And so we've been there ever since. And even now to the point where we're on this team of 31 agents, and Diana and I have now started our own team on the team. So we've now got five agents on our team in Upstate Curious because Visually, creatively, we really are in alignment with the brand and we do a ton of staging and we have the ability and freedom to stage however we see fit with our properties. And again, I think that's bringing some of the fashion into being able to now sell the property is such a good transition, that that's definitely Yeah. I 100% agree. Because a lot of agents don't Yeah. And a lot of agents don't do that. They're like, we wouldn't even know. And it's gotten to the point where I have And thank God, you know, I've got my house upstate. I have this entire, I have a garage with shelving and I have props and blankets and sheepskins, you know, just whatever. And we have, you know, we purchase all these items that we can then use for staging, which in turn creates this beautiful image and then helps us sell the houses. And that's really the fun part for us is the marketing and the storytelling, which, you know, is I think also, again, key to the success of Yeah. How do you think the lifestyle component of Hudson Valley and the type of person who lives here affects how you're thinking about that creatively and the styling and marketing Yeah, I mean, I would say 80% of our buyers are from the city. Okay. So they definitely have and we've seen that change, even from when we first started to now, the taste level, you know, for whether it's how we're styling the house or finishes for construction and how they're being built has gotten more sophisticated. Um, you know, it used to be like, I'll take anything. I just want peace and quiet. And, and, you know, now it's becoming to be a little bit more refined. And, um, again, I think a lot of it is, is, is our clients are coming from the city and or California or Austin, right? Like those are our big markets that are buying up here. And, um, They do care. We're not just throwing a house on. Obviously, we work with anybody and everybody, and there's a need for all types. I'm not saying that it's every single property, but when we have the opportunity, we really are able to design and style, again, which will then photograph, which will Right. How do you feel the upstate curious name has helped you be able to do that? I think. because there's this, like, we have this mix of luxury. We have, you know, we'll, like I said, we sell anything and everything if it feels like, you know, for us, it's more about, are we connecting with the seller or the buyer? Like, that's more of how we decide who we're gonna work with. But having the Upstate Curious brand and name behind us because of the extra marketing that they do has definitely been a huge factor. And not only that, Our big push through upstate curious is community and building communities and educating about communities and that also you know has this like. Basically. we're selling a lifestyle in these different communities and they come to us because we can educate and tell you what you can get. Because a lot of the towns, what's the hot restaurant? Where's the grocery stores? How far is it to a train? Like that's really what we're selling. And that's what Upstate Curious is really good at telling that story, right? Here's this community. We do town guides. We do, um, you know, events and all the, all the things that are happening. And I think that's what a lot of our people want. they want to place upstate, they want to know what they're close to and what So do you think community is more important than the house almost Location is definitely huge. It's funny because I would say it's about 50-50 of people wanting to be in a certain community and 50-50 of our clients who want to come up and never leave their house. Right? So like we've got clients from the city who are like, I'm coming up Saturday and Sunday. I'm going to get groceries and I'm going to cook at my house and I don't care. I don't want to leave. I want peace. where the other 50% are like, we want to be close to a main street. We want to be close to this because we want to come up to our house, but we want to go to a good restaurant or a brewery or a vineyard on the weekends. So it's really interesting. It's either for peace and quiet, or it's for a certain artist, Yeah. Do you find most of your clients are Now, again, yes, we went through a huge phase where everyone thought they could work remote, everybody, all of us, and that's changed. So we had a ton of people who were trying to move up full-time that are now back in the city. So now I really do feel like I don't hear as much, we're buying it as a weekend house, but hope to be there full-time. I hear it more of, weekend house, which again, really has changed in the last six months. For like two years, everyone thought it was going to be something that could turn into something Right. And do you think that shifts in what people think is important to them with respect to luxury or what they expect out of the house because it's I don't know, I almost think it makes it, I think they're even more, it's more particular for them if it's a weekender because they really want their sense of peace. Or even to the point, which is kind of crazy for the Hudson Valley, we're now dealing with third and fourth home buyers in this world of luxury. Like it used to be, We are weekenders, we're coming up from the city, we're taking the train, we're taking the car. We have probably worked with more third and fourth home buyer in the last year, which is interesting. I think they're seeing the value in the amount of space and privacy you can get here and still be able to pop into the city, you know? So it's like, maybe they have something in Florida or by the ocean and then they have something here and maybe they don't have an apartment in the city, but they want to have the proximity. So it's interesting because we were not that market or known as that market. And now we're kind of Well, the Hudson Valley is just, it's like an enigma. It's just blown into this, And you And you can still get here with not the nonstop traffic. Like that's the one thing, you know, the Hamptons has kind of ruled people out because they don't want to be stuck on the one highway where you've got three or four different ways you can get up here. And I think that's also what people love is like, you could take a train, you could take a bus or you could drive multiple ways and get here. And once Totally. That's wild. I would never even think the third and fourth home buyers. It makes me question whether upstate is now becoming a really good, it felt like the deal upstate is now over. So what level of investment, are you seeing people buying investment properties or they're just kind of keeping them in their back pocket? If they're Airbnb, it's almost too expensive to be buying to Yep. And not only is it too expensive to buy an Airbnb, towns are cracking down on Airbnb. And so we have, we saw so many people who bought in towns where they've changed the rules and they've had to sell the house. Wow. So yeah. I mean, listen, if you, get a beautiful house and you have your amenities, you have the pool, you have the hot tub, you have whatever, you're gonna do well. It's just a matter of if that town would end up changing the rules because a lot of the towns now, you have to have a primary resident in the town. And then if you have an adjacent property, you could Airbnb that. And that is not what investor Airbnb business models look like. So it's a little bit of a risk. We really have to go through that with buyers who want to get an Airbnb because you just don't know how long they'll be able to do that. So really the ones who are buying up here are the ones who plan on You know what I mean? Like it's, and again, like, it'll be like, Oh yeah. If we Airbnb it a few times a year. Great. But we really want it because we want to be able to come up and use it. And that's Yeah. What's the most rewarding part of being able I mean, the most rewarding is, is building the connections with the people and seeing, seeing their reaction when they find this place. I mean, I was with a client yesterday who purchased a house, a multi-million dollar house, a year ago, literally a year ago in November, but found another one that she loves even more. And we went yesterday and the giddiness and the happiness and the excitement and the creativity. Yeah. Yeah. That she felt like me, me witnessing that is. And then again, so, so that's number one, right? So seeing the reaction and then being able to offer the clients, not only will we help you do your inspection, help like give you, you know, attorneys and inspectors and like we do so much extra that we're able to take some of that stuff off their plate. And that also feels really good. Like they're again, what we offer in terms of our team, and we've got transaction coordinators, and we've got these people who will help you with the minutiae, because it can be a lot when you're buying a property in terms of paperwork and all the things you have to do, is helping the ease of the whole transaction, and then building these relationships and seeing the reactions, and then being able to offer like, hey, don't worry, we've got you covered. We'll help you do this, this, that, and the other. And seeing the ease when they hear that, like, that's really what I personally value is those relationships. And then again, a year later, they're coming back to you when they want to sell, when they've got a friend who wants to buy, when they've got whatever, because we built those relationships, right? On top of even that, As a team, Upstate Curious, we do community events. We do holiday parties. We do all these things so that people will feel like they can always come back. They're always going to be invited. They're always going to be included. And seeing them again on another level is Yeah. Oh, that's so awesome. So you have made Zero. No, don't get me wrong. I kicked myself for some of the properties that we sold because, oh, wouldn't it be great if we still had that little pied-a-terre? But maybe later, you know, maybe at another time. I had 20 years in the city. I really, and that was an amazing time. Everything happens in phases. I'm really enjoying this phase. Again, when my kids go to college and we're in a different phase, we'll see, but just being able to drive and hike and eat well and all that fun stuff is, I'm enjoying right now. Yeah, I love that. You know, could we have a Might be lacking a little bit in the retail stores. Please, please There's nowhere to shop. I can't shop. There's nowhere to shop. There's nowhere to shop. I mean, again, there's three or four stores. So I feel like I'm online shopping more than I ever did before out So that, you know, we do have, um, We've got some amazing, I would call them trade shows, but not trade shows, like the big vendors and local vendors, field and supply. We've got a lot of those cool events that go Yep. That's what's lacking. It's not the homeware stuff. It's the, it's, it's not the necessities almost, you know, that change of season where you just feel like, yeah, I mean, even just something fresh and our malls, we don't have the best malls. So, you know, that's one thing I would love to see someone bring back, but, um, but yeah, I mean, otherwise the lifestyle is great. We get space, um, which again, I'd never had, you know, 20 years in the city wasn't even a thing. And so it just feels really nice to feel that decompression Right. Well, you had great, you know, you have great reach up here. You've built like community, you've built a team around you. it's incredible what we're able to do when we have just like true passion and dedication in what we're doing. And you seem so passionate about, you know, the, the relationships you build and because they're so important to you, it's going to continue to grow and be something you, you know, foster and take care of. It's, we deal with the, we do the same thing in our business. My business is, you know, 90% referral. So, It's relationship is everything. It's exactly right. What advice would you give another broker who's trying to gain a little bit more visibility now that you have kind of grown your You know, and we, because we are training and bringing up some of the younger agents on our team, it's like, going above and beyond. Our team motto and the reason we have a team is that we don't want to say no. It's crazy. We'll have clients reach out to us and they're like, oh, we reached out to 10 agents last week and not one of them got back to us and we're like, we're getting back to you in five minutes. You know what I mean? Like if you want to make it in this business, you have to be an amazing communicator, communicate quickly and show that sense of urgency. And again, not say no. So like if somebody texts us tonight and they want to see something at 10 o'clock tomorrow, one person on our team is going to make sure that happens. Like that is, In this kind of industry, you have to be able to hustle. And then again, communicate. And I think if you can do those two things, it is a work ethic. We'll have a lot of people that say, oh, oh gosh, I'm coming in, oh, I'm so excited to get into real estate. And the first thing we say is, you understand it's gonna take probably a year to build your business. It is one of those businesses that you have to get from meeting people to closing on properties could be a six month or a year process. So you have to have that drive in you. And then again, anytime that we're feeling a dip in the market or something slow, what can you be doing to plant seeds? Like, right? Like we know like, okay, maybe they're not out, buyers aren't out, you know, things aren't happening. What could you be doing to plant seeds? And so we're, it's like I said, communicating, fostering relationships, going onto your contacts and commenting, saying hi, like whatever those little things are, because that's how our industry starts to grow is, is again, um, just always being in touch. And, and like I said, our team motto is to never say no. Um, and, and that's what, like I said, we want to be reliable That's awesome. I love that. So what's next? Such a great question. And it's funny because year after year, I'll be like, we can't possibly do more than we did last year because we're exhausted. Listen, I'm not going to try to pretend like, oh, you know, this is all fine and good. We are exhausted, obviously in a good way. But then somehow we seem to surprise ourselves and we're able to grow year after year. growing and fostering our little team to where everybody feels good. Like we want our team to grow as we grow. So making sure that we're able to foster that in a healthy way. And then because we are all connectors, having, um, and it's almost like, I don't know, you call it referral business, but like growing our network of agents nationally to where we are able to do more business through connecting other agents. So Diana and I spend a ton of time in networks in compass. So I'm in sports and entertainment. She's an East coast network. We go and build these relationships so that if one of our second or third home buyers says, Oh, We can connect them and have, and not just like, Oh, we know this name. Like I can connect you with someone. I have a personal relationship. So kind of growing that, um, network just, which again, we've not really focused on. So obviously building our business locally and then building the network. And then possibly this is my dream building some kind of relationship with, um, agents. And again, I don't know how this is going to work in Costa Rica. Yes. Because that is my dream. That is my dream. Is it? Retirement place. Well, we've gone there. Me and my family have gone there to the same area for 10 years. And we have not bought a house yet. But we've told so many people to go there that I'm like, if we would have had some kind of relationship that, you know what I mean? So Compass just bought. a huge company that has this international kind of relationship. So dream to a couple of years is to build some kind of me personally, because I will be there half the time at some point and building some kind of like Costa Rica, Hudson Valley, New York connection, because there actually is a big connection between Costa Rica, So there's a vineyard. There's a vineyard up here, Red Maple Vineyard, which is a beautiful wedding venue. Again, in Highland, New York, okay? We will be down in Costa Rica in our little tiny area that we go to, which is Playa Negra, south of Tamarindo. And we're down there, and the owner of this hotel goes, oh my God, and he's from Switzerland, okay? Oh, I just took the train up. I went to New York City. I took a train to Poughkeepsie and I went to visit my friends who have this vineyard. And we're like, the vineyard's five minutes from our house. And he goes, those owners own a property two minutes from here in Costa Rica. And we're like, you know what I mean? So it's that kind of stuff, which again, I believe energetically people. The The universe is there. And again, like-minded people who might go from here to here to here. So anyways, that's a personal level. And then, you know, like I said, as a team is to continue to grow and provide more services for our sellers is Yeah. Wow. I love it. That's amazing. Yeah. Oh, well, one of my goals is to build there too. So So I need to connect. So I'm going to, you're on social media. Yeah. I might be the only BREE out there, so at least that should be easy. And then, yeah, and then Upstate Curious, obviously, they have a website and you can find all of our properties there. And then Compass, BREE Amazing. I love this. And what I love about BraceStory is how fluid creativity really is. Whether you're styling a look, designing a home, helping someone find their forever home, it comes down to intuition, emotion, storytelling. And your move upstate wasn't just a chain of scenery. It was a shift in perspective and one that so many of us crave. I know that I craved it when we were moving up here too. And it's a reminder that beauty is literally found everywhere, especially in those quiet moments. So whether you are designing a home, you're in a business, or in a new chapter of your life, think about Bree's story as a permission to evolve. Stay curious and to find new ways to live beautifully. Bree, thank you so much for being here. I'm so Thank you for having me. Yes, thank you so much. I really enjoyed Thanks for listening to The Interior Perspective. If today's conversation inspired you or you're a broker with a story worth telling, connect with us on Instagram at NicoleFisherInteriorDesign or visit NicoleFisher.com. Until next time, keep creating beauty, living with intention and seeing every space through