Notes on Women: Ann Khalil


A conversation with Ann on staying true to a point of view that doesn't look like anyone else's, and the long way round to her creative practice.

We met Ann in our Copenhagen showroom this past February. It was one of those conversations that starts as small talk but doesn't stay that way — we got onto visual communication and storytelling, and twenty minutes later we understood exactly why her work looks the way it does.

This is the second interview in the series Notes on Women, highlighting inspiring women, their stories and their journeys. Read the first interview with Maya Moore here.

Ann runs Bread and Butter, a creative studio built with her husband, spanning branding, content, and art direction. But the studio is really the latest chapter in a much longer one. She started in interior design, moved into fashion, then theater and performing arts — she has stood in front of the camera and directed from behind it, styled campaigns and written the scripts for them, designed collections and closed her own label after four years to figure out what she actually wanted to build next. Bread and Butter is what happened when she and her husband — an interior designer and brand builder in his own right — stopped keeping their creative languages separate and let them collide.

She splits her time between Copenhagen and Milan with her husband, which feels fitting for someone whose whole practice is about holding more than one world at once. Below, she talks about comparison, timelessness, jewelry, and what it took to stop apologizing for a point of view that doesn’t look like anyone else’s.

How do you relate to the concept of confidence?

For me, confidence is a feeling, and like any feeling, it changes. I do my best not to let outside factors define my confidence, but that isn't always easy. There are moments when it feels stronger and moments when it doesn't.

Especially today, when we're constantly exposed to comparison through social media and everything happening around us, it's not easy to maintain the same level of confidence all the time. I think confidence isn't something you're born with, it's something you have to work on continuously. It takes courage, self-awareness, and resilience.

So I make a conscious effort to invest in myself, to keep growing, and to protect my confidence as much as I can. But I also accept that it's okay for it to fluctuate. Our mood, our experiences, our personal lives, and even unexpected circumstances can all affect how confident we feel. To me, real confidence isn't about feeling powerful every single day. It's about trusting yourself enough to keep moving forward, even on the days when your confidence feels a little lower.

What makes you feel confident?

Self-awareness, being deeply aware of myself, the people around me, and what truly matters in life. It took me years of self-reflection and personal growth to develop this level of awareness, and it's something I continue to work on every day. For me, self-awareness gives me perspective. It keeps me grounded, helps me truly listen to others, and inspires me to be generous with my time, my energy, and whatever I have to offer. It reminds me to focus on what is truly important instead of getting distracted by things that don't really matter. That perspective is what gives me confidence. It's not about feeling perfect or having all the answers; it's about knowing who I am, understanding my values, and approaching life with openness and empathy. When I feel connected to those things, I naturally feel more confident.


What do you hope your style communicates without words?

Simplicity, intimacy, and humility. I want it to feel approachable — something that brings people closer and creates a sense of connection, rather than making anyone feel distant or less than.


How does wearing jewelry influence your sense of confidence or presence?

My older sister brought me a brooch from her first trip to Paris. I was very young, it was about 15 years ago. It’s a brooch of two people dancing: the woman is wearing a colorful dress, and the man is wearing a purple suit and a hat. We can’t see their faces, but they look so happy, just dancing together. I don’t wear it anymore, but every time I open my little jewelry box and see it, I remember her and I remember how much I love her. Jewelry feels very personal to me, it becomes a continuing story, a connection that deepens over time . It becomes filled with love, as you keep it and wear it.

Is there a piece of jewelry you wear every day — and why do you think it’s that one?

I don’t usually wear jewelry every day. I like to keep the pieces I have for special occasions because I feel jewelry is a very specific and unique concept, something that should be chosen carefully and worn with intention. It has a strong presence, and sometimes one piece can completely transform a look or even dominate the entire look. There isn’t one specific piece that I always wear, but I almost always wear earrings. I feel they complete any look, even when I don’t want to add more jewelry. They have a subtle way of bringing everything together.

Do you have any rituals in your daily life or through work that brings you back to yourself or ground your creative process?

Disconnecting completely is what helps me come back to myself. I try to do things I love so I can recharge and continue with my work. I love cooking, I love walking, simple things that help me slow down and release the overthinking. They give my mind space and allow me to return to my creative process with a clearer perspective.

You have a distinct point of view within your work. How did you develop that point of view?

I think my distinct comes from my passion for art and from my whole journey of learning, experimenting, and working across different creative fields. I’ve experienced fashion and cinema both in front of the camera and behind the scenes, working with scripts, stories, writing narratives, creating characters, directing fashion campaigns, styling, editing, and designing collections. During my studies, I was also exploring different forms of expression like dancing, singing, and writing. Working with so many creative people across different industries shaped the way I see things. Now, when I approach an idea, it feels natural, all these experiences come together and become part of the way I create.

We live in a time of constant comparison. How does that affect you as a visual artist?

I think it’s part of my nature. It exists in everything I do in life. Even when I want to give someone a gift, I don’t just choose something, I create a whole concept and story around it. Sometimes I do feel that what I create is very different from what is happening on social media, and there are moments when I question myself or feel the pressure to adapt and follow what is trending. But I always find myself coming back to what feels natural to me, the way I think, create, and tell stories. I think protecting my practice is about staying connected to that.

You work closely with your husband, what do you have in common when it comes to your work?

We are both passionate about art, music, film. He works in branding, graphic design, and interior design. He is incredibly creative, but in a very different way from me. When we work on a project together, we both bring our own creative language to it, and somehow they combine beautifully. We start by building the idea together, writing the story, thinking about the music, the editing, the visuals, and the overall feeling. It feels like a natural flow between our different perspectives, and that’s what makes the collaboration special.

How do you look at the relationship between getting it wrong and growing?

Honestly, nothing has really gone as planned for me. For years, it felt like every time I tried to move forward with something, it wouldn’t work out, and that was incredibly disappointing. It took me a long time to understand that this is just how life goes sometimes, at least that’s been my experience on my journey. But over time, I started to see that all of those setbacks were shaping me in ways I couldn’t understand at first. It took so many years for me to realize that everything eventually comes together in a very strong way. All of those failures helped build a new life for me.

And lastly, any book recommendations?

There are so many books I'd recommend, but the one I'm currently reading again is The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. It's actually my second time reading it because I always come back to it whenever I need a reminder of how important it is to stay present.

I'm someone who tends to overthink the future and worry about things that haven't even happened yet. One of the biggest lessons from the book is how much unnecessary suffering we create by constantly living in our minds, either worrying about the future or dwelling on the past. It explains how our ego creates fear, comparison, and endless stories that pull us away from what's actually happening.

I think being present is something we all have to keep practicing, especially in today's fast paced world. I'm trying to become more aware of the present moment, to observe my thoughts without judging them, pay attention to my breath and my body, and accept my life as it is. It's not easy to reach that level of awareness, and I definitely don't have it figured out, but I'm learning that the present moment is all we ever truly have.

Ann wears Blanche necklace and Blanche ring.