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Jaye Anna Mize was recently named Vice President, Advisory + Partnerships at Future Snoops (formerly Fashion Snoops/FS). Future Snoops is a forecasting company that assesses trends and consumer behavior and helps brands design relevant product collections across multiple categories. Mize’s career began in fashion, morphed into home and lifestyle — a division she recognized a need for — and now she bridges it all as she helps companies better understand how to elevate their businesses. Mize sat down with Home Accents Today to discuss how she got her start and why she is passionate about what she does.
Talk about your background and what led you to Future Snoops.
I didn’t follow a straight line. If anything, I followed my instincts and a strong sense of curiosity. I started out studying music at Meredith College, fully convinced I’d be a jazz singer.
But life redirected me. I pivoted into fashion merchandising, then transferred to FIT to study advertising and marketing communications, where my biggest shift happened. I was offered an internship at Future Snoops, and two weeks in, I became the assistant to the chief creative officer. I changed my entire courseload so I could work full time while finishing my degree. I graduated from University of North Carolina, Greensboro with a degree in Consumer and Retail Studies, a concentration in fashion design and an associate’s degree in business management.
My career unfolded through a series of choices, each one fueled more by curiosity than any long-term blueprint. I just kept leaning into what felt interesting, challenging and culturally relevant.
Were there outside influences that helped shape your career path?
Looking back, I realize how much of my path was shaped by my family. I come from a long line of entrepreneurs. Everyone in my family is wildly business-minded, which gave me a different kind of education. Our dinner table conversations were always talking about how people think, how to juggle priorities, how to grow…
Before I moved to New York, my aunt challenged me to start a business and write a business plan. That moment taught me to think like a founder. It gave me permission to be curious and trust my instincts. I’ve always been a risk taker. I don’t like sitting still or waiting for permission.
Share a little bit about your FS path and what inspires you about the company.
I’ve been with Future Snoops almost since the beginning, so my journey has been closely tied to the company’s evolution — 20 years in September. When I started, it was a small fashion-focused firm. However, during a trip to High Point Market to cover the show for Warner Brothers, I got excited about potentially widening our product into home. We were working on a licensed line and exploring more lifestyle-driven narratives, and I realized there was a huge opportunity in the home sector. Around the same time, Marc Worth left WGSN to launch Stylus. I pitched the idea of a home division to my boss at FS. I had no idea how much I needed to learn.
Since then, I’ve had the chance to help build out a division that now stands as one of FS’s strongest. I’ve worked on everything from early-stage brand development with the Scott Brothers to speaking on the first American panel at Maison & Objet to working on thoughtful product assortments for the U.S.’s biggest retailers.
One of my favorite accomplishments has been creating the trend alliance between High Point Market Authority, Interwoven, the Home Furnishings Hall of Fame and now AndMore. Another favorite is being on NPR’s Planet Money, what a fun ride. I also have a fun substack, just to get out all my wild ideas.
What inspires me most about FS is that it gives you the room to pursue ideas. It’s a place where you can shape the culture around you.
What lights you up every day?
I’m fueled by two things: my family and my work. I have an almost two-year-old, a hilarious husband, and a beautifully chaotic family dynamic that keeps me grounded in all the right ways. Professionally, I lead advisory and partnerships at Future Snoops, working with brands and their teams to solve creative problems and shape long-term strategies. It never gets boring.
What lights me up most is the human part of the work. I love getting into real conversations that go beyond the brief and into how people live, what they value and where culture is heading. Those moments of connection are where strategy starts. From there, it is about translating insights into what helps a client move forward with clarity.
There is a real spark in helping someone connect the dots … when you are working through palettes, materials and silhouettes, and you can feel the product beginning to take shape. I get to be part of the space where creative instinct meets consumer needs. Whether I’m collaborating on a print direction, refining construction details or stress-testing the storytelling behind a new collection, those are the moments that make me feel most in flow.
I also believe in the energy we bring into every room. I try never to leave a meeting on a low note. Positivity has a ripple effect. Some of the most rewarding moments come when we see the impact of that mindset. My job is to keep the spark of inspiration in the room for creative teams.
You started with a focus in fashion and moved into home & lifestyle. Why the shift?
Home felt like the most obvious next step. How people live is as expressive as how they dress. When I first went to High Point Market, I realized that the home industry wasn’t getting the same kind of consumer insight analysis that fashion and beauty had. There was so much room to introduce fresh thinking and nuance.
Today, Home & Lifestyle is one of our most successful and influential verticals. When I started building it, I was working overtime. I was traveling constantly, spending hours in factories, sitting in war rooms, and saying yes to every opportunity to learn the industry. I approached it with curiosity and respect. I asked questions, showed up and stayed longer than expected.
It was about relationships, trust and delivering value. Over time, that consistency helped shift how the industry viewed trend forecasting. It became more about understanding consumer behavior, cultural signals and category evolution.
Your role has changed yet again recently. What excites you about being VP of Advisory & Partnerships?
I get to work across every vertical — fashion, beauty, home, wellness, cpg, etc. I oversee all our custom partnerships and advisory work. That includes developing new offerings, collaborating directly with client leadership, and building long-term roadmaps.
What excites me most is the access and the diversity. I’m working with executives, creative directors, product leads and marketing strategists. I get to see the full picture, which makes the work more meaningful. We’re building strategies that shape what companies bring to market and how they tell their story.
How has travel helped you with your perspective about the future of product development?
Travel is one of the most important parts of how I stay connected. Design shows go through cycles. One year Milan might be transformative. The next year, it might feel oversaturated. Lately, I’ve found more energy in places like Dutch Design Week, Copenhagen’s 3 Days of Design and emerging creative hubs like Mexico City or Medellín.
Some of the best ideas come from the margins. I try to stay open to the unexpected — walking neighborhoods, exploring retail stores, noticing consumers in real time. Inspiration is not always obvious. Sometimes you must look past the installations and into the quiet details of how people are living.
The real value of travel is perspective. It keeps me from becoming too insular, and it reminds me that design is contextual. Shopping in the middle of America tells me just as much as a trip to Paris. I need to understand how those consumers are integrating shopping habits, just as much as I need to see innovation.
