One of my favorite movies is You've Got Mail. I can recite that movie word for word (almost) if that is any indication of how much I love it. The one part that really stuck with me is when Tom Hanks' character visits Meg Ryan's character after she has closed her shop. He apologizes for the shut-down by saying "It's not personal, its business." To which she replies, "Whatever else anything is, it ought to begin by being personal." Oh so true! That line has stuck with me and has become the foundation for pretty much everything I do, especially as a designer. I work with people one on one on their homes. I learn who they are, how they live and how they want to live. It's an intimate process and getting to work with people on such a personal level is one of the reasons I love my job.
So in honor of beginnings and being personal, I wanted to share some fun facts about myself so you can get to know a little bit about me. Here goes ...
1) Art has always been in my blood
I grew up in a very creative household. My dad is an avid artist and creative at heart. Ever since I was a child, my dad has been drawing, painting and creating anything he could get his hands on. He taught himself how to silk screen t-shirts and created our birthday party invitations by illustrating them himself. His latest endeavor was drawing the portraits of his siblings - 12 total! Now my mom loved furniture, decor and decorating. Growing up, we were always rearranging the furniture around the house. Touring open houses and purchasing home decor was a weekly event. And if she wasn't purchasing something home decor related, she was making it. She made some of my bedding as a child on top of many costumes and dresses for special events. It's no wonder I went to study art and need to create something all the time.
2) I worked for an AD100 interior design firm
After I graduated from The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, I answered a short, vague job posting on Craigslist. I was called in for an interview and was 45 minutes late. Gah! I did the interview, thinking my tardiness totally ruined my chances. But they hired me and I worked there for almost 10 years. That firm was Hendrix Allardyce, a prominent high-end interior design firm on the AD 100 list - Architectural Digest's top 100 architects and designers in the world. I had no idea what that meant. I was young and fresh out of school. But I learned quick and I learned a lot - and that is an understatement. I worked on some incredible projects and consider myself lucky to have learned from a true design genius.
3) I studied art in Florence, Italy
In college, I was very fortunate to have spent a semester abroad in Florence, Italy to study art. I was 21 and a senior at California Lutheran University. I had never traveled alone nor to Europe until then. To this day, it is still one of the best times of my life. Every day was filled with art - making it, living in it, studying it, reading about it. Oh yeah, and I was in Italy! It was an amazing four months and I encourage every young person I meet who is considering it to do it!
4) I was a guest at Meghan and Harry's wedding
Ok, not officially! I am convinced my invitation got lost in the mail. Once the wedding details were announced, my friend and I joked about going. We wanted to go so badly but knew a trip to London would be out of our budget. A little research surprised us both and we booked our trip before either of us changed our minds or the rates increased. We both had never been to the UK so we made a trip out of it. We dressed up for the occasion and even got to see Meghan and Harry up close during the carriage ride! That was one of the coolest moments ever and we were so happy to have witnessed a moment in history.
5) I was published in the LA Times
While I was studying interior design at The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, I was part of the chairing styles course. I was one of 10 interior design students accepted into the program to design a chair and have it manufactured. The course drew some attention and the LA Times was interested in speaking to the participants and photographing the chairs. What I didn't know was that my photo was chosen to accompany the article in the newspaper! I have lost the article since then but apparently my photo is part of Getty Images.
So there you have it ... 5 fun facts about me. I love sharing stories so feel free to share something about yourself or leave me a comment.