Design surrounded me as a kid. My mother ran an interiors business out of our home and I would tag along on appointments carrying wallpaper and fabric books. There was no shortage of magazines, not the People or Time types – Architectural Digest, Arts & Antiques Magazine and my favorite, the larger formatted W Magazine. I was into fashion at the time and I wallpapered my bedroom at the age of 11 with full spread fashion illustrations from the likes of Oscar de la Renta, Nina Ricci, Versace and others. The interiors bug was not lost on me – I was re-arranging my bedroom furniture at the age of 6, figuring out how to slide my dresser without messing up those delicate hardwoods.
My first apartment in Boston was expensive and very much a high turnover unit with bad carpeting and beige rental paint, the kind that lacks any depth. It had great tall windows and those windows would help me make that place my home for me and my revolving roommates. I found the bargain fabric stores in Chinatown and designed and stapled (truth!) my multi-layered window treatments.
My dream was to get a job at the Boston Design Center and my first role was a showroom manager for Boston Tile. Having zero experience, I was plopped on the 6th floor in a showroom less traveled. I could only image that they needed to keep that showroom open for appearances sake and not for sales. I still don't understand how I got that job, but it provided me an opportunity to meet and work for an importer on a better floor - how exciting to travel the world and curate a collection to bring home to sell. I did displays in our 2 showrooms and was offered a job at Tiffany & Co. to sell in the showroom but also to take part in designing their windows. Another dream realized. I eventually took my importing experience to France for a buying trip, selling my collection to interior designers in Boston. And yet another dream had come to be.
Life took me in a different direction when I married and joined forces with my then husband in a design and marketing venture that I watched grow in many forms: from a freelance exhibit design studio to a full service marketing and design firm with expertise in brand, digital, print, exhibit design, and web. As our business grew in both people and offerings, so did my role - a client and account manager come brand strategist and graphic designer doing large scale trade show graphics, website mockups, logo concepts, social media, email marketing, newsletters and more.
This is how I have evolved into a layered, multi-dimensional marketing provider - a result of many years running a creative entity and learning the ropes, paying the dues, adapting as small businesses must do.
My passion for design outside of marketing still thrives. I'm a 'go-to' for friends and family on reinventing their spaces. I recently seized the opportunity to design and build my own home. Anyone who has done it will tell you that the ups and downs of construction and remodeling are real, and the reward is great and totally worth it. I did it and it was challenging, and yes, totally worth it.
Creativity has also led me down a Food Path. I love to cook, especially when challenged with seemingly nothing left in the house to eat. I love catering for friends, curating menus from a spark of an idea or craving. I love photographing food and reading about the journeys of so many amazing chefs and restaurateurs.
I look forward to realizing my next dream – perhaps one introduction or trip or inspiration away.