My passion for architecture and design was very much shaped by the fact that I grew up in a mid century modern architectural home, the daughter of the two most colorful people I know. Art, design and classical music filled that home and instilled a love of visual beauty.  My father,  an artist and a tinkerer,  was always involved in a painting or a metal sculpture project that kept him in his studio or garage.  He vacillated between sublime and  whimsy taking joy in watching the look on the mailman’s face when he had to open the mouth of an iron dragon to insert the mail.  My mother ran a local “free university” type school called Every Woman’s Village that featured classes in everything from art and dance to gestalt therapy and she, too, was often busy redecorating our Eichler.  They would regularly pack us into the back of the Vista Cruiser and head off to various parts of the state to see outstanding architecture or a new museum. 

 

A year spent living in Italy studying design further imprinted on me in indelible ways. Studying art and design at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice exposed me not only to classical design but to cutting edge Italian and European influences on the arts. 

 

As Executive Director of Showroom & Facilities Design for nearly 30 years for a major high-end purveyor of ceramic tile and stone, I honed my skills in both commercial and retail design.  Creating residential lifestyle vignettes drove local market trends and inspiration.  I was constantly looking for new and innovative ways to showcase product through custom designed fixturing as well as educate our clients on unusual design approaches to using our products.  The showrooms were admired throughout the industry and won numerous awards. 

 

My 40+ years around construction has prepared me to support clients throughout their design projects and not a day goes by that I do not love what I do.