Every now and then I get a comment or email that I find encouraging and cool. Lately I have been getting more and more, which is the best balm to a sometimes anxious heart. The other day Jen from The Cottage Nest said the following …”I’d like to see more of that room you designed. Do you have formal design training?…” I thought I would take this chance to respond…
To the first comment: I am posting pics from the Lake Condo I designed last year, including the room the black bed from Black Saturday is in. This condo is used as a vacation home by a couple of families who own a business together, and as part of my payment we have been very lucky to be able to use the condo ourselves a few times this past year.
To the second comment/question: I have no formal design training. Nada. Zilch. Between the ages of 10 – 16 I wanted to be a fashion designer. Then I discovered that I hated math and sewing. 2 things that come in handy when making clothes…So I guess for lack of a better idea, at that point and decided I needed to just get married and have babies. I did manage go to college (much to my mothers relief!) and came out with a B.A. in History, a minor Psych, and my sweetie Nathan. I toyed with the idea of grad school to study Southern Women’s History… But I bought a car instead.
My evolution into an Interior Designer began about 5 1/2 years ago when our friends started asking for my help picking out paint for their new homes.
I have had lots of bumps and stops and starts along the way. Having small children and starting a business don’t always mix well. 2 years ago I was very fortunate to basically apprentice with another local designer for a year. I had a new baby during that time, and the lessons I learned on the job with her really took me to a new level of understanding the business and how it works in our area… Plus I didn’t have to be in charge. Which was great considering how little sleep I was getting at home…
Being a “designer” can mean so many different things – I have done everything from little “how-to” bits on local tv, wedding planning/coordination, party planning, being the proprietor of small booths in flea markets and antique shops & my online shop on etsy, running my biz web site, to all the other stuff that you think of when you think Interior Design; furniture layouts, general decorating, shopping, handling remodels, designing bedding and curtains, staging for showrooms etc. It all seems so grand when I write it out, but I really don’t feel that way about it. I just feel like a very lucky girl.
PS- Here are some links to some great and encouraging sites here and here about being a Designer and having a Shop. I find both of them full of good stuff!!
PSS– All the good photo’s my sister Jemimah took. All the lousy ones I took with my Old Now Dead Camera.
Jemimah says
hey sis. i don’t know if it’s my crazy computer but only three pics are showing up for me.(pillows, black armoire and the arkansas night stand) just thought you might want to know. other than that, i am so proud of you for what you have done in your business. you have great style and the talent to see a project through. love ya!
Jen @ The Cottage Nest says
I can see all the pictures and they are beautiful. You clearly have a great eye. Thanks for the back story. I’ve dreamed of being an interior designer since I was in high school. I also have friends always asking for help but I have no idea how to parlay that into money.>>I really love your style, Jerusalem. XO Jen
Jerusalem says
I hope I fixed all the pics. Sometimes I could see them and sometimes I couldn’t so I reloaded them! Enjoy!!
Mom says
You always loved the grand ideas and you have always had them in your head. I’m glad as an adult you have been able to see them realized.