A question that I often get is, "How did you start your career as an Interior Decorator?". For me it was a very organic but also a looooong winding path. I started in the fashion industry as a shop girl but quickly moved to the visual merchandising side. I had no idea how to sell in my early 20's but I could implement a visual merchandising plan and dress the windows all day long and eventually that's what I did! I became a visual merchandiser here in the States as well as abroad in Dubai, UAE., then eventually for my own boutique!
After my merchandising gig, I was hired by a catalog company in their Advertising Department and wore many hats in my time there. That's kind of what you have to do when you are just getting your start in the industry. Let's see, I was a model coordinator, advertising coordinator and a photo and prop stylist and lay down stylist for still photography. In fact, I have been photo styling for this beautiful blonde photographer, Deborah Shields, since the early 1990's! I worked for that catalog company for a decade and even met my husband on set of a fashion shoot where he was a handsome young photo assistant and I was a cute hip photo stylist.
In 2004, I opened a brick and mortar boutique called Posies and started repurposing vintage furniture for children's nursery and that was pretty much my gateway into decorating interiors. That led to a certification in Interior Redesign and Home Staging. It was the perfect marriage of my experience in the fashion industry and my new passion for redesigning interior spaces.
I always loved being on a photo set and collaborating with other creatives. The hours are long and the work is physical but there is nothing like the behind the scenes shenanigans that happen on set during those long hours of standing around. More recently, I've been hired to help other interior designers and decorators styling and even photographing their interior project shots. You see, contrary to popular belief, not all designers are created equal and not all designers can art direct and style their own interior design projects. The way you see an interior when you are physically in the space is very different than the way the camera sees the space. You often have to tweak items in the shot so that you can get depth since it is a 2D image.
Next week I will be styling a photo shoot for a large furniture retailer in San Diego. I look forward falling in love with interior styling all over again as I take on more and more photo styling projects and creating courses on styling interiors.
Stay tuned for in the coming weeks for my tips and tricks to styling your own interiors whether you are a design professional or a decorating enthusiast just wanting to show off your home on Instagram!