2020 Roundup - The best of a challenging year

Can we agree this has been a year like no other? In looking back, I realize most of my posts have been about facing the challenges of isolation and being home, and finding ways to process all that is happening. In spite of the challenges - and in some cases, because of them - the year has held some great personal discoveries and professional successes, so I’d like to share some of those.

Creating Community

As some of you know, in November 2019 I opened a lovely Manhattan office with two other wonderful designers. Our vision was to create a boutique co-working space for interior designers with a shared library of fabrics, wallpapers, and finishes — and a mindset of sharing resources and best practices. We found a perfect spot in the Flatiron district and built out Atelier 20 with the intention of a February launch - we even got amazing press in ADpro! . Well, things did not go exactly as planned. Our launch (along with the idea that our members would help offset expenses) was indefinitely delayed. In spite of that, our mindset of mutual support has resulted in growth and clarity for our businesses, and we hold the vision that 2021 will bring more designers into the fold. So - here’s to community under any circumstances. Oh, and my desk is the one on the left next to the window - love working here!

The Virtual Show house

To expand our visibility to potential clients we worked on a show house project for Aspire, a wonderful print and digital magazine. A show house is an opportunity to showcase a designers work, and involves the designers calling in favors in the form of donations and loans of furnishings and product with the promise of exposure to potential clients. Visitors pay a fee which is donated to charity and everyone wins - if there are visitors. We got it all finished in time for the March 14th gala. Yes, March 14th. The show house never fully opened to the public, but we did get a writeup in House Beautiful and a lovely profile on Aspire. Learned so much working on this and connected with some amazing people.

The Artist - and Wallpaper Designer - is in the house.

Sometime in May (translation - losing my mind and having nothing else to do!) I picked up my paint brushes, ordered some additional supplies and started to paint and watercolor in my small home-office What a fulfilling experience to re-discover my love of working with my hands and creating completely out of my imagination with no objective. I continued this work through the Summer and have created several wallpaper designs based on this work - something I have dreamed of for years. My first design below (Object Memories - Horizon) will be installed before the New Year, and I can’t wait to share more as we head into 2021!