kelly kelly hot tamale

i'm so excited today because my coworker has decided to send one of our designs to my ultimate, absolutely, 100% favorite interior designer, kelly wearstler. when i think of kelly, i think of a rock star--a rock star of interior design, that is.

you may not know this but i used to be a social worker. my first college degree is in sociology and i worked many years in a juvenile treatment facility in albuquerque. i liked my job as a social worker. i worked with some truly amazing people and i met some of my very closest friends there. however, i just got my social security statement and realized that i was making $20,000 a year then, and it reminded me of why i left, that and the fact that i have always loved decorating.

i had pretty much peaked at my job as far as promotions went and needed to make a decision whether or not i was going to enroll in grad school so i could move up in my company. i thought long and hard about it and decided that it was not where my heart was. i had always loved homes, i had always received so many compliments on the places i had lived in and i decided that interior design was what i wanted to do. i researched interior design schools and found bassist college here in portland. i moved here, went to school and never looked back on my decision to change careers.



and that brings me back to kelly. there has just always been something that i love about her. and yes, i have loved other interior designers before her but she has taken interior design to a new level. before kelly, designers were sort of in the background but she brought it all front and center and said, "hey, look at me, i'm a designer and i'm just as fabulous as my fabulous clients." and for that, i am forever grateful. and now, i just hope she loves what we do, because i think it's pretty darn cool. and she gives me so much inspiration in life and in work.



that reminds me of when i was in ny for work last year, i HAD to go and see her collection at bergdorf goodman but i was so nervous. i'm still a little girl when it comes to entering department stores and bergdorfs really brought that out. i made my pilgrimage up to the floor that housed her collection and just stood there in awe. i was more than happy to just look at the room but my wonderful friend insisted that we take a photo so she distracted the sales woman so i could take a shot similar to the one above. it was awesome!

oh kelly. i heart you!

photos courtesy my my favorite mag, domino. RIP