Under the umbrella of ARTFUL LIVING, I have been serving clients for 14 years primarily in Marin and throughout Bay Area from Hillsborough /San Mateo up to Sea Ranch.
Born in Iowa, and raised in So California, I moved to Marin from Berlin, Germany. Prior to Berlin, I worked for the Patagonia Co., which is known for introducing “color” into the outdoor wear industry. I helped develop and analyze color for the Kid’s Line and eventually was promoted to Advertising Director. There I worked intensely with the art dept to develop colorful ads and hang tags for the various clothing lines. I also studied through the Wagner School of Color. When the wall went down, my Bay Area fiancé invited me to go with him to Berlin for a year where he would work with his German partner to develop new businesses in the former East Berlin. I couldn’t pass the opportunity.
While in Europe, I was exposed to a more liberal use of color in architecture. Some of the top business offices unabashedly used Moroccan blues and other saturated hues. Humble homes were personalized with strong color on their front doors and window boxes.
Back in the states, while in NYC in a favorite architectural book store, a Feng Shui book literally fell off the shelves in front of me. I had never heard of this ancient art and was immediately intrigued. After discovering that the only teacher in the USA, lived in the Bay Area, I was determined to come back and study with him which I did within the year.
After time, disillusioned by some of the quick fixes client expected and some of the misconstrued interpretations, I found myself focusing more toward using the element of color to integrate, balance and shift the “chi” of a space.
It seemed to have a profound impact on the people living in the space and so it was that in 1996 I started my own business approaching spaces through the lens of Feng Shui, implementing universal principles of good design and color to add value to whatever project came my way.
Since then through the Berkeley Interior Design Program, and various workshops put on by Pantone and Benjamin Moore I have continued to expand my knowledge base of design and color so that I am also aware of global trends and regional and cultural impacts on the American palette.
I also prefer to work with sustainable products that have low or no VOC’s (volatile organic compounds).
