Yes, despite all the blogs out there that offer commentary on design (the good, the bad, and the half-way decent), I still feel compelled to add my bit.

I begin with my grandfather's birthday. My family drove down to Astoria to celebrate his 80 years of life - my aunts did an excellent job of arranging the event. There was an open invitation published in the newspaper (in addition to those sent to family and friends) and an amazing array of people showed up. There were both former high school classmates, and former high school students (he was the much beloved art teacher of Astoria High School), and extended family. The weather was the best gift - one of the few true summer days the Northwest has had.

My family was the beginning of my interest in design: I was taught to hand draft at my dad's engineering firm; my grandfather's house is a magical combination of Japanese and Scandinavian design, filled with beautiful antiques and art; I grew up in the art gallery and framing studio my mom and auntie Dana had in the eighties. My mom loves design books and I started reading them too before I was 12. We also watched alot of FashionTV!

I knew I wanted to be an architect when I was eight; I discovered interior architecture at the University of Oregon. I was told that I was deeply intuitive and a strong designer; but I was hesitant and lacked confidence in my first couple jobs. One of the hardest parts of design is client interaction: real life does not resemble the slap dash of a television show and is made up of many hours of research, sketching, and discussion. The past year have been all about being with a project from start to finish as lead interior designer, and the important factor of the collaborative process.

Why did I quote some Beatles' lyrics for my title? Well, if you are familiar with the song, I will tell you that I feel like it describes my somewhat nomadic life - I love travel and living in different places.

I want to share some of the inspiration that guides me in both design and my life, and offer anyone looking for it the chance to collaborate.

Happy Independance Day!