Education: Hawkeye Community College

Employer with Location: Modern Design Architects(Optometric Architects), Janesville, IA

Years in Design: 11 years

Years in IIDA: 4 years‍

IIDA Great Plains Chapter City Center: Eastern Iowa

What might we find on your desk right now? ‍

A Starbucks tumbler, Chapstick, colorful pens, and the finishes to a few of the jobs I’m working on currently.

Who/what sources do you look to for drive and inspiration?

‍I love looking through Pinterest, it’s been a great tool for sparking ideas, and makes it really easy to organize my thoughts.

What’s your favorite project that you’ve worked on and why?

‍It’s so hard to pick just one, we’ve had quite a few amazing ones in the last few years. However, if I had to choose just one, I would pick Haywood Family Eye Care in Waynesville, NC. The owners were a lot of fun to work with. They wanted an  industrial/glam/boutique style that we were able to create in their new space, and they were so great about showcasing the progress on their social media accounts. It was a lot of fun to take a bland old building and turn it into something completely new! 

Do you have anything in your home that you’ve designed/created?

‍We have MANY things in our house that I have designed, and my husband and I have built together. We just recently did a huge overhaul on our back yard that required removal of some old rail tie retaining walls; were placed those with some beautiful Rosetta Hardscape retaining block, and updated landscaping.  We also put in a fire ring area, added some outdoor lighting, new furniture, and plan to add a gazebo next year to continue building our backyard into a true outdoor oasis. My husband is definitely my partner in crime when it comes to building and creating things, and I’m so thankful that he gets just as excited about projects as I do.  

What words of advice do you have for passionate interior designers early in their career?

‍Network, Network, Network! It’s so important to get good quality contacts that you can bounce ideas off, learn from, and collaborate with, especially when first starting out.

How do you practice self-care?

‍I really enjoy having my nails done and have started to do them myself at home. I love that I can take a few hours to myself, throw on my favorite show, and I don’t have to worry about them again for a few weeks