AG's Design Journey - Part I - Education
One of the questions I’m most-often asked is, “How did you get started in the interior design business?” It’s funny, because even though I’ve been running my business for five years, I still feel like I’m just getting started! Since my journey is such an important part to why I’m here as a creative and business owner, I thought it was time to put pen to paper (er, keyboard).
Are you down for the start of the story?
To give you a bit of background, I grew up in a family with hardworking parents, neither had earned university-level degrees, but they were determined and dedicated, and did well in their careers. I was raised to believe in the values and honesty, integrity, and hard work. I was also encouraged to define my independence, so when on the eve of choosing a major in college, I mentioned to a parent that I loved the idea of restoring old homes, they discouraged it, saying, “that’s what rich ladies do for a hobby.” It sounds disheartening, but I knew they just wanted me to be educated in subject matter that I could count on to earn a living. I was aware that our home was decorated nicely, as my mother was often complimented on it, but I didn’t think it was necessarily a skill. We often had decorating magazines, but I never knew people hired others to decorate their homes. Now that I think about it, I can’t recall having any example in my formative years of someone in a creative field who could be viewed as doing that as a “job.” I don’t see it as a good or bad thing, I just realize that it probably had bearing on my lack of knowledge about creative work as a profession.
Fast forward a bit…I ended up earning a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition from The University of Texas, and went immediately into medical sales upon graduation. You know what’s interesting? The Dietetics Department at UT was housed in the Home Economics building, (I am nearly positive the building now has a more progressive name. ;) which was also shared by the Interior Design department. I enjoyed my major, and it never occurred to me to investigate a design degree, despite seeing mood boards and floorplans posted on the halls of the ID department.
After college, I moved into my first apartment and began sorting out my own style and decorating. Like many others at that point in life, I sourced furniture from family hand-me-downs and Ikea. I also tagged along with my mother and her girlfriends on day trips to the Texas-Mexico border and Roundtop to shop rustic furniture, and accessories. Several things in our current home are goodies I found all those years ago, and still love! Going on those crazy girl trips steered my style towards things influenced by age and character, lacking pretense and perfection. It also established a joy for bringing the beauty of other cultures into my home.
“..It (traveling) established a joy for bringing the beauty of other cultures into my home.”
After a few years in medical sales, I found myself anxious and unfulfilled. I was earning a great living, but I wasn’t very passionate about the work - at least, not the sales aspect of it! My then-boyfriend (now husband) suggested I switch gears, and go to law school, and not having a better idea of my own, I quit my completely-stable earning power situation, and dove into six figures and three years of school debt! As Bugs Bunny would say, “I think I took a left turn at Albuquerque!”
So, I floated through law school and earned a JD. By graduation, my husband had taken a job that was transferring us out of state, and I knew I probably wasn’t destined to be an attorney. As they say, education is never a mistake, but geez, was THAT a detour!
We moved out of state, started a family, and within two years, my husband accepted a position that would require us to move to Brasilia, Brazil. That incredibly scary move to a foreign country is when everything started to click for me, and I finally started to learn about Interior Design. And that is where my education in design really began!
Stay tuned for Part II, where I’ll share about my experience starting a business.
