Jeni’s Design Diary

I found a link to a color IQ quiz, and thought I’d share it.  My score was 12!

A while ago I was actually reading a section in one of my Architectural Digest magazines. Usually, I don’t read them. I just look through the pictures then wonder what I’m going to do with it, and why I bought it. So what caught my interest? Designer interviews. The last segment of each one started with, “For Inspiration, I Go To…” Each one had a different answer. Some answers they gave were: their libraries, friends, history, and their travels. After several interviews my thoughts turned inward. I started asking myself where I go for inspiration. I’ve been thinking over this question for several weeks now.

I know what doesn’t inspire me: magazines (at least not initially), books, and what appears to me as the endless amount of photographs on the Internet. After looking back at my process of working through projects, I learned that I only found magazines helpful after I had idea of what I was looking for. I’d have a picture in my head of what I wanted, and then I set out to find it.
Read the rest of this entry »

Last night I attended an event at Seattle’s Design Within Reach, which was put on by Design Sponge. I’m still not sure what the event’s name was. DWR called it “Connecting Women in Design“, while D*S called it a “Biz Ladies Meetup“. I found out about it while doing a search for other design blogs.

I had never been to Design Sponge before, and that day I read only one post. I find it funny that I decided to go after reading, “…where women running their own design-based businesses (or who want to start one) can come meet, mingle and receive free business advice from local expert…”; knowing no more than that.

Read the rest of this entry »

One thing that really stuck with me form Rhonda Layton’s Learn to be an Interior Designer, was her advice for students to take acting classes. I whole-heartedly agree, and was lucky enough to take a few of those courses in college.

Theatre can (if you let it) teach you a lot of useful lessons; including ones that relate to interior design. They mostly fall in the realm of presentation.

As we all know, when you meet with a future employer, a client, or business contact your appearance is extremely important. But your appearance is made up by more than just your attire. Theatre can help you gain confidence, knowledge of the importance of costumes, vocal control, and ability to tell the story in a compelling way, among many other things. All of which help create a complete presentation of yourself and your abilities.

Probably the most beneficial lesson I learned was the ability to portray an attitude I was not currently part of my reality. It should be obvious that you would not want to portray poor attitudes in front of important people; they can tell your mood. That is, unless you are good at acting.