Whenever our family moved when I was kid, my bedroom was always the first to be decorated. During my years as a graduate student and laboratory manager doing biomedical research, my free time was filled with hobbies that allowed me to play with colour, texture, and design, whether hooking rag rugs, making jewelry, gardening, or decorating my home and those of my friends. I’d always been environmentally minded, but after my daughter was diagnosed with an anaphylactic food allergy, the process of making our home an allergen-free zone reminded me that our society has blind spots when it comes to the safety of foods, cleaning products, plastic baby bottles, you name it. I re-evaluated everything, from laundry and dishwasher detergent to our renovation plans. Already on maternity leave with my second child, I decided to retrain and start a values-based business doing what I’d always loved: decorating.
My interior décor training to date includes an Interior ReDesign and Staging Specialist Certificate from Sharp ReDesigns, a professional development seminar by Kimberley Seldon, and several courses of a Certificate in Residential Interiors from the University of Alberta, including the U of A’s first-ever Green Design course. As I continue to take evening courses for my diploma, I am focusing both my class projects and professional design work on sustainable design solutions. My broad scientific background gives me a valuable interdisciplinary perspective, a talent for meticulous research, and the lateral problem-solving skills that are essential for success in the rapidly changing field of sustainable design. I hold membership in the Canadian ReDesigners Association (CRDA), and a student membership in the Canadian Certificate Interior Decorators’ Association (CCIDA). I also volunteer for the Friends of the Devonian Botanic Garden, the Canadian Peony Society, and Edmontonians Supporting A Green Economy (E-SAGE).
Promoting the Devonian Botanic Garden
