Hello! I am so glad you found me here @shelleyhodgecreativestudios because that means like me you are searching for design inspiration with a connection.
It’s weird that I’ve waited this long to start a blog!
I was chatting with someone in the grocery store the other day and during our mini conversation in the canned good aisle I mentioned the start of this blog. My partner in conversation thought that I already had a blog and through her confusion It was decided, yes, I should definitely start one because “I’ve had a good few years in my creative career doing an array of creative things that people would want to read about.”
If she was convinced maybe I could be too. So here goes!
I have been in the design and event industries for over a decade starting my Interior Design career as a home based business in my 20’s and moving through my 30’s as a retail owner, floral stylist and professional event designer. Above all my first love lies in Interior Design. I believe in surrounding yourself with what you love and not necessarily with what’s trending (but if thats what you love then you do you!) If you have ever worked with me as a client you know that the very first thing I say is
“it’s not about what is happening outside of your 4 walls. If you love it, then have it!"
At the end of the day your home is (should be) your safe space. The place you unwind. And the place you connect with those who are in it. Make a place that you can’t wait to get back to and you find hard to leave.
There is so much great design content out there now but I have been feeling a serious lack of meaningful connection? We literally have access to so many wonderful ideas but we are failing to connect with each other through those ideas. There is still so much secrecy surrounding “good ideas”. The transfer of knowledge is far from transparent even in these wonderful years of Pinterest! It’s as if the good ideas come to select few in their meditations. Come on. You cannot reinvent the wheel, you can only make it more efficient so why are we pretending like we have the best ideas and therefore keeping them to ourselves?
Good design is suppose to be a form of communication. Communicating who you are. What you love. What your family holds important. How you like to have fun. It’s not a hard fast rule book. It’s for everyone and of all ages, ability and access! From the geographically isolated to the shoe string budgeters. The big dreamers and the perpetually undecided. Good design is for connecting and collaborating with one another. The best ideas often come when we work together and we make the ideas better by sharing them.
Maybe this sounds a little Kumbaya. But I think we could all use a little harmony. With that said, through this blog I hope you’ll find design tips that you can apply to your spaces right now, DIY’s that will get you excited for weekend projects and the opportunity to actually connect with myself, guest bloggers and other readers anytime!
Follow us on our social media for weekly design inspo, creative living ideas and new things on the blog!