Gift Guide

Whether it is for the holidays or for other occasions, unique gifts lets the recipients know how special they are.

Body Regalia
Renee Ridosh
Being a professional interior designer is not enough for Renee to let out her creative energy. She had created her line of decorative jewelry using a combination of stones, minerals, art glass, crystal, fittings and wire. Her works can be purchased from her Website.

Crafted at the Port of Los Angeles
A permanent craft market place featuring the work of over 100 artists and craftspeople. Please visit the Website for information on the marketplace and links to individual artists.

FMCDesigns
Michele Conn
Michele makes adorable knitted goods for babies and adults. Please visit her Etsy Shop.

MADE by DWC
MADE by DWC’s unique products are handmade by women overcoming homelessness in Skid Row. Shop at their Downtown Los Angeles shops and Online.

Nadia Star Interiors
Nadia Startseva
Nadia decorates wooden eggs with paint, jewels, beads, Swarovski crystals, and other decorative materials. Each one is hand-crafted, and no two are alike. $25 – $50 each. Please contact Nadia via Email or her Facebook Page.

Soapy Soaps
Morgan Yen
Soapy Soaps wishes to bring healthy, sustainable, luxurious and nourishing skincare to all. Besides handmade soaps, lip balms, lotions bars, and face creams are also available. Customization available. Please visit the Website and the Etsy Shop.

Michelle Chiang Signature SoapMichelle Chiang Signature Soap — Michelle Chiang Signature Soap

Studio Channel Islands Art Center
A group of talented artists offering unique arts in all forms and mediums. Please visit the Website.

TwoPalmsKreatioNs
Karen Norman
Karen is passionate about the art of leather carving and all artistic leather creations. Please visit the Facebook Page.

Visual Meanderings – by VT Fine Art Photography
Virginia Dudasik
Virginia’s photographs are like poetry without words. Please visit the Website.

White Peony Style
Michelle Chiang
Michelle wants to share her passion for art and culture. Especially to introduce the beauty of her home country Taiwan. Some of the Le Vert thé products (high-quality tea from Taiwan) are available now. Please visit the Blog.

The Bridge Bible Fellowship Missions House

Back in June, after learning that a local church The Bridge Bible Fellowship was remodeling their Missions House and could use some design help, I jumped at the chance to organizing this community project for IDS LA/Ventura Chapter.

The beginning of the story (from the church’s blog) can be found HERE.

I was able to gather four volunteer interior designers quickly. The project had already began when we got involved. Unlike projects our designers are used to dealing with, this one comes with many limitations. The design team had to make many compromises, and many design suggestions had to be altered. Although the finished work is not Architectural Digest worthy, but we feel great that we were able to give back a little to our community.

I was amazed to see these four designers work so harmonically and efficiently together. (Maybe I will start calling them “Fab-4” from now on.) Personally, I want to thank these four ladies for volunteering their time and talent and tolerating me as an inexperienced coordinator.

Judi Doling of JA Design

Jennifer Hutton of Jennifer Hutton Interiors

Eva Olip of Olip Interiors

Renee Ridosh of IntenDecor

The project could not have been done without the contractor Kiko Castro and his team. FunTime Cabinet Factory fabricated the kitchen and hallway cabinetry at a extremely low price. Joanna Forbes of Closet Factory made the master bedroom closet more efficient and functional.

Update of the project (from the church’s blog) can be found HERE.

Thank you for reading all the details. Enjoy the photos!

TBBF Mission House — From the Front Door

Grow Your Design Business

Over two years ago, as I was trying to manage and grow my business, I discovered that Hunter Douglas has a series of CEU (Continuing Education Units) seminars on business management and development and all the topics were what I was interested in!

The speaker for my area is Shelley DeVall. She is absolutely wonderful! Shelley is passionate about the program. Having owned a successful business before, Shelley really knows the in’s and out’s of managing a business. Besides business fundamentals, the program also incorporates utilizing technology for business. Susan Leinen is the speakers for subjects covering the Internet and Social Media. After meeting Susan, I have had the pleasure to work with her on designing the website for Conejo Association of Professional Interior Designers (CAPID), an organization I belong to. We are now partners for the Social Media Coaching program.

To date, I have attended most of the seminars at least once. The contents are constantly updated, so I always learn something new. My business is always changing, so I get different inspirations even when I take the same class for the second or the third time. This program pushes me to constantly think about my business and examine it from different aspects. Knowing information and resources are available to me, I am no longer afraid of or stressed out about the business side of design. For a small business like mine, it is truly beneficial to have such a program available. There are so many classes on products, but most designers also need help on business management and development. The classes are tailored for design businesses. Since most of the attendees are designers, we support each other by discussing problems and offering tips. I highly recommend this Design Center Program to anyone who wants to thrive in business.

I take most of these classes at Drapery Affair – Floor to Ceiling Interiors in Ventura, California. They have made a great effort to make the showroom a learning and support center for designers. The classes are very affordable. Everyone at the showroom is helpful and knowledgeable.

Just to clarify, I did not get paid from any business mentioned above. I am thankful for the program and want to have more people be aware of it so it will stay around and continue to be better.

Social Media Coaching – July 9, 2013

Our second Social Media Coaching workshop was on July 9, 2013. We want to thank Archer Weiss again for letting us use their beautiful conference room for the workshop.

Our focus this time was on Houzz.com. This website has become a great way for design professionals to showcase their works to and interact with homeowners. Professionals can also interact with each other. Reviews are a big part of the website. Clients can review design professionals, and professionals can review other professionals.