At long last, my very first blog post.  Welcome!

Let me begin by sharing with you the reason I design.

Once upon a time there was a girl who went to kindergarten.  One day the teacher covered her with a giant smock, placed a paint brush in her hand and introduced her to something she’d never seen before, an art easel.

“Okay class,” said the teacher.  “Paint a pumpkin.”

So the girl painted a pumpkin.

Soon the teacher walked by the girl’s easel.  So startled by her teacher’s extreme enthusiasm, the girl felt compelled to explain herself.

“You said paint a pumpkin” she replied with concern.

Then the teacher encouraged the girl to walk around the room.  There were green blobs, orange blobs, black scary blobs, nothing AT ALL that even remotely resembled a pumpkin.

“Cherice!” exclaimed the teacher.  “You’re an artist!”

Years later, the artist in me went into hiding.  As many children do, I absorbed the message that I was supposed to grow up, put the paint and crayons away, and get a real job.  So I did.  I loved my “real job.”  I had the privilege of empowering struggling students to believe in themselves by training them how to boost their brain power and become successful classroom learners.  As rewarding as this was, life eventually found a way to redirect me back to my first love.

Okay, I’ll give you a hint…  my first love wasn’t pumpkins.

This blog is my ode to moms and dads everywhere who honor their children’s natural gifts.  It also solutes those of you who are finding your way back to your own childhood joys.  I will share with you what inspires me, from good design to good people to good books to anything else that empowers young minds to express who they really are.  And if you love decorating (and redecorating) like I do, please join me!  You may just discover a piece in the gallery that reminds you of AND celebrates the authentic pieces of you!