Backdrop
It was the fall of 2001 and I had just had my second child. I had an amazing career in advertising, which included over eleven great years at Fallon, an advertising agency that allowed me to work in this city I call home—close to friends and family, in the middle of the country (easy to travel from) and known for its unique work ethic and values called “Midwestern.” Fallon was a place that allowed me to stretch personally and professionally—a place where I learned the art of intrapreneurialsim.
Character sketch
I’m passionately driven by creativity. Creative people. Photography. Cooking. I’m a curious person by nature and have realized that curiosity must be in my DNA after having two children whose most frequently and emphatically asked question is—WHY? I guess it came from me…I like to learn. I constantly seek to broaden my perspective. I try to do this through travel and the inevitable introduction to new customs and cultures that comes with it. Via an eclectic sampling of music. With ever-growing and changing interest in art and design of many genre. And in plain old, everyday observation–of people, nature, things and the connections between them.
I’m driven to find creative solutions to tough challenges. I want to understand the answers to WHY. I love to constantly image the WHAT COULD BE. And I do that everyday: at home as I watch my family grow and evolve; as the paint on my walls and furniture choices change; and at work, as I meet new clients and grasp new opportunities.
I have been accused of setting the bar high. I accept that, and try to take it as compliment instead of criticism. I am results-oriented.
Change
Not many people have the opportunity in life to take an avocation and make it their vocation—especially if you’re a “business person.” In 2001 I found myself in the fortunate position to do just that and to blur the lines between one of my life’s passions and make it my life’s work. This is when I joined the team at Duffy.
The first and most obvious reason was creativity. It was and is everyday a huge inspiration for me – the design, the people, the environment of our workplace.
The timing couldn’t have been better in my mind. Just a few weeks had passed since 9/11. The world was changing and I believed in some ways it had been forever changed. I anticipated the world of marketing in particular would be changed. And somehow I felt that the changes would play to the advantage of design…
More change
In 2004 I had the opportunity to take what I’d learned as an “intraprenuer” and see how it would apply to entrepreneurialism as Duffy spun out of Fallon to become an independent organization. Exciting. A bit scary. Lots to do. How to set up a business? How to negotiate leases and a myriad of contracts? Choose the right operating systems. And then there was all the stuff that I had built my career around, too. That also needed to be done.
Thinking about and anticipating the change was the hardest part. Setting up a new business was a huge learning experience and a lot of work. But I couldn’t be happier and can’t imagine anything different now. Onward…
Life today
Everyday I learn life lessons from work lessons. And vice versa. I work each day to see how design can help make people’s lives a little better. I try every day to design my life to be full, and balanced. I try to be open to my curious side and keep asking WHY. And I work to partner with people in business to solve for better “what could bes” in the world of marketing, of commerce and at large. The solutions aren’t about world peace. We focus on how things work, and how they look. How a particular experience might make someone feel. Those things are important, too. Especially in a world where there’s so much clutter, so many choices, so many decisions to make.
My life’s work
At this point in my life, at this stage of my career, I’ve realized that it all comes down to people and opportunity. That’s the foundation of why I do what I do, as well as how things get done I guess.
It also sums up how I try to look at the world now. What are the opportunities I have to learn from the people I meet each day? How can I share with those around me? How does one optimize the people and opportunity in life—for self, for family, for friends, co-workers and the world at large? How does a better personal life influence a richer professional life? And vice versa?
At the end of the day, I believe design is a beautiful bridge—to solve challenges, to maximize opportunities, to make things work better and look better.
As my father once told me, when I was very young, “always try to leave everything a little better than you found it.”
Photos
1) Me.
2) Mexican milagros
3) Moroccan Weaver, 1986
4) Moroccan woman - protecting her spirit
5) Market - Seville, Spain
6) Silk from Thailand
7) Cat Island, Bahamas, 2003
8) Long Island, Bahamas
9) Japanese bowl
10) Playa Pan de Azucar, Costa Rica, 2006