MID-WEST BEGINNINGS
I grew up in Villa Park, Illinois a Chicago suburb. I attended High School at Villa Park High. My father was a senior design engineer for Rockwell. Dad's architectual design skills combined with my solid math background probably helped form the roots of my own technical skills that I would later need in learning to measure, calculate angles and create unique custom design solutions. However, before I became an interior designer I first began my business career at Sears, Oak Brook, Illinois. I started there in sales and was soon promoted to manage the "little girls dress" department. The Sears Oakbrook store was the luminary store for the entire Sears chain. I was constantly surrounded by some of the best and the brightest in Sears management. The sales and customer service training was superb. There was great emphasis on customer satisfaction. Those were the days when business believed and promoted the idea that "the customer is king". I was trained to provide great service and to listen to my clients.
CALIFORNIA HERE I COME!
In 1979 I moved to Denver where spent a year in real estate sales before moving on to Huntington Beach. That December I sat on the beach in 80 degree weather and vowed never to leave. Once in Huntington I resumed my association with Sears and joined the Westminster store, this time learning the drapery and carpet businesses. For years I was a "sponge" at Sears and I thank that iconic company for providing me the foundation of sales and the techniques of drapery design and fabrication. I eventually was invited to join a professional design firm, Star Design. At Star Design I was responsible for interior design representing clients of Bullocks Department stores in Orange County.
STARTING MY BUSINESS - IN A RECESSION!
In 1989 in the midst of recession, and although I was successful in my designer/sales role at Star Design, I could see that many of my clients might benefit from a custom interior design service but without the high overhead and subsequent high prices of the large department store design firms. It was June of 1990 when I took the plunge and founded my own firm, American Dream Interiors. I happened to be at a time when most business consultants might have argued against it. Yet my husband, Russ, believed in me and encouraged me in the concept of offering "quality for less". It was in this same year that we purchased our home in SeaCliff on the Greens in Huntington Beach. It was natural to make the Huntington Beach homeowner community my focal point for client representation. Over the years we have loved living in Huntington Beach. I am most grateful for the friendship, comraderie and client opportunities that over 1,000 homeowners have given me by inviting me into their homes for design consultations over these twenty wonderful years.
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| Custom bedroom ensemble - romantic elegance |
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| Fine dining with custom seating & draperies |
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