I Got it From my Mama
It is often said (with a grimace) that as we get older, we turn into our parents—that we adopt their mannerisms, habits, and often their style. This is definitely true for me with my mother. We look alike, sound alike, and have the same quirks. But unlike most people who resist becoming like their parents, I am proud to have turned into her.
My mother has always been, and still is, a glamorous woman. As I get older, I find myself channelling her style from the 1980s. I don’t do it intentionally; however, I seem to be magnetically drawn to things I saw her wear in the early 80s, like tassel loafers, penny loafers, chunky brooches, and shoulder pads. (My mother had a meticulously organised walk-in wardrobe when I was a kid, with a whole section dedicated to shoulder pads that an NFL star would envy.)
The significance of my mother’s style goes beyond a wardrobe and speaks directly to the heart of who I am creatively. My mother is also an interior designer, you see—so you could rightly say that I got it from my mum. I grew up around her effervescent enthusiasm for all things design and art—going to design centres, museums, and gallery openings from a young age—and spending time with her avant-garde friends with asymmetrical haircuts. Her creativity was infectious. She was fast and decisive and never second-guessed herself.
When I was younger, I wanted to be a painter. I went to an arts high school and had a voracious appetite for all things fine art. I would stay in the studio late into the night, working on painting after painting. Oil was my favourite medium—I loved the smell, the texture, and the sheen—it was intoxicating. I did many self-portraits, dressing up or stripping down and posing in front of a mirror, brush in hand.
When I moved to New York at 18 to attend Parsons School of Design, I had every intention of majoring in painting. However, after the foundation year (where everyone takes the same classes), my father’s practicality took over and the words ‘starving artist’ began to echo loudly in my head. I decided to major in furniture design because, as I saw it, furniture and lighting were functional sculpture, and I could always pick up a brush and paint again (which I still plan to do one day).
I thrived in furniture design for a while, licensing my ‘Easyrider’ line of seating to an Italian brand, receiving press in Wallpaper and other international publications, being selected by Surface magazine as one of their top 10 up-and-comers, and exhibiting my designs with them in New York and Milan alongside Karim Rashid and Yves Behar. However, it wasn’t long after graduating that I realised the ‘starving artist’ dilemma extended to designers too, not just painters. So I expanded my repertoire, adding interior design and styling for advertising to the mix.
After moving to Milan and earning my master’s degree in interior design from Domus Academy, I started ‘Quick-Fix Design’—a fast-turnaround interior design service using mostly the client’s own things—a concept I actually got from my mother. It was something she had been doing for her clients for years, and something I did for clients in New York as well. In Milan, I made it my career.
I didn’t really see it happening—the morphing into my mother—but now it is as clear as day. You don’t expect it to happen when you’re a kid; you think you’re your own person with your own dreams, and then, bam—just like that, you turn into your parents. But as I said, I couldn’t think of a better person to emulate.
My mother was my first teacher. She was my mentor, and she is now my muse.
