Her Story
About Laura
My career has been a 35-year journey through retail, always chasing a creative path. I started in men's fashion, then moved into furniture, and eventually found my way into textiles - first selling them, then getting involved in the design side. The design piece has been my focus for about 15 years now. While I don't have a formal interior design degree, I've developed my expertise in styling and design through hands-on experience. I attended the Fashion Institute of Technology for textile design, which really influenced me and helped me hone my sense of color and design. Today, I work with clients on a daily basis, helping them with their homes. I take the time to figure out what their needs are, what their lifestyles are, and work to fulfill those needs in a way that makes them happy. Everything comes down to customer relations for me - I pride myself on that. I don't just sell people something; I find out about them. I love learning about how many people, what they're doing in this lifetime. I'm all about people and building relationships. The tenacity to stay in the public and deal with all different kinds of personalities has been my most notable achievement. I think finding a creative path that I could make a living out of has been the driving force throughout my career.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Laura
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think the tenacity to stay in the public is very difficult. Dealing with all different kinds of personalities - that's been key. I pride myself on my customer relations, for sure. I've always tried to find some creative path that I could make a living out of, and I think that drive to keep pursuing creative work while building relationships with people has been what's kept me going. I'm all about people and building relationships, learning about them, learning what they do. In my job, I don't just sell them something - I find out about them. I just love learning about how many people, what they're doing in this lifetime.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Don't jump around a lot. Stay in the straight and narrow, and just keep building on what you know and what you've learned. And listen to people that know more than you. Though I have to say, if you're not enjoying what you're doing, you gotta love what you do. I've been working for a long time, and I found that even though the advice was to stay on one path, when I wasn't enjoying men's clothing anymore, I chose to start working in furniture and design. So while staying focused is important, you also have to find something you love.
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