Travel: Growing as a Designer

In 2 short weeks my husband Joe and I will set out on a 5 week tour throughout Europe. Although each of us have traveled in the past, we haven't been to Europe together.  This will be an epic trip through both familiar and new places on this lovely planet.  

I'll be revisiting some places that I wanted to share with Joe including San Sebastian, Carcassonne, Rome, Venice and Paris (because anyone in love should share that magical city with their partner!) as well as some new places.  I'll finally get to see Barcelona, the Amalfi coast and Amsterdam as well as touring my husbands ancestral roots in Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo. 

I'm absolutely overwhelmed. 

I look forward to experiencing life outside of the United States. Hearing the sounds, tasting the food, seeing the beauty (both natural and man-made) and touching the places that were instrumental in the development of civilization. It's never been hard for me to strike up a conversation with a stranger and I look forward to talking with people from around the world.  I crave to understand another perspective. 

As a designer there are so many ways to become inspired and I believe this trip will light a fire in me that I'll be able to share with my clients over the coming year. With the opening of my new showroom and the growth of my business, I am so humbled to also get to have this experience. 

Seeing everything from the opulence of Paris to the simplicity of Scandinavian design, I can assure you I'll be taking copious notes! Through travel we grow, we change, we learn and we find new things that bring us joy. Understanding that we are just a tiny piece in the mosaic of humanity can be liberating. 

We have but one life... live it well. We're all in this together. 

And as Lin-Manuel Miranda so eloquently said...

"....When senseless acts of tragedy remind us

That nothing here is promised, not one day

This show is proof that history remembers

We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger

We rise and fall and light from dying embers,

Remembrances that hope and love last longer.

And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love, cannot be killed or swept aside.

I sing Vanessa’s symphony, Eliza tells her story.

Now fill the world with music, love, and pride."