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When I sat down to consider what I wanted to say about this past year, 2022, my mind was a jumble. Not because I didn’t have a clear feeling about the impact it had on me, but because so many things had happened. As I began to process all those things and tried to arrange them in some kind of order, one word came to mind – perspective. When you are a designer, (at least one from my generation 😊) the first meaning of the word perspective will always be number 1 above – the art of drawing an interior space on a piece of paper, a drawing that shows your ideas, a drawing that conveys your design intent, a drawing that evokes a feeling that makes someone feel like they could live right there, right in the space on the paper; I have always found that fascinating. Perspective, however, to the rest of the world is a thought, an attitude, a point of view and even a decision, a decision to see things in a way that brings growth. My decision to see last year through the perspective of growth brought the clarity I needed to unjumble my thoughts and set them free so here you go – buckle up!

2022 started out on a very optimistic note. It felt like the perfect fresh start after a year that had kicked our behinds (and ended in a boxing match between me and 2021, see here!). The world was hoping that Covid would ease its grip and that recovery for the economy would be imminent. That was not the case. For our day-to-day business, supply chain issues continued, shipping and logistics were struggling to cope, price increases were a daily event, shortages in skilled labor sustained. It felt like this was our new normal and in real time, it required us to be flexible, adaptable and persevere. We saw a lot of change in the workforce as a whole, burnout was real, stress remained high. This was true in general and within our own company. We stuck hard to our values, we worked tirelessly on our client’s behalf, and we continued to push for good design and great outcomes.

Here comes the perspective part. Never in my 20 years working in this industry, did I ever see a bigger opportunity to learn; an intense, invaluable bootcamp meant to stretch, improve, increase resolve, encourage adaptability, streamline processes and push the design envelope. When I think of it that way, all I feel is gratitude. Would I have chosen this for my company in this way, no. Would I have signed up and paid thousands of dollars for an intensive course that offered me all these things, maybe yes. We were gifted it for free.

2022 presented an adjustment to the world. As bombs fell on innocent civilian cities in the Ukraine, it forced us to refocus on what is important in life. The world did not believe that a war like this could happen again, yet here we were watching it unfold before our eyes. It was all I could think about and along with my family and friends, we jumped into action to do whatever we could to help. That aspect of perspective, rising to the surface again and reminding me that my work is not life or death. There are no interior design emergencies. Difficult times, but never disasters.

As the year comes to an end, I reflect on the amazing projects, our wonderful clients, the strong and talented team members we said goodbye to, the fresh and skillful team we are building, our inclusion in multiple publications, our stunning interior photoshoots, trade shows, design presentations, almost 20 projects come to completion, IBP babies, travel for business and pleasure, collaboration with our trusted partners and vendors, building community with new consultants, builders and artisans, our beloved Friday Socials, an impactful increase in our online following, new content, new lifestyle videos, new skills, exciting new projects in the works and oh so many laughs. When I look at it from this perspective, I hope my jumble of thoughts for 2023 will be just as exciting.