What Brought Me To This Space

Welcome to the first blog that I have written for my new website and thank you for taking the time to read my story.

There comes a time in life when you understand that if you find the courage to try something new, you might just inspire one other person to do the same, to take a leap of faith and who knows that just might be you!

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Your True Passion Never Leaves You

Life Through My Lens

I believe that life is a journey, a meandering path with many twists and turns, a few crossroads, and even a couple of dead ends to stop you in your tracks now and then. Still, if you have a vision of what you truly want in life or a passion that slowly burns, you always seem to find the right path to travel.

2020 was a year that changed our world and there was a big chunk of that year where we all had the time to reflect internally on life. 

Where you were, and where you wanted to be, had you done everything that you had your heart set on or were you just treading water and waiting patiently for that moment in time when life changed for the better?

I took this time to reflect deeply and I was lucky enough to be in a position to utilize that time and space totally on my own, safely tucked up at home with my thoughts.

It was in those first weeks of lockdown that I decided that it was time to make some changes and the world was telling me that this was the time.

I still had a passion to fulfill, a slow-burning desire that had never left me but had been put on the shelf as a pie-in-the-sky idea and that was to fulfill a childhood dream, to study and become an Interior Designer.

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What Came Next

I looked for something online and I eventually chose The Interior Design Insitute. What drew me to that course was that Darren Palmer (a judge on"The Block") had associated himself with the institution and created an annexed Masterclass Series. As a high-profile "Interior Designer" my interest was drawn to what he had to offer in the way of knowledge and wisdom and I admired the way he had added the encouragement aspect of finding your own personal style.

I had no idea what my style was or if I could even create a style of my own and so here the journey began...

It is not always easy to commence education as a mature age student, there is self-doubt, a lack of technical knowledge, and a small voice within that says "Really, Lorraine" don't you think that you have left this a little too late, are you sure that you want to put yourself through this, do you think that you have what it takes?

Limiting self-beliefs can be overwhelming at times and they have stopped me in my tracks periodically however I was born under the star sign of Taurus, the mighty bull who governs the strengths of stubbornness and determination. I have always had a sense of never giving up which has held me in good stead in past life achievements so I did what any woman would do on a whim, I jumped straight into the deep end.

I have to say that studying online takes a lot of personal discipline and it is very easy to say let's leave that for a while when you don't fully understand the content or how to approach an assignment.

For me, this has been a slow process but with each new module, learning a new aspect of design whether historical or contemporary is truly fulfilling.  After completing the Advanced Module on Home Staging and Property Styling and helping friends prepare their homes for sale, a new passion was created and I knew where my future was heading. I will continue to be diligent with my online studies and hope to have them completed by the end of this year.

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Stepping Up

Once you decide to grow into a new version of yourself, it seems a whole new world opens up and others that you were not aware of suddenly appear on your radar. I remember Tony Robbins said in a seminar that I once attended, "If you want to learn something, find out who is doing it well and put yourself in a position to learn from them".

There are so many brilliant designers and decorators out there to follow who are inspiring and more than willing to share their own stories and experiences gained from mistakes and obstacles they encountered along the way during their many years of good old-fashioned hard work. I have added some extra-curricular activities to expand my knowledge base and have had the absolute pleasure of working with The Three Birds in "Styling School" and with Steve Cordony at one of his fabulous, not to be missed "Master Classes" at the magnificent Rosedale Farm.

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So Here I Am

Putting myself out there as a mature aged person, taking a chance that life goes in a full circle and that somehow it magically takes you back to the place of the original childhood dream and the passion and gifts you were meant to share with the world. 

Creating this website for all to see and offering my services is a very personal challenge for me in many ways but it has changed my outlook on life, encouraged me to be bold and has given me the courage to learn new and exciting things.

When you are involved in creating a start-up business, you are learning on the hop and have so many things to master along the way. It can be very daunting to start promoting yourself with having little customer-based styling experience under your belt so I have found creative ways which include using my own home to be able to show my work in what is a very visual industry. 

I know that creating this business from scratch will take time and courage, doing what I love and knowing the reasons why I am pursuing this wonderful adventure is so much more important than how am I going to make this all happen. 

Making the rooms of a home look beautiful, creating a sense of style and comfortable living within them, while adding touches of affordable luxury is my greatest joy. 

So with this crazy notion that life will always support creativity, my intention from here is to keep adding to my knowledge base, enjoying the process of the roller coaster that a start-up business brings to your life, and being of service to those who wish to create a sense of style in their own home, a place to feel comfortable and to enjoy sharing with others, a space that makes them feel happy, content and peaceful, my mission is to create for others what I have enjoyed creating for myself in my own home.

I would love you to join me on my journey of discovery, so I may share with you what I learn along the way, the tips and tricks that I have gleaned from my chosen mentors in the industry, and more importantly what it feels like to be living a life of doing what makes us truly happy. I would love you to leave a comment below.