Palley and Southard Designs owner and principal Lane Blank has proudly called North Carolina home since the 1980's. Lane grew up in Boston and New York City, where works by Milton Avery, Modigliani, Picasso, and Rothko graced the walls of her artist grandfather's home. After studying art history at Johns Hopkins, Lane worked after graduation in a respected art gallery in Manhattan. She then trained in interior design before she and a partner founded Palley and Southard Designs.