My love for interiors began at age 6 when I ambitiously took on any designer’s ultimate job: decorating Barbie’s illustrious Dream House. I styled the three-compartment home with not only Mattel furniture, but my favorite accessories from my mother’s closet. After patterned scarves transformed into drapes and '80s clip-on earrings doubled as decked out mirrored tables, I was officially hooked on design. Beginning my professional career in finance in Texas, I am grateful I have an excellent business foundation. However, more troubled by the folding of shelter design magazine domino in 2009 than the greater economic crisis at hand, I knew it was time for a career transformation. In 2011 I moved to New York City to study interior design at Parsons focusing on space planning, drawing and drafting, and the history of antiques and decorative arts. I gained valuable training working as a design assistant at a boutique firm on the Upper West Side and opened my own business in 2013. I feel very fortunate I’ve had the opportunity to formally make a change, turning what was a passionate hobby into a new career.