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What is your first memory of flowers?

I can remember picking some purple blooming flowers with clover-like leaves. I thought they were so beautiful. I picked them and gave them to my teacher. As an adult, I realized it was blooming alfalfa. I gave my second-grade teacher hay! However, I still think farming is a thing of beauty.

What experiences led to your interest in the floral Industry?

I think watching the floral design students at Cal Poly and their creative projects made me curious. It was later, after graduation, that I attended my first regional AIFD program and was completely inspired to develop my floral design skills.

What contributed most to your design education?

Certainly, the Cal Poly motto, “Learn by doing,” was very important. You can learn very quickly by trying. Attending the AIFD Symposium was very important, as well as the educational opportunities the wire services provided. For me, it was FTD.

What has been your favorite job in the floral industry?

My job as Creative Director for Porch View Home and my work in creative development of new products have been my favorites.

What influence(s) led you to the field of product development?

My mentor Michi Burrell was one of the first American designers, along with Jim Marvin, to travel to China and create florals for the silk flower factories located there. She recommended me to a factory looking for new designers, and I really found and developed my best skill.

What led you to the development of what we all know today to be a significant interior trend?

It was a shared experience of growing up on a rural farm. Todd and I were both working in China in product development and met with the leading importers and large retail stores. At this time, no one was interested in Farmhouse. We decided to develop our own line and import it ourselves. If we liked it, we thought others would, too. It just happened to coincide with Antiques Roadshow and the beginning of Fixer Upper. The timing was us doing what we love, and it turned out to be perfect timing!

Share the path that led you to develop Porch View Home.

As often in business partnership, there comes a time when financial partners differ from the designer’s vision. When outside consultants and other “suits” start to make design decisions, it can be a very stressful time. This process came to a crossroads just as the COVID-19 pandemic began. Many of us were evaluating our lives and what really made us happy. It was the most difficult decision and process to leave behind the company we founded, but just as the farmhouse style had begun to transition, so did we.

What led you to bring permanent botanicals to Porch View Home?

It is a combination of our love of flowers, our work experience in the silk flower factories and simple customer demand. We want to treat flowers as an interior design accessory. We saw a need in the market for botanically correct stems that are at a marketable price and available in stock.

You were presented the AIFD Award of Design Influence in 2022. What did that recognition mean to you?

It was a great honor that I honestly think I am still earning. I have so much more experience to build on and so many more ideas to develop. I believe the best is yet to come. It was certainly a signpost of what has been designed and accomplished. Most importantly, the recognition of my peers means a great deal to me.

What role do you see yourself playing in the future of floral design education?

I think my experience can be very valuable to share with new designers and hopefully inspire them as I was once inspired by the many designers I watched.  I also make it my mission to encourage others as I was encouraged. It really is passing on the information and inspiration that was passed on to me.