Your Questions: Answered

Nicole Dianne

Last week I opened the floor to you all-- you could leave me any questions you had for me and I would answer them. Today I'm back with answers to some of the questions! I always find it interesting to get to know other bloggers more, and one of my goals is to be more transparent here on the blog, so here are some fun, honest answers for you from yours truly:

 1. "I'm going to be starting a month long floral program at a nearby university in the fall and would love any advice!"

How FUN! Continuing education or starting a new career path is a wonderful season of life. My advice to you would be to go in with an open mind, try to soak up all the knowledge you can, ask a bunch of questions of your instructors so you can really make the most of the program, start a blog to chronicle the program and hopefully curate an audience for yourself (this will help market yourself as a floral designer even before you start offering the services and bring potential clients your way), and if this is something you want to pursue as your business, I'd start reaching out to vendors about putting together a styled shoot with your floral work. You can never start too soon! Also, have fun -- this shouldn't be too hard. You're working with flowers after all :)

2. "At what point did you decide to become a business owner, start your very own design business and offer services? Was it in relation to blogging or did you always know you wanted to start your own business?"

I love this question! There's so much to say that I'm actually going to do a completely separate post on it :) Stay tuned!

3. "What was your very first interior design job and how did you land it?"

Well, I'm not sure if this counts, but I think my first job was following around my grandma, who is an interior designer as well, at a young age and watching some of the design work she would do on my dad' office center. 

Now, my first true interior design job I had while I was home from college in the summers, was interning for Cristin of Simplified Bee. We made a connection through blogging and lucky for me, my mom also had a mutual friend of Cristin, so that connection worked in my favor. I ended up asking her if we could meet for tea just to get to know each other and she agreed. The tea date went so well; I loved her style, personality and openness with me about her blog and business. I was so thrilled when she asked me to help her with some design work. She trusted me to come on client projects and shoots with her, which helped me gain confidence. She also shared business tips with me and for that, I will be forever grateful.

4. "I would like to know more about your religious belief-also concerning your relationship with your boyfriend and marriage. You've already shared that you read the bible daily and that you are active in your church with the youth, which I think is very inspiring -all of it!"

That is very kind! We are Christians, which is the foundation for our relationship and lifestyle. We have decided not to live together until we are married one day. It's certainly not the "norm" in our culture today, so I know it sounds strange. We feel it's so special to share that with your future spouse, so we've chosen to wait. My boyfriend and I do work in the youth group at church! We both lead a small group of high schoolers. It's fun to walk through life with these gals, pour truth over them, and watch them grow in their love for God and others. 

5. "What's your advice on how to stay content while single? As a junior in high school I am seeking my future, but at the same time learning to trust God with my anxiety. It's sure hard sometimes to put your trust in someone you can't see."

This is such a sweet question. I remember being single in high school and feeling like I was so behind, because everyone else had boyfriends. I look back now (6 years later) and am SO thankful for the singleness I experienced then and even in most of my college years. I had guy friends who taught me what to look for in a guy and what to avoid, which was very helpful for my future relationships. I think I avoided a lot of heartache, so take heart. You are so young and God has beautiful plans for you. It is hard to trust  in a plan you don't hold the answers to; I've been there. But you can trust in this: God works together for your good and His glory. 

My practical advice while being single is to spend lots of time with good girlfriends. I would also start picking up on some qualities you love about your dad, brothers, and guy friends. I would encourage you to steer clear of making a list of 20 things you want in a man, because chances are that will set your sights on a "perfect man" who actually doesn't exist. Learning to love yourself is so important in this time for you! My other piece of advice is to pray for your future husband. I remember praying for his health, safety, good family values, that he would make good choices, and that we would be able to serve God better together. It can be a really sweet time of learning to trust, having faith, and investing in friendships. 

6. How did you decide to go to college and how did you find your calling? 

I knew I wanted to major in interior design since I was a freshman in high school. I'd always had a knack for design, decorating (and redecorating) my room and other areas of the house, anything artistic and creative. Once I found out I could actually do those things and make money, I was thrilled and completely set on becoming an interior designer. I remember writing a paper my freshman year in high school on design, the average salary for a designer, and all the ins and outs of the business side of things. It was our freshman term paper, where we had to write about the profession we wanted to take on when we grew up. From what I remember, so many kids were stressed out about what to possibly write about (I mean, we were only 14 or 15), but not me. It was clear as day: I would write this paper on becoming an interior designer and then actually become one.

All that to say, I knew I needed to find a college with interior design. I also wanted to attend a Christian college offering interior design as a major, if possible. I searched around and found Seattle Pacific University-- only a 2 hour plane ride away from home and it had everything I wanted, plus more! They offered a program where I would attend SPU for 3 years and obstain my bachelor's degree in interior design, then in my 4th year, transfer to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, CA to finish my program and receive an additional degree. I was sold! Other than all the rain I dealt with in Seattle, I'm so happy I chose to go there.

I think it's worth noting that I don't think there is just one college out there for everyone. I think people can be happy at many different schools, so my advice is not to put too much pressure on yourself to find "the one"!

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I hope you enjoyed this little get-to-know-me blog post. If you your question didn't get answered, I will answer it soon! There were a few too many to answer in one post. Feel free to leave more questions below in the comments if you have any!

Have a wonderful day!
Michaela

interior design website / services / portfolio