I can’t believe it. i get to say I style rooms and that i move and rearrange furniture for a living….
and I love it! I always loved designing. When I was in the 4th grade, my teacher sent around a list of books you could buy in the upcoming book fair that would be in the library the following weeks. I looked over the list and noticed there was a book for up-and-coming fashion designers. I had to have it. I gathered some change to purchase the $4 book. The book came and was everything I thought it would be. It had cut outs to copy and make your own shirt examples. How to make skirts, jeans, and other accessories. I was about to be the next big designer. I didn’t succeed at making much. I didn’t have a sewing machine. All I had was needle and thread. I did make some leggings out of thick tights (we will not discuss the outcome, as I try to forget why I did this). Let’s just say, don’t try this at home and if you do, wear the same or like color undergarments. I thought the book was everything, but I look back now and know this $4 book was very generic and more for making cut out paper dolls than clothes. But back then, it was all I needed to get the vision going.
Next up, moving from amateur fashion designing to interior design. I still had dreams of designing clothes, but I yearned for more to do in the design world. By now, I am in high school. I am still attempting to make clothes – little items here and there, nothing groundbreaking. This time my home economics teacher is assisting me and showing me how to properly use the sewing machine. My grandmother let me have her sewing machine. The one that weighs a thousand pounds and comes attached and folds into the desk. Ha! I made my first real outfit, a two-piece suit. I wore it to school. I was so excited. It was tight in the legs because I didn’t give enough seam allowance. I still cringe. During this time, I am also rearranging and styling my mother’s house.
I watched my mother dabble with different styles. I remember seeing her build a wall of mirrors (when it wasn’t stylish or trendy). The color contrasts she used, I’ve always loved. Even on a tight budget, she always made it work. I always say my interior design business started in her home. She would let me arrange the furniture, paint the walls, apply wallpaper, and pick out accents. So today, I am the owner of Elle Davis Design, LLC. A residential and commercial design studio based in Maryland but servicing the world wide web through our e-design services. I absolutely love designing. Don’t get me wrong, like any job, there are days that seem long and hard but the joy I get while designing is indescribable. Every now and then I will pull out the sewing machine and make an item, sew a curtain, or small wrap for myself. I am super excited to share my gifts and love for design with the world. I am so in love.
I am a firm believer in going after your dreams. No dream is too big. I worked for years behind a desk, dreaming of starting my design business. One day, I said a prayer and took a leap of faith and jumped. I am grateful to God for the opportunity.
Start that business you’ve always wanted, take the vacation you have been waiting on, and start the workout plan you have been dreading. You here this over and over and if it is one thing the pandemic has shown us all is, each day has it’s own challenges, time is not promised, and no day will be perfect to start. Search your heart, guard up your faith, make a plan, and act.
Our gifts are meant to be shared with the world.
Peace and love.
E.L.
