What Can I say about HGTV?

During my time at the Art Institute of Tampa I haven’t really been a TV watcher. I do however remember watching HGTV before entering school and being inspired to become an interior designer. They gave me the complete wrong impression. They made interior design seem so easy…I was surprised when I began my first interior design project and it was nothing like how they did it on TV! The bits and pieces of HGTV that I have seen has never explained what interior design really is. I don’t remember them really getting into any type of evidence based design or even show progress or analysis of spaces. I appreciate the fact that HGTV introduced me to my awesome profession, I just wish that they could concentrate more on interior design philosophy to educate their viewers.

So Much To Do In The Next Five Years To Begin the Rest Of My Life...Thank You Ai Tampa.

Where do I see myself in five years?

A few months ago in my Career Development class we were told to create a database of companies that we are interested in working for. Guess what my first company listed on my database was? The Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center - CHECK! Been There Done That!



The internship position that I have been given has been wonderful. I have been helping the Artistic Director make design choices for the production of “La Traviata” which is set to show at the end of April. I have been in meetings with everyone involved, organized and ordered props and costumes, and seeing what it takes to create shows for theatre.
I love it. I love seeing how much fun all of the employees at the Straz are having as compared to other dull jobs that I have had. As the show approaches, my responsibilities become more and more interesting, and I can’t wait to see what my future at the Straz holds!



Helping choose the costumes for the Gypsies and going over sets in La Traviata!


Stage Plan for La Traviata by Peter Dean Beck


The Straz has given me tons of knowledge and I have created great contacts to help me out. I know that I will be happy with my career if I continue in the path that I am going.


On my company database which consists of 55 companies, about 1/2 of them are Entertainment/Theme Park/ Theatrical & Cinematic Design. One of them is ITEC Entertainment. They specialize in the master planning, creative design, development and delivery of projects for themed entertainment, recreation and leisure industries such as:

• Theme Parks
• Rides and Shows
• Resorts and Mixed Use Developments
• Water Parks
• Cultural Attractions
• Themed Retail
• Themed Food Service
• Entertainment Centers


Spiderman Ride At Islands of Adventure by ITEC Entertainment

Theres several other companies in my database like this that I would be happy to work for. This is the direction that I would like to head.

Where exactly am I going?

In 5 years time, I see myself progressing in entertainment design & learning new skills to make me the best designer I can be. I can see many challenges lying ahead of me, which I am eager to experience. Five years from now I want to be an expert in Entertainment/Theme Park/ Theatrical & Cinematic Design.

I have been a student at the Art Institute since the fall of 2005. I feel as though this school has been my second home over the past five years. During this time I have been able to understand what it takes and what is behind to be an interior designer. I have been coached and inspired by all of my professors and my peers. I am so glad that I made the decision to have interior design as my career of the future and I know that I will be happy designing spaces that can educate, impress and ENTERTAIN!

Sustainability Revealed

This youtube parody I highlighted above is a perfect example of green washing. Companies will do every little thing they can do to make themselves appear more environmentally conscious but when it comes right down to it the changing of a logo does very little to protect an oil spill.

Over the past five years while studying Interior Design at the Art Institute I have encountered one idea over and over again, this idea is sustainability. One key area of sustainability is proving and maintaining just how sustainable you are. This is often countered with green washing, which is where a company advertises that they are very environmentally conscious to millions with public advertising but then does very little in their actual business practices to back up this environmental consciousness. The U.S. Green Building Council is the non-profit organization that helps assure that buildings and companies are truly achieving sustainability. This is the organization that defines and upholds the LEED rating system which shows just how sustainable and “Green” a building or company really is. Unfortunately for a major television commercial or major print advertisement to appear in front of millions of people’s eyeballs it does not have to be LEED certified.

Cradle to cradle recycling is where you take a product and recycle it back to make the same material that you made before with the product. This provides the product with an endless life and instantly makes whatever product you are using much more sustainable. This process is excellently showcased in the nylon carpets of Shaw Carpets. They have a nylon factory in Georgia that is 100% sustainable and never needs to create new products because they only get their materials from previous carpets that are being recycled. This process creates a continuous cycle that eliminates the need for a landfill.

Sky's The Limit

Art & Design has played a crucial part in my life. I am and always have been intrigued by bold colors, beautiful interiors, fine works of art and great music. I encompass an appreciation for all types of artwork, even if I am not fond of it. By the time I was two years old I knew all of my colors and was constructing masterpieces with blocks. My family and I grew up with not much money so I learned to keep amused by drawing. My mother was my first art teacher. I thought that she was the greatest artist in the world. She taught me how to draw correct human anatomy (for a 4 year old). And by the time kindergarten came along I was the hub of attention during “drawing time” since I knew how to draw people and the other children didn’t.

My gift was not only in drawing, but pretty much anything that had to do with being creative. I loved going to school and playing with blocks with the boys instead of house with the girls. The blocks gave me more freedom to do what I wanted; build what I wanted. Throughout elementary school I won awards frequently for my artwork. I was named “Artist of the Week” several times, and received numerous other district art awards for children. Late in elementary school my parents purchased an alto saxophone for me. It became my life once I figured out how to play the notes. I invested a lot of my time and creativity into becoming a great sax musician. Unfortunately, one day I came home and my saxophone was missing. My parents had to sell it so that we could afford food. From then on my creativity went back to drawing.

By the time Junior High came around I found myself taking art very seriously and started researching and experimenting with different types of art and mediums. I figured out how to paint perfect portraits in 8th grade via acrylic paint on my own. Freshman year of high school I began taking art majors classes and realized actual competition in the forms of art; I was surrounded by other exceptionally talented artists. Being in that class made me realize what route I wanted my future to head. We were told to use mixed media to create a small Studio Apartment for a project. I used anything and everything that I could to create my studio and it came out amazing. It hit me that my real love was for beautiful interiors. It made sense thanks to building by means of blocks, arranging Barbie’s Dream home, and my love for colors and perfection. Senior year I participated in an extremely competitive college level art class and obtained 3 college credits. I also took Drafting 1, 2 & 3 and Architectural Design to help prepare for Interior Design. I also finished my senior year with two scholarships, both in art (2004!); which made my family proud. I was going to be the first to attend college and reach for the sky.

Summer 2004, my family and I moved from New Jersey to Tampa, a few days after my graduation date. I began searching for a job immediately and soon found that Rainbow Art & Design was hiring. I obtained an interview and brought my high school portfolio. I was given the opportunity to work with much older coworkers. I was fresh meat straight out of high school at the age of 18, and everyone I worked with was 30 and over. Rainbow Art was pretty fascinating; I learned tons of things. We did mass productions of acrylic paintings for sale in retail stores. However, I wasn’t allowed to be creative whatsoever. We had to duplicate paintings and it soon became dull to me.

Summer of 2005, I began my journey of becoming an Interior Designer at the Art Institute of Tampa. I didn’t realize how difficult it was going to be! I knew that I wanted to be an Interior Designer for a long time, but didn’t actually take into account exactly what INTERIOR DESIGN was. I met Tom Szumlic, (before he was the Director of Interior Design!) and really appreciated his way of thinking and opinions. He has had a huge role in molding me into the designer that I am today; he has always been there for me, with crazy insights and interesting-inspiring ways of putting things.

In 2007 I started working at State Farm with a temporary position entering data into Microsoft Excel. It’s now 2011, and I am still employed there, but am now the Director of Special Projects. I worked really hard to obtain my title there which has been centered around my creative strengths. I create and design tons of items for the office, plan & organize events, manage a huge database, and am also in charge of our social networking, among many other little things I do! With this job I have also been able to maintain above a 3.0 gpa at the Art Institute, which I am very proud of!

I can’t believe I am still typing! - I also can’t believe I am finishing school! I AM LESS THAN THREE MONTHS AWAY FROM A BFA IN INTERIOR DESIGN! WOOOOHOOO! I DID IT! I have had the craziest, most emotional, hardest time trying to obtain this degree! There has been tears, laughter, and anger! (Thanks Bill, lol) You can imagine how proud my parents are of me. I am the first to go to college and graduate with a degree in my family. I found my dream and have been working towards and molding it since I was young. I have seen my parents really, really, really struggle and know that I can’t be put into that position. I have too much creativity in my blood, too many minds to inspire, and way too many things to buy! haha! 

I am beginning an amazing internship at the David A. Straz Center for Performing Arts February 3rd, and I am overjoyed! I will be working under direct supervison of Eric Dillner, Artistic/Producing Director of In-House Productions. This internship is giving me a great step in the door to follow my ideal career path of using my interior design degree in entertainment. I have been inspired by Tim Burton & James Cameron and I would love to someday be a production designer! I want to be the person responsible for the overall look of an event such as films, tv programs or music videos. We will see. The sky’s the limit! Right? I think so.

My Definition of Interior Design

Interior Design is a multi-faceted, disciplined profession that requires specific schooling and formal training to be able to combine knowledge with aesthetic vision to create interior solutions that are safe, functional, attractive and enhance the quality of life and culture of the occupants using the space. Interior Designers follow a systematic and coordinated methodology to follow code and regulatory requirements, and encourage the principles of environmental sustainability.


In simpler words -
I am studying to become a design problem solver specializing in Interior Spaces to enhance the quality of life and culture of the occupants using the space.

Free to Design, Free to Whine!

Florida had one of the most restrictive laws in the country on interior design. Thanks to three whiny-lazy women & the Institute for Justice, I am now legally able to market & call myself an Interior Designer before I believe I am entitled to. I am graduating in three months and am extremely passionate about Interior Design; however I will not be calling myself one until I pass the NCIDQ exam in respect of the profession. The years of education I have gone through have made me realize just how important proper technique and knowledge are to Interior Design. It is not about picking color schemes and drapes but about creating functional solutions for interior space that are safe & enhance the quality of life for occupants while also being aesthetically pleasing. Do these women not understand the full job description? How dare they fight so that any person can call themselves an Interior Designer? Five years ago, before beginning my education at the Art Institute of Tampa I would have loved what the Institute for Justice was all about and would have been one of their biggest fans. I believed that Interior Design was going to be about colors and furniture, but was quickly smacked in the face with the realization that those are only a small percentage of what Interior Design is actually about. What I concluded however made me even more passionate about Interior Design because I saw that there was a REASON for doing it. Just about anyone actually licensed or with formal education in interior design realizes what a load of crap the Institute for Justice is. They claim to allow people to follow their dream but at the same time there has to be plateaus for people to reach in order to achieve their dreams or else anyone could go around claiming anything. If their dream is to truly become an interior designer then why shouldn’t they have to achieve these steps that thousands of designers have had to go through throughout the years? Licensed Interior Designers have a much greater appreciation for their titles and what it takes to create  interior spaces  because they have poured their blood, sweat, and tears into design and have put in the necessary hours of work to fully understood what the profession is all about. In conclusion I hope these ***** put more time and thought into their clients spaces, than they did obtaining their interior design titles.