I am. There’s nothing else I can imagine myself doing. I’m constantly scheming ideas (mostly design related, but not all), so if I wasn’t doing interior design, I’d still be a business owner in some way. I always joke that I’m pretty unemployable at this point. I expect way too much flexibility and freedom, and I do try to give much of the same to my employees.

That said, some mornings when I get my coffee, I fantasize about trading jobs with the barista. That isn’t to say it wouldn’t come with its own set of challenges, but I loved being a barista and there was a simple art to it that I quite enjoyed. Even still, that fantasy arising does tend to be a sign that I need to change up what I’m doing in my own business. Maybe it’s a client that needs a gentle push or even letting go, a new personal project that needs starting, or just taking a long weekend.

The pandemic was something else entirely. At the beginning, I began applying for jobs for the first time in years. I was in a pretty rough patch, having just had a baby as well (P.S. You don’t get maternity leave when you’re your own boss). I wasn’t very busy and things weren’t seeming to pick up (while everyone around me in interior design was totally slammed with projects). I was discouraged, post-partum, between homes/in a rental we hated, and stuck at home all day with an infant. I felt I had no choice but to start looking into working for someone else. Though it wasn’t planned, it felt exciting. I really did feel a sense of freedom at the thought of it. That said, that job search never did move too far forward as I ended up signing a few big projects that I couldn’t pass up. Now I’m back at it, busier than ever and happy where I’m at. It did force me to look at some of the things that needed changing. For example, I learned that one of the major reasons I was starting to consider working for someone else (other than the pandemic) was that I was lonely. Now, I have an amazing team of people working with me regularly, including the best full-time assistant I could ever ask for. It has made a huge difference in my work life happiness.

Medsger Studio is now a full service interior design firm. While I have worked as an interior stylist, prop stylist, and tabletop stylist over the years alongside my interior design work, I’m now leaning whole-heartedly into solely interior design work. Interior design is honestly a super-saturated market and it’s helped me a lot having started in styling. Not only because of the contacts I’ve made, but I’ve also had the opportunity to see so many different spaces/project/homes, by so many different designers. Styling has also taught me how important the tiniest details are: the shapes and folds created by a blanket draped on the back of a chair or how a branch of leaves in a vase frames its surroundings.

The most rewarding projects I’ve worked on to date are definitely the cookbooks I’ve styled and hospitality/restaurant projects I’ve designed. I’m a host at heart and I think that is why I do all of this.

Treat your employees like you want to be treated. And remember, they don’t own the company. You do. So, be understanding with your expectations.