We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kate Dawson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kate below.

Hi Kate, thanks for joining us today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

My entire career as a designer/decorator was an accident. People have told me my entire life that I should do this, but my heart was in the performing arts for many many years… and so it just wasn’t something I’d ever seriously considered. But after my son was born, and we moved to the burbs, I grew more and more disenchanted with the life of a performer. And I really wanted to have some time to just be a mom. However… life doesn’t often go as planned. We were hit with a devastating financial loss that completely changed the life we thought we had created. It was one of the hardest times of our life, and while I experienced a great deal of sadness and disillusionment, I really didn’t have time to lick my wounds. We needed income, and we needed it asap. So on a lark I signed up to sell skincare online. And while it certainly wasn’t my dream to do that, I really learned A LOT about myself during that time. Mostly I learned that I could, and WAS running a business. I also joined a lot of Women’s Entrepreneur Groups as I started on this new quest. And I found myself surrounded by amazing and supportive women who were really all about building each other up. In one of these groups I met a woman who has since become a dear friend. She sold jewelry, and so we decided to host a party to tell people about our products. We’d only been living in this apartment for a few months when she came over for the first time… sadly we had lost our dream house when all of the sh*t came down on us, but I had done my best to create a beautiful home for us, even though it was small and less than ideal. But when she walked in, she went on and on about how beautiful the space was. She asked me, “who decorated this place?” And I answered immediately saying, “I did… with the help of TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, and Craig’s List” – she looked at me and said, “Can I hire you do my home office?” And look… I needed income, so I immediately said YES! A few weeks later, I did the whole room – and then posted pictures online, and people just went kinda crazy for them! And that’s how it started! It has been an amazing ride… and a completely unplanned and unexpected career that has brought me more consistent creative fulfillment than I ever had as a performer.

Kate, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My background is a long twisting road of all kinds of things… but they all have one thing in common… CREATING. I am a creative down to the deepest level of myself. For many years I pursued theatre and worked professionally for about 11 years as an actor/singer. I love performing, but I often felt creatively stifled. Some roles were juicy and exciting and interesting, but some were just not that interesting to me. I wanted to create and tell stories that resonate and bring people together. So I started writing… I took an 8 week course with Julia Cameron (The Artist’s Way), and realized I had a show in me. For about 9 months I got to work… and created my one woman show “The A***hole in My Head” – yes, you read that correctly! (I love cursing… as you may have noticed). The show was an exploration of that voice my head that is so often unkind. That voice that criticizes and demoralizes you. The show turned into a dialogue between me and the a***hole… we talked, we sang (I had a friend play “me” offstage), we fought, we laughed… and overall found peace through music and storytelling. I performed that off and on for a couple years, and then I got pregnant! As a woman who was preparing for motherhood I found myself thinking about my dear cousin Jill who had lost her life to breast cancer as a young Mom. I wanted to do something to honor her, but also create something that mothers and children could bond over. For me, nothing does that more than music. So I found a partner and we co-created “OVER THE MOON: The Broadway Lullaby Project” (available on amazon). It comes in 2 formats… as a double CD, and also as an illustrated children’s book with a CD in the back cover. ALL of the artists involved were Broadway peeps. And we ended up with some absolutely amazing performers, songs, and artists that still blows my mind. During this time, I was also working as an Executive Assistant at a Fortune 500 company. It was a great gig that taught me SO MUCH… and allowed me the time and flexibility to create projects like my show, and the Lullaby project. But as I prepared for Motherhood, I knew I wanted to have more time to be a Mom. I bounced around to a couple other executive assistant roles… thinking maybe I just needed a new job to inspire me… but they didn’t. And so when we finally made the move to the burbs, I focused on creating a home we loved! And I took a little administrative jobs in town while I figured out what was next. But it was not a lot in terms of income, or creativity… but then all that sh*t went down – that I mentioned above – and I very quickly had to figure out how to bring in some money. ~ As I said above, this was really one of the hardest times in my life… I struggled with depression and anxiety and really dived into some books and meditation and therapy to try to figure out how to manage all these feelings… one of the things that brought me comfort during this time was making our little rental apartment beautiful. And I did it on the cheap… and WOW did it make a difference. And so when I did my friend’s apartment and posted the pics… and then started taking on new projects, I was amazed at how many clients would tell me how creating this space for themselves and really changed their lives. I knew this was true for me, but I came to realize that this is true for EVERYONE! Our surroundings affect our well-being! And by creating a space that reflects you, your family, your needs, and your story – I could help people heal their lives. There is so much tension in so many homes – I wanted to create spaces that felt like a hug when the client’s came home. And it can be done at an affordable price, and one room at a time… it’s possible to create your dream home one room at a time. And that has become my mission… to create beautiful homes that surround my clients with beauty, love, and laughter. And to do it at an affordable price!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Life has thrown many unexpected curves at us… it does this to everyone! What I have learned is that the story isn’t over. That life will continue to throw curveballs… but I have always done my best to create something with the pain and frustrations I have felt at different times in my life. Yes, I get mad, and discouraged, and cry over disappointments… but I also never give up. My entire business was born from a devastating loss.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is to bring more beauty, love and laughter into the world. And I want people to express themselves through their homes too! I want people to realize that their home can (and should) be their haven.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.decorwhore.com
• Instagram: @KateTheDecorWhore
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KateTheDecorWh0re

Image Credits
Pictures of me: Carley Storm