The following year Bryan and I got married and I moved to Memphis. In Memphis I took a job with another large firm and there was another game changer, my boss liked me. It was the first time in my career I didn't feel like I was just producing something, or trying to be relevant, or dying to be creative. This guy hired me to be creative, asked me what I thought about things, and appreciated when I worked Saturdays. It was a change of pace I so desperately needed and one major factor in why I am still in this industry today (because I really have tried to bail a million times:)
That all being said, the new job was still, and probably more so, a man's world. And ladies, it's not right, but it just is. My approach to dealing with that was just to consume knowledge. I learned how to put a set of construction drawings together front to back by myself, I could detail a load bearing wall, I became LEED accredited, and NCIDQ certified. I needed to prove I could do more than pick paint and fabrics and that interior design was not an afterthought and most importantly, not a "girl's job".
Three years later I headed to Boston with a full portfolio, feeling very empowered (maybe a little too empowered!)...and then the 2009 recession happened. More on that to come...
^^^Our sweet, little first house in Memphis^^^
And HERE is a hilarious article written by the Commercial Appeal where I question how my husband survived the first few years of being married to me.