Desk: Lissa Lowe, of spruce [decor]
Late last week, we received an email from the lovely Lissa Lowe, congratulating us on our recent appearance in “Stationery Trends” (thank you, we are very honored and excited!) and passing along a wealth of information about herself and her desk. We quickly read her email, moved on to her blog… and boy are we impressed!! For those of you who don’t know her, Lissa Lowe is a decorator, founder of Spruce [décor], and author of a blog by the same name… and that’s just the beginning. A former global advertising maven turned décorista, she blogs to share design finds, entertaining dish, DIY ideas and Midwest musings; she podcasts and consults about décor and branding. Lissa’s knack for blending vintage and new with a smidgen of kitsch is apparent in her desk and supports her self-appointed classification of “style mixologist”. She’s a mommy by day, and at night she designs, blogs, facebooks, and twitters. Taking a brief break from all of that, she sat down and shared with us about her desk.
The Desk: bedford project table from pottery barn. depending on my whim, i can sit or stand there. also, my studio functions as a guest room, so this set up saves space and stores a ton too.
Chair: emeco-inspired brushed aluminum barstool along with a handmade 1970s floral print pillow
Paper: stacks of eco-jot journals
Calendar: crazily, my head
Clock: my beat-up seiko wristwatch
Charging: i’ll admit it – i use extension cords. they are REALLY ugly, even though i try to pretty them up by tying off the excess with colorful grosgrain ribbon. atop my desk, i keep my trusty Mac, iPod and media card reader.
Lamp: vintage find. i love to imagine where this task lamp has been and what life tinkered around it.
The Little Things: aahhh – the soul of my desk. i have a little pink porcelain dish that i picked up years ago in paris (i daydream of living there for a spell); it holds seashells my three year old, charlie, recently collected. dylan’s candy bar container filled with clear push pins. white leather frame of my son as a wee babe (he’s so darn smiley!) and a photo of my mom, my muse, a few months before she left this earth. a kitschy flea market “objet d’art” of a hand with painted-on jewelry; ikea ceramic pot with flowering plant to give the room vitality; handcrafted address file; black licorice altoids container repurposed for rubber bands; handmade clay heart that spells “l o v e” (since i left my heart in san francisco… and met my hubby there); witty devotional candles (e.g., “our lady of perpetual paycheck”, “protection from crisis queens”, “abundant true love”); tiny canvas i painted; pin cushion with vintage daisy pin that reminds me of my grandmother – stuff that makes me happy!
Inspiration: travel (near and far), photography, street art and books, books, books
‘thank you’: i often make my own cards (it’s the crafty girl in me), but i also have a big card stash that includes the likes of whitney english, carrot & stick press, kate spade, hello! lucky, jack & lulu, egg press, paper and cup and even the $1 bin at target
Flat Note or Folded: usually flat.
Organization: file folders and binders galore.
Handwritten or Emailed: i prefer to pen a handwritten note.
Book: i recently visited the greenbrier (before it sold), a decorator’s dream envisioned by dorothy draper. right now, i’m fancying her book “decorating is fun!”, published in 1939.
Color: honestly, pink (hence, the little pink porcelain dish on my desk). unfortunately, my hubby isn’t the biggest fan, so i’d have to say greens like lime, pear, moss, emerald, mint, spruce…
Magazine: i’m a self-professed magazine junkie. it stems from my days as an ad girl. domino (sign, miss it), elle décor, house beautiful, living etc, food & wine, all the marthas, us weekly – i crave these and more!
Stationery: i swoon for letterpress, but i think there is some great hand-screened work out there
Planning: sadly, none.
Business: after spending my career in global advertising (lastly at apple computer), i moved to the midwest to start a family. restlessness set in and soon a colorful new gig emerged: spruce [décor], my decorating/home styling business and blog.
Lissa also shared some more about herself:
i grew up in the south where i developed a fondness for sweet tea, country ham and homemade biscuits. after spending my college years in chapel hill, i sought greener pastures… and found them in the wacky but wondrousworld of global advertising. a few years ago, you could have found me at apple computer, where i had the good fortune of spending my days around iPods, iTunes and Macs. in late 2005, i traded my post as senior worldwide advertising manager to move from san francisco to cleveland to become a mom. after two years, restlessness set it. i yearned for a creative outlet beyond daily crayons and finger paints. so, what was this girl to do? become a WAHM (also known in mommy circles as work-at-home mom). after this epiphany, i promptly morphed into decorator and blogger with my colorful new gig, spruce [décor]. it is here where i decorate lovely spaces, share oh-so-many things décor and muse about life in the midwest. but, my passion is note without purpose. since giving back is a part of my dna, i donate life-giving trees on behalf of my clients in memory of my mom, a fantastic diy decorator and my muse. she’ll forever be a part of this earth and the carolina blue sky.
Thank you, Lissa, for contacting us and sharing about your passions, career and desk. We truly enjoyed learning about you!
For more information about Lissa, please visit her blog or twitter account, or send her an email. Her work can also be seen at Fuss Frocks.
Do you have a darling desk? We are currently looking for bloggers/designers/stationers extraordinaire to highlight in our “Desk” feature. Email us at whitneyenglish@yahoo.com if you’d like to share a photo of your desk with us, or to suggest other blog topics and ideas. As always, you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter to get updates on new designs, warehouse sales, and industry events (such as the upcoming National Stationery Show in New York City).
