Each month, Megan of all moxie inc, who heads up our site updates, assigns each of us on the Nate Berkus staff a blog topic and due date. This month she emailed me my topic of "Show Us Your..." along with her usual sweet but direct reminder of the due date (Megan's southern so she does sweet, yet direct, like only a southern woman can do). I'm guessing she expected me to share the pic of the lamp I just found at the flea market or my collection of vintage boxes. But, because it's my blog and you, like Megan, award creativity I thought I'd show you something far more personal--my process. Process is not something you can reach out and touch, like the grain of the wood table I just hauled home or the fabric from my line that I chose for my family room sofa (promise I'll share that before & after next time!).
Process is far less tangible but no less important. In fact, as creative as I am, I'm a creature of habit. I've carried out the same process for every project I've done since I was 12 years old and moved myself into our basement. It's a process that's anchored by one central organizational item, the list. I start it Day 1 of any new project and watch as it grows longer and longer until it spills over the pages of an entire notebook. At first it's just gut instinct ideas for the space, but then it becomes a checklist of "high lacquer the bookcases, find a sconce for the master bedroom, have Kelly order my favorite jute rug from my line, set aside time for a buying trip in Michigan to find the fireplace mantel." I'm a list-maker and, one by one, I indoctrinate the people on my team into list-takers. We're like an army of well-styled individuals, moving room to room in a space with notepads and pens poised, adding to our already too-long to-do lists. The reason I'm a fan of the list is because, even when it's long, you can see what you've already accomplished with each black line on the paper. Leaf through a good checklist once and you get a read of where you stand in your timeline. So, when I started designing my office line of products (check them out at Target!) I put lists at the top of the list. Now, we show up to client meetings holding our Nate Berkus clipfolios (Kelly says it's her favorite by the way) ready, willing and able to cross another successful project off the list.
