stop start

nine months isn't long to live in a place. that's how long i was in greenville, sc. time doesn't always matter, though - some things just work regardless. what worked was the work, what worked was the people. i did interior design - something i always loved and thought i could do, but had never done before. but seriously, when has that ever been a real issue?

it was a small firm - three (four including our manager) designers. one, i later discovered, was in a wedding with my sister in gainesville, fl, years ago. they share a close friend. weird crazy. the other, our token guy, now lives in nyc. i really must visit. then there's our manager. she is from paris and has lived in the states (including arkansas) since the 60's. you would never know it. john was convinced for the first week that my name was hazer because of how coco introduced me. "zees eez our new designer - hazer" he still calls me that.

what i didn't know, walking into the situation, is that the owners were close to retirement. i started in october, the outlook turned bleak in november. this was not to be a long-term gig for reasons i couldn't anticipate. what i also didn't know is that this little group of people, as it happens, is a long-term gig. lucky me.

i had had the privilege of working with some wonderful clients. i worked on a 100-year old house in historic spartanburg, i worked on a log home with a two-story wall of windows overlooking a lake (in the fall, no less - it was almost too beautiful to bear), i worked on a mountainside home just over the north carolina border. somehow, i got the special ones.

my favorite was in greenville proper. this family, an obstetrician and her husband, asked me to de-90's their brick home. i had designed drapes and window treatments for her and was in the process of re-imagining the entry way without the giant brass octopus of a chandelier. we had a comprehensive plan for the rest of the living areas. from design to installation, window treatments can take upwards of 8 weeks to complete - especially when you use a very good, very busy workroom. many things can happen in eight weeks. businesses can go under, marriages can unravel, friends can emerge in the unlikeliest circumstances. it all happened.

when i left at the end of march (saw what was happening, didn't want to get dragged under), i decided to start my own design business. the good doctor told me that she would follow me to my new business, that she would be my first client. i am ever grateful for her confidence in me. i spent the month of april temping with a local builder and starting new things. john had also left for a new start-up firm in greenville. we still visited and discussed our plans for a call-in radio show. listeners would email floorplans and pictures of their spaces and we would give them on-the-spot fixes for their design problems. "design diagnosis" was to be the name of our show. we were also in development on our confederate barbie doll. i still think of her longingly...

bzzzzzzzzzzzt. so here i am. john moved to new york and now sustains a commuter marriage - his wife is still in greenville. coco and kristin started their own design firm once the other closed for good last june. i'm expecting their new letterhead in the mail any day now. they are so excited as they trudge through this dire economy, even knowing this might be a skinny year. my doctor client is now their client. she's in very good hands. i sent my good wishes to her via kristin yesterday morning. her husband has lost his job. still, they have moved forward with the plans - my plans and theirs - to reimagine their space. kristin says, a year in, they are still thrilled with what i'd done and that they ask about me regularly. coco told them at the beginning that, working with them, i would make their house a home. i always thought that was a high compliment. i started it and my friends will see it through.

i'm toying with the idea of doing design work here. still sussing the market to see what's established and where i can fit in. ok then - ready, set, start...