We recently connected with Kim Colwell and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Kim with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
My work ethic came from partially from family and partially from my background in Ballet.
My mother always worked hard. Even now she is always reinventing her version of the wheel and coming up with enterprising ways to live her life and keep moving the needle in her ever evolving career.
When my grandfather retired he became the president of the American Nut Grower’s society. Into his 80’s he never felt like he earned his relaxing time without setting up a day of at least one chore on his property which had a constant to do list.
My step father also considered running for mayor for the small town they moved to after retiring. I have never seen any of them slow down. It always seemed to me that their relationship with their work was complicated but also gave them an incredible amount of inner fulfillment. It seemed in everyone’s case that their motivation was to accomplish something for themselves that was more than the success measured by an on looker but something they needed to do for themselves at the core of who they were.
When I was 11 or 12 I began dancing ballet. I was a very late bloomer to the ballet world. Most start when they are half that age. My aunt had danced in the core of ABT, American Ballet Theater which I was awe struck by. It seemed so glamorous and bigger than life. I never had a ballet body but made my way into a small regional ballet company by 13. This led me to dance 5 hours a day, 6 days a week. Every day after school….even after school sports I trained and rehearsed into the evening.
Dancing meant everything to me. I felt alive. It taught me an inner strength and work ethic that stays with me today.
With everyone in my family ….including myself, the line has been blurred between hard work and tapping into a heart felt passion. Like any great love affair, this work ethic is sometimes invigorating and sometimes grueling…working well beyond exhaustion. At the core the drive makes me feel alive and gives me a purpose that has been fulfilling on a soulful level.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I have taken my formal and experiential education to develop my own process with interior design that I call transformative. Much of my life has been studying under the tutelage of my mother who combined her background as a sensory motor-integrative therapist, shaman, healer and master of permaculture, feng shui and cultural anthropology. After extending my education to include environmental psychology and all forms of art with a degree from NYU Tisch, my approach to interior design is one part bespoke and artful, one part therapeutic, and one part energetic healing.
This way of working has developed services that go beyond just full service residential and commercial interior design to include a full roster of wellness design consultations and workshops….as well as a certification feng shui class.
Connect with me at kimcolwelldesign.com
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey?
-Fine art – composing a balanced composition and adventurous sense of color.
-Study of psychology in design – understanding the complex relationship between your home and your inner world of emotions, thoughts and belief systems.
-Connected always to a sense of beginner’s mind, play and connection to nature.
What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey?
-Be your full self in your career. Find your voice and create your special way of working that only you could do.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Collaborations bring me such joy. Working in a team life setting ….each of us offering our special skill set and sensibility is wonderful.
I am presently looking for a marketing professional to partner with that can run our workshops or take a greater role in our design firm to explore new ventures.
Contact Info:
- Website: kimcolwelldesign.com
- Instagram: @kimcolwelldesign.com
- Linkedin: Kim Colwell Design
Image Credits
Photos by Jay Lawrence Goldman
