What Defines You? My Goals for 2014, Interior Design, Lizzie Velasquez and TED Talks

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How do you define yourself? What makes you who you are - both professionally and as an individual?


Why do we always need to place others in a box? It is as if there were an imaginary checklist we all had access to and felt the urge to go through each time we meet someone new.

Are you to be defined by only a few colors of the rainbow ..?

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or instead allow yourself to be immersed in any and every color that is within your reach?

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Before the end of 2013, after a year filled to the brim with many amazing and very fulfilling moments, I decided it was time to dedicate myself and my resources investing in a new website and a new reach of my business, Mehditash Design.

With this came many questions? What is the site for? How do I describe myself, and the value that I bring to my clients and their projects, in a few lines?

For those of you that read my blog regularly, you know that "a few lines" is really not my cup of tea!

1. Am I an Interior Designer? Yes!
2. Am I a Creative Consultant for other brands as well as individuals? Yes!
3. Am I a Public Speaker? Yes!
4. Am I a Blogger? Yes!..

so you get the idea..
Yes, I am all those things and much more. I am a mom, a wife, creative thinker, a woman, a friend, a business owner,.. Why do I need to describe myself in a way that fits into some one else's restricted view of who and what I am capable of bringing to the table?

Instead I prefer to be considered more of a kaleidoscope.. a unique mixture of colors and patterns that is ever changing and evolving and blending with its surrounds.. constantly adapting and morphing into exciting new shapes and patterns.

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This is true of my design and my visual aesthetic.
My of my design peers have a very distinct style. With a glance, we know immediately that the space was designed by them. I know that this makes perfect business sense - for within the overwhelming amount of creative teams to chose from a prospective client would immediately know to hire them if this was the look that they were hoping to achieve.

But instead, I just find that incredibly claustrophobic..

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and want to kick and scream my way out of that box at the thought of repeating the same pattern, wallpaper, or look that I had already created.

Each "design moment" is generated by a culmination of so many items lining up in perfect harmony with one another..

• The client,
• The space, 
• The family unit and how they wish to live in this space,
• The budget,
• and of course, although I hope to not design based on fleeting trends, the moment in time that each project is created is undoubtedly influenced by the latest collections and experiences that have shaped my selections.

This is MY VISUAL LANGUAGE. My Visual Voice. 
The unexpected. The unique. The untamed and unwavering enjoyment of creating a new and fresh experience with every new professional achievement.

Each year since beginning this blog, I have shared my wishes for the new year, (2011 & 2012) many of which have come true. Almost as if by putting it "out there" made it easier for me, for others, to help me reach my goals.

This year I decided to share my goals for 2014 once I had started the new year. Allowing myself, a few weeks of holiday and reflection to piece together the top 3 on the New Year's Wish List.
2013 had several highlights, but none greater than the many moments of giving back to the community that have always been an integral part of my business - in Portugal and now in New York.

1. This year, I hope to continue and expand on all the charity work that brought me so many moments of joy this year.
2. Expanding and Growing my design business with exciting new projects throughout the United States, while having my completed projects being published nationally and abroad.
3. Finally, I hope to spend much more time as a Speaker and Panel Moderator, especially on topics such as Social Media for Your Design Business, The Business of Interior Design, Life as a "Design Mom", and Harnessing Your "Visual Voice".

While reflecting, I came across this incredible woman - Lizzie Velasquez - and her journey in defining herself that I wanted to leave you with. Perhaps it will inspire you to share your goals for 2014.

Who knows, maybe one day, I may grace a TED Talk stage? .. A girl can dream, right?