Kelly Wearstler has had a decades-long career as an interior designer. In addition to celebrity clients like Gwen Stefani and Cameron Diaz, Wearstler has its own product line and has designed hotels around the world.
In college, Wearstler studied interior design, architecture, and graphic design. Her awards include Architectural Digest’s AD100 and Time Magazine’s The Design 100, and she was the first interior designer to teach a masterclass.
But before founding her design studio in 1999, Wearstler supported herself and worked as a waitress to pay off her student loans. More than 20 years later, the 57-year-old South Carolina native credits her daily waiting tables with teaching her how to work with the diverse clientele she does today.
“It taught me how to be a good listener. I had to be a good listener. And I also had to know how to ask the right questions. Both go hand in hand,” Wearstler told CNBC Make It. “I was also very shy, but it allowed me to speak up. Every time I went to the table, I gave a speech and said, ‘Hello, I’m Kelly,’ so that really helped me.”
Wearstler says she doesn’t think the moments she creates for her clients’ designs are all that different from what they experienced when she was a waitress.
Your home is a place where you will always nurture. It’s important to be honest about your home.
kelly wearstler
interior designer
“I’m very sociable and I’m dedicated to taking care of people. I love giving them great experiences and that’s what I do now. It just happens to be visual and I’m not serving food,” she added.
During a panel discussion at SoFi’s first home financing event, “Designing the Future of Homeownership,” Wearstler said he believes being a great designer is all about knowing what happened in the past.
“To be a great designer, you have to know the history. It’s important to have a home that has an old soul and a new spirit. A home is a place that is always nurturing. It’s important to be authentic with your home,” she says.
“You have to ask yourself what is most important to you and make design choices that are truly personal to you.”
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