We’re continuing our “Meet The Team” series with Crista, our Studio Administrator. Find out a little more about her below!

First things first. How did you get started in the interior design world? What sparked your interest in the business?

I started as a client of Southern Studio. I enjoyed the whole process and working with everyone on the team, so when I found out there was an opening I knew I wanted to join the team. 

Give us a peak into what your career before Southern Studio. How your past work connect with what you do now?

Before staying home with my children, I was a research scientist. I worked on the Human Genome Project, Infectious Diseases and then later in the area of Metabolic Disease. The attention to detail, organization and trouble shooting needed to create and run experiments in a lab are the same skills needed to take a design all the way to installation in a client’s home.   

Your responsibilities at the studio are:

I am responsible for the daily operations of the studio, which includes accounting and human resource duties, as well as placing all orders and reviewing acknowledgements. 

What do you enjoy most about your job?

The people – The people I work with, the people that we design for, the people that we buy from, the people that deliver our product. I love installations too! Seeing the finished product and how all of the pieces come together to create a beautiful space is quite satisfying.

What’s your morning routine?

I get up at 5:30am to run with my dog, Riggins. I love running in the morning because I already feel so accomplished and my day has barely begun. I usually see my son for a few minutes before I head out. I have to stretch when I get home so I try to catch the news and then I get ready for work and head out by 8:00am. If it’s a really good day I  have thrown in a load of laundry and started the dishwasher on my way out!

What’s currently sitting on your nightstand?

Lotion, a candle and books. Right now, I am reading The Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu.

Your design style in three words:

Comfortable, functional and collected.

Describe your dream home…

Anywhere my family can gather…a villa in Tuscany or a lake house close by as long as it’s filled with family and friends and designed by Southern Studio. Then it’s my dream home! 

If you could have lunch with anyone, who would it be, where would you go, and what would you order?

I am very fond of this question … I answered it once in an interview and my answer is what got me the job. I wonder what I will get this time…right now, I would love to have lunch at the Willow Inn on Lummi Island with the chef Blaine Wetzel, and I would eat what ever he was serving. I love food!