There is a path for everyone.
Meditation opened the door to changing the way I do business. I started my design company more than 20 years ago.
Growing up along the countryside, I spent most of my time surrounded by nature, beautiful colors and unique architecture. We owned a property on Lake Ontario, named Mexico Point, now a state park (an upcoming article and documentary coming in near future). The painting made for us by famous artist, Severin Bischof, depicted the beautiful greenery, grounds and the quaint cottage. It hung in our living room through my childhood and into my college years. I didn’t know then the impact the property would have on my life, but it unexpectedly and surprisingly continues to play an important role.
I use to draw a lot as a child, it was a hobby and then when I went off to college, I started a degree in fashion design. Those of you who follow my articles know I took a detour in my studies, changing degrees and starting my career on Wall Street. My passion for creating stayed with me over the years and when I retired from my job in commodities, it was my intuition that guided me to combine accumulated knowledge in business with my longtime passion for art and creating. In 2002 my design company was formed, Michele Marano & Associates.
I started out by collecting unique pieces of art and architectural decor. I met a designer from Monterrey, who joined projects with me and she and her husband would bring me hand picked pieces on their travels home. I ended with a garage full of art from San Miguel and aged rustic columns and wood architectural decor from Mexico. Later, I met a vendor in Houston whose frequented travels to Europe expanded my collection to French antiques.
In 2005, I decide to go back and take interior design classes, 15 years after I graduated, but after a couple of semesters, I realized I was paying for something I already had. I didn’t need another degree to support my designs, I just needed to design. Backed by solid knowledge in business, I bought real estate of my own, instead of waiting to do a clients house. I would showcase my talent in the renovations, creating beautiful interiors, one by one. Each home sold quickly.
The very beginning of most of my articles, I will describe my childhood years, working on Wall Street and the beauty of noticing things along the way that have inspired me. Perception can change everything. Each stage in my life is significant to my designs, including The Marano Bag, a tote bag created in memory of special places. From the countryside of upstate New York to New England, inspiration was the foundation of creating the tote. The bag was symbolic to places I lived that impacted me. County club preppy madras plaid and seersucker line each bag, symbolic of my life in Greenwich and Westport Connecticut. The exterior of the bag was made from a burlap coffee sack, raw material repurposed into a tote, recollecting my childhood memories surrounded by the beauty of nature and the quaintness of Mexico Point. Each bag was different, imperfect but beautifully crafted, just like imperfections that make nature seem so perfect. Each bag had its own flaws but they were unique and trendy. I started by making a few and then they became popular, later being sold by Williams Sonoma.
Not only is an emphasis placed on what my company’s services are about, the client relationship, the processes, but also the inspiration drawn from each situation, the means of reaching goals together. This explains why several times a year, I offer tours to Round Top, Texas, an inspirational trip. My goal is to enlighten clients, take time to delve into the meaning of creativity, design and artistry, accentuating our senses along the way, being inspired by nature.
Design through Inspiration is what I talk a lot about but what does that mean? In the process of creating, redesigning a home, the client’s input is paramount through inspiration and conceptual interests. What I do is somewhat different because I use inspiration as a tool, allowing the client to participate, listening to their ideas and then bringing the ideas to life. I discuss this in my videos on Instagram. Often, I ask how the client is feeling with certain colors, sometimes there are memories we want to project, feelings of a place or special pieces that create a certain warmth. I look for expressions, emotions, and reactions to our discussions and through this inspiration process I am hoping to capture the client. It’s as though I’m writing a documentary. There are a lot of questions, some directed at the home and some are not. Through our senses alone, the creative process guides us in directions that give us ideas and from there, the creations begin.
Our Round Top, Texas Inspirational tours begin in October. The tours are booked in advance and they only are available during the schedule show dates. Call for details.