Amanda’s Story

The decision to change takes courage. It requires faith and a willingness to let go. I’m often awed by ESD’s clients. By contacting ESD they have looked at their home or business and imagined something different. They are dreamers like me, imagining a better place. They open up their home or shell of an office space and show us places where they spend significant parts of their lives. It strikes me that in order to do that, there has to be a willingness to embrace vulnerability; to put faith and trust in someone else. ESD’s clients put that faith and trust in Keri and me to turn their dreams into a reality.

Yes the decision to make a change takes courage, and if you met me a year ago, you would have met a completely different 39 year old woman; one that was a bit lacking in courage of any kind. On the surface, all was done right – summa cum laude in college, law school, a master’s degree from UC’s School of Pharmacy, and all the right titles on the resume. I was working at what should have been my “dream job”. Having been a patient at a children’s hospital at the formative age of 13, I was living my destiny. The script I was reading from told me of course I should be giving my everything – and I do mean everything – to the type of institution that miraculously healed me almost 30 years ago. I had a handle on it. I had it all, or so I thought.

Underneath that outward appearance was a woman “white knuckling” it, living an inauthentic life. Still I pressed on until my body started to betray me. Ironically, I was crossing the street at work, (perhaps to get to the other side), when my good luck ran out (or perhaps started?).

I won’t go into the details of my months as a professional patient. Suffice it to say, circumstances were such that there was no other choice but to let go of one dream and start another. The universe blessed me with Keri. Being one of my closest friends for years, she noticed I wasn’t living my authentic truth, but didn’t reject or judge me. She just patiently waited. She’d often ask me to help her with design projects, or just tell me about them over a cup of coffee. She didn’t need the help, but as a true friend, she knew I needed a creative outlet. When my body finally started to protest the unfulfilling job I was doing, she was there to pull me up and out. It is a testament to the person she is that she was willing to lift as she climbed. She was a newer business owner herself, and dealing with a family illness in her own household.

While my reflex has always been to hold on tight, I found courage by letting go. Keri and I freed ourselves of that “truth” that you should never go into business with a friend. In doing so, it amazes us everyday how our dreams have been realized. As the tide continues to gently push me back to the shore of being the authentic parent, wife, friend, professional, I was always supposed to be, our business flourishes. The beauty of ESD is we get the privilege of helping people realize their style aesthetic – from rustic industrial, to modern minimalist, or cool traditional with loads of indigo – it is a dream realized to be able to bring our client’s goals and visions to life, and walk the journey with a friend like Keri.