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  • “I just added you to speed dial.” – Claire W., New York, NY
    “The Design at Your Doorstep dossier? My friends are still drooling." – Brooke S., Vancouver, BC
    “You just saved me three months of agony and a whole lot of heartache. And probably my head of hair. Thank you." – Alexander N., Toronto, ON

    • Manifest
    • Design 101
  • I design for the senses. The eyes AND the ears. Here are just a few of my client's inspirations.

  • Previously:

    • Rock Your Rental ~ The Uphill Climb
    • Rock Your Rental ~ From Frustration to Inspiration
    • Rental Purgatory, You Say?
    • Are You Ready? I’m About to Rock Your Rental
    • Holla. A Little on the Madness that was March. Er, Winter.
    • ‘Decorating’ & Unraveling the Cringe Factor
    • The Dichotomy of Design
    • Jack Move
    • Style vs. Substance
    • I See Music – Kashmir
   

Press

 
[Show as slideshow]
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In addition to having kick-ass clients (truly, the best ever), I was invited to be a part of the bi-annual CRAVE Toronto: The Urban Girl’s Manifesto, First Edition, which officially launched May 5th. Want a copy? Feel free to drop me a line.

CRAVE Toronto is a celebration of local women entrepreneurs that showcases some of the most creative, interesting, and gutsy proprietors throughout the greater Toronto area.

Shots of the CRAVE book above by Jason Matos Photo.

In addition to being included in the book, I’ve been named one of Toronto’s fav Interior Designers by CRAVE.


CRAVE also hit me up for some de-cluttering advice right before the book launch. Instead of encouraging you to buy more stuff to corral more stuff essentially helping you with your more-stuff problem, I named the elephant in the room and suggested the obvious: stop buying more stuff. Uh, novel.

I had the distinct pleasure of being interviewed by the visionary coach Abby Kerr over at Abby Kerr Ink. Abby writes for and about kind, cool people who do brilliant, niche-y, quietly sublime things in the world. Ethos-altering entrepreneurial things. Enterprise-that-makes-the-right-people-slow-down-and-take-notice type things. Abby helps you reinvent your concept of work to shape it into an extension of the essential you. Also? She’s gorgeous. Hello.

We jammed about the exploratory phase of the entrepreneurial journey, why I wrote my design manifesto, my advice for choosing and working with a creative professional, and advice for the times when you feel “non-believe-y” about creative work. It’s been generating a ton of buzz on twitter. Check it out for yourself.

My I See Music series is also making a bit of a splash.


Over at the freshly re-launched Jack Move mag, I wax poetic about Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, desire, music as a powerful mistress, and get a little naughty with the imagery.

I also take you on a musical magic carpet ride as I explain how to SEE music with my ‘When in Doubt, Just Hit Play’ post. Go on; try it for yourself. It’s a trip.


Like a breath of fresh air, Breezy Mama (I know, groan) is a hotbed of advice for even hotter baby mamas. Featuring stylish tips, tricks, and how-to’s, Breezy Mama hit me up for advice on how to make the bedroom sexy. A fun read when you need a quick afternoon pick-me-up. Or when there’s, you know, something on your mind.

If you’re looking for more tips and tricks, pop on over to Jacks and Jills. I give you the lowdown on how to Design with the Senses. Hint: there’s a little bit of feel good goin’ on.


I shared my dream interior over at Staci Edwards Design blog. Based in Oakville, Ontario, Staci creates timeless, fresh interiors and blogs about design and stylish living. I offered up a dark, smoldering, sexy look as my fav. And I cheated. I couldn’t choose just one. Have a peek.

Over at What’s Up Whimsy, I talk about what it means to have Fever.

Over at How To Get A Grip, I give bachelors some trouble (BIG trouble) over the state of their space.

I was interviewed over at My Colleges and Careers on how my education has affected my career. Have a peak.


Perhaps my most fun request to date, I was asked by the Divatastic Natalie Peluso over at Sing Your Truth to be a part of her site launch. Natalie created her now-famous Fearless Karaoke event and I’m in the video. Seriously; it a must-watch. BEST.TIME.EVER. You can also watch it over on YouTube if you prefer.

Remember W Network’s The Decorating Challenge television series? It reached cult status several years ago and I was fortunate enough to be invited to join the roster of designers turning the “OMG” into the “ahhh”. The first episode featured me turning a, “can’t-think-of-what-to-do-with-it-so-we-ignore-it-except-it’s-a-great-spot-to-put-the-kitty-litter” kind of room to a sexy entertaining area that’s both a bar and a reading area. The second episode had me jazzing up a plain-jane bedroom into a glamorous haven for a teenaged jewellery designer. Have a closer look above to find out which room was featured in The Decorating Challenge best-of book.

I speak regularly to first and second year Interior Decorating students at Humber College. They call it, “A Day in the Life”. I call it, “How to be Your Best Self and Create Kick-Ass Work”. Same diff.

I’m also on the Advisory Board for Humber College’s Interior Decorating Diploma curriculum. We brainstorm. We jam. We agree. We argue. The goal is figure out how best to prepare graduates for the real world and how to keep the program on the cutting edge of the industry. Now how cool is that?!

If you’re still feeling unsure (really?!), have a look at what these formerly skeptical clients had to say:

“Erica is immensely insightful, provocative and thoughtful. She has the gift of grasping your thoughts, then envisioning and projecting them into your life. Truly irreplaceable.”
- A., Calgary, AB

“The Design at Your Doorstep box? My friends are still drooling.”
- B., Vancouver, BC

“I’ve never worked with a designer before but Erica made it effortless. Everything was spelled out for me so all I had to do was follow the directions and I had a totally new space. I highly recommend her.”
- A., Chicago, IL

“Amazing, amazing, amazing. I LOVE it. I never could have done this myself. Never. I feel like I’m living in an entirely different home – a home that finally feels like ME.”
- M., Toronto, ON

“This is beyond my wildest dreams…you looked into my soul…I need to collect myself. I will get back with a proper response once I can stop drooling on my keyboard… Wow!”
- R., London, ON

All I had to do was be myself and suddenly everything I wanted and needed showed up on the doorstep. I was so excited when it arrived I actually did a little jig.”
- L., Miami, FL

“Erica was a pleasure to work with. I knew my office needed some serious reorganization and redecoration, but I really wasn’t sure what I wanted. Through a few short conversations, Erica asked some key questions and was able to design a plan that completely suited my needs and my style.”
- L., London, ON

“Mind-blowing. That is all.”
- N., Seattle, WA

 
By Erica Swanson.   April 23, 2010. Posted in .   Comments (1)
 

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  1. By Creative Solopreneur Podcast: Erica Swanson | Support, Inspiration, & Resources for Creative Entrepreneurs - SEO Copywriting - Naturally Niche-y Marketing - Vision Coaching for Creative Entrepreneurs on December 8, 2010 at 10:14 am

    [...] Erica’s Crave Toronto feature [...]

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