Attendee Profile: Julia Edelmann of Material Girls

I am thrilled to be a part of the only interior design blog powered by 5 practicing interior designers from across the country- Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and New York City- Material Girls. The blog, founded by Emily Johnston and Lauren Haskett, approached me in September of 2008 to act as a guest judge for the MG/Swank Lighting contest held by Material Girls. The contest required the creation of a glamorous interior for a favorite TV character, incorporating a pair of fabulous Swank lamps. The entries were unbelievably creative (an interior for Big Bird won!) and I had a blast judging it with my fellow judges – Karen Olivia, of design blog Alkemie, glass-blower Joe Cariati, and Doug Taylor of Swank Lighting. Soon after, Emily asked me to be the Chicago area contributor. Since then, I have blogged on everything from local design shops and spaces, iPhone apps, fashion design, hotel and restaurant design, Sex and the City interiors, and even that hot current kids’ trend, SillyBandz! I am completely visual in nature and I find myself constantly inspired by my surroundings whether it be colors, patterns, or textures, the latest fashion design, or the current trends in pop culture. Blogging has provided me with such a fantastic creative outlet for all these images I have percolating in my mind!

My current obsessions are the rooms I am designing for two local Showhouses, DreamHOME at the Merchandise Mart Chicago, and the Infant Welfare Society’s Lake Forest Showhouse & Gardens, which has been noted as one of the top 10 interior design Showhouses in the country. I feel so honored and excited to have been chosen by these two phenomenal organizations and hope to make them proud, while having a little fun along the way!

I can’t wait to meet my fellow design bloggers at the conference, and to learn some strategies for leveraging social media, as well as how to build my design business, Buckingham Interiors + Design. And, truth be told, many of them are so glamorous in their delivery and design execution that I just may learn a secret or two.