Sarah Montgomery Lamps Plus DBC Scholarship WINNER

I come from an arts background, a textiles degree and a diverse career path that eventually led me to interior design. In the past ten years I have been an installation artist for retail stores, events and theater; teaching artist, and product designer in the bedding and soft home furnishings industry.

Over the past several years I became more intrigued by curating product rather than designing it. I had my apartment featured on Apartment Therapy and took on a few hobby clients. I knew I wanted to transition into interior design, but it was only in the summer of 2017 that I launched my business. I did it on my own by leveraging opportunities being in the industry as a vendor, connecting with other Chicago designers, listening to as many podcasts on the business of design that I could, honing in on my brand and starting a blog. I want my brand to attract other creatives and clients who want to build the story of their space with a love of color and pattern in the form of textiles, and by layering in the found, thrifted, heirloom and artisan. I believe the fun is in the mix and good design doesn’t have to be serious.

Originally I started my blog, checked it off my list and hoped it would help with SEO. It took me a few attempts to find my voice and was inspired to rename it Tuft and Tassel because 1) Alliteration, 2) Tassels are back and here to stay, 3) Tufting is a furniture technique, and 4) I really love animals, especially the fluffy ones. Showing my personality on social media was a new concept for me and I wanted to find a way to do it without being too serious. I started a series called House of Cutes where I design a room around an internet famous animal. I capture the personality and feel of the animal portrayed on social media and create a mood board and design a room plan with links to product. It’s been a really fun way for me to combine my two loves, design and animals and I’d like to continue in a way that features animals up for adoption. Other blog articles showcase trends in an accessible way and tackle interior design dilemmas in a smart but cheeky voice.

I’ve always loved writing and it was something I did a lot of as a child. I like to think writing is like design, it’s all about editing and I was so happy to discover it again. Besides a vacation from dreary Chicago winter and connecting with other designers, I hope to get some insight on where to focus my blog and how to make it a revenue stream for my business. As a new designer and blogger this is an amazing opportunity and I’m grateful to Lamps Plus and the DBC for having me!

Sarah