June’s member spotlight: our very own Chapter President, Julie Schuster. Julie has had her own company for about 12 years, and also worked for a boutique design firm for a couple years before taking the leap to start her own company. She is a self-proclaimed career changer, and actually started off as a retail store fashion buyer, and then a fashion designer.

Julie chose to go back to design school at NYSID after her time in fashion, as she saw the process of both roles was to have a vision and see it come to life. She was drawn to interior design after creating her own home here in New York, and found that after her career in clothing design, the creative part of interior design really spoke to her.

What Julie loves most about this line of work is that each day is different. She holds the freedom to carve the exact type of career she wants. Having worked at supervising teams of people in the past, she understands that management is NOT the creative part, and intends to focus on keeping her firm boutique-sized so she can work directly with her clients.

Her favorite part of the job is actually the job site! That is where Julie finds that the magic happens. “There is nothing like having a vision, planning it, drawing and sourcing it—and then going to the site and seeing it fully realized. It still gives me chills when it all comes together,” says Julie. When asked what propelled her to be president of our chapter, Julie said that, like many things in life, it did not come to her as a fully fleshed out plan of action. She joined NKBA Manhattan as a member, with no plan to do more than enjoy the chapter and its events and activities. Over time, she realized NKBA had contributed so much to her career that she wanted to get more involved. Going from a committee member, to a committee chair, then to a board position in Programs and now as President, has truly been an evolution.

Julie’s advice to us all: “Enjoy the process, whenever possible. Don’t rush to get to the final goal—it’s always takes time. And if you can find fulfillment in all of the steps you need to go through, then every day of the learning, experiencing process can be exciting and joyful. Breathe… smile… and move ahead.”