Meet Shaolin!

Hi Friends! I’m the founder and lead designer of Studio Shaolin. This is my first, of many to come, blog post and I’m so excited that you’re here! Welcome. We are a friendly, comfy, happy space, so I hope you enjoy reading all these posts as much as we enjoy making them. Our posts will be centered around all things design, but I thought it was important first to formally introduce myself and how I got here.

So, who am I? I’m a 30-something twin mom, interior designer. I found my way here through, in what some would call, an “unconventional” path. Let’s start at the beginning…

I was born in….okay wait, let’s fast forward a little bit….I grew up in Hawaii! Honolulu to be exact. I went to an all-girls Catholic school (shout out, Sacred Hearts Academy) that made me believe anything was possible (which, I still do). I took that attitude and went straight to London for my freshman year of college through Florida State University. After a year of traveling all over Europe, my world bursted open. I stared at the Mona Lisa, watched the pope canonize saints, ate so much paella my belly ached and toured many, many, many castles! I got the travel bug and made a pact with myself, that I would visit 30 countries by my 30th birthday, and I did! I stood atop Machu Picchu on my 30th Birthday in my 30th Country!

After the whirlwind of London, I came back to Florida, transferred to University of Florida and graduated with a degree in Public Relations. I convinced my college BFF to move to San Francisco with me. I took that famed “live once in Northern California, but leave before you get soft and live once in NYC, but leave before you get hard” to heart, and told myself I had two years in SF before hitting the big apple.

I worked for an awesome restaurant/hospitality firm in SF that taught me the ropes in client communication, expectations, hustle and how to produce an event. My first event ever was the first SF Chefs Food + Wine Festival! I know! It was an absolute dream come true.

After two years in SF, I bopped around a bit — had a stint in LA, the Philippines and Hong Kong, but found NYC calling my name and made my way there. I spent five years producing events for companies and people like Oprah, Instagram, Travel + Leisure Magazine, Absolut Vodka, the NFL, Microsoft and Samsung to name a few. I owe so much of who I am to these years I spent in Manhattan.

In 2016 I felt ready to take on a new chapter. I left my NYC life behind and traveled Asia for six months. I was so inspired by the cultural shifts, the food, the people and the colors. I recognized then that life is all about community and family, and decided to make my way back to Hawaii. 

Katen, at Bloom Again Design, who’s also my mom, was shifting her business and liquidating her home staging inventory. I decided to make the leap into home staging and hit the ground running. I founded Paper Town Home Staging in 2016 and started staging homes all over the island.

In 2018, I was totally surprised when we got pregnant with our identical twin girls. Home staging took a back seat and motherhood was in full force. I continued my career, but my new babies were my number one priority. I dived deep into the Montessori lifestyle, conscious parenting and the nuances of raising twins.

Then 2020 came along and the world as we knew it, shifted. I found myself asking the bigger questions “what makes me happy?” “what can I see myself doing for decades?” I dabbled in life coaching and learned about humans. It was absolutely fascinating, but I felt that my purpose was bigger. 

Throughout the years, I would work on design projects here and there, but never had the time to fully commit. Then, my girls turned two and another shift happened. The ambitious, driven woman I was before I became a mother showed up and met the patient, empathetic, kinder person I am now, and the two became friends. I felt whole again. That’s when I knew I was ready. I decided to take the full leap into design and haven’t looked back!

I’m so grateful to all of our amazing clients, and the fun projects we have coming up this year. I never take for granted the invitation I receive to become a part of people’s homes. In the next post, we will dive into how my design process works, my aesthetic and where I find inspiration (hint, those 30 countries play a role).

I’m so glad you’re here and I can’t wait to have you along for the ride!