Susan Davis Taylor

Designer

I grew up in a very creative household. My father was a contractor and the director of design and construction for Rutgers university. My mother was a draftsman who made my clothes and dolls when I was young, re-caned our chairs, made our drapes and duvets and recovered our furniture. I was raised in Westfield, New Jersey which is 20 miles from Manhattan. My father built part of our home with his own two hands. My mother made crafts with me, taught me how to paint, knit, needlepoint, sew, create and how to be an entrepreneur. I sold my handmade Christmas ornaments door to door in my neighborhood growing up. At home we listened to big band jazz and made things. I left home at the age of 17, and then began the adventure of my life which has had many chapters, including graduating from Rutgers with a BA in Art History and Archaeology, doing fieldwork at the Roman Coliseum, and studying applied ecology in New Foundland. I moved to San Francisco after graduation and worked for Esprit Corporate in its heyday, and then on to marketing at Pineridge winery in Napa. I traveled the world, sometimes with my family, other times alone and sometimes with dear friends. I moved to NYC and spent 10 years working for Internet start-ups in marketing and then business development - iVillage and The Knot. I went through two very exciting IPO’s. After the tragedy of September 11th my husband went to business school at Georgetown and ultimately decided he wanted to move to LA and become a film writer. I had dreams of becoming an interior designer so we packed up NYC and moved to LA. I started over at 34. I began my career in design running errands and filing fabric samples for Kelly Wearstler. I had my first job at 12 and am a very hard worker. I know that’s were the reward comes from. From there I worked for various designers, made a million mistakes and learned so much. As my confidence grew I started taking on projects. 5 years ago I went out on my own after what I consider 12 years of education by trial and error. I love what I do, I get to be creative in new ways all the time, I’m never bored, I’m resourceful and committed to finding a solution for every problem I spend 9 months of the year in California, and I spend 3 months of the year traveling abroad and back east to be with family. I am incredibly organized and work ahead of schedule at all times. My time away is an extremely restorative period for me, and the reset I need to be successful. Living in Los Angeles is taxing, even though I love it. I am committed to my work, my family and to my lifestyle. In my work, I use well-made, high-quality furniture, craftsmanship and fabrics because I want the pieces to last a very long time. I don’t believe in a disposable society. I am committed to making everything in Los Angeles, because it is important to me to support my community. In my life, I know that I deserve to be a sane person. I know that I need down time and time away to be sane, so I take it. Not because I am spoiled, but because I value my existence as a happy person with a balanced life. Every person deserves this. I choose to live simply so that I can travel, and spend as much time with my family as possible. We all choose how to allocate our resources, and I choose to use mine for exploring the world, being with family and giving back because that is what makes me happy. My life is luxurious, but not in the way most people see luxury. It is luxurious because I have freedom, and for me, freedom is wealth.

Art, Interior Design, Architecture, Travel, Instigating Change, Learning

Listening

Parallel parking