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About Me
 Hi! I’m Renate.
I thought I’d introduce myself so you can put a face to my name. Also, I’d like you to meet some of the VIPs in my life – this is my darling husband, Duncan, and my niece Franziska.
Duncan is the most un-geeky mathematician I have ever met, and Franziska … oh, you know how your family’s kids are always the loveliest in the neighborhood!
If You Have a Dream,
Don't Wait.
I went to Design School at a stage in life when most people get ready to become grandparents: I was well into my 40s when I decided to quit a secure, lifetime (English teaching) job in Germany to pursue my lifelong love of beautiful interiors, crafts, and textiles.
It was a now-or-never leap in the dark.
A few weeks after handing in my resignation, I watched an amazing guy called Duncan saunter into my life. And he made his native London sound so fabulous that it didn't take me very long to make up my mind and pack my bags.
I started working as a temporary secretary and translator in offices around the city, and went moonlighting as a design student in evening and weekend classes at the University to fill my application portfolio.
Here are a few snippets from it:
Dreams Come True, Part I
When I finally put my application in, one of the top design schools in the country offered me a place on their BA (Hons) course in Design/Textile Design. (Whoa!)
 So I went back to school, with fantastically talented people who were at least 20 years younger than me (and I was shaking in my boots!)
Chelsea College of Art & Design is part of the University of the Arts in London, and an amazing place - a talent hothouse where the teachers are all practicing, cutting-edge designers.
I reckon the three years on that course took about 20 years off my brain.
I went from being a notorious listmaker and thinker-abouter to thinking with my hands. It was quite scary and great fun. Okay, the fun part took some getting used to ('What do you mean, have fun at work? This is serious! If I mess it up, then what?').
Well, erm, I did see the light ... eventually. Here's some 'post-revolution' work:
During the second year I was invited to spend a two-month internship designing quilts for an interior furnishings company in New Delhi.
Working in India – and living with ‘real people’, not in hotels - had been one of my big, big dreams. I have always loved traveling – I’ve lived and studied in the USA, Spain, and Mexico, and worked as a translator in several European countries and in Australia. I'd never been to India, and it was one of the highlights of my course.
Here are some of my quilt designs:
Result...
At 48, I graduated with a BA (Hons) in Design (with First Class Honours).
International Textiles Magazine featured my work twice (843/2005 and 848/2005).
One of my research papers (about a 16th-century Mughal hunting coat, would you believe) is now in the study library of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
US fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg bought part of my all-white exam collection.
After graduating, I spent a few months as Designer in Residence at Amagansett Applied Arts, a college on Long Island, NY, to explore new design ideas and come up with a ‘battle plan’ for the future.
"The biggest mistake people make in life
is not making a living at doing what they most enjoy."
Malcolm S. Forbes (1919-1990)
I didn’t want another nine-to-five job. I didn’t want to work for a boss, or even be someone’s boss.
What I really wanted was to keep developing creative ideas and provide them directly to people who can use them – like you.
Dreams Come True, Part II
That’s how come I started this website.
I was very lucky to find a Canadian company called
Site Build It,
who provide me with everything I need to build the site myself (and dare I say it, for less than a dollar a day!). I can’t recommend them highly enough – have a look at these
case studies
of normal people like you and me who have built successful web businesses with SBI.
Or, if you'd rather watch than read,
click on this little TV screen,
sit back, and enjoy the show-and-tell. (I do love some of the short videos included here.)
I’m growing the site very slowly – I want to provide you with quality information, and a lot of research goes into every page. But I have plans for loads of articles, e-courses, ideas books and craft patterns you’ll find here in the future. So …
… check in from time to time to see what’s on offer!
Better still, subscribe to my blog through the RSS feed - that way you'll automatically stay updated whenever I change or add something to the site (and you needn't leave your contact details with me). If you're not sure what an RSS feed is, click on 'What's an RSS feed?' in the button box under the navigation bar - you'll find the instructions there.
Or, you could decide to receive my new free e-zine, Dream Home News, just launched on January 1, 2008. It'll keep you supplied with fresh home decorating inspiration year-round.
Also,
I'd really love to hear from you
with any comments about this site. Let me know if there’s anything you would like to see more of, anything you think could be added or done differently.
Your contribution will be much appreciated!
And … whatever it is you’re up to, I wish you the best of luck.
Kind regards,
Renate Hering-Shepherd
If you have a dream ...
... don't wait.
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