Color has always been my passion. I was first introduced to it by my favorite color connoisseur, my mother. It is to her that I dedicated my recently published, five-star rated book on color, When Glory Got Her Glow Back.

When Glory Got Her Glow Back

My mother influenced me in myriad wonderful ways. She was a registered dietitian, talented seamstress, public relations maven and fashionista who taught me about colors, fabrics and design at any early age. When I was six, I went alone by train to visit my grandmother. So that I would feel less alone on the journey, my mother created a beautiful dress for my doll—a dress that fashionably matched my own hand-sewn outfit. And every year, I would accompany my mother to the local fabric shop to select the patterns, colors and fabrics that were to become my new school wardrobe. Soon I was sewing my own clothes and learning the tips, tools and techniques of tailoring and fashion.

It was my passion for color, as well as my love of writing, that launched dual careers as a journalist and a design professional. Upon receiving a bachelor’s degree in interior design/related art, I moved to Chicago and served as an interior designer for the John M. Smythe furniture stores. While in Chicago, I parlayed my writing skills as an account executive with Daniel J. Edelman, an international public relations firm, where my accounts included Armour-Dial and Orville Redenbacher popcorn.

These dual careers led to my recruitment as Furnishings & Design editor and Senior Furnishings Editor of Better Homes & Gardens, a magazine division of Fortune 500 Meredith Corporation. After 13 years with Meredith, l was recruited as executive director for the National Symposium for Health Care Interior Design in San Francisco and editor of the association’s annual journal. It was here I learned about the effects of color on the health care environment. This had a profound effect on my passion for and understanding of color, and I began seriously researching the role color plays in our lives—physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Still enamored with the publishing world, I continued my editorial career soon after, serving as executive editor of Home magazine. Here, I began honing my skills as a “magazine doctor,” helping publishing companies reposition their magazines in a competitive marketplace. And in 1999 I launched my own award-winning magazine, Natural Home, now Natural Home and Gardens. As founding editor of the publication, I served as editor-in-chief and hosted “The Natural Home Radio Show,” which served a national eco-conscious audience. I also co-created the format for the HGTV/Discovery Channel’s “Healthy Home” television show with 40+ million viewers in the United States and Canada.

After selling my interest in the magazine, I was recruited as editorial director for the Healthy Lifestyles Group of Virginia-based Sabot Publishing. While managing one of four divisions of this $40 million publishing company, I also served as the editor-in-chief of Vegetarian Times and created a custom publishing arm of the corporation.

As a certified color and image consultant, my passion for color, style, design and writing serves me well as CEO and principal of LL Style Studio. Currently, I bring over 30 years of color and design experience to my image consulting firm. Here I draw on my love of color in all its forms to help women in transition create a signature style, a personal brand, which gives them the confidence and charisma needed to achieve optimum success. It’s a deeply rewarding–and colorful—business!