A conversation with Kelle Dame, the creative mind behind Kelle Dame Interiors

How did you get started as an interior designer?

I guess you could say I knew at a very young age what I wanted to do. It started with dollhouses and then my own room which practically changed with the seasons.

As I worked my way through school towards a degree in fine arts, I helped my bosses on the side with their homes and office renovations.

You know what they say, first comes love then comes marriage, then comes baby in a baby carriage.....for us, then came our first house and our first major renovation. I was hooked. So at the age of 28, about two years after quitting my job as a paralegal to stay home with my daughter, I decided to make a go at my own little design business. I mean, I wasn't making any money staying at home so why not try making a little money doing what I love?

I started small. Working on decor for friends, designing interiors for some local small businesses, and just jumping in wherever I could. I was hungry for opportunities to meet people, get to know them, and see how I could help make their world more beautiful and hopefully make life and the experience of home more special along the way.

What is your favorite part of this profession?

My favorite part of this profession is getting to know people. To be a matchmaker and translator of sorts. I listen, absorb, pick up on tiny details that tell me about a client's style and taste. Then, it's all about translating their stories, their journeys, and loves into inhabitable compositions that reflect their lives. I love to be a matchmaker between clients and artists and even helping clients to create their own art. I witness transformations not only in environments but with people as they discover new things and learn more about themselves throughout the process. It's the getting to know people, the connection, the growth, and the transformations that make my job so rewarding.

What role do you think art plays in a room?

Art is what speaks for us. It adds energy, story, and life to our walls. Art can say a lot about us to others. Most importantly, it can reflect back to us what we most want or need to feel.

What is your recommendation for someone who doesn’t know what type of art they’re looking for?

When a client or friend doesn't know what type of art they like I look to the clues that lie in their personal style or find examples of artists with subject matter that reflects a meaningful experience they told me about or a person they admire or a place that inspires them. I also take cues from the colors and patterns they have a strong, positive response to in our meetings to determine what artist their taste might align with. Sometimes an artist has a mission statement that I know the client will identify with or feel empowered by. Those are awesome connections and end up speaking loudest for the client about who they are what matters to them.

Let’s chat about our collaboration – what drew you to the pieces and colorways?

I love the elegance of the silhouettes and the fluid lines of the curvy feminine form. The shapes are soft and the movement of lines is calming. The colors represent all the beautiful undertones of every beautiful skin color there is. The colors are a celebration of femininity and diversity. Honoring and reflecting on the purpose and influences that our differences can have in our lives. I also make it a point to surround myself and my daughter with images of real female bodies instead of idealized and manipulated forms or images. I want her to see and know that the definition of beauty has nothing to do with size, color, or shape.

For the new collector, how would you style these pieces in your home?

Most people think that nudes or pieces that expose the human body belong in more private areas, like bedrooms or bathrooms. I think they belong wherever you want them. Wherever they can be most appreciated and wherever they can continually send you the messages you want to hear. There are no rules. In fact, if someone says "you shouldn't" that's the first clue that you should. Take the leap, be daring, do what you want in your own home. I gave my friends a fair warning that my home is not kid-friendly. If they still choose to send their kids to my house, that's on them. There are boobies and swear words....that's life. I never censored myself in front of my daughter and she gets when things are appropriate and when they aren't. It's not about "don't look at that" it's about "what do you see? and "it's ok to feel weird at first, it's natural, it's life. It's what we look like. It's what you will look like. It's beautiful, it's not sexual, it's human. Get used to it and react the way you want to, not the way society thinks you SHOULD react to it.

I'll probably style with more feminine colors, feminine forms, and balance with a few masculine touches. Like, wood tones, masculine scents, maybe throw in some more gender-neutral colors like greens and blues. I'm not afraid to be overly feminine because that's what I like. The world tries to tell us that femininity, girliness, and softness is weakness, silly, or immature. I say femininity and its expression to the fullest extent that represents each individual is strength - certainly because it's not the norm- and because in our society, it still comes at a great cost.

What do you think makes Elisa Valenti Studio different from other art on the market?

What makes the work of Elisa Valenti Studio different from other work on the market is her bold and honest portrayal of the real feminine form. Her message is clear and filled with love. Something that women have needed more for themselves for quite some time now. The fact that you have to click "I am enough" to enter her site, says it all. That was my first "YESSSS!!" in seeing myself and my own message in her work.

It's all about messaging and imagery to me and being aware of what I'm feeding myself and her as well. It's like choosing a healthy image diet. I know through social media and other outlets she's being fed all kinds of makeup tutorials for how to make your skin look "perfect" or "make your eyes look bigger" I know that the majority of messages my daughter receives outside this household and outside of my influence are messages about how she could/should change herself with "helpful tips" and "tricks to look this way" or "fix this problem" and "minimize this problem" so I feel it's my responsibility, as a woman and as her mother, knowing the internal dialogue those messages can create, to counteract them with positive messages of her being beautiful as is, and by taking care of and loving myself as best as I can as an example.

I watch my words. I don't degrade myself or pick at myself because I don't want her to think that it's normal for women to pick at everything about themselves that isn't "perfect". I don't want my outer dialogue influencing any sort of negative inner dialogue.

I remember becoming aware of how much energy all that picking, all that worrying, all that perfectionism sucked out of my day and when I decided I had had enough. I realized that's what is meant to hold women back, to occupy our minds with things that attack our self-esteem and confidence and eat away at our self-worth. It's on purpose. It's to distract and hold us down. I decided not to let that be the case for myself and especially not for her.

I surround her with images of women loving themselves, in all their natural beauty, as is, knowing they are enough and worthy. I reinforce that her body is hers and that she is under no obligation to perform acts to please others with it, not even hugs if she doesn't have the natural inclination to do so. She's under no obligation to shave her armpits, shave her legs, or do anything else with her body that is frankly no one else's business. Should anyone choose to make her body, her appearance, their business, in a negative way or to use it to determine her worth, we talk about how to handle that and what priority to give those people in our lives. She's already fierce. She's already stronger in her self image than I was.

Want to learn more about Kelle or book a consultation with her? Email KelleDame@gmail.com or visit her website