About the Artist… Paula Albinson
My home is my sanctuary. Every time I rearrange a room or buy a new accessory, especially pillows, the room takes on a new look and a new personality. Over the 20 years I was an interior designer, I created a wide range of projects from remodels to simply updating a room with paint, relocating furniture and placing new accessories. The room updates were some of my favorite projects because I saw the space visually change in a very short time; with the client enthusiastic that her house truly became her home. With the home feeling more hospitable and friendly there was more entertaining of friends and family.
(727) 289-3480
Pillow Galleria is proudly
located in the Old Historic Northeast District of
St. Petersburg, Florida.
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Color and design influences
Both color and design influences can come from nature, newspaper editorials, magazines and putting together a grouping of fabrics that will work together; and from there I edit until a group of fabrics have been put together that express what I want the design to convey.
Books
I am a non-fiction reader. I enjoy political and spiritual development books. Yes, what a combination!! One keeps me connected to the world and the other connected to myself.
Words to live by
Gratitude and Faith
Previous lives
When I was a stewardess, yes...that far back...I lived in Paris for a month and flew to the French speaking parts of Africa. I felt at one with Paris and had a connection that I had lived there in another life....a true Francophile!
Hometown
I was born in a small (population 5,000) town in southern Minnesota. We lived in a farming community where we ate what we produced. Roles for men and women were pretty well defined with men making the living and women taking care of the home...cooking and sewing. I loved sewing and taking unfashionable clothes, redesigning them and proudly wearing them to school...a budding designer.
How do you get your creativity and how do you know if the pillow design is the right one?
This is a good question because there is not one formula. Most people are linear thinkers which is a straight line pattern of thinking. If you are a designer you must be a circular thinker meaning if you change one design idea in the circle of your decisions, your entire project will change. This drives most people to a glass of wine or two. I begin with many fabrics, trimmings and designs then continue to cull them until I have a design, fabrics and trimmings I really like. I put all of these selections together, let them "marinate" for a few days. When the final design feels right to the soul....I move on to the next step.
Childhood influences
Definitely my Aunt Sophie. She was a liberated woman far before the rest of her peers. She schooled at Columbia University, traveled Europe, rode horses and taught English and grammar to high school students. Sophie built her own home and it felt like European magic when you entered the front door. From her Christmas holidays, cooking dinners and back yard flower displays....she was my design mentor.
What kind of design do you like…what are favorite things in your home?
I am a collector. If I find an item I love, I don't worry whether or not it fits in my home because it always finds a place if it truly beats with my heart and soul. This is what eclectic styling is all about...things you love together each with a separate message as to why it was chosen.
Home is where the heart is. Let your imagination run wild...remember, love is in the details!