30 Days About Me: Day 5

Day 05 — Your favorite quote

Hmm… now this one is a toughie in a sense that I don’t often refer to quotes, or think of them in my daily life. But if I had to pick one (which I do) I would chose:

“Only through imitation can we achieve originality.” - Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

I read this book I think in college, again to fulfill a reading requirement. I’m pretty certain I chose this book because it was short and involved a dog. Turns out, I really liked it. This book is a non-fiction work that follows John Steinbeck through a drive around the country.

I don’t remember where in the book this quote was, or what it was referring to. But I remember liking it. I like it because I feel like it directly relates to my line of work – Interior Design. In our industry, there is so much competition for the best design and honestly I feel that a lot of the top award winners have very similar designs – whatever the trend is. Everyone is imitating everyone else, but adding their own twist. Then sometimes, the twist really stands out and apart from the crowd. Initially there is imitation, but it leads to originality in a design. It has to start somewhere.