My friend is a Boston-based interior designer, product designer, and boutique co-owner who is originally from beautiful Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her name is Fernanda Bourlot and her company is called Simplemente Blanco and I just adore her aesthetic and everything about her handmade wares, made right here in New England (read my interview with her here if you’d like).

I recently asked her if she could share some advice for decor8 readers on the topic, What To Do When You Don’t Know What To Do and she gladly accepted. I’d like to share her insights with you today.

How did you find your calling in the world of art and design?

I just can speak by my own experience which is just mine, and I think it would be good not be taken as an exact science theorem for all the others goodness and safety! But what I think about all of this is that for me knowing what I wanted to do or to be was kind of clear because I always felt in my heart that art or design was my field. It was difficult in my society at those times to be able to follow that road because those kind of things were considered banal or hobbies. That is why I made the big mistake of trying to impress my parents saying that I was going to be a doctor. Obviously that was not my calling because the very first day at school at my first anatomy class I felt that I was going to die, so I went back home and said to my mother I am not going back there never ever more! Of course it was a big family drama. I was 18 years old at that point and that day I firmly decided: I am going to be what I want to be. Period.

The lesson behind this is never never do something that you do not want to do just follow you heart what you feel is right for you no matter what, no matter what others, including sometimes your parents, think or say.

How do you think others can find their calling?

The only way to find it is being very honest with yourself. I found it because I just knew that this is what I wanted to do and put my heart, my soul, and all my energy to make it happen knowing that there is always going to be a bumpy road but I made myself the promise that I am always going to fight it and keep going. I tried different things but always in the same field just to realize which were my strengths and my weak points and then tried to improve them. I think for others it’s helpful to write a short list of things you think you would like to do and get information on them, either reading or talking to people in these fields so you will start to get a sense about each and then you will naturally start seeing what you like more and what you are less interested in as you explore it. You can start repeating the process filtering IN the things you like and filtering OUT the ones you don’t until getting to that one that is the one you want to start trying in real life.

Thank you Fernanda for sharing your views with decor8 readers today!