Founder & Editor Holly Becker, a freelance journalist and design consultant, launched decor8 in January 2006 long before design blogs became a trusted and popular source of information on the web. An established site known as a reliable design resource to over 35,000 readers daily, decor8 (a creative play on the word decorate) is dedicated to sharing honest opinions, fresh decorating ideas, beautiful interior spaces, independent art and design, products and services, and articles meant to inspire readers to live a more fulfilling, authentic and creative life.

The site is updated daily throughout the week and features a curated selection of design finds from sofas to stationery along with product reviews, reader discounts, contests, book reviews, interviews, store and home tours, do-it-yourself projects, and trade show coverage. Topics range from decorating to small business ownership, blogging and independent design — all meant to encourage and engage readers.

Holly is an American writer and interior design consultant/stylist who splits her time between her offices in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Hannover, Germany with her husband, Thorsten. Through extensive travel throughout North America and Europe along with working for major magazines and interacting with talented artists and designers worldwide each day, her catalog of finds documented on a daily basis keeps her closely tied into the field and allows her work as a design consultant and writer to remain fresh and creative with a global perspective.

In addition to decor8 and her design practice, Holly is a weekly columnist at Real Simple magazine online and she maintains a second blog, Haus Maus, where she documents her life as an expat. Holly also founded Blogging Your Way in February 2009, a series of online workshops that she instructs virtually for 200 students about creative blogging, writing from the heart, and making a blog and personal reflection of your own style and taste.

Holly has also worked for a number of top magazines, newspaper and television networks. Some of her most recent includes her work as a columnist for Domino magazine online (2006-2009), Cookie magazine online (2008-2009), and she was a bi-weekly columnist for the Boston Globe in their Style & Arts section reporting on design trends. She has worked on assignments for HGTV, HGTV Ideas magazine as a Style Editor, Boston magazine, Adorn and LUXX magazine in Singapore. She is currently in her third year as a columnist for Real Simple magazine online, a leading lifestyle and home magazine in the United States.

Holly has also been quoted and/or contributed to the following books, The Handmade Marketplace by Kari Chapin (2010), Appliqué Your Way by Kayte Terry (2009), Blogging For Bliss by Tara Frey (2009), Little Stitches by Amy Butler (2008), and Creatively Self-Employed by Kristen Fischer (2007).

Holly’s passion for design began early: When she was growing up in South Carolina’s low country, her mother never knew where she would move the furniture next since she often rearranged rooms in the family home. Her talented and energetic mother introduced her to decorating, crafting, and DIY projects at a very young age and taught her domestic skills like sewing, floral design, decorating, landscaping, gardening, organizing and how to run a small business and she regularly accompanied her to garden shops and flea markets. Her family instilled in her an entrepreneurial spirit, a passion for creating things by hand, a reverence for nature, and a keen interest in decorating and nature. Coming from a family of designers, artists, writers and musicians it was no surprise when Holly gravitated towards writing and design as a career path.

During a decade-long stint in the corporate world at two of the nation’s top finance and investments firms, she worked primarily in human resources where she managed office space redesigns, international and domestic relocation, and large-scale building projects alongside a team of architects and designers. She also led volunteer efforts for various nonprofit organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity and Project Bread, headed up home-renovation teams, organized park clean-ups, and pounded nails at home-construction sites in Boston where she and her family relocated when she was a teenager.

Through this work, the encouragement of her peers and family, a formal education in Business and Marketing, and more recently her Interior Design coursework, Holly realized her twin passions: decorating and writing. Combining client consultations with design writing is the perfect mix and allows her the freedom to work remotely, maintain close contact with clients and friends, and connects her with creative types worldwide on a daily basis.

Holly is an experienced public speaker and teacher. If you would like to book her for a speaking engagement, teaching opportunity, or for an interview, please use this form.

Leslie Shewring is a current guest writer on decor8 authoring a monthly column, Color Me Pretty, which focuses on color palettes and inspirational photography. Leslie is a former product designer based in Los Angeles, California. Originally from Canada, Leslie relocated to the United States to earn a degree in interior design and then went on to complete a Masters of Architecture. Immediately after finishing school she had the opportunity to team up with a manufacturing and distributing company. In collaboration with them Leslie developed, designed and handled packaging direction for many products sold in major retailers in North America. After stepping away from her job to raise her two small children, Leslie currently accepts small design projects and is finding new creative passion in photography and styling. In addition to her “Color Me Pretty” column on decor8, you can find Leslie blogging on her own site, A Creative Mint.

If you would like to follow Leslie’s column, you may view her most recent posts here.