The Long Arc of Craft: Community, Creativity + Becoming
What Texas Taught Me About Design, Persistence, and Honoring the Journey
A moment of pause—where craft, presence, and experience meet.
Design, Community & the Quiet Power of Becoming
I recently spent three nights in Texas and returned home with something more valuable than inspiration—I returned with clarity.
Not the kind that comes from trend reports or showroom visits, but the kind that settles in when you witness people fully embodied in their craft. This short trip—moving between a small Texas town, a Michelin-starred restaurant in San Antonio, and a family graduation—became a reflection on design, creativity, persistence, and the long arc of becoming.
As an interior designer, I’m constantly thinking about how spaces shape our lives. This weekend reminded me that the most meaningful design—like the most meaningful work—is rooted in intention, patience, and connection.
Comfort, Texas: Small-Town Design That Centers Community
Hotel Giles : Comfort, TX
Friday night found me in Comfort, Texas, a small town filled with charm, art, and hospitality.
I was visiting my dear friend Cara Hines, owner of MixHaus Gallery and Hotel Giles—two spaces that feel deeply aligned with their surroundings. These aren’t places designed for spectacle; they’re designed for people. They serve the town. They hold stories. They invite you to stop and have countless conversations with the strangers that quickly become friends.
Community, conversation, and creativity at Mixhaus Gallery - Comfort, Tx
That evening, the community gathered for a casual happy hour with live music—singer-songwriters accompanied by guitar and trumpet. Nothing curated. Nothing performative. Just people showing up for one another.
It made me long for small-town community in a way that felt immediate and grounding.
From a design perspective, this is something I think about often:
The most successful spaces don’t impress, they welcome and nurture without saying a word.
Great interior design isn’t about excess. It’s about belonging.
San Antonio & Mixtli: Mastery Earned Through Devotion
Saturday night brought us to San Antonio—first to the historic Hotel Gunter, and then to Mixtli, the city’s only Michelin-star restaurant. Their current menu EL BAJIO AND THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS took us on a 9 course excursion using a creative blend of regionally sourced indigenous heirloom ingredients - authentically prepared into a full sensory experience.
The experience was unforgettable—not just for the food, but for the people behind it. One of Mixtli’s Executive Chefs, Rico Torres, is a childhood friend I hadn’t seen in 25 years.
A table set for story, sequence, and restraint.
When less reveals more.
To sit in a space created by someone from my early life—someone who stayed devoted to his craft and refined it over decades—was deeply moving. The meal unfolded like a narrative. Each course was intentional. Nothing unnecessary. Nothing rushed. Each chef beamed with the joy of the process as they put the finishing touches on every dish.
One course led to the next, with the story of each ingredient as special as the overall composition of the experience.
It was a powerful reminder that true mastery is quiet. Restrained. Earned.
Food and interior design share this truth: both are experiential. Both rely on sequencing, balance, and restraint. And both require discipline to make something feel effortless.
What often appears as “overnight success” is almost always the result of years of unseen work.
Hotel Gunter: Hospitality as Restoration
A corridor that understands pace, pattern, and pause.
During our stay in San Antonio, we checked into the newly remodeled Hotel Gunter, and it became a quiet home for the weekend.
The design doesn’t announce itself—it reveals itself slowly through proportion, materiality, and light.
Patterned carpet guides the halls with rhythm. Sculptural lighting softens transitions. In the guest rooms, layered materials and restrained palettes create a sense of calm rather than performance.
The finishes felt classic and rich with just the right amount of pattern, brass and marble.
It’s a space designed to hold you—between experiences, conversations, and days that carry emotional weight. Rest feels intentional here, balancing just the right amount of historical richness with modern flair.
As a designer, I pay close attention to how hotels make you feel once the door closes. The best ones regulate the nervous system and create room for reflection. Hotel Gunter does this well, honoring its history while quietly supporting modern life.
Creativity, Persistence & the Long Game of Design
As the weekend unfolded, a clear pattern emerged:
A gallery owner investing in community
A chef honoring heritage and craft
A town that shows up for itself
Spaces designed with purpose rather than trend
Creativity isn’t about constant reinvention. It’s about commitment.
In my own interior design work, I see this reflected in the most successful projects. The homes that feel the most aligned aren’t rushed. They evolve. They’re shaped through trust, collaboration, and time.
Design, like any meaningful creative pursuit, requires staying power.
A Graduation in San Antonio: Supporting the Next Chapter
On our final day, we attended my nephew’s college graduation from University of Texas at San Antonio’s health program.
Watching him close one chapter of his life and step into a future filled with possibility felt like the perfect bookend to the trip.
One chapter closing. Another just beginning.
Beginnings and endings existing side by side.
Mastery and becoming.
Legacy and potential.
It reinforced something I deeply believe as a designer:
Spaces matter at every stage of life.
Homes, schools, restaurants, and gathering places all influence how supported we feel when stepping into what’s next.
Designing Your Life, Not Just Your Space
It’s more about designing your life, not just your space.
This trip wasn’t really about Texas.
It was about honoring the long arc of a creative life. About staying devoted when the outcome isn’t immediate. About allowing passion to mature into mastery. About reflecting on conversations from 2009—when Cara longed to someday “own a hotel”—and witnessing that dream fully realized.
At its best, interior design is not separate from how we live. It’s a reflection of our values, our patience, and our intention.
Whether you’re designing a home, a business, or a life, there is beauty in the long game.
And there is deep satisfaction in becoming exactly who you were meant to be.