"everyone's life can use a little zhush..."
Sue de Chiara
I'm so happy to have Sue de Chiara as my Fabulous Friend on Friday this week! Former attorney, Sue is the editor of the successful lifestyle and design blog, "The Zhush". Sue began blogging in 2009, while renovating her home. It was a way to document all the great photos and ideas, she found while working on her own project. Sue had always wanted to open a shop, so once the blog was born, the shop was the a natural progression and the rest is history. I have followed Sue's blog for a couple of years and through exchanged comments, felt as though I knew her, but didn't actually meet Sue until blogfest2012 at the Kips Bay House Kickoff party. It's hard not to miss, someone who has the looks of a super model and a beautiful smile to match! It was like meeting an old friend, I had known for years. While we were in NYC, in May, we got a sneak peek at the HGTV magazine spread on Sue's home. You can read about it on her blog here. We were all so excited over the feature! It was like coming full circle for Sue. The house that was the reason, behind the blog, was now a feature! Just goes to show what hard work and passion sprinkled with lots of talent can do! If you aren't familiar with Sue's blog or shop make sure you pop over for a visit, just you might discover the meaning behind the name, "The Zhush!"
Sue relaxing in her home, which was featured in HGTV magazine
Sue was so kind to grant me a little Q & A! Enjoy!
1) Can you tell me a little about your summer routine?
I LOVE my summer routine, as it's so much easier. My daughters attend a four week sleepaway camp for the first half of camp and then when they get back, they will be joining my son at a local day camp for the second half of the summer. There is even a bus! So for me, there is faaar less driving and planning. No sports practice, karate, tutoring etc. and a lot less play dates. We all pretty much just get to chill which is great. And, I literally only fill up my car with gas about every 12 days, as opposed to during the school year, which is about every five days. Even the weekends are so much more relaxed, with lots of down time and family time. I love summer!
The "warehouse" for the store is a converted storage room in our finished basement. Some of the items, like the monogram ones come straight from the manufacturer, so things tend to ship from a few different locales. I hope to one day have a brick and mortar shop as well.
I love sourcing and finding new items to sell. I also love it when the new items come in for the first time, so exciting. Also, positive customer feedback and blogger highlights just make my whole day, if not week!
I grew up not too far from where I live now. A suburb of NYC about 50 miles from here. A small town called Suffern, NY. I have one younger brother, Steven. He is married to Shelly.
Here's a secret that only my closest friends and family know...I really have very very wavy/curly frizzy hair. I go to enormous lengths to be a straight hair girl. Japanese, Brazilian, hair irons, you name it, I've done it. I could have a blog on this topic alone!:)
I hope you enjoyed reading about Sue today!
Make sure to visit her and frequent her shop!
The Zhush on Facebook
The Zhush on Twitter
(photos from The Zhush)
