Q&A with Grace Bonney

We're very excited to have Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge participate in our Q&A today. Bonney is in an elite class of phenomenal business women working in design. Her blog, Design*Sponge is one of the most popular and beloved by fans and is a daily must-read for thousands.As her bio reads, Bonney has worked as a contributing editor at Domino Magazine and CRAFT magazine, and as a freelancer with top publications like House and Garden, New York Home, Food and Wine, In Style, Better Homes and Gardens, New York Magazine, CITY Magazine, Time Out New York Kids, Architect, The New York Post, Everyday with Rachael Ray and others. In addition, she wrote a weekly design column for the Philadelphia Inquirer for two years and has worked as Style Editor of HGTV’s Ideas Magazine.

One of the things I admire most about Grace is that she wants to share her knowledge and works to bridge the communication between experienced talent in the biz with those just starting off. Check out her D*S Biz Lady Series. It's a national series of meet-ups for women running design-based businesses. Bonney hosts and speaks at these events designed to connect local designers and provide free advice on the subjects of PR/marketing, legal concerns, business/financial decisions and wholesaling. As her blog notes, Design*Sponge also hosts an annual D*S Scholarship to support up-and-coming art and design students. So far over $16,000 in prize money has been awarded to students across the country. Yay, Grace! Keep up the great work!

1. Name: Grace Bonney
2. Occupation: Founder and editor of Design*Sponge, a daily blog dedicated to all things home design.
3. Last purchase you made that is hanging on your wall? Last year when I was in Savannah, GA for our wedding I splurged on a hand-drawn "Shag Queen" (a southern beauty queen) portrait at shop SCAD by Stephanie Howard.
4. What's the item you've had the longest hanging on your wall? A painting of two bears on a black background by Marci Washington.
5. Favorite place to buy art? Etsy and small design shops (they always have good eyes/buyers). I like flea markets as well, but I tend to buy tiny pieces there (pocket-sized silhouettes, etc), rather than full-sized artwork.
6. Do you collect anything? I'm more of a hoarder-of fabrics. I don't have them organized, but if I could surround myself with fabric swatches I would.
7. Any advice for those exhibiting art in their homes? The thing I try to focus on is keeping art in proportion with walls. It always bums me out to come into a home and see a single tiny picture or painting on a huge open wall. I love groupings, or working with large-scale prints for larger walls. It makes a huge difference.

Photo: Anna Wolf