We’ve been over what design is, and what senoj means but who is finding and writing this stuff? I am. Hi, my name is Hanna Jones (Hanna like piranha not Hannah like banana). Here is a little bit about me and why this blog has taken shape, form, personality, and a life:

I was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1982, the year that Strawberry Shortcake, Smurfs, My Little Pony, BMX Bikes, Trivial Pursuit and ET ruled the world (www.pop-culture.us…check yours out, you know you want to). When I was two, my family and I moved to Fairhope, Alabama. It is here that I would ride my first bike, have “my” first dog (Sparkle Moon I Love You Buttermilk Jones), develop my first crush, and looking back- where I would fall in love with architecture.

In 1994, we moved from the sunny gulf coast shores of the southernmost tip of Alabama to the opposite side of the world — Oregon. My dad wanted to “retire” to grow grapes and make wine (www.abacela.com- some of the best stuff on earth) and so he did, and so we followed. Oregon was like a whole new world; there were no accents, they told ME I talked funny, they all wore flannel, there was no large body of water outside my window, it was cold, I couldn’t find any okra or grits, and it rained this sad depressive cry ALL WINTER LONG! However, there is always a silver lining and in this case it showed its lustrous skin by no humidity, no fire ants, no alligators or moccasins, no hurricanes, and a more laid back conglomeration of personalities. And the vineyard land was beautiful…

I went to junior high and high school right outside of Roseburg OR, did the usual stuff of volleyball, basketball, track, had a horse, had sleepovers, first kiss behind the band room, loathed Econ, and kept up the grades and generally speaking enjoyed life (as much as a teenager does). Then came college. I was a Duck, am a Duck, and always will be a Duck. The University of Oregon became my home for the next 4 years and almost every department I thought was my calling. I was an Exercise and Movement Science major, then Biology, Journalism, touched on English Literature, debated Pre-Law and then walked through Straub Hall and declared Psychology as my educational love. I sincerely enjoyed studying psych and think that honestly everyone on this planet could benefit from a few courses on development, awareness and social implication (*Note: will be saved for another time) and finished out my undergrad at U of O getting a BS in Psychology with an minor in English Lit (just could not let that one go, so minored instead).

Design and Architecture? Where did they come in? Well if you remember back when I was reminiscing of Alabama, I mentioned that is where looking back I fell in love with Architecture. I used to spend as much time as my attention-deficit mind would let me by drawing floor plan after floor plan on my chalk board. Later when we moved to Oregon, I was mesmerized by the blue prints when we were building our house, and we built it sustainably with passive solar which only served to pique my interest further in the subject. After college, I jet-setted to Europe to get my last kinks out before the real world and could stare at the buildings and parks for hours and simply be content. I was in love.

After a stint being a server, social worker, and marketing and PR rep I decided nothing that I had done or was doing was making my gears turn. I wanted to be stoked about something that I was going to be doing for the rest of my life and design/architecture was screaming my name at the top of its lungs. So I enrolled at PCC in the Interior Design program, doubled up on a majority of the architecture courses and am so very happy I did. Long story short…I was once a kid, grew up, went to school, changed my mind….then smiled. I have never been happier than I am now touching materials, CAD’ing for hours on end with no break, pulling my hair out because I cannot seem to get the extra 4″ needed to make a room code then laughing out loud because I managed to find it, smelling freshly printed blue prints, reveling in the use of line and repetition, making a contribution to sustainability, and eventually seeing the smile on my clients face when they love their house that I was privileged enough to help them make a home. This is why I do what I do and why I want to share what makes me smile. Because frankly, smiling is always a good thing.