Jess Chamberlain is a freelance design & lifestyle writer/editor/curator specializing in eco-friendly innovations, artisanal products, West Coast makers, and people living in unconventional environments. Fascinated by human nature, Jess is always on the hunt for people with unique and inspiring stories, believing strongly in the power of reporting and the responsibility of journalists to inspire smarter, healthier, low-impact living.

Obsessed with reinvented materials, the sharing economy, and locavore everything, Jess is most passionate about making the connection between environmental choices and personal health. She also likes to pretend she’s a photographer.

Jess is a contributing editor for Sunset magazine. Her work has also appeared in San Francisco magazine, Anthology magazine, and Lonny. She has been a guest curator for Design*Sponge, Etsy, Airbnb, and The Beholder. Her stories have also been featured in The Huffington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, Apartment Therapy, YahooShine, and USA Today. One piece Jess is particularly proud of is her 2011 article for Sunset entitled “The Zero-Waste Home,” which garnered more reader feedback than any single story in the history of the publication and sparked a national dialogue about consumerism in America.

She has been a featured speaker at conferences like Altitude Design Summit and has appeared on national broadcast programs, most notably The Today Show.

Often on the road, Jess loves exploring cities/neighborhoods/spaces/wilderness, always hunting down expertly curated independent design shops and boutique hotels as well as discovering the next local tastemaker and the best nano coffee-bean roastery (her drug of choice). She relishes being in remote destinations that are out of cell phone range (and sometimes just pretends it is). Due to her often out-of-the-office schedule, Jess has become an accidental travel writer and considers herself addicted to Instagram.

Erin Gainey

Erin is currently serving as co-founder and President of The Seattle Design Foundation with an eye toward community engagement and education. Erin originally found personal reward in this field when she created The Adventure Store in 2010, a retail extension of the event planning brand, with the aim of providing a platform for local designers to showcase their work.

She sits on the board of Maureen Whiting Dance Company and freelances as a literary editor under Elemeno Press, LLC. Erin was born and raised in Seattle, where she now lives, and dreams often of ceramic arts.

Ann DeOtte Kaufman

Ann DeOtte Kaufman is the owner of Iva Jean and a freelance marketing enthusiast in Seattle, WA. A bit of a Swiss Army Knife – entrepreneur, marketing professional, designer, bike rider, and sun seeker – she approaches each opportunity with a broad perspective.

Ann started Iva Jean to inspire women to get on a bike and ride with the style and confidence they bring to every other aspect of their lives, whether commuting to work or cruising around town. Ann pulls inspiration from the urban landscape and her personal experiences biking to build a collection of fashionable and functional women’s bike clothing. All garments are produced in Seattle, WA, to support fair labor, the local economy and a thriving community of design and manufacturing in the Pacific Northwest.

As a freelance marketing and creative professional, Ann is dedicated to providing fashion and design clients with the vision, insight and resources to tell their story and engage consumers. Working with passionate clients, I bring their goals and aspirations to life through marketing research, analysis, strategy, planning and implementation.

Ann and her work have been featured in Huffington Post, Fast Company, PSFK, Daily Candy, Elle Finland, Sunset, Seattle Met, Trend Hunter and Cup of Jo.

Cassandra LaValle

Cassandra LaValle is the Founder and Creative Director of coco+kelley where she explores trends in fashion, decor and entertaining, highlighting pieces that exude classic design and glamour. As a designer, she consults clients across the globe on styling their homes and private events from her offices in Seattle.

Brian Paquette

My mark as a creative is built up of all the experiences I’ve had, all the places I’ve seen, all the people I’ve met and I carry that with me everywhere I go. When I started Brian Paquette Interiors a little over four years ago, I wanted to challenge the normal aesthetic associated with an interiors firm, what we did, who our clients were and where our ideas came from. I have had the absolute blessing to work on very traditional home settings that echo my upbringing on the east coast to very minimal spaces that bring to mind a more modern, sparse or time worn look.

Walking into a space and feeling a connection on a deeper level than just surface comfort or visual pleasure. Seeing a shade of blue that reminded my what the beach looked like in early spring in Newport, a fabric on a sofa that looked like something my blazer in prep school would be made of, or just the lighting that brought me back to waking up in a yurt on the Oregon coast. This is what moves me as a designer, this is what I wake up for.