Craft – Orange County
Born and raised in South Orange County, CA by 2 talented parents who owned a construction and landscaping company. I never felt like I fit in or belonged anywhere. Too weird for the normal people and to normal for the weirdos.
It wasn't until my husband and I were fortunate enough to buy our first home that I discovered a new found passion of gardening and interior design.
While redoing our dated front yard, I found how bored I was with the standard garden pots in my price range. I decided to take existing pots and "reimagine" them into something as unique as me and my design style. I then began to layer in vintage and antique pieces that my husband and I would find while hunting for treasures at local estate sales.
By chance and perhaps fate, I stumble upon something that I never knew I had within me. After 40 years, I finally found some true happiness in my life. I thank my loving husband and mother for encouraging me to leave an unsatisfying 20 year career to pursue something new.
In May 2021, I opened up my first Etsy shop under the name The Deviant Phytophile. I started selling pots I had redesigned, similar to the ones in my own yard. Currently, I have a space within California's largest antique center, King Richard's, in Whittier.
While the last 2 years of my life have taken some dramatic and challenging twists and turns, like a shocking and jaw dropping Lifetime Movie, The Deviant Phytophile is what has kept my sanity in a very unpredictable environment.
The Deviant Phytophile aesthetic is whatever you want it to be. It's a medly of all things I love, not one style but a mix of all decades. How you choose to put your home together is an extension of you and your life story. I think the way in which I present the pieces are uniquely me and dependant on my mood and what I've got to work with. My mother's classic design style is always present along with my dark, more rustic european macabre, as I like to think of it as.
Whatever you call it, The Deviant Phytophile offers items both handcrafted and reclaimed, to layer into your home and garden that is as unique as you are.