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Memories of Mentors Light the Path to the Present By Elizabeth Rosensteel
Those who have lived in the Valley as long as I have or longer will recognize Tom’s name. Tom was a brilliant artist whose visions of childhood fantasy worlds at Christmas were brought to life in the form of his International Santa Clauses. They were seen in all the Neiman Marcus stores across the country as well as strange and wonderful set designs for clients like Mattel Inc. What I learned from Tom was how to unleash the creative spirit in myself and, as he called it, “how to see.” Susan Younger transferred to the Valley from an architectural firm in Dallas. At a time when the glass ceiling was all too real in corporate America, she held the position of vice president of store planning for Broadway Southwest. Susan taught me about quality. Not just quality in design and architecture but quality of life, quality of
Funny how you get to a certain point in life and you find yourself assessing where you have been, what you have done, what you have accomplished and how you got there. I found myself doing just that after being awarded winner of the 2009 California Open Auditions for Architectural Digest. Wow! Thirty-one years later, a lot of memories and a Ph.D. from the school of hard knocks. My husband and I moved here in 1978 as recent graduates with $2,000 between the two of us, no car and only the promise of jobs when we arrived in the Valley. (No wonder my parents had questioned our sanity.) Through the years and following different paths I have many mentors to thank for my success. Two in particular are Tom DeLapp and Susan Younger.
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TRENDS MAGAZINE