A little (ok, maybe a lot) about me:

I worked for over a decade as an executive in the fashion industry in L.A., San Francisco, and Dallas. I began my career as a buyer, which eventually led to visual merchandising, retail consulting, and then brand development. Fun!  But surprisingly stressful.

The second chapter of my career was all about less stress, more meaning.  It began after marrying my husband Todd in 2008 and becoming a bonus-mom to two awesome kids, Will and Genevieve.  I decided to step back from executive life, refocusing energy on my two new passions:  being a mom and giving back.  Volunteer work led me to the IRC, where my experience mentoring a Burmese refugee woman really struck a chord, inspiring me to find a way to create job opportunities for refugee women in our community. Cut to May 2009 and GAIA Empowered Women was born, a lifestyle brand with a mission to provide sustainable, living wage employment to refugee women rebuilding their lives in Dallas. The business grew much larger than my team and I could have ever hoped, with a thriving online shop and retailers like Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, J.Crew, and GOOP carrying the line. But, without a doubt, our greatest success was the transformation of the refugee women GAIA employed: after 10 years in business, they were flourishing, many becoming U.S. citizens. In 2019, it felt time for them to leave the nest and focus on other endeavors.  I shifted my focus again - to family (which now included twins Charlie and Gabriella)…. just in time for a pandemic, quarantine, and a new gig as a struggling “teacher” to two second-graders!

That time of reflection and reevaluation led Todd and me to make the decision to move our family to beautiful Boulder, Colorado in 2021.  We currently have a college graduate, a college junior, plus two middle schoolers. And now, after two years of being a tourist in my new hometown (who knew I had an “outdoorsy” side?!), I’m thrilled to begin the third chapter of my career with The Refinery. 

I’ve always had a passion for interior design, and for collecting art & textiles; a happy perk over my career has been the chance to indulge in styling and visual storytelling, even having my work featured in Domino, Elle Decor, One Kings Lane, Southern Living, and more. I opened The Refinery not only to marry my love of interiors and breathing new life into existing pieces, but also because I truly believe in the power of a warm and inviting home to shape our sense of self when we’re out in the world.

Please come by to say ‘hi’, I hope you enjoy!

xo Paula