Photo credit: LLB Creative
Cynthia Zamaria is a talented individual and among her many skills and attributes, I've come to know her very well for two of them: she is a public relations expert with over 25 years of experience in the communications industry, and she is devoted to her decorating & design hobby. She recently co-founded a business that combines her professional experience with her design hobby, while simultaneously rebranding and relaunching her decor blog, and I'm so pleased to introduce you to Cynthia and her new ventures.
Photo credit: Per Kristiansen for HGTV
The first thing you notice right away upon meeting Cynthia is her inspiring and uplifting energy. She is engaging, warm and friendly, and speaks with passion. Cynthia is also an active listener, is genuinely interested in learning about others, and has this way of getting you excited to tell her about the things you have going on in your own life. Cynthia's online presence is as engaging as her outgoing personality, which is not surprising, since her blog, Cynthia Zamaria: House & Flower, is her platform for sharing the things she's most passionate about – making chic and easy DIYs, home decor and renovation, and flower farming.
Photo credit: Per Kristiansen for HGTV
Cynthia enjoys creating and is pleased to see the return of the maker movement, where she is noticing an increasing desire among the population to make things with their hands, and/or to source products locally made. Cynthia dedicates this portion of her blog to share the items she has made and provides tutorials so that the reader can in turn make the items to proudly display in their homes.
Cynthia is passionate about empowering people to transform their spaces, no matter what their capacity is for doing so (especially if you live in a rental and are limited by what you can change). She encourages acceptance of what you currently have and to work within that space – what she calls a “gentle renovation.” Her design philosophy is to fill a space with the things you love, the people you love, and the creatures you love. Her blog offers how-to's and design tips to achieve this.
The third component of her blog is flower farming – Cynthia has a deep love of flowers and she wants to encourage us to celebrate the beauty in local florals over importing them. She will be attending an upcoming workshop on flower farming hosted by Erin Benzakein, farmer-florist and founder of the blog Floret, and Cynthia will be applying the knowledge she brings back to her own flower farm that she will be cultivating this spring on her country property in rural Ontario.
The newest addition coming to Cynthia's blog is a section called The Hunt which will be all about finding fabulous people, products and places, and I'm looking forward to seeing the who, what and where that she introduces us to.
Photo credit: Cynthia Zamaria
Photo credit: Per Kristiansen for HGTV
As if all of this isn't enough to keep one person busy, Cynthia launched a new business last month with co-founder Jennifer Flores called Storyhouse Co. As I mentioned earlier, this is where Cynthia gets to combine her PR background with her love of decor & design – she will utilize her extensive knowledge of the PR industry to provide support within the influencer marketing realm, specifically in the home & design space that she loves so much. Storyhouse Co. is a unique business that caters to both the brands and the influencer community through emotional marketing – connecting brands with influencers who have a deep love and familiarity with the product or service in order to produce a more meaningful campaign. Cynthia is extremely excited and optimistic about where this new venture will take her, and looking forward to bringing storytelling back to the heart of it all.
Storyhouse Co. co-founders Jennifer Flores and Cynthia Zamaria; photo credit: LLB Creative
How great is the 'story' behind the logo?! Storytelling + home/decor niche = Storyhouse Co.
To keep up with this self-proclaimed “serial renovator” (Cynthia always has a project on the go!), you can visit her website here for her decorating tips, DIY tutorials, and more.
Want more? Let's hear from Cynthia herself! Here's what We Want To Know:
I can't start my morning without...Starbucks French Roast coffee. We get it ground Turkish style so it makes the coffee super strong and rich (I'm so spoiled, my husband Graham brings me a mug while I'm still in bed).
I have a weakness for...throw pillows. I have way too many in all shapes, colours and fabrics. Storage is becoming a bit of a challenge, but I can't help myself.
Most people don't know that I...love to sing and dance (and do both very poorly).
Currently reading... Domino, The Magnolia Journal, Canadian House and Home and Floret Farm's Cut Flower Garden.
I want...more hours in a day.
Thank you, Cynthia, for being a part of #WeWantToKnow!
