Meeting Marisa Anderson was something I looked forward to. She gave me the Joanna Gaines vibe, with her passion to design beautiful spaces and for her devotion to faith. The Hamilton-based interior designer is a wife and a mother of two daughters, and heavily involved with her local church as a pastor, director and worship leader.
This woman is a ball of energy and is clearly the distant cousin of Wonder Woman. In everything she does, she wants to empower people to know that they are loved. Following her motto in life “I am loved,” Marisa tries to pass this message of positivity to others.
“I am loved! And so are you! When we realize that we were thoughtfully and lovingly created, it changes our entire perspective. No longer am I trying to find acceptance or receive the approval of people,” Marisa said. “The competition and comparison games are over and I become truly free to embrace who I was created to be and, in turn, cheer others on to do the same.”
Marisa didn’t get into interior design until she was in her 30s, when she and her husband Jeff decided to do a home renovation together. The response was immense and helped evolve and refine her now-growing business.
“Looking back through my childhood and teen years all of the signs were there - I would doodle floor plans and design my "dream home" with a paper, pencil and ruler. I was forever rearranging my bedroom furniture, finding multiple ways to reinvent my space,” Marisa said. “There have been some key voices of encouragement and that cheered me on in the process. I am forever thankful that they called out things in me that I didn't even see in myself. Because I work full-time, I have limited time to build my interior design business. But I am loving using whatever time I can towards interior design and helping clients create homes they love.”
Marisa’s full-time job is at Living Hope Church as the Director of Operations. Coming from a family background in Christian ministry, Marisa has been invaluable to the team.
“I focus on the day-to-day operations of the church, working with our staff and handling a lot of the administrative, behind-the-scenes details. However, there are a few creative opportunities in my job at the church as well - I create graphics and branding for different things we want to visually communicate and manage our social media accounts,” Marisa shared. “I also lead our Worship Ministry and help to develop teams to support multiple weekend services at two campuses. We've been diving into the world of songwriting and are in the process of constructing an in-house recording studio so that we can publish some of the songs we've written.”
Marisa is known to power through many projects, but she has learned over time to find a balance in her home and work life. Saying no, slowing down, and enjoying what she has, are some things that Marisa is doing to prioritize her family. But that hasn’t stopped her from getting her creative juices flowing.
“I have a handful of design projects on the go right now - a mixture of large and small - including two in my own home. On YouTube, in addition to the weekly design video I post, we're also going to branch into the world of Vlogging,” Marisa said. “My family is brainstorming ways we can make the videos interesting and funny, so I'm really looking forward to this style of video production.”
It will be interesting to see how Marisa continues in the design world, as she is definitely one to watch out for. Marisa’s ultimate desire and legacy is to bring hope. “At the core of who I am is someone who wants people to feel good about themselves… I want to empower women to love who they were created to be so that they can live the life they were put on earth to live.”
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1. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?
Supine twist. Before my feet hit the floor.
2. What is your favorite thing to wear?
Jeans.
3. If you could pick one word to describe you what would it be?
Genuine.
4. What’s one beauty tip you would pass on?
Don't microblade or get permanent makeup on your eyebrows! (TRUST ME)
5. Everyday is better with: Sunshine and friends.
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