Kiriosities

I grew up surrounded by wallpaper and paint samples, fabric swatches, various treasures that my late mother acquired on buying trips to England, as well as from the local design centers in nearby Los Angeles. My mother, Linda Malmquist was a well known interior designer, who designed rooms, offices and homes for a wide variety of clients – from celebrities, to best-selling authors, to everyday people. My mom loved to joke that when I was growing up, that I had little to no interest, let alone talent in the arts. Apparently macaroni art was not my forte. It was therefore a pleasant turn of events when my interests started becoming more artistic in nature.

Before my mother passed away, I started designing one-of-a-kind, diorama, furniture pieces for my mother’s business. Intricate designs were built onto each piece of furniture. Vintage chairs, washstands, stools, and benches were used as backdrops for elaborate, theatrical scenes.

A short time later, I had gone with my mother to a high-end florist, to look for Christmas décor for their home. I spotted a Christmas wreath made by one the florists and became inspired. I quickly branched off into Christmas décor and never looked back. The designs were so unique and whimsical that I started getting requests from people to decorate their homes for the holidays. Each wreath or centerpiece becomes more elaborate than the last, as I am always trying to top my previous project. One of my favorite pieces to this day was my most technically difficult to construct; a Santa’s Workshop wreath, which had animation. What started out as strictly Christmas items grew to encompass year-round wreaths and centerpieces, including spring, fall and Thanksgiving decor.

After my mom's passing, as a gift to my father, I created my first found object mirror, to honor my mother and father’s undying love and commitment. It started off as a whim and has quickly become one of my favorite genres to work in. Found object art is a relatively young area in the art world, with very few artists doing what I do.

After my mother’s passing, the opportunity to remodel her and my father's 92-year-old, Spanish, beach home came up and I jumped at the offer. The home had been filled with black mold and therefore 90% of the contents had to be thrown away, walls gutted and so on. I worked one-on-one with sub-contractors to bring the house back to its previous historical glory. What resulted from my designs is an old-world Spanish charmer, filled with color and vibrancy, along with my trademark whimsical touches. The home also features my second found object, ocean themed mirror, as well as a found object chandelier that I created for the dining room. Upon finishing the home, I realized that I wanted to make my work official (since all of my previous work had been done through my mother’s business), and therefore launched my own business.

Recently I have taken up photography. My eye for design and perspective has helped me to produce some amazing and thought provoking pictures. My photographs are featured on my website, as well as here on DeviantArt. I am also a writer, having written my first novel 10 years ago, and I am currently working on my second book.

I live outside of Los Angeles with my husband and dogs. Kiriosities was born out of the love for creativity, and the endless possibilities that can be brought to life from it, as well as from the love of a mother who always believed in her daughter. Wherever you are, thank you mom. I love you.