Jill Sharp Weeks: The Curator of Perfectly Imperfect Style

Today I am joining my friend Brenda from 1010 Park Place for our monthly Ageless Style interview. After a few years of “arm twisting” I am honored to interview Jill Sharp Weeks, designer, stylist, and visionary storyteller. Jill has a strong sense of self-expression, a curatorial eye for detail, and a deep understanding of her own personal style and aesthetic. She is not afraid to experiment, mix and match different genres, elements, and styles to create a look that is uniquely her own. She embodies authenticity and confidence in her choices, and tells her own story in her home, how she lives, and what she wears. Her collected organic style is a unique reflection of where she has been, what she loves, and how she wants the world to see her.

Share a bit about your life story along with how you landed in the world of design. 

Hi Cindy – super fun to be asked great questions and to stop to ponder where I think my interest in design really started. I’m so rooted-into and personally defined by my eye – the influences that informed this sense are really varied – I’ll talk to those throughout this interview. One thing is for sure, curiosity should have been my middle name.

I was collaging by age 5-6, meaning I would cut up or rip images from magazines or newspapers, maybe some photos that my dad had discarded from printing in his darkroom and take these to my bedroom to play with and re-assemble. Making combinations of images + word, colors + textures that were graphically appealing is a strong memory. So is the smell of Elmer’s glue.

Being taken to the Museum of Natural History in New York a few times each year as I was growing up and seeing the dioramas is also a strong design sensation in my memory bank. Not only did it provide insight into something I couldn’t even imagine existed in our world, but the drama of the display was always captivating to me. I think what I saw there piqued my interest into the world of styling – which I clearly did not know even existed or was a career until after college.

While I was still in elementary school I made ornaments – some type of hard baked dough that I embellished with old velvet ribbon and antique German paper cut-outs that my dad would bring me from NYC. I’m sure my mom helped me to package these beautifully + then I sold them around our historic neighborhood on the Silvermine River – not sure what I did with those immense profits, but it fueled a tiny girl to have big entrepreneurial goals.

I was born in Baytown TX, raised in New Canaan CT and Tokyo, Japan. The contrast of living in such extremes was a sharp departure in culture, style, architecture, food, gardens, communication – all the things that are still important to me as a designer and stylist and visual storyteller.

Graduated with a degree in Interior Architecture in college – moved with my cool Italian boyfriend to LA to live with his parents – my parents were divorcing during this time and all the craziness boiled up and I realized …. time to exit stage WEST!

You and your husband, Ray, reside in both Charleston, SC, and Santa Fe, NM – two polar opposite locations, both culturally and architecturally unique. Tell us how you find inspiration in each location. Where do you feel most creative?

Charleston is architecture that makes us melt, is constant walking in the city + combing the beaches with the dogs early in the morning, boating to hole-in-the-wall seafood joints, culturally diverse + interesting + stunning with such a rich food + friend community. And if I took out combing the beaches + boating, Santa Fe is much the same except possibly even more wondrous because of the endless breathtaking skies + landscape that goes on forever. They are small places to live where everyone says hello and you know the grocery bagger and neighbors are kind and aware of one another. Both also have tragic histories that are very much still alive – we feel them – we read about them to make sure we try to be aware of the extreme hardships that are central to these places.

Creativity is alive + well + flowing out of me in both locales and quite honestly everywhere/anywhere I go.

Tell us a bit about your love story with your husband Ray, and how you keep your marriage strong and fun.

Ray is an accomplished, aesthetically inclined, and an intellectually brilliant partner. He also adores to laugh. He’s demanding of himself, so disciplined, very inquisitive, patient with me and an ingenious loving father. Life together is fun + never dull as we move around a lot between SC + NM. We’re both stronger together because we are such strong personalities – sometimes it’s complicated. I don’t know of an honest relationship that’s otherwise. To me, that’s a good measure of life. Ray is such a trusted editor of my work, my partner in the kitchen at a dinner party, in the garden planning + planting trees, in building a personal home project, great on a road trip and in a health crisis. We both are advocates of anything we individually want to try in life – curiosity is key. 

Your passion for design and style has enabled you to travel – name your top travel destinations and why? Where haven’t you been that you look forward to visiting in the future?

I have been lucky enough to visit and live in so many diverse places in the world, but my absolute favorite destination is coming home. We were listening to Julia Louis-Dreyfus the other day as she interviewed Fran Lebowitz who proclaimed that “you’re either a city person OR a non-city person.”  I am now OFFICIALLY a low country, deep woods, or high desert woman. Ray + I plan our trips to specifically avoid crowds and density – he’s at the same point with cities – we live in the gentlest versions of them, with residing between Charleston and Santa Fe.

I have to say that visiting Stockholm and staying at ETT HEM @etthemstockholm ranks very high in our favorites along with FIFE ARMS @thefifearms in Braemar, Scotland. On both trips we took some cooking instruction and went to visit a few artisans and came home with amazing finds that have deep meaning when we use them or see them in our own home. When we travel, we spend a lot of time researching ahead of time so that we cover a lot of ground if we are so inclined. Sometimes we have a plan on a trip and then completely pivot what we thought we wanted to do because we both need to REST. That’s SO ok with Ray + me.

We adore a trip to coastal Maine – nothing smells like that state. And we both are big BIG tree lovers so there is an abundance of unfathomably beautiful green there to breathe in.

We live in places that we like to do regional traveling in so that’s on our docket for this year. NM is so rife with amazing places to do road trips. Our list is over 70 spots long that we will strive to experience (not all this this year – we are planners + list makers.)

There is a small interest on my part to plan a very unusual country-side return to where I spent my early teenage years, Japan. This will require LOTS of work to tele-a-port us right through one of the craziest airports in the world + immediately out to un-populated areas. I’ve got some super cool friends there + in Santa Fe that we are likely to make this trip with so planning it will be great fun. I want to go make miso and forage for old boro textiles and patched fusuma paper one more time in life! 

Hamish and Olive – share more about these adorable assistants.

I cannot even tell you how much these dogs mean to me – we are stuck together so tight like krazy glue. These 2 characters were born in the same embryonic sac – apart from the rest of the litter – so they are truly fraternal twins. Luckily, I grew up always having dogs, and my family had a Scottie before we moved to Japan. They are very fierce little dogs with teeth the size of German Shepherds. I have had 5 Scottish Terriers as an adult. I might try to sneak a few more in our home soon …. but traveling with 7 might be problematic to my husband – we will see…

You find creative inspiration in the most interesting places. Share some of your favorite unexpected items that have served as the backbone to some of your most influential designs. 

The houses that I am lucky enough to design all have a few through-lines. Where I can, I always strive to include old building materials – beams, masonry floors, old + varied hardware on the doors. I have collected industrial furniture since before it was a thing – one of my early buys at age 11 was a metal factory chair purchased from a shop near Brimfield, MA where my parents loved to go antiquing. I still resonate strongly with utilitarian factory fixtures – tables, shelving, anvils, riveted vats – used in an unexpected setting.

I always vary the heights of seating as it makes for a much more punctuated space to have settees + chairs + sofas with different proportions to the seat backs. Creating a community + hierarchy of layers in a room is super fascinating to me as well. Textures of fabrics, varying wood species, mixed metals, hi/lo artwork + sculpture creates dynamic interiors. Creating a community of layers is also a great style hack when getting dressed. Mixing up a white shirt (always a staple) and jeans with a vintage scarf used as a belt and then adding old African trading beads and your grandmother’s locket strung on a ribbon sets a unique style. And I love the added layer of vests – sweater vests, fishing vests, vests from 3-piece suits, down vests – it’s one more layer to keep things comfy. (Of course, put a pin on your vest.)

Tell us about Stable Market and your plans for it?

Cindy, you’re getting a scoop! I am opening STABLE RURAL GOODS by late summer as an appointment-only warehouse shopping destination in Santa Fe.

If you enjoy my eye, you’re going to have a feast seeing my stash of uncommon vintage finds. And made-to-order hardware I’ve designed, crazy good regional furniture with Navajo-blankets made into cushioned seats, pillows + textiles I’ve collected from all over the globe + back. Baskets – lots of baskets. I’ll spin good music, make a very delicious caffé or depending on the time of day, add a splash of pure Mexican tequila to your cup. I am a non-stop collector, magpie, style-monger so this gives me an excuse to put together a curated display that I find very intriguing. Many of these things have found me from dealers dealing from a back of the truck in a parking lot or from antique fairs I’ve gone to for so long that it’s simply been a very lucky rhythm of my life. I should be calling this “not a day goes by that I don’t buy something so now YOU get to buy my uncommon vault of goodies.” My other idea has been to start a food truck – (seriously!) so at least STABLE RURAL GOODS might be better hours!

Hats are definitely one of your staples and your taste is flawless… What are your other can’t-live-without accessories? Do they change from Charleston to Santa Fe?

I have worn hats since I was a child – at that point I was made to but I’m pale skinned with fair green eyes – I need lots of shade. I’m also brca2+ which predisposes me to a few bad health challenges, one being melanoma. I ADORE hats – like love love LOVE hats – they provide an immediate attitude and that’s something you need to discover with the style you feel best in. Vintage wide brimmed straw hats from Panama from my pal Alan @thunderbirdhats are my favorite and I also adore a few from a Japanese brand @visvim and beautiful one-offs that I have found at @folkartmarket in Santa Fe. I always keep several in our cars and at our doors, so I literally never leave the house without one. I wear the same things whether I’m in SC or NM. A brim is a brim is a brim.

I also wear and travel with lots of belts – a few very special early Navajo concho belts that I will whip on with a pareo cotton wrap turned into an impromptu skirt in any season – with tights + boots when it’s chilly or bare legs in espadrilles and a denim shirt.

I always pack my trusty LOVE buckle from @annmashburn – this should be a staple in every human’s wardrobe arsenal – my husband also wears his that says YOU … so some days – when we are really feeling it, yes, we are that couple that will wear LOVE YOU or YOU LOVE in our faded Levi’s depending on how we are standing.

Required packing is one of 2 Hermes H belt buckles + a strap – both acquired with such fond memories and can take a situation from hummmm to HEY I’M HERE in a second. I also do not prescribe to only punching holes that are hidden behind the H like Hermes shop staff insist – I wear my belts up under my breasts and all the way dowwwn – depending on my skirts or jeans or dresses – hike it up or pull it down is my feeling and the belt notch needs to do the same.

I do adore having options with jewelry, so I travel with some prized white African trade beads, several early Navajo squash blossoms, Tahitian pearls strung on leather and a cowrie shell collar necklace that I first brought in for a Stable Market pop-up I held and now my cool nieces @twine&twigstyle sell. Lipstick, mascara + jewelry can just change a t-shirt /cut-off short comfy feeling into a style mojo moment. 

Share your favorite words:

This might be my favorite question – lots of this has to do with sound memory and also pondering this my whole life – I ADORE WORDS

Beguiling                

Vetiver

Petrichor                 

Forage

Owl         

October

Mood Boarding            

Paradigm

Mushroom        

Utilitarian

Poet-Farmer          

Morning

Quilting            

Pumpkin

Share your words to live by/favorite quote?

 “I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life and I’ve never let it keep me from doing a single thing I’ve wanted.” – Georgia O’Keeffe

Thank you so much Jill for allowing me to “twist your arm”. Your dedication to curating your home and wardrobe that so authentically reflects your individuality is truly inspiring. By embracing imperfections, and celebrating the gathered, the collected, and the organic you have reminded us that style is all about confidently expressing who we are. For all of us over 50 and beyond, let’s take a page from Jill’s playbook and dare to experiment, and hone in on what truly resonates with us. Let’s all embrace our perfectly imperfect selves.

Thank you so much for reading Jill Sharp Weeks: The Curator of Perfectly Imperfect Style. I hope you all enjoyed this interview. For more inspiration you can follow Jill at Jill Sharp Studio on Instagram here. I am hoping there may be a book in the works soon?

Now let’s pop over and visit Brenda to see who she is interviewing this month.

1010 PARK PLACE