24/7 with

Stephanie Russell, Graphic Designer, Richmond, VA

My work: I design stationery, gift wrap, and paper products for INK & PAPER and for PUNCH, a local design + advertising agency.

My passion: Design! Paper, textiles, interiors, environmental, fashion. I get inspiration for color and patterns from everything around me.

My favorite possession: Right now? My Orla Kiely handbag.

My hometown: Born in Chapel Hill; raised in Mechanicsville; I've also called Chicago home.

I'm thinking about: The eco-friendly house I will build one day.

Words I live by: If you can dream it, you can achieve it.

I can't live without: Project Runway.

I am most proud of: Running--and finishing--the Chicago Marathon.

What keeps me awake at night: Thinking about how to re-design my powder room. I plan to gut and completely re-do...by myself. There are so many options!

One thing I never want to do again: Get the perm I had in 6th grade during the Big Bangs period.

If I could be totally wild, I would: Move to Alaska for a year, live of the land, maybe have a couple of reindeer.

I am guilty of: Back-seat driving.

Right now I'm reading: Anna Karenina for my book club. Okay, so I haven't actually started…

The one item that has changed my life: My guitar. I've made great friends through music.

Favorite web site:designspongeonline.com.

Last major purchase: A road bike. I'm hoping the next one will be a dog!

My theme song:You've Got A Friend by James Taylor

If I had a vanity plate on my car, it would say: DZYNR

If I could do it all over again: I would have studied abroad in college. Living in London would be a blast.

The food I could eat every day: Southern Fried Fish from The Hill Café.

If I were a superheroine, I would be: Able to fly lightning fast like Clark Kent.

The most important thing I ever lost: The trail map when I was skiing in Austria. No one was on the slopes. I skied off course, ended up in waist-deep snow, and almost went over a cliff.

The best thing I ever won: Wiffleball Championship at River City Sports and Social Club.

My best friend says I am: Too competitive. Tennis, scrabble, kickball, cards. I like to win!

I still can't get the hang of: Cooking from scratch. But I'm really good at ordering takeout.

The world would be a better place, if only: No one littered out their car window.

I'd like to learn to: Surf. My husband gave me a lesson for my birthday one year. I actually stood up and rode a wave!

Something most people don't know about me: I do a mean version of Van Halen's Livin' On a Prayer at karaoke.

My mother always said: Life isn't fair.

The worst idea I've ever had: Piercing my eyebrow while working at a summer camp. My little campers thought I looked scary!

The smartest woman I know: Taught me to be confident and determined.

My first job: A true Richmonder, I was a Ukrops Courtesy Clerk, bagging and carrying out groceries.

What are you most vain about? Shoes. The wrong ones can ruin a whole outfit.

Whose diary would you most like to read? Tim Gunn's would be interesting. I wonder what he really thinks of the crazier outfits on the runway.

What do you fear the most? Going grey.

Always...send a handwritten thank you note.

Never...say no to dessert.

I wish…I was looking at the ocean right now