Top: Photographs of Hélène's dining room at her home in Hudson Valley; Bottom: Photographs of the master bedroom and bathroom at Hélène's home © Hélène Heath

Join Artsper as we meet with Hélène Heath (@heleneheath), whose boundless creativity has taken her career in content creation into a multitude of different directions! Now based in New York State's stunning Hudson Valley, Hélène welcomed the Artsper team to chat about her personal design philosophy, current fashion and contemporary art loves, and her career journey so far!

1. Hello Hélène! Thanks so much for speaking with us today, Could you start by telling us a bit about yourself and your journey to content creation?

I'm a full time content creator based in New York State's beautiful Hudson Valley. We moved here nearly two years ago from New York City, about a year after taking the plunge to full time self-employment as a creator. My background is in fashion– I have a BA in fashion marketing–but I've had a pretty windy career path. I worked as a stylist (both on set and personal), a writer, and at a tech startup. One thing that's always been somewhat consistent, however, is my presence online: I started a blog in 2007 for fun and loved it so much I never gave it up. It never became “a thing" but it definitely kept me in the loop with all the internet happenings around its takeover of traditional media and the rise of the blogger. I registered for Instagram along with everyone when it launched and it eventually became an extension of my blog and the very tiny community I'd created with it. Things just evolved from there but I never approached it as a potential business until way later down the road.

2. You describe yourself as a “creative brain." Could you tell us how interior design fits into your life and artistic output?

It's funny, I never considered myself (and still don't) as intuitively inclined when it comes to interior design. It's hard for me to conceptualize a space the same way I do styling an outfit. That being said, I have a visceral need to be surrounded by beauty and an environment that inspires me–it gets my juices flowing, my mood lifted, and puts me at ease. Decorating my house for the past two years has been my only foray into this world and I've found the process to be so deeply personal, my home has become an extension of who my husband and I are.

Left to right: The music room and fireplace at Hélène's house © Hélène Heath

4. After many years in New York City, you've moved upstate! Do you feel that location plays a role in your creativity and design tastes? What design styles do you feel drawn to?

Yes, absolutely! The Hudson Valley region where I am now is so rich with history and gorgeous landscapes, it's impossible not to be influenced by these surroundings. I can appreciate almost all design styles, but I do believe in one fundamental principle: homes should feel personal. We have an old farmhouse from the seventeen hundreds and really wanted to honor its beautiful, humble history. Staying in keeping with its DNA and the vibe of the area actually felt quite natural to us since we've both always gravitated towards antiques and balancing old with new. I'm sure our design style would be different if we owned a beach house in California, but the consistent thread would be our love for pieces with history and our desire for a comfortable, lived-in decor that feels effortless (overly precious vibes are not for us).

5. Have you been involved in a design project that you have been particularly proud of?

My home, hands down. But I've had a lot of help from my design-inclined friends.

6. At Artsper, we believe that interior design and fine art go hand in hand. Would you call yourself an art lover? Do you have any particular favorite artists?

For a long time, I was intimidated by art. I wasn't sure of what I liked and often afraid to affirm my fondness for certain pieces. I have a dear friend who's an art advisor and she's taught me over the years that there's no right or wrong thing to like: that's the beauty of art. You should hang frames that bring you joy because you're the one who has to look at your walls every single day. I now feel strongly about art setting the tone in a room versus it being the final touch.

We have tons of art all over our house and most of it is vintage oil landscape paintings. Being in the Hudson River Valley, it only felt fitting to adorn our walls with that school of painting (and anything adjacent). Through the process of dressing our walls, I developed a full-blown auction house addiction. I do believe in mixing schools and periods to keep things personal and fresh. I love what Moroccan artist LRNCE is doing– I have one of her woven works and it's a showstopper. I'm a huge fan of Christine Flynn, who also happens to be a dear friend. She has an amazing eye and blends photography with mixed media like no other. I've also recently become quite taken with Ann Shelton's work. Her most recent show in NYC about the magic of plants was mesmerizing. 

Left to right: Photographs of the entry way in Hélène's home © Hélène Heath

6. Your career as a content creator spans a variety of exciting areas including fashion, beauty and home decor. What piece of advice would you give to an aspiring content creator in your field?

I've come across a lot of people who have a ton to say and a unique point of view they'd love to share with a social community, but fear holds them back–scared of what their close ones will think of them, apprehension over not mastering the content creation skills yet, whatever it is… I really can't stress enough that none of that matters. If you have fire in your belly about a specific topic and a strong desire to build an online community around that, then you just have to start. No one is the master of their craft on their first go. You can only become good once you've had a lot of practice. This stuff takes time and the only way you'll actually become an authority or grow a following is by actually doing the thing. So just go ahead and start, it's truly the hardest part!

7. Finally, if you could work on your dream design project, what would it be and where?

I would love to be able to build a large barn on our property where I could have a studio space and a wellness center. A girl can dream!

Photograph of Hélène in her home © Hélène Heath