Hospitality Design - November 2023 - 20

perspectives memoir
What made you want to leave 3M and
enter the design world?
I knew I was different my whole life. I knew I
was gay, but I couldn't say it. I didn't know what
it was. A lot of this coincides with me becoming
my true honest self when I finally met a boy in a
laundromat in Boston who had my same towels.
I accused him of stealing my towels. He was tan,
handsome, and boyish. He left the laundromat but
came back five minutes later and gave me a card
that said, 'Call me sometime.' That's my husband,
Kurt. It was 32 years ago. But part of becoming
who I am and finding a career was finding out and
being okay with who I was.
I was always this showman, but there was a
Wootton and Fulk travel to Provincetown,
Massachusetts every summer with their dogs
piece of me that was not okay with keeping the
world at bay. When that changed and I felt like I
could be my true self, suddenly my world changed
because I felt like I was whole. I could go out, and
I could be honest with myself and with the world.
I went into business with a friend, and we made
shower curtains and pillows that I designed. Then,
I started another company that was bed linens and
pajamas for kids. We wrote a bunch of storybooks
to bring the characters to life. We sold the
intellectual property to the Discovery Channel. We
thought we were going to become rich and famous.
No one became rich and famous, and I needed a
job. A friend knew I loved design and that I had a
knack for it. They hired me to decorate their new
apartment without any constraints. I sanded the
floors, I painted the walls, I sewed the drapes, and
delivered a turnkey apartment.
Fulk, Wooton, and their dogs by
the pool at Durham Ranch
A collage of photos captures
Fulk's joie de vivre
Fulk and guests dance during
a party at Durham Ranch
What brought you to San Francisco?
I had moved to Boston out of college, met the
boy in the laundromat, visited California, and
was gobsmacked by it. We picked up and moved.
I credit San Francisco-my adopted beloved
hometown-for allowing me to invent myself. San
Francisco is a place that you can invent a life, and
I did. After delivering that apartment, it was like
a faucet [turned on]. I had all sorts of jobs all over
the place. From the beginning, we did anything
for clients. I would put together a dinner party. I
would pick out a tie to wear on an interview. We
became indispensable tastemakers for our clients. I
would wave my hands and talk about what a room,
a space, a party was going to feel like, and I could
paint a picture with words. I can see these things
finished in my head from the beginning. They may
morph and change, but I know what they look like.
What were those early years like?
For the first several years of my business, I didn't
hire anyone with classic design skills because I
didn't want to have a business like anyone else. I
felt that would box me in. There was a part of me
that didn't want to be called out as a fraud. I didn't
Hospitality Design - November 2023

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