EDY KEELER
Founder of Core Value Inc.
Color specialist Keeler is inspired by nature’s vivid palette, and she uses these hues creatively to produce inviting, eye-pleasing contrasts—light and dark, sleek and soft, energetic and soothing.
Another hallmark of her work is the array of textures and finishes she brings together—stucco, plaster, wood stains, tile, stone, lighting, carpets, and textiles. Her expert ability to innovate via textures, materials, and tones has brought her industry recognition and citations; she was awarded “Home of the Year” by the Santa Fean magazine and was named the “Grand Hacienda” winner and winner of “Best Surfaces and Finishes” by Haciendas: A Parade of Homes for her collaboration with architect Robert Zachry and Hurlocker Homes.
Keeler has been involved in specifying colors, materials, finishes, and textiles in contemporary Southwest design projects since l986. She has owned design businesses in four industries: clothing manufacturing, children’s book production, architectural building materials, and furniture. Her 1980’s showroom, SPECS, was instrumental in introducing the region to low-voltage lighting, as well as to synthetic resin plaster, now a standard exterior finish.
With a talent for finding new materials and applications, a keen sense color, and a uniquely varied background in several industries, Keeler brings a fresh perspective and an expert eye to the spaces she creates.
Inspiration
Keeler responds to her clients’ personalities, needs, preferences, and overall lifestyles to create individualized designs that underscore their personal aesthetics rather than burying them. Her highly livable environments provide unexpected backdrops for art, specialty lighting, and furnishings, all expressing her clients’ unique styles and capitalizing on their strengths.
Designer Statement
"I work on projects of all sizes and scope, high end budgets to very modest ones. What matters to me is not the glamor of the project, but whether or not it makes a difference in someone’s life. Design does that, and it’s very satisfying to be part of that process.
"As a designer I continue to be influenced by my early experiences in the field. My hands-on responsibility for filling the lifestyle needs of 250 residents of a live-in treatment facility taught me about what does and doesn’t work for group-living interiors; my studies with Japanese pattern makers in San Francisco taught me about color, line, form and materials; my experience as a clothing designer, marketer and colorista informs my current work as an innovator in the use of color, texture and cutting-edge materials.
"This affinity for new and varied materials also stems from having owned two architectural building-supply businesses catering to both architects and consumers, experiences that led me to expand from merely supplying materials to offering design services as well. My additional work in book packaging and design for major publishers in the U.S. and Europe further shaped my view of design as an important force for creating environments, fostering communication, and enhancing the living/working experience. I believe in incorporating ideas and aesthetics from a variety of sources both within and outside of the design community, a practice that brings freshness and energy to my projects and guarantees that each one will be unique."
Community
Keeler is interested in fostering communities of mutual interest, and is a producer of the original Santa Fe Design Week, creating dialogues, special events, and training sessions among a wide range of design constituencies.
Her friendship with renowned architect Jeff Harnar and her support of contemporary architects is the impetus for her working to help establish the Jeff Harnar Award for Contemporary Architecture in his memory.
