INTERVIEWED: Diana James
OCCUPATION: Diana is the founder and head designer of Living Swell, on Washington Street. She moved to this larger space where she can offer both retail and design.
BACKSTORY: I’ve always been interested in building and making things since I was a kid. Everyone had dolls, but I was more interested in building their houses and furniture. Professionally I started in the restaurant business where I was responsible for the interior and marketing. I worked with a restaurant designer who told me I should do this myself…so I started with small, curtains and similar projects. My sweet spot is room layout in houses – I like the architectural aspects.
LISTENING (music -home, car): I listen to Big Band – Old Jazz – Sunny Rollins, Stan Getz, Lester Young, Paul Desmond. Music is very important to me. I listen, I sing. My daughter is a singer/songwriter – Fia James – so she and Jon Meyer are my top 2 on Spotify.
WATCHING: I’m watching the new series on Winston Churchill during the war years (NETFLIX). I like biographies – Maria Callas’s ‘Maria” (NETFLIX)was so good!
READING: (or Audible) Mostly magazines, and mostly design. Now reading The Road Less Stupid: Advice from the Chairman of the Board by Keith J.Cunningham
SOMETHING PEOPLE MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU OR YOUR CAREER: I like racing cars (through the BMW stock car racing program). I raced at the Mont Tremblant Track. That’s in my past now, but I still love driving (fast!) I‘ve been driving since I was 13. I am also into sailboat racing – J 105s
WHAT YOU ENJOY ABOUT MARBLEHEAD: The cast of characters who live here…the quaintness of the Town, particularly Old Town. I’ve lived here longer than any other place. I’ve lived in 6 different neighborhoods in Marblehead. It takes a certain kind of person to live in a tight space – flexible, caring, communal.
WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO CHANGE ABOUT MARBLEHEAD: I’d like there to be more support for small businesses from the Chamber of Commerce and community – with events, festivals, etc – to draw people in from the community and outside.
Weekly Recommendations is a column created by Frances Roberts Hill, who selects one Marbleheader each week to interview for entertainment recommendations. Originally from Philadelphia, Frances has lived in Marblehead, where she met her husband and raised their son, for more than 40 years. She has a background in advertising and education and has always loved to write.