Janice Simonsen, Main Blogger

Location: Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia-based IKEA design spokesperson, Janice Simonsen is the main blogger for Design by IKEA Blog. She started her career as an accomplished graphic designer and went on to own a successful interior design business.

Janice provided interior design services to private and commercial projects at IKEA Elizabeth for five years and has been the design spokesperson for IKEA USA for over ten years.

"All creative work is essentially derivative, or as Picasso said: 'Good art is borrowed, great art is stolen.' Steal (share) ideas from this blog site with pride!"

Katy Lee, Editor

Location: Philadelphia, PA

Katy studied Communications: Media & Film at Villanova University and became inspired by creative marketing working as a graphic assistant for her university. She went on to work in NYC and Philadelphia for a PR Communications firm and Comcast Interactive where she gained experience in managing PR, marketing  and digital projects.

Today, Katy is a Marketing Ad Specialist at IKEA USA where she manages content for social media and fun websites such as Share Space! Her latest venture is working with the team on Pinterest to provide fans with even more home inspiration.

"Be faithful to your own taste because nothing you really like is ever out of style."
-Billy Baldwin

Christine Soner, Contributor

Location: Elizabeth, NJ

Christine attended Traphagen School of Fashion, in the early 80s, when nyc was at it's artistic height. She then went on to work many years at Macy's, doing the fashion floors, textile areas and hard goods. The next stop was hand painting wallpaper for a NY based company, that had exclusive contracts with companies like Kravat.

Then in the fall of '93, Christine came to IKEA, as a store decorator. Six years later she joined the U.S. marketing team, working with the media in product placement and working on various projects that come her way. Her latest challenge is to help develop IKEA USA's Pinterest strategy, which will be the company's latest venture in the world of social media.

"I have been renovating an inherited 2 family house, that needs a lot of TLC inside & out, so I suppose it's a good thing that I work for a furniture retailer!"

Noreen Lennon, Contributor

Location: Elizabeth, NJ

Noreen started at IKEA in 1997, as a part-time receptionist while attending college to become a teacher. Then, she became inspired by art and switched her focus to fine arts and art history at school, and to visual merchandising and interior design at IKEA.

After several years of designing displays and room sets for the showroom, Noreen moved on over to PR, where she is now a Product Placement Specialist, working to make IKEA products part of a national story in the media.

"I enjoy living life as creatively as possible."

Brooke Nelson, Contributor

Location: Minneapolis, MN

Brooke is the Local Marketing Specialist at IKEA Twin Cities in Bloomington, MN. After earning her M.F.A in Theatre Design and Technology from the University of Minnesota in 2003, she joined the team at IKEA Twin Cities for social contact and health insurance. She has since worked as a Kitchen Specialist, Visual Merchandiser, and Graphics Coworker – taking the Local Marketing position in May of 2011. She is celebrating her 11^th season with Steppingstone Theatre for Youth Development in St. Paul, MN as their properties designer. Inside and outside of work, she loves any project that lets her get her hands dirty. Her favorite IKEA product is the KNAPPA pendant lamp, and confesses that she has four of them at home. (One still in the box!)

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” –Scott Adams

Peggy Kovacic, Contributor

Location: Burbank, CA

Peggy is an Interior Design and Visual Presentation Specialist with 13 years of experience in creative direction, interior marketing and product placement. After graduating from FIDM/ Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in 1996, she joined the team at Bloomingdale’s, where she produced and styled fashion shows and honed her ability to recognized emerging fashion trends.

This experience led Peggy to IKEA, where she worked as an Interior Designer, Creative Director, and National Product Placement Coordinator and helped open 10 new stores in the US and Japan. As a member of the IKEA US marketing department, she showcased and promoted the brand with mainstream media outlets. From her experiences around the world, Peggy has developed a deep understanding of the importance of economy of space in a marketplace. She understands the need for maximum impact utilizing the least amount of resources and has a keen appreciation for environmental stewardship in design.

“Design is a plan for arranging elements in such a way as best to accomplish a particular purpose.” –Charles Eames