IN MEMORIAM–Debbie Robins de la Bouillerie (1956-2015)

I want to pause to honor the life of Debbie Robins de la Bouillerie and how she changed mine. An established Hollywood film and television producer who worked with celebrities including Paul Newman, Cicely Tyson, George Segal, and Martin Sheen, she was also an accomplished author and Huffington Post blogger and life coach to countless executives and entrepreneurs all over the country. After meeting her in LA in 2007 through her husband, Hubert de la Bouillerie, film editor, producer and director, and family friend, we clicked immediately and became fast friends despite the distance between her Los Angeles home and ours in New York.

When she and Hubert were living in New York in 2009, we saw each other regularly. The economy had just fallen off a cliff and my decorative rug business was drying up. When I mentioned that I had a book idea on top designers decorating with handmade rugs, both she and Hubert said that they would pitch it to their in-house literary agent. After an encouraging meeting with the agent and submitting a proposal to Random House, I was awarded the contract to write The Decorative Carpet–Handmade Rugs in Contemporary Interiors published in the fall of 2010. Throughout the several months building up to the contract, it was Debbie who shepherded me throughout the process and gave me the encouragement to keep on going. She worked magic behind the scenes and made it happen. She was indeed the “godmother” of The Decorative Carpet. Thanks to Debbie, I was able to make my dream of writing this book come true. It was one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences in my life–an experience that I continue to enjoy to this day.

It was Debbie’s indomitable “can do” energy and generosity of heart and spirit that made her so special. A dear friend and mentor, she will be sorely missed.

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