Speaking Sparkles: Stories Before Success

Speaking Sparkles 1: Stories Before Success

Leo DeVroomen
I was not a great academic and I wanted to use my hands so I wanted to make things. A friend who lived in a little 1)claustrophobic village he had an uncle who was a 2)goldsmith in The Hague. And we went to visit him one day and we spent a day with this guy and I was totally fascinated 2 by this, I was about 16. I'd never seen gold, I'd never seen anybody making anything with metal, I got fascinated so we visited him again another week. So he then after a few weeks said ,"well if you really want to do this, I could get you a job in a, in a one of my suppliers as an 3)apprentice 3 goldsmith."

David Rodriguez
As a preteen you know I had the fortune to have grown up with an incredibly stylish 4 beautiful mother. And my Mom and my grandmother used to make a lot of things for themselves too, so it was great that they would translate what was happening and I would sit there and watch my grandmother sew and cut. You know there's no single moment in my life where I had this 4)epiphany and said oh my god that's it! I was the only guy in the sewing class. But I had to go through to do what I want. They thought, well you know, isn't that with, a job for women? And you know my Dad being like one of those 5)macho Mexican 6)Catholic 5 men in the world was like this way, I don't know. But the first time I made a dress for my Momthat was it.

George Freeman
I started playing with 7)interior 6 design in 1959 and then I sort of retired 7 to paint for about five, six years and then started seriously to come on a career path in about 1965. So I worked for Knoll 8 in New York and so I come sort of shaken out of the tree of Florence Knoll. People come to us because they've seen what we have done. Then they are familiar with perhaps the 8)attitude of our work. You never do that for them, and you, it only happens when you meet them, meet their space, know their needs, get an idea of who they are and how they want to be, then you start working for them, then you start making things for them.

注释:
1) claustrophobic [7klR:strE5fEJbIk] a. 幽闭的，幽闭恐怖症的
2) goldsmith [5^EuldsmiW] n. 金匠
3) apprentice [E5prentis] n. 学徒
4) epiphany [i5pifEni] n. 主显节，出现
5) macho [5mB:tFEu] a. 男子气的，男子的
6) Catholic [5kAWElik] a. 天主教徒的
7) interior design 内部装饰业
8) attitude [5Atitju:d] n. 态度，看法

三地设计师谈成名前的经历

伦敦珠宝设计师
我那时学习成绩不好，我想用上自己的双手，因而想去造东西。我有一个朋友住在一个有点封闭的小村里。他有一个住在海牙的作金匠的叔叔。有天，我们一起拜访他，整天都跟他呆在一起，而我就完全被眼前的一切迷住了。我那时十六岁。我从没见过金子，我也从没见过谁用金属造过什么。我着迷了，于是我们第二个星期又去拜访他。这样几星期后，他就说，如果你真的想干这行，我可以帮你在我的顾客那里找份学徒的工作。

纽约时装设计师
十三岁前，我非常幸运，有个时髦得令人难以置信的漂亮妈妈伴我成长。我妈妈和奶奶以前也常常给自己做很多的东西，她们也会跟我说在做什么，这实在是太好了。而我就会坐在那里，看着奶奶缝缝剪剪。你知道，在我的人生中没有一个时刻出现这样一个情景：我说，天啊，那就是我要做的！我是缝纫班里唯一的男生。要想成就我所想，我就要克服这种窘况。他们都觉得，哦，你知道，那不是女人的工作吗？你知道，我的爸爸与世界上所有富有男子气概的墨西哥天主教男教徒没什么两样，那时他就是这样说的：“我可不懂啊！”但当我给妈妈做出第一套裙子时，他就服了。

澳大利亚室内设计师
我1959年开始玩室内设计，然后停了下来用五六年专心画画。1965年，我开始认真地走室内设计的职业道路。我曾在纽约的Knoll 公司任职，所以我也算是从建筑设计大师Florence Knoll派系里分出来的一支了。人们来找我们是因为他们曾见过我们的作品。而且，他们大概熟知我们的工作作风。除非与他们见过面，见过他们的生活环境，了解他们的需要，清楚他们的身份以及他们想要怎样的设计，否则你永远造不出适合他们的东西。然后，你再开始为他们工作，为他们设计。