The Memo

Emily has always worked in creative fields. She sought out photography class at her Dallas high school, majored in advertising with a focus on art direction at UT Austin and worked at D Magazine as a graphic designer for almost 5 years before leaving to start her own business, Emily by Design. As a stylist, she helps women and brides realize, navigate, and ultimately express their personal style in a way that feels inherent to them.

Quality, longevity, and sustainability are her main focuses. Read on to discover her latest joint venture with her husband; Dallasites will especially get a thrill from the project.

I screenshotted a funky deck of cards designed by Alexander Girard from Melanie Masarin’s IG story. My husband and I are opening a bookstore in Dallas this summer called Bird's Bookstore (it's in Preston Royal and we share a wall with Eatzi's!), and I am in charge of curating our sidelines. The store is design-driven, mid-century modern-inspired, cozy with some quirk, and I'm curating our assortment with that same aesthetic in mind.

In literally everything I do, I am cataloging inspiration for unique, practical items we can sell in the store. These playing cards were an example of that.

Nipple covers or “dimmers” as my mom would say.

I keep a running list in my notes of things I hear about on podcasts, from articles, movies etc. that sound interesting or I want to look up. I’m going to New York at the end of this month for work and I have a running list of places I need to go!

I saw this navy and mustard combo in a recent Kallmeyer email. There's something about how saturated the tones are that makes these neutrals feel so much more luxurious.

I saved Samira Nasr’s (EIC of Harper's Bazaar) 2024 recap post because I loved an outfit she wore in one of the slides. A billowy, turtlenecked white silk top, hair slicked back, barely there makeup, worn with fabulous onyx chandelier earrings.

I have 29 tabs open currently, but one of them is Rocky’s Matcha. I’m a matcha lover and still searching for my favorite brand.

If I don't write it down, it's gone. I have a sticky note on my front door that says "Don't forget to lock!"

I love to cook, but I'm not a recipe gal. Not a humble brag, I'm just too impatient and don’t like to dirty the amount of dishes that the standard recipe requires. However, I did make Ina Garten's engagement chicken for Christmas Eve and it really is that good.

Years ago when we were dating, my husband got me a signed ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ script. It is pretty, pretty, pretttttttty cool.

In October of 2024 I hosted a 4 day pop-up with Happy Isles, a beloved vintage bridal salon out of LA. There's no way to put it other than it was a dream come true. We held 24 appointments, and they sold out in an hour - a testament to their cult following! As a vintage bridal stylist, being surrounded by 170+ pieces of fashion history was just incredible. It was such a success that I'm hosting them again in February. This time for 5 days!

Love this question. I am always taking pictures of excerpts that speak to me from whatever I'm reading. I recently read the fantastic CBK: Carolyn Bessette Kennedy: A Life in Fashion by Sunita Kumar Nair. This excerpt is referring to Lee Radzwill’s advice for Carolyn.

“The first “Lee Rule” for Carolyn was to get an armour–a fashion one... The essential addendum to this rule was to be yourself.

I don’t know if I’m a leader, but I'm definitely not a follower.

Follow Emily @emily_bydesign @juliadukeco

Work with Emily emilybydesign.co

Stay tuned for more on Bird's Bookstore opening in Dallas this spring!