Feng Shui Style

Bios

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  Marina Shektman

  Senior Interior Designer

  Marina Shektman brings her design prowess, joie de vivre, and a diverse portfolio which includes office spaces, restaurants and high-end residential interiors. She likes to design concept-driven spaces with strong identity and branding. Marina believes that creativity and imagination applied to interiors have the power to transform our daily lives. Adding Feng Shui to the mix elevates her talent to the next level. With a BA in Architecture from Drexel University, she has a trained eye for architectural detail, quality and timeless style. Marina started her design career at several architectural and interior design firms in Philadelphia, New York City and Boston. With that, she gained substantial knowledge of all aspects of commercial and residential design and the construction process. Jennifer and Marina met on a Facebook Group in their hometown of Wellesley, MA. Wanting Marina to “sample the wares”, Jennifer went over to Marina’s house, studied the layout and colors and made several recommendations. In the subsequent 3 weeks, Marina implemented Jennifer’s advice. As Marina described: “It’s been life changing! Both my husband and I own small businesses. We have seen unusual growth activity in both businesses in the last couple of weeks. Different opportunities presented themselves with positive results. Also, I noticed a change in mood of all the household members. The energy in the house must be flowing better! Jennifer is joyful, upbeat person and is a pleasure to work with!!” Since 2002, Marina has designed many residential projects, and has created a variety of commercial interiors such as Moore Hall in Providence College, Midea Corporation in Medford, Neurala Offices in Boston, Hopsters Restaurant in Newton, Lash Lamour Salon in Wellesley and others. She also specializes in kitchen and bath design. Marina is a welcome addition to our growing team!

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  Val Karataeva

  Home Stager

  With over 17+ years of professional experience in interior décor and home staging, Valeriya Karataeva is hands down one of the best in the Bay Area. She possesses a distinct eye for styling and composition and constantly has her pulse on the latest trends that will make any home stand out from the crowd. Val attended Central Saint Martins – University of the Arts in London, England, where she studied Interior Design. Val’s knack for picking just the right pieces for homes and commercial spaces stems from her passion to produce the best results for her clients. Whether that is selling a home for 10-25% above the asking price or simply cozying up a space, Val always rises up to the challenge. As a global curator of architectural assets, Val understands how to weave different styles together while staying true to each overarching theme. Some of her favorite design styles include: Contemporary, Modern, Mid-Century Modern, Traditional, Transitional, and Coastal. Feng Shui Style is incredibly proud to have her as our partner in crime. Val’s expertise in home staging complements Jennifer Emmer’s Feng Shui talents so well, their designs are synergistic and beautiful – with the secret weapon of Feng Shui to seal the deal. The two of them move in unison with each other seamlessly. If you’re considering Feng Shui Style for any of our services, be sure to ask about home staging as well!

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  Jennifer A. Emmer

  Owner, Feng Shui Master, Senior Interior Designer

  Jennifer A. Emmer is an HGTV-featured Feng Shui Master, Interior Designer, and Historic Preservationist with over 25 years of experience and hundreds of happy clients. She has designed businesses, homes, hotels, movie studios, restaurants, and spas all over the United States as well as in Europe and Asia. Feng Shui Style just won “Top Three Designers in San Jose” for 2020, 2021, and 2022! Jennifer was named one of the Top 10 Most Influential Feng Shui Experts On Twitter and has won Best of Houzz multiple times. She was featured on HGTV’s Flip It to Win it, a show about the competitive world of flipping properties in the San Francisco Bay Area. “I was out there, being a designer, and it was so one-dimensional. I was looking for something more. I stumbled onto a book about Feng Shui in Chinatown, San Francisco, and my whole world changed. I discovered that Feng Shui involved architecture, design, people, some kind of ‘secret sauce’, color, visualization, culture, and history. All of my favorite things rolled into one!” She began studying and practicing Feng Shui in 1995 in San Francisco’s Chinatown, with immediate and impressive results. She pumped up her “Helpful People” corner, and met Academy Award Winning Film Editor Gabriella Cristiani. Gabriella had learned Feng Shui in China, after editing The Last Emperor, for which she received an Oscar in 1987. After performing consultations with Gabriella, Jennifer studied the teachings of Master Larry Sang of the American Feng Shui Institute in Los Angeles, where she learned the oldest forms of Feng Shui: the “Form School”, “Compass School”, “Flying Star School”, and “Eight Mansion Theory”. In 1997, Jennifer created L.A. Feng Shui in Venice, California, where she worked with many movie studios, celebrities, artists, and actors. In 2000, she decided to leave the frenetic pace of L.A. and return to the Bay Area, where she established Feng Shui Style. Jennifer also studied at The International Feng Shui Institute in Kent, England, under Master Alan Stirling. As for her “classical” education, Jennifer studied Humanities at Harvard University, with a major in French and History, which eventually led her to architecture and Historic Preservation. She also studied Design and Photography at the Massachusetts College of Art, Non-linear video editing at Boston Film & Video, Oil Painting and Italian in Florence, Italy, and International Business at Boston University. All her experience and passions ultimately combined in the practice of Feng Shui, which involves architecture, design, people, color, history, and culture.

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  Link: Jennifer A. Emmer