Tobi Fairley Interior Design

As a child, Tobi Fairley dreamed of a career in the design field, but she didn’t think it was possible.
In college, she studied accounting and planned for a job in business. But thoughts of a career in interior design kept haunting her.
So she decided to take a chance on the industry and opened T. Lamarr Interiors in Little Rock in 1999.
“I was extremely busy from the moment I opened my door,” she said. “I’ve been managing growth for 10 years, which is a really difficult thing to do, and growing really fast.”
With 12 employees, the company had revenue of $2 million last year. And Fairley, 38, said her company was on target to shatter that record in 2010.
Her work has been featured in magazines such as Traditional Home and on HGTV’s “Top 10,” which showcases the work of top designers.
In October 2008, Fairley changed the company’s name to reflect her own, Tobi Fairley Interior Design. Her business also features an art gallery that represents more than 20 regional artists.
Fairley has residential clients from New York to California.
“A lot of our clients are at a level where they want something that no one else has,” she said. “We do custom design and coloring and sizing and everything from wallpaper to rugs to original pieces of art.”
Fairley said she planned to add to the company a wallpaper design product this year. She said she hoped to add a few more product lines later.
The secret to her success is hard work, Fairley said.
“I’m constantly thinking and I’m not a procrastinator,” she said. “If I get my mind around a good idea, I jump immediately.”

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