Personal space
Jamileh Kamran
Where I live: St. Charles neighborhood, west Little Rock.
Occupation: I am a fashion designer of 50 years. I am also owner/founder of Arkansas Fashion School, which will graduate its 2018 class (and showcase their fashion lines) at A Leading Edge, Aug. 2 at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion. The public is invited and tickets are at eventbrite.com.
My favorite space is: my garden. I have worked for the last 15 years to build it up to where it is today. It includes more than 50 hydrangea bushes and 40 azalea bushes. I have built my backyard one flower, and flowering plant, at a time.
Why? I feel most relaxed when I take a walk with my cup of coffee to my deck, enjoying the colorful flowers. They also give me inspiration for my fashion designs; often I will do some of my best sketching in my garden. I spend, on average, a couple of hours here every day from early February through late fall. I also have a small space for vegetables. The only thing I’ve grown there so far is Persian mint, which I share with friends, but I look forward to growing more vegetables.
If I could make one change to improve this space, I would: spend more time cultivating it. Unfortunately, with the heat in Arkansas, I am not able to enjoy being outside for most hours of the day during summers. But I do like to invite friends over to enjoy my flowers with me.