Visual Merchandising and Store Design | VMSD.com

The young architect and designer at Bergmeyer & Associates is this year’s PAVE Rising Star. Cooking is one of her passions. Is that why she cries at movies about food?

In four words, what does it mean to you to be this industry’s current “rising star”?
Grateful for fabulous mentors.

It’s winter in Boston. Where do you go to keep warm?
To my kitchen. I love to cook, so something is usually sautéing on the stove or baking in the oven.

What was your first retail project?
An Aeropostale store.

And what did you learn from that project?
That there’s always more to learn.

Which individual designer has inspired you?
I admire Renzo Piano’s ability to consistently produce architecture that is sensitive to the identity and needs of each client rather than trying to impose a warmed-over signature style on each commission.

When you were growing up in northern Virginia, which TV family did
you wish was yours?
My parents both have careers in music, so we had our own built-in soundtrack at all times. By contrast, life always seemed too quiet for the TV families I watched.

Which one-time Rachel Zsembery fashion statement now makes you cringe and want to destroy the photos?
I went through a phase during the grunge era when I must have believed that “matching is a state of mind, not a state of being.” I’ve intercepted most of the photos.

What three words describe you best?
Dynamic, passionate, dedicated.

If you could go somewhere you’ve never been, where would it be?
I have a rotating list that’s too numerous to count. Today, it’s hiking the Milford Track in New Zealand. Yesterday, it was Prague.

Name one thing on your nightstand.
“A Romance on Three Legs: Glenn Gould’s Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Piano,” by Katie Hafner.

What movie always makes you cry?
“Like Water for Chocolate.”

What movie always makes you laugh?
“Best in Show.”

Rachel Raves About...

• Roughing it. I take it very seriously and even quit the Girl Scouts when I was 10 because I didn’t think they were hardcore enough about hiking and camping. I thought it was cheating to stay in a cabin instead of a tent.
• The view from the middle of the Mass Ave Bridge between Boston and Cambridge.
• “Mad Men” – especially the wardrobe and sets.
• My golden retriever, Honeybear. He hikes and climbs with me and keeps me warm during Boston’s endless winters.