Growing up in Mill Valley, California, and around the greater Bay Area, I was privileged to be surrounded by many friends and family prolific in the arts and successful in an array of mediums. Being drawn to exciting compositions, colors and materials I embarked on my first art classes at 10 years of age, always thinking I would be a well known artist.

With a degree in fine art, I found I had few talents to be a successful painter. Thus, after a career in the beauty industry, with Diane von Furstenberg, Hermès, and Lancôme, I returned to school to study interior design and launched my firm, Jo Ann Hartley Interior Design, in 1999.

Creating keenly designed spaces has become my specialty, allowing a livelihood that is rich with creative expression through visual collaboration and years of well honed problem-solving skills. I encourage my clients to add an unexpected element of color or a dash of the unusual and to be fully engaged in their project. It’s an exciting world we are so lucky to explore. Each direction and turn I've made along the way, has shown what a rewarding career this has been.