Portrait by David Fenton

Susie Hersker loves the Southwest, it’s in her genes and her jeans.

“I have a strong history here,” notes the Scottsdale designer and ASID member. In 1919, her maternal grandparents married in copper-rich Globe, Ariz. Generations earlier, “Ma’am Jones,” her maternal great-great-grandmother and a midwife in southeastern New Mexico, befriended notorious outlaw William H. Bonney, also known as “Billy the Kid.”

“Billy the Kid appeared at her door one night. She fed him and tended to his wounds,” explains Hersker. She says that the outlaw was then beholden to her, later avenging the death of Ma’am Jones’ son.

Although Hersker was born in Ohio, her family moved back to Arizona when she was 1½, and her lifelong love affair with the Southwest began.

A professional designer for 30 years, this Master of the Southwest is owner of Design Directives, a firm that creates residential and commercial interiors nationwide. She also is part owner and member of Scottsdale’s Interior Studio Group, LLC, where she melds her talents with those of other professionals.
 
As a child, “I was always drawing and creating ‘interiors’ for my dolls or my sister. I was always making things,” Hersker recalls. In college, she changed paths from studying art education to interior design after taking classes on the subject at Arizona State University. Eventually, she earned her bachelor’s degree in interior design.

“I’ve always had my hands on the pulse of the Southwest,” says the designer, who also has tried her hand at building furniture and welding metal sculpture. “I love the materials and textures, the tones and hues.”

To incorporate the desert into a wall of a Southwest-style home at Desert Mountain in north Scottsdale, she traveled to the mining town of Congress, Ariz., about 75 miles northwest of Scottsdale. “I donned my hiking boots to select two boulders, had them trucked back, then worked with the crane operator to place them before the slab was poured,” she recalls.

The homes Hersker designs bespeak the Southwest, though often in whispers. “I don’t want to be tied to one look,” she notes. Still, she keeps her creative boots firmly on Southwest ground. As a result, her interiors are light-suffused and offer views of the surrounding landscape. “I want my desert homes to have a scale equal to the desert—open and flowing—while at the same time equal to our desert lifestyle: comfortable and casual,” the designer remarks.

The industry has recognized this dedication and skill. A professional member of the Arizona North chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) since 1981, Hersker has received first- and second-place awards in the chapter’s annual ASID Design Excellence Awards. She also has been nationally recognized with the 2002 Home Book Design Excellence Award for product design.

From her first design job locally at a floor-covering and drapery store, Hersker has taken a hands-on approach to the profession. Before opening her studio, she worked for a large furniture store and traveled to factories nationwide: “This kind of experience helps you sell the product to clients without reservation.” Today Hersker designs custom furnishings, often incorporating such local materials as copper and granite.

Most importantly, “she’s a great facilitator,” one home-owner comments, referring to Hersker’s ability to team client, architect, builder and trades for a cohesive project.

“I listen,” Hersker says. “The result should be a home that looks as though a designer was never there.”

Photo by Dino Town Susie Hersker’s deft touch can be seen throughout the kitchen of this home near Vail, Colo. The alder-wood island with an ebonized finish has a butcher-block top; cabinetry is hand-carved alder; and a two-tier prep/sitting area features granite tops.

Photo by Michael Woodall Placed in a walnut and art-glass paneled door, a large slice from an ironwood tree creates an eye-catching entry.