Her Story

Daisy Distributing Company

Von launched her first business venture in 1959, serving as owner and president of Daisy Distributing Company in Austin. Running a company as a young woman in that era meant learning every job: buying, selling, bookkeeping, hiring and, above all, earning trust one customer at a time.

Lady Love Cosmetics, Inc.

As a District Marketing Director for Lady Love Cosmetics, Von moved into executive leadership. She built sales infrastructure, wrote marketing strategy and, most of all, built teams, recruiting and training the professionals who worked under her direction and helping many of them build businesses of their own.

Success Secrets, and books of her own

Her rise from grass-roots business owner to the executive boardroom earned Von a feature in Success Secrets, published by Royal CBS Publishing. She went on to write From the Ironing Board to Executive Board! and to co-author Stand Up – Speak Out – And Win! and The Joy of Selling!, practical books on confidence, communication and sales.

About the books

A design studio on Austin Avenue

In 1979 Von turned her eye for people and her creative streak into an interior design practice in Georgetown, just north of Austin, a town famous for its preserved Victorian architecture. From a storefront at 718 S. Austin Avenue in the historic downtown, she worked in historic houses and traditional Texas estates, learning respect for architectural heritage, scale and structure.

Those Texas years made her an expert in textiles, custom upholstery and antiques, and gave her a signature: Southern warmth balanced with European elegance.

Von Nash Interiors comes north

Von, whose roots are in Texas and Oklahoma, brought her practice to Kootenai County and opened Von Nash Interiors on Northwest Boulevard in Coeur d’Alene in 2002. Her first Idaho website promised “exquisite design interiors, unique gifts and distinctive furniture to match your style,” and offered everything from design planning for builds and remodels to window treatments, cabinets, fixtures, wallpaper, upholstery and furniture. Its motto: “we do it all.”

A bigger stage

The business moved to a 6,000-square-foot building on Fourth Street that for years had been Graves Appliance. The showroom became a destination for new, antique and retrofitted furniture, décor, gifts and upholstery work.

The Kathleen Avenue showroom

In February 2012 Von moved again, to a larger space at 215 W. Kathleen Avenue with parking front and back. The Coeur d’Alene Press covered the move and noted her enthusiasm, which was as big as the showroom. For more than a decade it was an eclectic sanctuary of furniture, lighting, art, vases, stemware and seasonal décor, and a living portfolio of how different pieces can live together.

The rent doubles, and the doors close

It wasn’t the first time a landlord rewrote her plans. In 2012 the Fourth Street landlord declined to extend her lease, and she simply moved somewhere bigger. This time the Kathleen Avenue landlord announced the rent would double. With retail space around Coeur d’Alene climbing fast, staying would have meant doubling prices on her customers, and Von doesn’t do business that way. She closed the showroom and took her eye on the road. Read the showroom story

Consultation, strategy and a trusted local team

Without a storefront to run, Von has settled into a busy semi-retirement. There is no physical showroom any more; she meets every client at their own property, by appointment only. She now spends her time where her experience counts most: one-on-one consultations and master planning with homeowners, builders and architects. Once the plan is set, she hands the work to a hand-picked network of local trades and suppliers, so clients get skilled local craftsmanship and the regional economy gets the business.

In 2023 she took her first vacation in a long, long time. Her explanation: she has so much fun doing what she does that she usually turns down the chance to do nothing.