Isabel Dellinger Candelaria, Earth and Images’ principal designer and owner, appeared to have acquired all she desired. Her work was thriving; she married the man of her dreams, went to Italy, and attended galas regularly, yet she still felt something was missing.
In 2017, Isabel was diagnosed with stage IV cancer. During this process, she gave her life to Christ. “Within a few weeks of being diagnosed, God began to show me what I had been missing by doing it my way. Throughout the treatment, I consistently pursued learning how to live a life in Christ. In March 2020, I was baptized and continue to learn and practice in ways to deepen my devotion.” Faith has become Isabel’s passion.
Isabel, ambitious, motivated, confident, creative, soulful, loyal, and faithful, now feels she is on the right track and trusts God to steer her successful journey in life and the design profession.
What inspired you to start Earth and Images interior design firm?
It was a combination of needing to be challenged creatively and intellectually and reevaluating my business plan due to the 2008 recession. I purchased Earth and Images as a home furnishings retail store in the summer of 2007. A year later, sales dropped 65%. By 2010, I had to do something to positively impact myself and my career, so I returned to school for my interior design certification. It was the best move I could have made. By the end of 2012, I was starting to do projects. After the first one, I was hooked. I loved developing our process and being able to provide all services needed for a full project. My first new build project was published multiple times and awarded a spot on our Phoenix Home & Garden home tour. Success continues to unfold, God’s way of showing me I’m on the right path. In 2007, there was just my mom and I working, and now in 2022, there are nine of us. I love being a small business and providing careers for talented people in the design industry. We became much bigger than I thought we would, but I can’t say no to these opportunities to create more beauty. I am so grateful that God gave me this talent and the daily projects to use it.
What drives your design decisions? What are some of your biggest inspirations?
Our firm is very client focused. We see it as our job to make their design dreams a reality. Generally, they come to us with ideas and styles they like, and we develop them throughout the design process. If they don’t know what their personal style is, then there’s a lot of exploration, which I love the abstractness of because it is creation in action. We use our expertise, skills, and talents to execute their design preferences. Our work is very technical, so we must have a good team with a variety of talents to get everything done.
My biggest inspirations are designs that invigorate the senses just the right way. I love perfectly lit spaces, that have excellent sound mediation, and visually invigorate the best moods and sensations.
How would you describe your creative process?
Because I am highly sensitive, I can almost feel the direction a client wants the design to go, so it’s this process of bringing the abstract into being. I search for the essence of what will make the client happy and start pulling it together with tangible items.
What sets your work apart from other interior design firms?
We are set apart visually because we do not have just one look. We are blessed to work in a variety of styles and palettes, so our portfolio is diverse. The common thread throughout each project is that they are all comfortable and elegant.
How do you feel your work impacts and inspires the lives of others?
We go through so many decisions with our clients that by the time the house is done, we are fully aware of how they want to live, and we have made selections based on those preferences. In our projects, function is built into the beauty of the design. When spaces are perfectly proportioned and appointed, people feel good. Great design improves people’s lives, how they live, and their day-to-day experiences.
At Earth & Images, we believe the most captivating beauty often lies undiscovered within stories, places and elements — waiting to be unearthed and celebrated. Every space is an opportunity to tell a story — one that embodies each client’s unique vision and surroundings with meaning and honor.
At Earth & Images, spaces transform into compelling canvases of graceful, purposeful living. Through imagery, sentiment and nuance — insight is distilled into something deeply familiar, yet captivating. Environments that whisper significance and wonder.
This article appears in the Purpose & Power 2023 issue of TODAYSPURPOSEWOMAN.
