Conversations with the Inspiring Aspen Scharff

Today we’d like to introduce you to Aspen Scharff.

Aspen, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am a senior at the University of San Diego. I am a communication major. I am the social media producer for USD TV News. I am an interior designer in Downtown San Diego and an aspiring real estate agent. I worked in the service industry all my young adult life which has led me to have great knowledge of exceptional hospitality. I always say that my purpose on this earth is to leave each space I enter more beautiful then I found it. I am through and through a California girl. I was born in Huntington Beach, CA. From elementary school through high school, I lived in Ladera Ranch, CA. A small city where you walked to school and knew all of your neighbors. I absolutely love the small town feel. I grew up with my loving mother and father whom I am still best friends with to this day and my younger sister whom I admire more than anything. She is a combat medic in the United States Army. My family is my rock and I couldn’t emphasize enough how their love and support have made me into the woman I am today.

When I graduated from Tesoro High School, I was ready for a change and decided to continue with my college education at Santa Barbara City College. I loved being in a completely new place and meeting so many new people. My love of communication blossomed here and that is when I declared a communication major. being able to hold conversation and network, in my opinion, is a skill that many people miss out on and should be help at an extremely high value. In Santa Barbara, I learned about my love for travel which led me to study abroad in Florence, Italy. I decided to embark on this mission along with a program at Richmond University of International study. In Italy, I studied the Italian language, fashion, photography, film, and cooking. These extracurricular classes helped me to dive deeper into each one of my passions and explore the breadth of interests I have in a completely new surrounding. After three months of exploring, I returned back to California where I finished my community college studies at Saddleback College. This is when I was accepted for transfer by USD. I was absolutely over the moon to become a Torero and finish out my college career at such an elite university.

Becoming a torero was when I really started to see a transformation in my career and goals. My first semester here I was introduced to media writing by my professor and mentor Gina Lew. Her class completely changed the way that I viewed media writing and allowed me to discover my talent in media. The following semester, I became the social media producer for USDTV News. This position taught me so much about social media marketing and allowed me to share my creativity with an important outlet. I will be forever grateful to the USDTV News team for welcoming me with open arms and sharing their platform.

During the same time, I began pursuing my career in real estate and interior designer. Last summer, I did my first official renovation with New West Real Estate Investments. The property is located in the Gaslamp district in a building called the lofts @777. The one bedroom apartment was bought in foreclosure and then redesigned for Airbnb by myself and my team. The style is industrial bohemian with many handmade unique pieces. The redesign was a raging success. The apartment was awarded the status of AirBnB Plus due to the stylistic excellence and amazing hospitality provided. I am very proud to say that I am involved in not only the redesign but also the success of my work families business model. It was not uncommon for the apartment to be at 100% occupancy multiple months in a row. It was such a success that we have started on our second project this year. New West Real Estate Investments recently purchased the WoolWorth Building in Gaslamp district on Fifth and Broadway. We are currently in the process of remodeling the four-story building. The plans include but are not limited to a speakeasy in the basement, restaurant/lounge space on the first floor, and six Airbnb’s that are being styled as an international boutique hotel (all six will be able to be rented out to large parties). Each room will have an entirely different theme ranging from the “champagne room” to an “Amazon inspired room” to the “Africa room” it is our goal for our guests to have a completely unique experience when staying at the property. The remodel should be complete by August 2019.

As a young businesswoman, I am beginning to build my platforms through website design, social media marketing, and collaboration with other designers and young professionals. I am excited to acquire my real estate agent license over this upcoming summer and continue to grow within this industry.

I am forever inspired by all the strong businesswoman around me and more then anything loves collaborating to create one-of-a-kind energy in the workspace. This is just the start of my journey and I feel overwhelmed with gratitude that following my graduation I will be able to say that I not only have a job but I get to do something that I love with all of my heart for the rest of my life.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely has been a bumpy, uphill ride. School has never been easy for me. Paying attention in a classroom setting has been a strong challenge since elementary school. With that being said, I NEVER gave up. I didn’t take a semester off I continued to fight to be my best. I learned new study skills, I sought out advisors. I am a first generation college student so my entire family is learning as we go. I was rejected BY multiple schools before being accepted. I did not let the fear of rejection stop me from applying and ultimately, my persistence is what has gotten me to where I am today. Once I was at a University, we were slapped with the bill and this is when I started to learn about scholarships. I am now at USD on scholarship. Again this is due to my never give up, there is always a way attitude. When you want something in this life, you have to go and get it. Radical self-reliance is something I practice every day. Gratitude is something I practice every day. In order to achieve, you need collaboration and to be grateful for those around you. If you are given a small opportunity, take that and create a large opportunity through hard work and thinking outside the box.

My advice to other women would be to always believe in your power to achieve what you set your mind to. If you have a goal or dream do not count on other people to make it happen for you, it is up to you to take the steps to create your own reality. DO NOT compare yourself to anyone else, I strongly feel that if women could set aside comparison and appreciate the beauty and talents each of us had it would change the way that women communicate with one another. My advice is to always speak your mind, do not apologize if you are not sorry. I think too often we are pushed down to conform to what to society believes is the standard but what really benefits our community is those who can push limits without concern for what others think, express themselves to the fullest, and challenge those around them to think from different perspectives.

What should we know about Kissed By Aspen? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
As an interior designer, my style would be bohemian. I love to travel and I bring that with me into my style when designing. I like to think outside of the box, yet make it comfortable for guests. I honestly know for being easy to work with. I absolutely love working with clients to create THEIR perfect image, not necessarily my idea. The idea of two people coming up with something totally unique is what is special to me when it comes to interior design.

I specialize in the remodeling process. I think this is due to my high level of patience. It definitely gets ugly before it gets pretty. That goes back to having dreams and being able to stay committed to your vision.

I am most proud of my strong work ethic and creativity. I love interior design and real estate because I have the opportunity to explore two different sides of myself, the real estate savvy business girl, and the creative bohemian traveler. It is truly the most rewarding experience to see the visions come to life and then to become a successful business following that is the icing on the cake.

Another special aspect of the work we do is going to be giving back to the community through the rebirth of these broken down spaces. It is my goal to continue to help transform the city by giving a facelift to broken down buildings. Sometimes, all it takes is a little love and hard work to recreate an entire area that so many people can enjoy for years to come.

It would be great to hear about any apps, books, podcasts or other resources that you’ve used and would recommend to others.
Pinterest is one of the loves of my life. It is a space where you can easily access other art and you can see that collaboration and the vast variety of style makes it an amazing platform.

Bizzie Gold’s podcast, The Modern Good, specifically the podcast “shifting into consciousness” has changed my life. Being able to tap into the present moment and have confidence are two things that every young woman should be taught and/or reminded of. Bizzie Gold does an amazing job at inspiring young girl bosses to tap into their inner awesomeness, badass-ness, girl power. Just everything that you need to feel empowered is what Bizzie is all about.

Canva is a graphic design app that I have become obsessed with, It is easy to use and so professional. There is a vast variety of options for any user to be creative. This could be used to make your own business card, school presentation, or personalized birthday card. So rad!

I will touch on Instagram as I have found a new appreciation for this platform. As I had mentioned prior, I am not a fan of comparison, so in the past year personally, I have stepped away from the platform because I felt it wasn’t serving my creativity and was more of just a platform used for social acceptance. It can have a negative impact on communication within your real life relationships. With that being said, I recently began using it as a business creative platform for my interior design. I love this outlet when it is used in the right way. I think it is important to share your creativity and passions with the world (not so much a booty picture, ya know?).

Contact Info:

• Address: 4933 Cape May, San Diego, CA 92101
• Phone: 949.412.4997
• Email: ascharff@sandiego.edu
• Instagram: kissed.byaspen
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aspen.scharff?ref=bookmarks
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/aspenscharff/

Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.