Richard Ott
LLC Member
Richard Ott was born in St. Louis, MO and studied interior design in college. His professional career started in residential design, then commercial retail and eventually the interior design department for an architectural firm in St. Louis. He began his own design company and relocated his business to Hartford in the mid 90s. Richard's residential designs run the gamut from traditional to contemporary, all reflecting creative attention to detail. Richard is an active member of the Parkville Business Association and is a board member of the Hartford Preservation Alliance.
Nancy Burr Zwiener
LLC Member
Nancy, in partnership with Richard Ott, is the owner of DesignSourceCT. During the past fourteen years, they have collaborated on five residential design projects. Nancy’s education (A.B., Economics & Public Policy – Duke University and M.B.A., Finance & Marketing, Univ. of Pittsburgh) followed by eight years of management experience at Mellon Bank and Ford Motor Company, coupled with her love of residential architecture and beautiful interior furnishings all were instrumental in the vision behind and creation of DesignSourceCT.
Prior to the opening the showroom, Nancy and her family lived in many different parts of the country and experienced many different residential styles and decorating challenges. While raising a family, she remained active as a community volunteer. Since moving to CT twelve years ago, Nancy has held leadership positions in the following not-for-profit organizations: Connecticut Children’s Medical Center Foundation, Connecticut Forum, Garden Club of Hartford, Hill-Stead Museum, Junior League of Hartford, Renbrook School, and Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. She was honored with a “Rising Star Award” in 2004 by the Metro Hartford Alliance.
Married for thirty years, Nancy and her husband, David, are the parents of four children aged 18 to 24. They reside in the historic West End of Hartford.
Adrian Barnes
Manager, Memo Room
Adrian joined DesignSourceCT in August, 2006 after spending 12 years at The Fabric Place in Cromwell, Ct. She has acquired a wealth of knowledge in all aspects of fabric design, composition, and origin and has valuable resources and industry contacts to assist clients with various issues regarding fabric. She has an educational background in the educational field.
Alice Brash
General Sales Manager
Alice has nearly thirty years of experience in various facets of the interior design industry. She has been an independent Sales Rep for both accessory and furniture companies, was the showroom manager for Patricia Nichole Ltd., managed the office for a local high-end design studio and, for seventeen years, was the Buyer for wallpaper, window treatments, fabrics and shop-at-home goods for Inside Outlet stores, a division of Grossmans, Inc.
Alice holds a B.S. Degree in Interior Design from State University College at Buffalo, NY. Married for 26 years, Alice and her husband, Crawford, are the parents of two daughters and reside in West Hartford.
Megan Dillon
Part-Time Sales Associate, Fabric, Trim & Wallcovering
A native of Rocky Hill, Megan is a part-time student at Central Connecticut State University, studying Marketing & Sales. Megan’s extensive knowledge of textiles has developed over the past several years while assisting her parents in Dillon Associates, a family firm representing manufacturers of to-the-trade fabric and furniture lines. Prior to joining the dS[ct] showroom staff in August 2005, Megan had assisted two interior designers in private practice and had worked at Fabric Place in the home décor department. Located at the north Park Street entrance to the dS[ct] showroom, Megan is pleased to assist designers with their fabric, trim and wallpaper needs.
Linda Graydon
Manager, Advertising & Special Projects
A native of West Hartford, Linda worked for a number of years marketing pension investment services, specializing in institutional real estate investments. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from Newton College of the Sacred Heart and an M.B.A. in Finance & Accounting from Boston College School of Management.
Prior to joining DesignSourceCT in March 2005, Linda owned The French Collection LLC, an importer of French antiques. She also served as a volunteer for Hill-Stead Museum, Renbrook School, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art and was Clerk of the Fenwick Historic District Commission for several years.
Married for more than twenty years, Linda and her husband, R. James Graydon, M.D., have a son and a daughter, and reside in Farmington.
Kathy Leduc
Operations Mgr, Accessories / Memos / Shipping & Receiving
Kathy has nearly thirty years of retail experience, both in Rhode Island and Connecticut. Always energetic and with a ready smile, Kathy’s focus and strength is in customer service and encouraging teamwork. Her desk is located near the Accessory, Memo and Receiving rooms, but Kathy is frequently on her feet covering lots of ground in the showroom!
Prior to joining DesignSourceCT in July 2005, Kathy served for more than seven years as the General Manager of Pottery Barn, Westfarms Mall, where she was ranked among the top five performing managers in the country. She previously served in a similar capacity at Victoria’s Secret. While living in Rhode Island and raising two daughters, Kathy was the co-owner of Leeway True Value Hardware/Lawn & Garden Center. Although appearing to be far too young, Kathy enjoys frequent visits with her grandchildren.
Jean Murray
Part-time Associate, Memo Room
A graduate of Providence College with a BA in Psychology, Jean Murray is the newest member of the dS[ct] team, responsible for finding and ordering fabric, trim and wallpaper memo samples for designers and for maintaining the memo files in tip-top shape. Prior to joining DesignSourceCT in March 2007, Jean worked at Patricia Nichole LTD as the receptionist and in the memo room. A resident of West Hartford, she is married with three daughters. Outside of work she enjoys being with her family, gardening, golfing and playing softball.
Darlene T. Pelletier
Manager, Fabrics & Trims , Suite 112
Darleen joined dS[ct] in the fall of 2007 to oversee the extensive fabric department that is located in Suite 112 that encompasses the collections of Robert Allen, Duralee and Fabricut. She was previously employed by Industrial Steel & Boiler Services, Inc. in Chicopee, MA as a commercial customer service representative.
Nancy Perkins
Manager, Premium Fabric Lines (Brunschwig & Fils, Old World Weavers, Scalamandre), Carpet & Rugs
A native of Illinois, Nancy graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in Interior Design. She began her career in interior design in the Decorating Studio at the G. Fox & Co department store in Hartford. She then joined Nina Interiors LTD as a managing partner. Prior to joining DesignSourceCT in July 2005, she was the sales and design coordinator at the TPC golf course community, River Highlands, in Cromwell CT. Nancy and her husband, Tom, a housing developer, have two sons, Nathan and Calen, and they reside in Hebron. Nancy is the ‘go to’ expert for custom carpets at dS[ct].
Edwin Rivera
Staff Member, Shipping, Receiving & Maintenance
Born in Puerto Rico and raised in Springfield, MA, Ed is the proverbial "glue" that keeps the showroom operations functioning smoothly. Ed has had experience in a number of different fields over the years, has a number of skills, and is an extremely hard worker. Ed is unfailingly cheerful and polite and enjoys inspecting the beautiful merchandise that arrives daily. Ed's 'can do' spirit is an inspiration to his fellow staff members and our clients alike.
Carolyn Schulken
Part-time Sales Associate, Premium Fabric Lines & Carpets
A native of Long Island and a graduate of SUNY Oswego in upstate New York, Carolyn’s first position was project manager at a contract furniture dealer in Manhattan. During her four years there, she developed relationships with several different design and architectural firms. After getting married and relocating to the Hartford area, Carolyn worked as showroom manager and ultimately, account manager, at BKM Total Office in East Hartford. Carolyn joined the dS[ct] sales team in August 2005. Carolyn and her husband, Tim, are the parents of three young children and reside in West Hartford.
