Featuring Laura Ballerini, Graphic Designer and Brand Champion, a resource for your well-being. As a member of The Wellness Universe, and Best-Selling Author of the book The Green Velvet Chair: Sometimes Inspiration Comes from the Most Unlikely Places, we wanted to share a bit about their work in the world.
Laura Ballerini is a designer who started much of her creative journey at The Calgary Herald in Canada. She now owns her own digital design boutique and seamlessly weaves together an unlikely array of stories about her inspiring mother, museum visits, online shopping, designing in the dirt, and many other adventures (including a visit to Graceland).
We asked Laura Ballerini to share their journey in writing their book. Shining a light and the inside scoop on their inspiration, process, reader reflections, and more.
WU: What influenced you to write your book, The Green Velvet Chair: Sometimes Inspiration Comes from the Most Unlikely Places?
Laura Ballerini: Being a shy, quiet introvert, I didn’t think my stories mattered. I joined an oral storytelling workshop and soon realized I could make people laugh, make people cry, and make people think deeper. Perhaps I had stories worth telling after all.
I began to design with words and realized inspiration can come from the most unlikely place—like a green velvet chair! Art is everywhere—not only in museums. Art is in food, music, nature, and so much more. Inspiration enables each of us to become artists in our own way.
WU: Tell us a bit about your journey. How long did it take you to write? How did writing your book change your life?
Laura Ballerini: My journey took some twists and turns. Writing a book was never on my radar. Up to that point, the only things I wrote were budgets, schedules, and proposals. I never felt like a creative writer. But after taking the storytelling workshops, where I actually told stories out loud, I realized the power of words. I enlisted an editor, Kathy Sparrow, who guided me through the book-writing process, which at times was very emotional. Sharing a story about writing my mom’s eulogy was tough, but there were profound messages that percolated to the top. Stories about Halloween costumes, Ukrainian easter eggs, and visits to far-off museums became narratives that triggered creativity, heritage, and history.
WU: What are your readers sharing? How has your book inspired and impacted lives?
Laura Ballerini: I was pleased that the book inspired so many people. One reader, whom I had known a long time, wrote me to say, “Laura, I didn’t know you had a hard time in high school. When I read that chapter, it resonated with me deeply. I feel like I know you even better now!”
Writing my personal essays and realizing there were universal stories within them touched me. I was grateful readers could relate to my words and be inspired by them.
Book Reviews
Kate | 5.0 out of 5 stars
A Timely Reminder to Slow Down and See the Beauty in the Everyday
I truly believe this book found its way to me at the exact moment I needed it most. I had been speeding through life like I was flying down the autobahn at 300 km/h—without stopping, without feeling, without remembering how to savor the simple moments or see the beauty in them.
Laura’s honest and heartfelt essays gently reminded me of the importance of pausing in the relentless race toward achievement. They helped me reconnect with the quiet joys of everyday life and appreciate just how unexpectedly beautiful ordinary moments can be.
Bruce Scheer | 5.0 out of 5 stars
A Quiet Revolution in Creativity
Laura Ballerini’s The Green Velvet Chair is a rare kind of book—effortlessly elegant and deeply human. Through her decades in design, Laura doesn’t just show us where inspiration hides—she reveals how it sneaks into the everyday: in a crumpled receipt, a dance floor moment, or even the smoke curling from a memory. Her essays are personal yet universal, weaving humor, reflection, and courage into an unforgettable narrative. This book is a gentle nudge—and sometimes a bold shove—for each of us to recognize the artist within. A delightful, soul-stirring read.
Dr. Helen Holton | 5.0 out of 5 stars
💚 Stories That Settle in Your Soul: A Seat on The Green Velvet Chair
In The Green Velvet Chair, Laura Elizabeth Ballerini invites readers into a cozy, reflective space where memory, meaning, and design beautifully intertwine. With warmth and vulnerability, she shares heartfelt vignettes from her life—each story anchored by everyday objects and moments that evoke deeper truths. Like sitting down with an old friend, this book offers comfort, inspiration, and gentle nudges to pause and appreciate the layers of our own lived experiences. Ballerini’s writing is both elegant and approachable, making this a delightful read for anyone who cherishes storytelling with heart and style. A soulful tribute to life’s seemingly small moments that shape who we are—a good book to read to make your day brighter, even when the sun’s not shining.
WU: What do you aspire to achieve through your book?
Laura Ballerini: I guess I want to leave a legacy for my children and my granddaughter to remember me by. Each essay is positive, and as deep, or as light, as the reader chooses. My goal is that each chapter will inspire readers to accept the challenges that come their way, find the lessons within them, and become stronger.
WU: Any final words you would like to share?
Laura Ballerini: After reading my book, a marketing coach called me a perspective shifter. She appreciated how I could look at things from a different point of view and adjust my reaction to it. I have worked on ‘coming to the table with eyes wide open’ my whole life. So, for her to see that in me was a revelation. I hope that I can encourage others to be perspective shifters too. The world is complicated and sometimes lacks clarity. I believe taking a step back and seeing the world through a focused, thoughtful vantage point is critical.
Thank you, Laura Ballerini, for sharing your insights and story with us.
If you found this insightful and inspiring, get a copy of The Green Velvet Chair, 2nd Edition.
Connect with Laura on The Wellness Universe, visit her website, and follow Laura on LinkedIn.
Business Intensive Workshop
5 Minutes / 5 Slides: Designing Presentations That Captivate and Connect
Join The Wellness Universe for 5 Minutes / 5 Slides: Designing Presentations That Captivate and Connect with award-winning Executive Creative Director Laura Ballerini of BluBrown Communications Inc. Learn how to distill your message into five powerful slides that communicate what sets you apart—with clarity, creativity, and confidence. Plus, one live attendee will receive on-the-spot coaching, and all registrants get access to Laura’s “Shift Perspective” Tool.
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Thank you, The Wellness Universe, for this interview with Laura Ballerini. It was intriguing to hear how she decided to write her book and how powerful our stories are. Our voices truly do matter.