I am responding to the article ("Against the Wall," June 29) about interior designers. Posh Exclusive Interiors does not have an issue with investigative reporting as long as it is accurate and unbiased. I am referring specifically to the work of Leslie Turk, the reporter who wrote the article. She reported that Posh Exclusive Interiors and principal designer Monique Breaux "appeared to be in violation of state law." This is not accurate. To confirm this, Monique and I met last week with [Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Interior Designers'] attorney Anna Dow; she informed us that Posh Exclusive Interiors as well as Monique was not in violation with the board.
Turk refers to the misuse of the word designer in her article. The law clearly states that the use of the word designer in a Web site or in advertisement is not in violation of the law. Monique has two design degrees from reputable and accredited institutions of education and uses these degrees in various applications. Posh Exclusive Interiors participated in the INDesign competition and was honored with a highly respected gold award.
Not only does Posh Exclusive Interiors support this area, but it has given Lafayette international exposure with the HGTV show Designers' Challenge. This program goes into 80 million homes worldwide. I am uncertain what Turk intended by writing this article, but instead of stressing the importance of licensing in Louisiana for all designers who do commercial work, she attempted to tear the moral fiber of this community apart. There is no reason any of these designers, decorators, whatever you want to label them, should have been singled out. It is truly disheartening when someone works so hard to make her community proud of what she does, and irresponsible reporting attempts to tear down such hard work. What Turk did was, in my opinion, unethical and desperate. I hope that this sheds some light on this sensitive issue.
The Independent Weekly stands by its story. ' Ed.