So friends another interesting episode of our Cool Geek of the Week comes to an end. And, we are here with the lovely answers of Luxist’s popular blogger Deidre Woollard. So, stop wandering, for a while and dive right into it!

1. Paul: What about your plans to create an artists’ colony in the California desert? Who inspired you for the idea and how far you’ve taken it?

Deidre: I am definitely still looking into creating an artists colony. I have a big interest in prefab housing and sustainable design and would love to create a community of writers and artists, some of whom would be full time residents and others who would be there for short residencies. I was inspired by spending time with a group of female fiction writers that I met in grad school. We try to meet every year for a week of writing and relaxation. It’s always such an intense and productive experience that it inspired me to want to create a place where that could exist on a more permanent level. I am smitten with the beauty of the California desert, the stark vastness of it all, and the way that nature thrives there under harsh conditions. So far the dream remains in the early planning stages.

2. Janus: What prompted you to review luxury products? Is it passion or a mere way to satisfy your dreams virtually? Don’t you feel like grabbing the glittering world in reality?

Deidre: I hadn’t planned on focusing on luxury products. I had riginally
wanted to do a book blog or a style blog but when Jason Calacanis asked me to work on Luxist I decided to try it and found that I really liked covering beautiful things. I had previously had an interest in real estate and in jewelry because my mother has an impressive vintage collection. It has definitely become a passion. I don’t necessarily want everything I cover although there are some things that I crave.

3. Vikas: Deidre, please tell us, what you actually are and who you’d like to
become. Is blogging just ‘means to an end’?

Deidre: I used to work on magazines and I find blogging to have a similar satisfaction for me, the process of creating something attractive and fun but not quite permanent. Ideally I want to get back to writing longer work at some point, whether it is fiction or non-fiction. I am currently studying gemology with an eye to working on a longer work of non-fiction about the way colored stones get into the marketplace. There has been a lot of focus on diamonds but not a lot of focus on how colored stones are mined and the ethical considerations therein.

4. Noah: Tell us about your interests in gemology. What’s there in these stones that appeal you the most?

Deidre: I think diamonds are for the most part, overrated. Not the big, high quality ones, but most of the ones commonly used. I think tsavorite has a beautiful green tone to it and I am fascinated by blue stones like sapphire, iolite and tanzanite. My favorite stone is the paraiba tourmaline, it has a gorgeous pool blue color.

5. Ritu: How is your typical day at work?

Deidre: I don’t think of blogging as work. But I will tell you I spend a lot of time online.

6. Neil: You have covered immense luxury at Luxist. But, given a choice what are the three most desirable things you would love to own too? Also, tell us about 3 most absurd luxury products that you have covered?

Deidre: Tough call, I love so many of the estates I have covered but my
favorite is The House Above The Morning Clouds in Green Valley, California. I would love to own one of the Zadora watches, and
probably the Great Antique Yquem collection, a collection of Sauternes first growth stretching from 1860 to 2002 house in custom
cabinets. My favorite absurd products are probably the diamond covered cellphones and computers but perhaps this is just because I am forever breaking and losing my gadgets.

7. Nina: Is the real Deidre Woolllard any different from Deidre Woollard the
blogger, who is constantly in awe with the lifestyle of the rich & the
famous?

Deidre: Perhaps. I am more concerned with the environment and with social issues in my real life. Also I believe that experiences are more valuable than possessions for the most part. I will probably spend money on a nice bottle of wine or a dinner for my friends before a new
purse because I would rather have that memory than a bunch of things. The most important aspect of money is that it gives you the freedom to do what you want to do.

8. Nandini: Your views on BornRich & Instablogs Network?

Deidre: I think Born Rich is a must read. I am often amazed by the things you
find and how quickly you find them.

I think Instablogs is one of the blog groups that has demonstrated the most staying power.

9). RapidFire Round:-

1. Billionaire(s) who inspire you most? Talkshow host Oprah Winfrey, real estate guru Donald Trump, casino mogul Stephen Wynn or Dietrich Mateschitz of energy drink Red Bull?

Deidre: Surprisingly Wynn. I once read his biography on a plane ride back from Vegas to Boston. He fascinates me because he doesn’t need to be in the
spotlight and because he has a love of art and because he doesn’t try to do everything. He just does one thing very well.

2. One Web2.0 app/site you wish you had created?

Deidre: Maybe Twitter. It’s so simple and so addictive.

3. Who would you like to design your next handset? Gucci, Prada or Vertu.

Deidre: Vertu. It’s what they do, after all.

4. Best Handbags? Louis Vuitton, Versace, Ralph Lauren or Yves Saint Laurent?

Deidre: I love the YSL Muse bag even thought it looks like a bit like it
should be holding a bowling ball. I like some of the Lauren bags. For the most part I am not a Vuitton fan although I once saw a vintage Vuitton trunk on eBay that was owned by Mary Martin that I wish I had bought and still obsess over.

5. One blog (except the ones you are working on) you would love to blog for?

Deidre: I’d like to work with Trent over at Pink is the new Blog. He’s snarky without being mean.

6. Favorite TV Nerds to go on date with: Screech from Saved by the Bell, Seth Cohen from The OC or Steve Urkel from Family Matters?

Deidre: Probably Seth. He’s most like my actual boy in music taste and drawing ability.

7. Netscape Navigators vs Digg Mobb?

Deidre: I’m biased here obviously. I love my fellow Navs because they all have such varied interests and passions.

8. Most overated? Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Jessica Simpson?

Deidre: Lohan. I may not like what Paris represents but that girl certainly works hard at being seen and she is always promoting something. And there is something very sweet about Jessica Simpson. I think Lindsay Lohan could be amazing if she pulls herself together but at this point she doesn’t lose herself into parts enough to be a good actress in my opinion. And she should stay away from the Cobrasnake and his ilk.

9. Best Julia Roberts Movie? Pretty Woman, Erin Brockovich, Sleeping with the Enemy or Notting Hill?

Deidre: None of the above isn’t an option? Okay, Sleeping with the Enemy because I love the moment when she finds things all neatly arranged in her new house by her psycho ex. It’s so implausible but still chilling.

10. Worst Inventions? Edible Underwear, Call Waiting, Reality TV or SUVs?

Deidre: I love reality TV. I don’t think anyone uses edible underwear, so I’ll say call waiting. I always think if you are on with me, you should be on with me and I’ll afford you the same courtesy.

11. Best Las Vegas Nightclub? Studio 54, Coyote Ugly, Body English or Rain?

Deidre: I have no idea, I’m too old for that stuff.

12. Best Lines from Sex and the City?

a. I’m a “Trisexual”. I’ll Try Anything Once.

b. One Woman’s Titanic Is Another Woman’s Love Boat

c. Absafuyckinglutley.

d. I’m Thinking Balls Are to Men, What Purses Are to Women.

Deidre: B, because some of my ex fiances have made the best husbands for other people but they were not right for me.

13. Fashion Trend That should go out of Style: Big sunglasses, Body-Piercings, Low Rider Jeans or Pointy Toe Shoes?

Deidre: Isn’t low-rise already gone? I actually like the rest of these trends. Except for tongue piercings. That’s not attractive to me.

14. The Most Desperate Housewife in “Desperate Housewives”: Bree, Gabrielle, Susan, Lynette or Edie?

Deidre: Bree. But I love Marcia Cross.

15. Top Sushi in LA: Matsuhisa, Sushi Afloat or Asanebo?

Deidre: Matsuhisa of the three. Although I go somewhere else most often, a tiny dive with no liquor license but the most amazing uni I have ever
eaten.

Thanks Deidre! for this wonderful interview. We wish you All-the-very-Best for your future!64924