Meet Kelly O’Neal | Interior Designer, Artist, & Product Designer for Design Legacy

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kelly O’Neal and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kelly, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
My upbringing was very rural. Think “Mayberry RFD”. But as a child I was fortunate to have a wide circle of family and friends near and far. My HS graduating class was a whopping 29 souls, and no, not private ed. My mom says that my 4th grade teacher identified my artistic talents and suggested I be enrolled in some sort of art courses as “Art” was those “Palm Turkeys” you see made in grade school art classes, so she enrolled me in a painting group about 20 minutes away once a week. Just me and a handful of old ladies painting still life and sunset masterpieces. From there I was hooked and the kitchen table to this day is filled with creative projects. But to answer the question directly: creating is like breathing for we makers/designers/creatives. While my university studies and brief stints in other fields wanted to lead me elsewhere, I made a FOCUSED effort on both living creatively and surrounding myself with people of the same mindset. We aren’t islands, we need one another and I can’t say I arrived here without a GREAT deal of support from my Mom’s initial drive to that painting class on down to those who assemble frames and sweat out the details alongside me daily.
So I guess you could say it chose me.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’ve always created, and always painted. Gifts and crap mostly, but about 15 years ago I decided to get back to painting professionally. One must understand that in 1995, the year I graduated from UNT, artistic careers were this: window display, advertising design, or gallery artist. The later had a REALLY slim chance of success and the former a really slim chance at a decent living. We didn’t have all of these digital platforms to exercise our work (and by default our opinions which maybe a good thing) and it was EXTREMELY rare for a Texas artist to succeed. “Artists” lived in New York, LA, or San Francisco, and MAYBE Houston. But my life was here so I abandoned that thought and headed down the Interior Design path. Those were fun, creative years as well as being extremely lucrative so I can’t say I regret the “lost years” of painting as that success opened the doors to my current ability to create. My studio is attached to the Design Legacy warehouse operation so I’m able to float between rolls of designer/artist freely.

Was it easy? Hell no. Anyone who has succeeded (and I use that term with a giggle as success is only what you want it to be) can tell you otherwise. I’ve laughed and cried a lot but mostly laughed and MOSTLY had the honor of waking up every day as my own boss for now 35 years or so. Challenges have been mostly landlord and financially driven but my current landlord is also a close friend from the Legacy Trading Co. days so I’m in constant wonder of the people who come into my life. True story: my landlord appeared at my store selling Indian handcrafts from his trunk!

Design Legacy is all about natural history, antiquity, and whimsy. The line has been featured in every major home-related publication one can name over the last 25 years or so and includes a couple of nice nods in the New York Times thanks to my local writer/friend Mariana Green (formerly the Martha Stewart of the Dallas Morning News). Mariana kept Legacy Trading Co. in the spotlight in the Home Section for years and I owe her such gratitude. Our products have appeared in virtually every major retailer over the same window. While the show is wholesale in it’s origin, we’ve opened a retail site under the name K.O’Neal, after my eponymous venture in Santa Fe, New Mexico. As so many small retailers (including my own) have shuttered their doors during the pandemic, we too were driven online, but Design Legacy enjoys thousands of consistent clients from the Design and Home Industry, many of whom have become lifelong friends as well. We sell to all of the top designers our line of textiles and just launched a line of wall coverings!
As a small town boy, It’s an important lesson to develop a wide circle of friends, and mine are so varied and interesting. This has truly been the most wonderful aspect of my career.

Advice for success: Always change and as my hashtag states, do “One Thing Creative Every Day”. Force yourself to explore and create new paths.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
First let me say that Dallas is very glitzy. And I am not.

So, for a weekend, we would likely spend the days walking White Rock Lake Park and junking. For the “junking” bit I love “Benny Jack Antiques” and “Lots of Furniture” on Riverfront and my friend Michelle Nussbaumer’s Design District atelier “Ceylon et Cie”. There are lots of vintage stores around Benny Jack and I always find the past more interesting than the present where things are concerned. Dallas has great concert and theatre venues and has the only sanctioned off-Broadway sanctioned theatre in the country, the Wyly Theatre. I love a good concert/theatre performance and always leave amazed by the talent seen here.

Restaurants, I’m definitely more of a Mom-and-Pop dive sort of guy. For Tex-Mex, Avila’s but don’t expect grandeur just good food. It’s family owned and I’ve dined there for my entire time in Dallas! For a more “evening” scene but great food and drinks I’m hesitant to say as I’ll not be able to secure a table anymore “Lounge Here”. It’s a great late-night spot as well. Another dive is the original “Campisi’s” on Mockingbird Lane. (Not the new ones, only this). Get a booth with some friends and hang for the night as the atmosphere is perfection.

I could spend a week in the galleries and museums here. The Dallas Museum of Art gets some of the best touring exhibitions, but I really love their permanent collection. Next Door is the Nasher Sculpture Center, wonderful in great weather. Both are a part of our transformed arts district, and the Wylie Theatre is there, so hang out in the museums and restaurants all day and attend theatre at night. Dallas is a very casual city, so don’t stress your attire. As for galleries my friends “Talley Dunn Gallery” is exceptional for contemporary art as well as Conduit and the Dallas Contemporary. But do some research, there are so many! The Goss-Michael Foundation is also based here and display world class art not far from the Arts District.

Bishop Arts District was my home for about 20 years here, so I consider that as much a home as any place. It’s filled with little shops and restaurants but start your morning with “El Jordan” (another dive) Mexican/American goodness. If there for dinner “Boulevardier” is a favorite. Obviously French inspired and a little fancier than most on my list here. You can spend several hours walking and dining here, and again, no chain stores which is hard to find in these parts so you can do some good in your purchases. I would also be remiss in not mentioning dinner at “Lucia” with a capital IF you can secure a reservation. It’s a tiny foodie gem.

The Dallas Arboretum is a good half day venture. The park sits on White Rock Lake and has some incredible views as well as stellar plant life. I’m a plant nerd so I could easily spend a full day there, especially in the peak of Spring Season. Just across the street is “Lounge Here” and another favorite junk haunt “Curious Garden” (sister store to “Curiosities”-both awesome). Yes, there is a Starbuck’s nearby but hunt down a “White Rock Coffee”. Another small business with better coffee.

In Dallas, Highland Park Village, which was once rife with tiny specialty shops has been commandeered by the Designer Elites so while the shops aren’t my thing it’s a charming place and Mi Cocina is a Texas standard. Good Tex-Mex and the people watching while sipping a Margarita is primo. Just know that you WILL be judged by your attire, but I make certain to look like the country cousin that I am, so they too have something to look at. Seriously, it’s a great patio spot.

30 minutes north is McKinney and closer to my hometown of Anna, Texas. McKinney has had a great resurgence and has a beautiful town square full of specialty shops and restaurants. Go for the day if the weather is nice. And do tip your hat while there to the city and county, both named after my ancestor Collin McKinney.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Wow. This question scares me as the ladder I’ve been on has so many rungs! My parents of course propped me up at an early age and my mom especially has always softly nudged me in creative directions. I mentioned prior a primary school teacher, but I’ve had so many educators who were and are like gods to me. Denise Veret was my first drawing teacher at the University of North Texas (Try as I may, I’ve not been able to track her down) but she was extremely supportive of me at that formative stage (I rarely pick up a stick of charcoal that she doesn’t crossy my mind). I say “formative” as these classes were filled with those who had extensive art learning at the High School and other levels, but this was my first REAL art class at the age of 19! Texas artist Vernon Fisher was also an instructor, and Bill Evans was my biggest supporter in the Graphic Design arena. My friends Randy and Peggy from the graphic firm Bennett-Elia have played a major roll in mentoring the beast. In the retail spectrum, I opened my first solo retail store “Legacy Trading Co.” in 1992 and I’ve a close banker friend to thank for guiding me through that scary process of securing an SBA loan. The store helped launch my Interior Design Business and a living testament to trying new things. I don’t, as they say “come from money” but I do come from a highly supportive circle of friends and family. When I started painting professionally, my first sale was to Nancy Price, an acclaimed Interior Designer (and friend) out of Jackson, Mississippi. She buys my work to this day but it was a very flattering moment and she is on the cheering squad still. I’ve had a long line of sales representatives and trade show related supporters who have shown me nothing but positive vibes, no matter how challenging the obstacle. As for organizations, it isn’t “cool” to say so but my University experience included joining Sigma Nu fraternity where I met other creatives who remain friends. The University of North Texas in my opinion is one of the most underrated Liberal Arts schools in the country, and without that wide net of a creative department (sculpture, painting, drawing, design, ceramics, etc.) I can’t say the skills I possess would be nearly as deep. While I graduated on the dawn of computer-generated design, it’s appalling how often new hires haven’t even the command of basic creative hand skills that I consider every bit as necessary as any digital such.
The people at Leftbank Art have been key to my art related succes, particularly the owner Chris who is a machine! They are a power house art reproduction company based in LA but ship all over the world so my work has seen so many global followers through Chris and his stellar team.
Lastly, my partner Rene is the only backup anyone needs. He’s a mechanical engineer gone awry in this nutty business but makes all of the gear connect and churn.

Website: www.koneal.com

Instagram: @officialkellyoneal and @design_legacy

Facebook: “Kelly O’Neal Artist” and “Design Legacy by Kelly O’neal”