Summer Partee

From woodwork to retail, the kindergarten teacher-turned-designer has learned how to do it herself

- TAYLOR BOWLER

IT WOULD BE EASY TO MISTAKE Summer Partee for a lady of leisure, with her flowing blonde tresses, pristine white blouse, and gentle Southern drawl. But don’t let her delicate exterior fool you. The founder of Summer Blaise Interiors and Events knows her way around a hardware store. “I love working with power tools,” she says. “I get so many stares when I go to Lowe’s. Guys are like, ‘Do you know what a screwdriver is?’”

Partee laughs it off. “I’m not a high feminist—we definitely need men in our life—but I’m not going to wait for my husband to come home and do projects around the house. I’d rather learn how to do it myself.”