CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA, January 06, 2021 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Signe Girgus Bowling has been awarded the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. Sigi Bowling has been noted for her 50 years of achievements, leadership qualities, and successes she has accrued in her field and in community service.
A uniquely talented interior designer, Signe Bowling has dedicated nearly 30 years of service, working with both Republicans and Democrats, during five U.S. Presidential Administrations, designing the office interiors at the White House in Washington D.C.
Beginning in 1978 as the sole in-house interior designer for the Carter Administration, she introduced "Building Standards" for upholstery, drapery, carpet, and paint to upgrade the offices in the Old Executive Office Building and the West and East Wings, while adhering to strict budget requirements. Signe would go on to become the Associate Director of Facilities Management, Senior Preservation and Facilities Officer, and Interior Design and Preservation Manager for the Executive Office of the President (EOP), before retiring from the White House in 2007.
In 1981 Signe met with Ted Graber, Nancy Reagan's Beverly Hills interior designer who was designing the Family Quarters at the White House. Through Mr. Graber, Signe learned the style that would be known as "trend-resistant traditional" – mixing modern furnishings with antique, accessorized with lamps made from simple Chinese jars and vases.
During her years at the White House, Signe "Sig" served as the (EOP) liaison to the National Gallery of Art in the selection of fine art loans for the offices at the White House and design liaison for the Presidential Boxes at the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C. She was the Interior Design and Facilities Manager for the 1985 Reagan Presidential Inaugural Committee in Washington, D.C. In 1989 she lent her expertise for the Ronald Reagan Retirement Offices in Los Angeles, CA, in 1992 for the George H, W. Bush Retirement Offices in Houston, TX., in 1992-93 the Bush/Clinton Transition, and Vice President Cheney's summer offices in Jackson Hole, WY.
Prior to coming to the White House, Ms. Bowling was one of nine Federal interior designers with the Special Projects Division at General Services Administration; worked in commercial and residential interior design at W & J Sloane, Inc.; as well as Exhibit and Production Assistant for the 1974 "A Discovery Children's Room" at the Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C. She co-wrote "How to Build a Better Box" published in 1975 by the Smithsonian Museum's Roundtable.
Currently, Ms. Bowling heads her own design consulting firm: Signe Girgus Bowling Interior Design, specializing in giving a fresh look for clients who are down-sizing and collectors to reimagine living with their art. Her community volunteer service has included time spent with the Historic Paramount Theater in Charlottesville, VA, the Junior League of Washington, D.C. and Charlottesville, VA, membership with the Daughters of the American Revolution, Washington, D.C., and Christ Episcopal Church choir, Charlottesville. She also has provided nonprofit design support to the Charlottesville Design Marathon, display design for Twice is Nice, Charlottesville, and the Dolley Madison Legacy Luncheon as a subcommittee chairman at historic Montpelier, Orange, VA. She was a member of the House Committee at University Village, and subcommittee co-chairman with the Odyssey Group, Charlottesville. In 2019 Ms. Bowling became a board member of the Charlottesville Symphony Society.
Signe grew up in an 18th century house surrounded by her mother's antique collection in northwest New Jersey. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in 1972 and a Gold Key for Outstanding Service to the University (VCU) 1972. She later completed postgraduate coursework in Museum Administration at George Washington University in 1996 and in 19th and 20th Century American Decorative Arts at Parsons School of Design 1999. In 1997 Ms. Bowling was a recipient of a Lisa Taylor Fellowship through the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum to study French Decorative Arts in Paris, France. Ms. Bowling was certified through the National Council of Interior Designers and through the American Society of Interior Designers.
Among her awards Signe Bowling was named 100 Most Notable Alumni at VCU in 1994, however, one of her personally most valued awards was given "In recognition of Distinguished Service on September 11, 2001 for dedicated service to the White House and Executive Office of the President following the attack on the United States of America".
During her White House career, Signe was married to Edward J. Rhea (deceased), and C. Gordon Thornhill, Jr. Signe married James M. Bowling in 2012. The marriage ended in 2019.
As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
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