Joan Lerch

I am the creator and original author of In Fine Style, a monthly design column of fabulous interiors, the designers who created them and the families who call them home. A collaboration with internationally recognized photographer Michael Jacob, and a popular center-spread feature in a St. Louis newspaper.

As senior writer for Ladue News in St. Louis, Missouri, I created the "Ladue News Lil' One," a contest inviting readers to submit photos of their children for a modeling opportunity. The first-time mention of L'il One in social media was responsible for more than 1,100 hits in a single day - an increase of several hundred percent, making it the most successful introduction in the newspaper's 30-year history.