comPassion for design
Faint of Heart is a boutique design collective that creates bold, highly functioning interiors that also happen to be vegan and planet friendly.
Vegan and sustainable design is for everybody. We are thrilled to partner with those that may be looking to do less harm while designing or renovating their interiors. Exercising compassion does not limit our design capabilities, it sparks an emotional flame that allows our creative process to burn brighter.
Of course we love working with cruelty free brands and individuals. Sharing the same core values as our clients allows for true connectivity and a passion for the design, coordination, and execution of projects that far exceeds the typical client-designer relationship. The transformation of a space into a unique, curated experience is our top priority, but a like minded vision for the success of the project and the positive change it may bring is what sets us apart.
origin story
FAINT of HEART was founded by Heather Ditmars in 2024 after nearly two decades in the interior design industry. While struggling to find passion in various design leadership roles, Heather realized what was missing, a shared core value between herself, her clients, and the projects being designed and built.
A vegan since 2001, Heather’s compassion for animals supersedes her design career. It didn’t become obvious that working with like minded clients could be an option until she exhausted several others. When the realization struck that incorporating vegan practices into projects could be a reality, a weight was lifted and the thrill for design was reignited.
As a design partner that is well versed in sustainability, Heather and her team can fill a void as more eco-conscious brands emerge and need a space to call their own. Our goal is the same, create spaces that dazzle and enlighten, while minimizing unnecessary harm.
Heather’s design expertise is robust.
Her experience ranges from painstakingly designing massive workplace campuses to tediously detailing custom hospitality furniture for fabrication. She has seen it all as a designer, design director, studio director, design principal, and a co-founder of a custom furniture fabrication company.
She began her career in NYC where she spent an accumulation of 15 years elevating her status in the design industry working on commercial and retail projects with some residential design sprinkled in here and there.
In 2020 Heather, her husband, and beloved pittie relocated to Philly. After countless hours behind her computer, working remotely for a large NYC design firm, she decided she needed to LIVE in Philly. She traded in her lofty title and position to work with one of Philadelphia’s most prolific hospitality design firms. It was here that she learned the caveats of hospitality design while managing the studio as Studio Director. These hospitality design specifics were further utilized when joining a long time friend and past colleague to co-found a custom hospitality furniture manufacturing company that is currently thriving.
Heather has done it all, but FAINT of HEART is the most meaningful and exciting chapter in her career.
experience
Each project is one of a kind and concept driven, however our process is streamlined to perfection. We are as detail oriented as we are creative, and as logistical as we are daydreamers.
studio
FAINT of HEART is a boutique design studio, so (for the time being) Heather IS the studio. Luckily, her wide range of experience means she is able to wear many hats in order to successfully complete projects. Should a project call for an extra set of hands, she brings in one ( or more) of her savvy and trusted consultants to help support the project’s needs. If fortune truly favors the bold, Faint of Heart will evolve into a bustling studio full of like minded, well rested, and ambitious designers working toward a common goal of compassion driven design.
