The Story Beneath re.dzine
- Heidi Mendoza
- Oct 18
- 5 min read
Growing up in Finland, surrounded by forests and clean-lined design, I absorbed a deep respect for nature, simplicity, and functionality, values that still guide my work today.
I’m Heidi, the Finnish-born designer behind re.dzine, an interior architecture studio where Scandinavian roots meet Colorado living.
I’m a mom of two humans and several furry ones, an animal rights advocate, and an INFJ-T, which basically means I’m equal parts dreamer, feeler, and quiet world-fixer, with imagination always in the mix.
Also, I have a shoe obsession. A big one. No regrets.
My design philosophy is shaped by both my heritage and a life full of starts and stops across industries, countries, and creative pursuits, always defined by clean lines, natural materials, and quiet luxury. Today, I design residential and commercial spaces that balance calm, beauty, and function, spaces that feel as good as they look, a culmination of my history and roots.
Roots in Finland
the roots that grew into design.......
Little Heidi was not one to sit still. If there was a sport, she played it. If there was a stage, she danced, sang, or directed on it. And if there was an animal nearby, she probably tried to adopt it. At the age of seven, she even founded her very own Panda Club, a very official organization (complete with piggy banks) dedicated to saving panda bears of the world. Membership: Heidi, Heidi’s dad, and sometimes her friends, if she could bribe them with cookies.
She grew up on Rantatie in Tuusula, a magical stretch of road by Lake Tuusula, where Famous Finnish artists once painted, composed, and wrote their way into history. Heidi, however, was busy biking, running, playing tennis, rehearsing track and field, climbing trees, and skiing through forests to her little village school in winter. Picture a pint-sized Pippi Longstocking, but with skis and a knack for choreography.
Summers were spent at the family’s (mom, dad, older sister Kristiina) cottage by the lake, in Central Finland, lovingly built by her father. Days unfolded in a rhythm only Finland knows: sauna, lake, sauna, lake. In between, Heidi picked berries, made friends with lizards (who occasionally hitched a ride to town with her to her mother's horror), and developed an unshakable love for the natural world.
It was in these forests, lakes, and makeshift panda-saving missions that Heidi’s roots were planted, roots that still shape her design philosophy, her humor, and her endless curiosity.
Career of Zigzags
the scenic (and zigzag) route to design.....
Heidi’s path to becoming an interior architect wasn’t linear; it was more of a zigzag… with a few cartwheels, jazz hands, and detours along the way.
Heidi has always been artistic at heart. She sang in bands, danced semi-professionally, studied TV & Radio Broadcasting, and even did a few voiceovers for major TV channels in Finland
But growing up in an entrepreneurial family, Heidi felt the pull of something more “practical.” So, she went and earned a degree in Accounting and Marketing and spent years in the business world, dressed for the office but dreaming in color palettes.
Spoiler alert: spreadsheets weren’t fulfilling, and fulfillment is kind of essential in a career. So she zigged again.
Before her move to US and founding re.dzine, Heidi tried on many hats, even studied in Southern France, working in a small family-run hotel in Nice, Hotel-Universe.
Every chapter left its mark. From business, she gained structure. From broadcasting, storytelling. From music and dance, rhythm and creativity. From France, a global perspective. And today, all of that weave into how Heidi designs spaces with strategy, soul, and just a little bit of magic.
Sometimes, detours lead you exactly where you’re meant to be.
Designing Forward — The Making of an Interior Architect
where passion became profession. how she got started, design philosophy, her current projects, and future vision ..............
Every zigzag had a purpose: each chapter taught Heidi structure, rhythm, and storytelling, until design finally called her home.
At 31, she left Finland for the U.S. and asked the big question: What do I want the rest of my life to be about? Design and architecture had always tugged at her sleeve. She enrolled at the Interior Designers Institute in Newport Beach, graduated, and moved with her family to Colorado in 2006. After gaining experience through internships, Heidi ventured out on her own. This shift granted her more time with her children and the freedom to select projects that truly resonated with her.
Finding a voice, building a practice
Heidi learned to translate Scandinavian clarity into the Rocky Mountains, quiet lines, honest materials, and human comfort. Project by project, homes, workplaces, and hospitality, she saw how well-made rooms reshape not only space, but the day unfolding inside it.
Heidi’s work has appeared in U.S. and international publications, and she was featured on HGTV’s House Hunters Renovation in 2019.
Beyond design, Heidi also helped build a creative community. She co-founded Douglas County Divas, one of the region’s first women’s networking groups, and the Denver/Boulder Architects Group in 2009, creating bridges between designers, architects, and makers across disciplines.
Her leadership and creative vision were recognized nationally when she was selected as one of 12 U.S. designers to join the Moen Designer Council in 2023.
Philosophy, in plain terms
•Timeless design is her focus. Spaces should be loved a decade later; no “remodel remorse.”
•Each space receives a tailored design story, edited and refined specifically for its architecture, location, and owner.
•Collaboration is oxygen: architects, builders, fabricators, and a circle of people from wildly different backgrounds.
What’s next for re.dzine
Heidi has big dreams for re.dzine.
Designing products, especially lighting and furniture, pursuing international work with a special pull toward her native Finland, and ultimately leaving her touch on a boutique hotel. The long view: spending part of each year in the mothership, Finland, working on projects there.
Beyond Design
Since childhood, Heidi has loved two things without compromise: the natural world and her beloved animals she calls aniPals.
Outside the design studio, she’s a plant-based foodie (trying and even creating new recipes), a volunteer with Humane Colorado and other animal-welfare groups, and a supporter of the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation.
She resets in nature, and small daily rituals, such as a few minutes of meditation and gratitude, keep her work grounded. A Finn at heart, she keeps her languages alive (hei, bonjour, hej!) and her curiosity wide open.
Her north star is simple: kindness, to people, to animals, to the places we live. For her, good design and good living share the same values: thoughtfulness, respect, and compassion.
Thank you for reading, liking, and commenting. Your support fuels work that is calm, crafted, and deeply human. I look forward to staying connected, both here and out in the field. Whether it’s a real-world collaboration or conversation over a good cup of coffee, I’d love to connect and exchange ideas.
With kindness for all beings,
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