Born in Baltimore, Simonaire moved to New York City in the late 70s. She worked as an accessories designer, but her eye for detail and knack for tracking down the perfect quirky object caught the attention of photographer Herb Ritts. She was Ritt’s preferred stylist for several years in the mid 80s and had a hand in many of his most iconic photographs. Work with Ritts and others took her to Los Angeles where, in 1990, she opened Oddiyana, a store specializing in chic handcrafted items from all over the world. “This store is about following my instincts. Whenever I do that, magical things happen,” said Simonaire in a 1990 Los Angeles Times article.

In the early 90s Simonaire wed James Signorelli, a director at Saturday Night Live. They moved to Palisades and started a family in one of several tumbledown houses Simonaire would revitalize with her signature blend of color, comfort and casual luxury. For daughters Sophia and Simone, Sharon threw epic neighborhood Easter egg hunts, Christmas cookie parties, and Jamaican jerk chicken fests with Jim manning the grill. Fun was something Sharon relished and understood, and she wanted everyone else to have just as good a time.

When Sharon started Sharon Simonaire Design in the mid 90s she truly found her calling. Her client list included the likes of beauty product mogul John Freida, Richard Gere, Meg Ryan and Robert DeNiro. “It’s a psychological process as well as it is a design process, and that’s what makes me happy,“ she said in a short web video featuring her renovation and design of the Manse, the last Palisades house she lived in after she and Signorelli divorced in 2005. In 2012 Simonaire moved back to New York City and continued to grow her design business. She died unexpectedly on December 20, 2014 of a ruptured aneurysm. She was 58 years old.

Dog lover, tennis enthusiast, great cook, friend, insanely talented designer and caring mother; Sharon will be dearly missed by all who knew her.