Blond ambition. (Uncensored).

W, May, 2003

Michael Smith may be the undisputed king of interior design in Hollywood, but two of his former employees seem to be angling for the throne. Pretty young designers Schuyler Samperton and Anna Hackathorn recently left their longtime jobs as senior designers at Smith's company--which counts Rupert Murdoch, Cindy Crawford and Steven Spielberg among its clients--to set up their own firm, Samperton & Hackathorn, in West Hollywood.

They've already nabbed the plummy job of redecorating Marina Rust's house in Dark Harbor, Maine, but Samperton insists she's not out to compete with Smith. "There's plenty of room in this town for two more girls with taste," she says.