All About Keith, Creative Director at CKI

Meet Keith!

Keith Fortner, our firm's Creative Director and Senior Designer, and his partner Dr. Todd Tibbs, purchased their new home in May of 2024.

Keith entered the interior design business in 2012 as a part-time employee for Christopher Kennedy. Within three short years, he quickly became the firm's Senior Designer and then added Creative Director to his list of titles in 2019. Though he was new to the interior design industry, Keith had, in fact, already had a lengthy "creative" career in the arts. Singing since he was a child, he quickly found his niche in the University of Tennessee show choir, which fueled his passion for performing.

On a whim he auditioned for a summer theme park performance job and thus began an over-20-year career in show business. Theme parks, cruise ships, regional theatre, industrial trade shows and commercials... You name it, he probably did it. His talent and hard work finally landed him in New York City, where he bookd the Broadway National Tour of "Showboat" on his first day in the city. He added two more national tours and four Broadway shows to his resume before exiting the industry to pursue other interests.

Because an actor always needs a "side hustle," Keith accidentally stumbled into floral design, which quickly led to photo shoots, photo styling, and event design. He worked with recognizable brands such as Modern Bride magazine, Patek Phillipe, Tiffany & Co, and Bvlgari. All of this experience trained his eye and honed his taste, which has served him since joining Christopher Kennedy.

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Follow Along: On Instagram, Keith goes by the handle @the_decorhater. You can follow him here.