(Originally Published on The Huffington Post on 10/29/2014)

With the Project Runway Season 13 reunion show airing this week, I thought now would be a perfect time to catch up with my darling friend (and Season 13 finalist), Emily Payne, about her time as a contestant on the show this year and what life is like now that it’s over.

Payne is a San Francisco-based designer and full-blown visionary. Overseeing two fashion houses of her own creation — Leathertongue and Devon Rose — and balancing motherhood and newfound mainstream television fame, Emily is riding the Project Runway rollercoaster with a level of grace fans of the show have not seen before. If you caught any of this season, you have no doubt already fallen head-over-heels in love with this sweet, talented creature.

Watch Emily Payne’s pre-season designer home visit video, then read our chat below – and be sure to tune into Lifetime Thursday for the reunion. The trailer promises fireworks!

Logan Lynn: Hey Emily! Thanks for chatting with me today. Anyone who has been following your run on this 13th season of Project Runway knows that you took your final bow as a contestant on the episode just before the finale. How does it feel to finally be able to talk about it after having to keep so painfully quiet for so long? Read the rest of this entry »