Thursday, November 19, 2009

Wait..we got hyjacked?

It was an unusually odd day yesterday at the office; ever since we have done a network clean out/switching the network things have been a little bit on the wacky side. Yesterday was a normal day, we were all running around working on projects, and all of a sudden Christy walks up to me and says.. "Guess what? (insert giggle) we got hyjacked!" I didnt really understand, she told me to look out the window to where our AC units (were/are) someone(s) had come by last night and stolen 3 of our 5 AC units. Sometimes its just so lighthearted at DFR, everyone just thought it was so funny, even the president of the company just chuckled. Its just wild how the world has become.

Other then that event, Alison and I met again with a client who is renovating their kitchen. This lady is the nicest lady, however she speaks only in fragments and it is like pulling teeth when trying to have her make a decision. So we tried to guide her in the right direction and speed up the decision making process by showing her different options for lighting and hardware, but then of course when we were getting somewhere with the lighting, the internet shuts off. Go figure!

I have also been working with Alison the job that has had the complete demolition. I worked in 20.20 to help fill in the rest of the spaces, I feel like I am finally getting comfortable with 20.20, just in time for me to leave. I still would prefer autocad over 20.20 any day of the week, but the ability to be able to print a price sheet at the end of the drawing is the reason I think it is so clutch around here. It was nice to have time to think about the design of this new project, I am really starting to enjoy residential and will def. miss working on residential projects and meeting with clients in their home. Below are some quick sketches I did of different proposals on the kitchen penisula.

I know the drawings are hard to see, so I hope that when you click on them they become clearer.

Courtney and I also stopped by her job Chaffin, who was actually the first project I was starting to learn 20.20 on, and it looks amazing. she used slab doors with really sleek hardware, bamboo-like flooring, copper pendants and copper like tile. It's not exactly complete yet but we went to pick out paint colors. Courtney and I always seem to be on the same page about paint color (which is why I think she likes to have me along...) We picked out a really cool blue/grey color and I think it will really help her kitchen pop. From being on site and seeing transformations of different spaces, I have really started to realize the importance of a paint color, it really can make or break a space.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Where does the time go?

Just like everything else in my life, I feel as if my time here at DFR has completely blown by. Holy Cow. 2 days left here at DFR-weird.

I feel like I have abondoned my blog for the past couple of days, which I can isnt COMPLETELY my fault, I'll blame a bit of it on DFR, since my computer has been out of order since the last time i blogged. but oh well.

The past couple of days have been busy with appointments and getting things organized and ready for clients with both courtney, and alison. the rave tile is about on my last nerve, and i think liz and alisons too! We have been having gliches and complications with the tile. its been frosted, gloss, not the appropriate sizes, etc. etc. etc. But, I believe we finally have it! BY GOLLY it may even get ordered today! Liz has been one of the only clients I felt hasnt been entirely open to my suggestions or opinions, she would rarely acknowledge me when sitting in on cleint meetings with her and alison. However, the other day she acknowledged me, she liked my tile lay out design and some of the light fixtures that I had chosen for her eating area; and she actually spoke directly to me and looked at me-it was a first. And it was definately was a hurdle I had finally jumped over.

(as a side note, since my last post about MARVIN ARVIN he has NOT called courtney until today-very impressive...just thought I would throw that out there)

Awhile back Alison and I had met with a couple named the Humphreville's (this was the couple whos bathroom/shower I had fiddled around with designing for alison), around here we like to call them the humphrey's for short, and it ended up they knew my parents-small world, and their son goes to wake forest!

Keith and Alison have been back and forth back and forth on designing their 11'-5' shower with a double sided fire place ( i think when we mentioned that it was one of the only times mr. humphrey's/Mark face lit up) however, the complications are too complicated and we don't think that it will pass code, therefore, we are moving onto a different path. Below are some drawings alison did of the bathroom, I worked on picking out mirror trim as well as placement and light fixtures.

This bathroom is going to be amazing, all made of really cool rock slate, and flat slate on the floor a nice bench and updated accessories, it's going to turn out perfect for both cindy and mark.

What else has been going on here at DFR? what hasn't i guess. Michelle brought her cat in today, even though my allergies shot through the roof at chaffin and i look like I have gel in my eye i couldnt help but play with ziggy. *yes, i know, i dont even like cats* Alison and I spent a couple hours yesterday at a house that had been completely demo(ed) measuring their kitchen and living area. Their was a very odd construction man there that filled us with random words and awkward moments; I walked out with grey shoes instead of black, and white pants instead of black, but thats what you get when your onsite. Right now I just finished picking out selections for that job, their kitchen should be really cool, I just hope they let alison take control of the rest of the house, it could def. use her help and professional decisions. Hopefully they will see how cool the kitchen and "breeze-way/entrance/4-seasons room" is and let her do the rest of the home. Cross your fingers.

2 days in counting...I guess that means only 2-3 more posts. It will be weird, but I suppose it is time to graduate and focus on the future and finding a "big girl job".

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Are you the stain girl?

The past two days have been a mix of craziness, loosing our brains and hard work, cant forget the hard work. Yesterday, Tuesday, I raced to work, left my lunch at home and was too afraid to turn back after just getting on the highway in fear of being late to work (we all know my anxiety disorder on tardiness), so, I didnt and thought, oh well I just wont eat-or I will buy something, only to find an empty suite 104 at DFR. I sit down to my desk and open an email from courtney telling Michelle and I that both her and alison wont be in until 9:30-10. Damn, could have gone back to get my lunch.
Michelle and I filled our time by having chit chats at my overly-large, hunk of a desk and decided to rearrange the extra tile storage room...again. That passed about 45 minutes and the rest of the time i spent searching for silly appliques for alison new front desk design. No luck ( I probably should be continuing my search on the appliques-but, im not, im over the appliques, for now..). I went to grab lunch and recieved a text from Courtney who was at a meeting about some errands she and dave (aka shickasaurus) needed me to run for them. My first stop was to meet dave over at a job site to give him some wood samples. I met him there and from there he asked me to run over to campus view to meet a guy named Rick who was going to sand and stain the wood with the samples I had shown him prior (are you still following me?) He gave me the address to Ricks, which I thought was a business, but when I was driving through a neighborhood double checking my address I thought, well, this is interesting. So i pull up to 413 (whatever st) and wondered if I ring the doorbell for Rick....if he is gonna meet me outside..who is rick? Oh, oh wait, the garage is open and there is a saw horse hanging out the back...guess Ill go see what thats about. Sure enogh there is Rick. and the conversation goes like this:

"Hi! You must be Rick..!?"
"....yes."
"Okay, Im Shannon, Dave sent me over so that you could do some sanding and staining on this piece of wood. I guess we should just do half and half, then he said to go ahead and spray the semi-gloss on top and we can let you know which one they like better.."
"ok"
"ok...I have a phone call to make so ill be right back..."

So i go back to my car for what felt like 20 minutes, thought it would be enough time for him to sand, and stain so I didnt have to try and make awkward conversation with him, or, rather with just myself. Apparently making a to-do list, checking facebook and leaving a couple voicemails wasnt enough time. When I get back out there Rick is in the process of doing the first color of stain, as he is doing that another guy walks out of the house.
"oh, shes pretty"
Oh, thats awkward, I just keep my eyes on the stain and continue and try my darnest to make the most out of my awkward conversation. Then an older lady and a little girl come out of the house, they were headed to her stroller, I thought, hey, maybe I can make friends with them.
"Hii, how are you?"
(ignore me and only spit out conversation in french)
Wow. I'm done, just get me out of here....and he was done. perfect. So i take the stain samples and drive to the Fletchers ( an older adorable couple that are living out of a motel because they are completely renovating their new condo. Courtney said I could just meet them by myself because how hard could it be to get them to pick one or the other sample?
So, i get to the fletchers, chat with them, show them the samples and to make a long story a tad bit shorter, they didnt really like either, in fact, they hated one of them, and kinda like the other one. I tried to explain the process and how the color they kind of liked would actually be a bit darker once it was actually on the floor and stained. Mrs. Fletcher wanted me to take it back to Rick and get the second coat on, she was so sweet about it, she said "if you could dear, I woud love for you to have the second stain put on and then bring it back so we can see it-even if it is in 30 minutes, we can come back, I would just really like to see the second coat."
I thought there is no way I am going back to awkward Rick, so I told her I would put the second coat of stain on myself, save us both a trip.
"Are you the stain girl?" She asked.
No, but it is quite easy to do. So I went to grab the stain from my car, and grabbed a paper towel that was on the floor, opened the stain and applied it. easy as one, two, three. She ended up liking it much more now that there was a second stain on it and she saved me a trip back to ricks!

Getting back to the office and telling courtney the story just seemed to set off fireworks here in the office. Everyone on the bottom floor started going crazy, it reminded me of studio when we all drink way to much redbull, mountain dew and random things that "hype us up" but really we just get dillusional and crazy, well thats what happened here at DFR for the next hour, and there is no story telling that can create the hysteria that went on here!

Today was a bit calmer, no stain girl, no rick and no fletchers. I worked on 20.20 a lot and fiddled with that. I am starting to become more comfortable with it and I think that Courtney is feeling the same, since she left it up to me to draw a whole floor plan! Other than that we had another wacky lunch, and Alison, Gary and I went to the Oglesbee's to do a photo shoot of their kitchen, not much of a photo shoot, because it is fairly small, but none the less a beautiful kitchen. We were unlocking the door and realized that there is a little puppy in the house, as Gary tried to squeeze by he casually asked "does it go away?" no, Gary, "it" doesnt go away, and from then on we named "IT" "Jack".

I think this is the longest post I have ever written, and for you I am sorry and you should blame it on Rick and the fletchers. Hopefully you have made it through the long stories!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

It always makes for a good car ride home...

In the "real world" I have quickly started to realize clients are clients and theyre not all as wonderful and easy as you would like. Courtney recently got handed a job where she basically just needed to go in help the man (we shall call him Marvin for blog sake) and his wife simply (and I do say simply) pick out paint colors and hardwood floors. Well, Marvin isn't simple, rather he is a bit complex and over the top, he is well organized, a bit challenging, however he always makes for a good car ride home full of giggles and loud music and of course a calming pit stop for coffee. His "simple" job tasks have turned into 2 hour long visits 3 times in the past two weeks. It has gone from Courtney helping with color and hardwood to ordering carpet, dealing with the hardwood guy, and recieving 3-4 phone calls a day for random questions or concerns. It's a hard task not only because he is overwhelming, but also because we just dont care for Marvins taste! So, we just try and go with flow and we will see how things pan out. Oh well, one client out of 20 I guess, I'm just glad they all arent like Marvin.


On top of traveling to see Marvin this week everyone in the office has tried to get the ball rolling again on the renovations for Dave Fox's office and showroom. I have been working with Alison trying to get things ordered, to understand her vision as best as I can so that I can help her as much as I can and trying to persuade the sales reps to give of all the things we want..FOR FREE! Below is a drawing that i fixed for alison for the new entry way to the showroom (where the new intern will enjoy the changes).
I know its hard to see but basically there are a bunch of notes that I needed to add to the drawings so the man from Cambria understood a little better as far as what we needed. Alison has decided to design the front panels with detailing they will be white, the countertops will be a gray shade and we are in the process of finding really cool floor tiling, but the best part is the lights....

BAM! we just love them, we proposed a client to use them in her kitchen, and even if she does, we will order two more, because we have to have them in our space! Dont you love them!?

On top of Marvin (I want to say Marshin (spelling?) because of our green light) and helping design and connect with sales reps I have done just some random drawings and work for Alison and Courtney.

Above is a clients drawing I did for them to help them decide placement for their new mirror and vanity lighting. At Dave Fox they also have their design consultants do a little interior decorating that way the client can pay them at an hourly rate and they can get little tips and design techniques for other spaces in their home. This client we spent an hour an a half with helping them pick out fixtures, lighting, mirrors and paint colors for their bathroom they are going to have a brother do. Because the designers here get paid a salary and dont get hourly, its nice to have this option to make a little more cash!


Friday, October 30, 2009

Just some words-throwing it out there...

This week has been busy, interesting and enlightening. Oddly enough I will begin this entry by saying I am "re-considering" residential design. ( I know, commercial has been my driving force forever-please note re-considering). There is something about DFR and Residential Design altogether that has so much personality to it. Though the projects maybe somewhat smaller than I had ultimately imagined myself working on there seems to be more life and light behind Residential and remodeling that maybe what I would recieve when designing a hotel. Don't get me wrong, these are all just thoughts and words, however this week meeting with clients on a one on one basis, in their homes, in our showroom, having laughs and getting to know them personally, playing with their animals, drinking their coffee has something so special and real to me. I have always known that it will be a challenge for me to find my "perfect firm" where I am working on fabulous commercial designs and feeling important as a designer rather than a number, and I think for now until something better walks my way I will continue on that search, but who knows, maybe remodeling or residential may be in my future...

This week has been full of life, from meeting a man who is persistant, yet kind, money pinching yet wanting the best, to working with the Genglers, an uber funny welcoming couple to being able to meet a baby great dane.


The Genglers are remodeling both of their full baths, I was able to sit in on both selection meetings and today we did the pre-construction walk-through and went over every little detail so there was no problem come constuction day. The Great Dane was at a project where Courtney had re-designed their kitchen space-it is in pickerington and looks fabulous, its very open, has beautiful white cabinets, great granite and beautiful tile that I was able to see today. Today (Friday) we went to see the tile, did the gengler meeting, and now I am working on 20.20 for courtney, drawing out their bathroom space for a condo remodel (lets hope that I can be quick, efficent and correct with 20.20, I still havent really fiddled with it all that much).

Shown below are some drawings I had down this week-just for visual entertainment.


On a side note-I can't believe I only have 3 weeks left...weird.




Tuesday, October 27, 2009

the taste of pure satisfaction

So Courtney and I just got back from a completion walk-thu at a home courtney and keith designed a kitchen for. We met with Mrs. Ryan and her adorable dog Lucy, we just walked through the kitchen, looked at the project in detail and in large with the Project Manager and made sure the client was satisfied and loved everything about her new space. Mrs. Ryan loved her new kitchen and was largely satisfied with the work that was done for her, so satisfied that she has hinted towards the idea of having somethings updated in her attached dining room area, which I think would be a great compliment to the work just completed in her kitchen.
As I was viewing the kitchen the details I really enjoyed was the island Courtney, Mrs. Ryan and Keith worked hard on shaping and designing. It's nice to see different techniques for your standard kitchen,and it made me appreciate residential design more then I already do. Her Island was an elongated peanut shape that spanned through her kitchen, she had cabinets under half of the island and for the other space it was used for a seating bar area. The shape really worked well within the space because her kitchen is longer than it is wide, and it works really well with egress as well as the ergonomics of the space and the people using it. (Hopefully I will be able to post pictures of the Island soon)

Details such as hardware for the cabinets I think some clients can tend to shove to the back burner and try and cut the price on those, but Mrs. Ryan's kitchen was a prime example of how hardware can make or break a kitchen, dont worry-it MADE the kitchen. On the ride home Courtney and I discussed how if they would have placed knobs on the kitchen cabinets the kitchen would not have been as dynamic, and that hardware and paint color are crucial in a space.

As far as the rest of the day goes, I think I will be busy doing random work around the office, such as faxing, filing, ordering, organizing and other things. This week seems to be a little less busy then the rest, but then again it is only Tuesday, I always laugh because i can look at Courtney and Alison's calendars on Monday and think "aw, this week will be nice and peaceful" and then by Thursday Im thinking holy cow, where did all these appointments come from!? I love it though, keeping me busy in the office makes the time fly, and I am glad that people are still investing money into design and innovation.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Glamour shots + Concept Boards.

For the past couple of days work has been packed with helping the designers get ready for clients, going to meetings with clients and assisting at photo shoots of spaces previously remodeled for entries to a design competition. Alison, Bryce and Wendy have been working on a large project that has to do with a second floor addition, remodeling the kitchen, baths, living room...essentially 70-80% of the home. I did some research through images recently taken of her home as well as on the internet to try and understand who this women really is. Alison and I gathered words and images that we thought best described her and would help us sell the job and help the women understand the intent of the designs. Furthering our development Allison asked me to make a mood/concept board, so from the images and conversations her and I had previously I created a concept board.
From what I understand their meeting with the client went well and she perceived everything shown to her with excitment.

Weds was a busy day spent with Courtney doing photo shoots and meeting with clients. Gary, Courtney and I went to a clients house to shoot photos of a remodeled basement Courtney and Louise had worked on-HOLY COW was it a remodel. It was an unfinished basement that is now full with a gym, a pool table, a bar, lots and lots of storage, full bath, and everything anyone could want. It was interesting to see the process of shooting photos in a space-we had to set the mood of the space-try to find the best angles to showcase the work and the space and make it look as if it were being currently used-without people in the shots. It really was-LIGHTS CAMERA ACTION! and we had to move FAST! after finishing that shoot (which took about 2-2 1/2 hours, we headed to a house in dublin to shoot photos of a wine cellar. It was a smaller space, but because it is filled with wine and the exterior is made of glass getting the proper angles and treating the reflections was a bit challenging. Below are some photos from each of the shoots-ENJOY! (This images are scanned, so I appologize because they're lacking quality)
As for today, it was busy this morning with client meetings but things are on the slow side now-thus the reason I am blogging, its rainy out and is making everyone tired-It was a busy week this week, so it has been nice having a slower Friday.






Tuesday, October 20, 2009

crooked.

It never fails that I scan my images in crooked-everytime. I blame it on not having a drafting board here at DFR, however I dont know if that is a legit enough excuse. Below are some images of a bathroom I have been able to aid to with courtney. This client is super fun and is updating her and her husbands bathroom as well as her 2 teenage daughters. We were able to get funky and fun with the teenagers bathroom with some really cool flooring from Tarkett and the mirrors (Courtney and I are hoping that its enough fun for them, because their mom apparently gets a lot of heat that their bathroom isnt going to be super fun-we will show them). It was a learning process to draft these images because of details I had never learned- ie: 4 1/2" toe kick, 4-6" backsplash, 1 1/2" marble counter width and so on. Drafting in the real world isnt as easy as drafting in school where thing and objects can be as big or as thick as we want them to be-ha, welcome to the real world!












Monday, October 19, 2009

20/20 nope, not my vision.

YEY! my first attempt at the program 20/20. I am trying to get my ground with this program, I keep trying to do autocad shortcuts, however between those not working and trying to learn all the cabinet abbreviations, I have my hands full! More to come with 20/20! I forgot how exciting it is to learn a new program!




Friday, October 16, 2009

RAVE TILE

Recently I have been working side by side with alison on a kitchen remodeling, after figuring out cabinet issues, the next project to figure out was the tiling behind the range. The challenge was we wanted to use two different tiles, from two different manufactures, that didnt offer the same sizing. Here are two options below that I came up with, that I quickly rendered for the client, that we are presenting to her next week. The tiles are subway tiles frosted white 4 x8's and the gray are subway tiles from DalTile - 4x12.



Thursday, October 15, 2009

Happiness

This week has been so much better here at DFR, not that it was ever THAT bad! Courtney is back, which helps give me a heavier work load-its a lot easier to be occupied with 2 designers, then just one. I have been busy running from meetings, helping design new projects, picking out selections, researching materials and options for clients, and today I worked on tutorials for a program they use often-20/20. I am so much happier helping design, and learning a new program and really feeling more like a designer!

20/20 is a program which is fabulous for remodelers to use. It allows them to insert the cabinets and countertops they chose and it is easy for specs and helping give visual aids for the clients. I have found it is a lot like CAD/3D CAD it has just been a bit difficult to learn the cabinet sizes, depths and all of the add-ons they require. I will be working on more of it tomorrow and rendering some tile options for a large kitchen Alison has been designing. As for today we are ending it at the office and headed over to America's Floor Source to learn about client interaction and communication! Should really help everyone here and it will certainly benefit me in the long run as well as here and at West Elm.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Collaboration+Design

Friday was a fun-day here at DFR, we had a pie contest and lunch brought in, and it was nice to hang out with all of the employees and have some down time, while eating 8 different pies and voting on the best one! It was a slow day however, Courtney was out of the office at a BKBG (Bath and Kitchen Buying Group) conference, and Alison only had one meeting for the day, which was after lunch, so we spent some time watching a webinar and learning about different designs from the past that have helped create the designs we see today. Friday I also had a chance to discuss with Alison a little bit of how I felt about interning at DFR, which has thus far been a wonderful learning experience, but how I was a little discouraged that I hadnt been able to help design yet or really understand the way the designers here at DFR approach their design process. She understood and in return, I have recieved/granted a bit of partnership on a bathroom uplift/renovation project. I sketched out some of my ideas on Friday and today her, keith and I really focused on it and were able to nail some ideas and plans down. Below are some of the sketches, of the floor plan and perspective.
The perspective below we have chosen not to go foward with because we feel the client will have felt there was little change from their previous bathroom. The crucial points in this design, is the couple wants to keep their commode room as well as their same vanity, same wood color. So in a nutshell we are creating a new "wetzone" updating the tile, paint and countertops.

It was nice to collaborate with Alison today and to get more of a feel of how she designs and the way she approaches a design.

We meet with the clients on Thursday at 10 am to discuss options, and to further discuss their desires with their new bathroom, it will be nice to meet the clients to understand more about them and the design they desire. We will see how it goes!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Is it Friday Yet?

Is it Friday Yet? Since I have been interning at DFR and working at West Elm, I can never seem to keep my days straight, last week I thought it was weds all the way till 3 oclock, when I was finally told it was actually Thursday. Working 40+ hours at DFR and 20 hours at West Elm seems to be taking a toll on my brain!

Anyway, I yesterday was a very eye opening experience. I was able to sit in on a all staff/employee meeting to discuss roles and to discuss opportunities to discuss possible tweaks that could help and to in a round about manner discuss their passions and why they are at DFR. I always found the grey area here at DFR to be the line in the sand between the sales people and the ID department. It is a Relay effect where it begins in sales, gets handed to ID, then to PM and to the men in the field, cohesively they stay in touch with what is happening on the project as it continues, but none the less a relay effect. Last week I asked Alison (ID department) how they distinguish who gets to "really design" and basically it depends on what sales person you have working with you. It was interesting listening in on the meeting because you realize that not only are the women who work in ID are designers, but so are the people who work in sales (minus keith). So there is a struggle and some what of a tug-a-war about the design issues. As a designer myself, I would want to strictly be the designer on the project, to be able to utilize my creativity at its maximum capacity and not have to end what someone in the sales department may have already began-and maybe, this is the pure reason as to why I wouldnt be as successful and happy as I could be at DFR.

Together as a unit, DFR seems to be a well oiled machine, one that supports each other within the grey area, and are willing to try to find a new solution and maybe a better solution to keep the machine oiled and moving. The managers of the deparments and head hauncho's of the company are hoping to make some decisions and moves soon to make sure everyone on staff is happy and satisfied.


After the meeting I asked Michelle who is trained and studied Design for school, but is working at the ID assistant and support person, about how she felt in a company like this. Ironically, it works for her, she eventually wants to work in residential and believes that learning how the machine of DFR works and paper work happens will help her-true story. However, I always feel in the back of my head taking on a role such as hers would, for a lack of better words, loose her design touch/drive. Who knows, I suppose it works differently for everyone, I think I just expect and dream to graduate and walk into an architecture firm at an entry level position and began to further my knowledge that way working on commercial designs, but as far as future goes-the path is undefined and I am fully aware it is likely to have many surprises.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Week 3

I have been feeling much more useful around DFR, and feeling more comfortable with their design process, the way they handle things and with the people. I find that it is always difficult to adjust to a new environment, but this time for me it seemed a bit more difficult. Yes, it is a world of design, however, it is completely different to the world in which I had been living in for the past 4 years of my life. Now I am learning to work within someones budgets, someones taste, someones pre-existing space, and someone elses emotions. It is practically a whole new ball game, especially since I have yet to design :-( . Sometimes I feel as if I may be loosing my design touch and talent (which I know isn't true) but I feel like I haven't had the creative mindset for awhile, because I have been occupying myself with PO forms, estimates, researching products, meeting with clients and running random errands for the designers here. It has certainly been a change of pace for me and a reality check. Neither one particularly bad, just different.

This week I felt really busy, except for today. Today is quiet in the office, Courtney is out of town, Alison is at an appointment and Michelle is in her office plugging away, so here I am, after changing light bulbs, and sweeping the showroom floor, I am hoping something grand will be passed on to me, so I can stop writing my blog and start working with design. I am really hoping next week I can start getting knee deep in learning 20/20 their design program which allows the designers to insert the particular cabinetry they are using so they can get a real sense of what the space will look like, plus it will be easier for the designers to spec the space and estimate the cost.

I guess today can be a quiet day, we have been busy all week, it's friday and its nasty here in Ohio. I am hoping soon to be posting pictures of some of the work they have done as well as some projects I have been aiding on!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Hubbard House

So last week, was a little hectic, little crazy and a lot of manual labor. For a couple years now everyone at Dave Fox Remodeling have been remodeling a house in Victorian Village in Columbus, OH and last week on Thursday was the new logo launching and showcase of the house. The first week I was working we went to visit the Hubbard House and with all of the dubris and unfinished work you could already tell it was a beautiful home, but last week right before it was finished and even during the cleansing process it was amazing to see all of their hardwork and design adventures finally be on display for people to see, and for a potential buyer to love and live in.
On Monday, I spent the day doing the usual, tagging along to meet with clients, discussing potential designs, visiting flooring and lighting companies and even doing a final walk through. We had a meeting on Monday with all of Dave Fox employees, which was very interesting listening to the dynamics of the company and everything that gets spoken about, the best thing about the meeting was as important as most of the topics were there seemed to be laughter at most points. Which is something I have am so found of at this business-there always seems to be laughs even when times are frustrating and/or complicated. Tagging along with Alison in a final walk thru was interesting, it is basically just signing paperwork, going over the space and making sure everything is okay, went smoothly and/or making changes (switching out electrical plates, helping the customer pick out paint, etc.)

The rest of the week I spent most of the time getting ready and helping with the Hubbard House, which was sometimes or mostly frustrating and tiring. We scrubbed floors, cabinets, shelves, the kitchen, the bathroom-Everything on the first day. The second day we arrived at 8:30 am and started to move furniture, which can be difficult when its all women and you have mattresses and dressers to move, but we did it, through the sweat, the frustration and the heat we moved it and spent lots of time trying to plan and decide the best arrangements for the furniture regarding egress for the 100 visitors on thursday night as well as the best set up for the house to sell. By 3pm that day we were all spent, and definately ready to leave the Hubbard house. Thursday the next day, a couple of the girls went to finish accessorizing and do touch up's while I stayed at the office with Michelle and helped do some quoting, warranty books and random paper work-type jobs. I took a half day that day to head to North Carolina for Homecoming and unfortunately missed the Logo Launching + Hubbard House Grand Opening. However, I did hear it went great and that the response from the clients were remarkable, it really does show that Dave Fox is the "Mac Daddy" of remodeling here in Columbus, OH and interning here has made me realize that first hand.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Starting to get a feel for it- September 14-16

As I write this blog entry, my eyes are slowly closing, and my face is plush with my down comforter - I am starting to realize, I need to go to bed a bit earlier, and that 1 or 2 am doesn't cut it anymore, my i.arc stamina is running out...

Anyways, I have begun my internship! YEY! The first day was a little slow, and I was a little uncomfortable, I think like any other newbie at a firm would be. I met the girls, got situated at my new station, ( i have my own desk and own phone and everything! although, I am terrified to pick up the phone), walked through the showroom with Michelle, to help me learn placement of materials and cleaning/random supplies that I might need and went to a meeting and just got use to the fact that I am now a working (unpaid) girl now at a design firm. Oh! and the cool thing for the day was visiting the :Hubbard House: a big redesign project they have been working on and must be complete, cleaned and set up by next Friday. It is beautiful and was so nice to see one of their finish products. The second day was more exciting. I became more comfortable with myself in my new surroundings and with the other designers, they are all so nice there and its nice to have young fresh faces like mine that understand the world I just walked out of and helping me to adjust to the world I am stepping into. 
Courtney is technically my mentor, she is the interior design manager, as well as a designer, shes uber sweet and easy to get along with and so far have learned a lot of great useful knowledge from her. Courtney  is so knowledgeable and within these first 3 days I cant quite comprehend how she does all that she does, and knows all that she knows. 
Alison is another interior designer, she is well read, studied at CCAD here in Columbus, and after todays adventures her and I have really started to get to know each other. I admire her confidence in the work that she does, dealing with vendors and clients. 
Michelle is super nice, I think I have asked her and everyone else her job title about 100 times, and honestly I never remember it, but she is super important in the smoothing process between the sales department, the shipments, the vendors and Alison and Courtney. She works a lot on specs and making sure that all of the paper work and shipments are where they are suppose to be, as well as knowing about design.

Back to my second day-I thought I needed to share with you the people who I will be talking about for the next several months-Courtney and I visited 2 clients. The first lady was renovating 2 of her bathrooms and Courtney and I pulled some samples and met with her to see the existing spaces and to get more of a feel for what she wanted. She was a nice lady and super easy to work with, she wasnt super confident in knowing what she wanted so she relied a lot on our design opinions which was nice. Our next stop was to a lady name Phyllis and her husband Dick, they renovated their kitchen, front room, dinning room and downstairs bathroom, and although they had to tear our the back-splash 3 times because she didn't like it, her and her husband are wonderful people and their kitchen is just beautiful. Courtney and I helped the crew hang the chandeliers and pendant lighting. 

Today we met at American Flooring where the four of us were introduced with their company a possible rep for Dave Fox Remodeling and shown around their showroom. Basically they want to be a vendor for Dave Fox and gave us the pro's and con's of their business. Besides it being super cold in the showroom and guy talking our ear off instead of "ooooooing and awwwing" the products it was a great learning experience. After, we all met up at the office except for Courtney. I have to say I twiddled my thumbs for a hot flash there, but then Alison wanted me and Michelle to go with her to visit a house that she had designed the renovation for and was in the beginning stages of the building. It is going to be an amazing space and I really cant wait to see the final project. After lunch I learned from Michelle how to make a warranty book, and besides my lack of knowledge on excel, I picked it up fairly quickly and now I have something I can contribute to! Then Alison took me to meet with two of her clients, one is updating her kitchen to a contemporary feel to go with the rest of her house, so Alison went over several design things with her while keith and I measured out the space to double check for the documents and final drawings. 

Then, Alison realized she locked her keys in her car. Whoops! So her and I sat on the curb of meditation blvd (ironic) and Jessup. It was a beautiful day  and to be honest it was nice to get to know Alison better, I think she understands me well, my goals my dreams and everything in between. The last client we met with was simply to pick out a chandelier. I learned a lot about different light vendors, and lighting products. 

Overall, its been a great three days, and I know that within the next few days/weeks I will be doing a lot more and will be a lot more comfortable attributing my efforts and working on individual tasks. 

Sunday, August 30, 2009

2 weeks till I hit the ground running

In two weeks I will begin my experience at Dave Fox Remodeling, I have to admit I am a bit anxious. I love new adventures and journey's in life and I suppose this is a great one to be embarking on, however the unknown always leaves me a little bit uneasy. 

September 14th is my starting day, and I will arrive there at 8:40, to attend meetings with my mentor (Courtney) and the other staff in the interiors department. I will be getting my own desk, my very own email address at Dave Fox Remodeling, and my own mark on the firm! Courtney has been very helpful in filling me in on the types of things I will be doing and I think I am most excited about meeting with the clients and helping build my communication skills and helping the client better understand our process of design as well as making their life a little bit easier throughout the building process. 

I will say however, I am still learning the "process" of remodeling, it is quite a bit different then how just plain old building is, so I am anxious to start get my hands dirty and fill my head with knowledge! 

In the next two weeks I am heading to NYC to explore beautiful architecture, wonderful food and a culture I have once experienced but excited to experience again. Be prepared for a great blog update starting on the 14th will all my first days exciting news!