week 6: beige, beige, beige, and more beige!

This week was S-L-O-W! Lots of people took a couple days off with the holiday on Wednesday so the interns ran out of things to do multiple times during the week. I started the week off helping Michelle with a project that she has a huge deadline for. She is renovating Western Baptist Hospital and had me select milwork finishes for nurse stations and other casework, as well as do some research for her. She is using an FRL product (Fiber Reinforced Laminate) instead of normal laminate to re-clad an existing nurse station.  FRL is much thicker, thus stronger and more resistant to abrasion. She has never used an FRL before and needed me to find out what sizes it comes in as well as to find metal corner and reveal trim pieces to use with the FRL. I spent hours online looking at trim, talking to designers that had used the product, and talking with our Wilsonart rep to get the answers to our questions. It was cool because I really learned a lot about the product and was able to teach Michelle what I had learned so she could use it in the project!

The rest of the week I helped Alana with more renderings (not as rushed as last time though!) I rendered many options for floor patterns, patient rooms, corridors, etc. It was neat to be part of the whole process this time; I got to help chose finishes and then render them. And who would have thought that there were so many different shades of beige! Irish Cream, French Cream, Toffee, Cappuccino, desert sand, khaki..... and that's just wall protection. They sure love their beige and neutrals :) But it's all about what the client wants, and that's an important thing to be able to do.

FF&E

Designers at ESa are kept up to date on all FF&E resources through their constantly updating materials library. Reps are always stocking the latest and greatest products on the market. Because our firm is so large, we often are the first in the area to see certain products, especially the ones we uses often. Reps also frequently visit for lunch and learns or quick morning/afternoon presentations on new products. Along with the materials library, a resource library with magazines and book sources makes all this information accessible to all designers in the office. The materials library was once managed by an employee whose only job was to organize the samples and coordinate with reps. When the economy began to suffer, this position was cut. Now the library is managed by 2 designers,  Isaac Holeman and Leslie McClenny, with some help from the interns with filing and ordering. Reps will also come in and go through their own things to keep binders and samples up to date. Space is precious and so we only keep one of most samples; any extra samples as well as any that have been discontinued get donated to the Pencil Box, a charity that donates the samples to schools.

Erin at her desk

This is Erin Jones! She is one of ESa's newest interior designers! She graduated from the University of Cincinnati and moved here when she got a job at ESa about a year ago after interning MANY times! She is the one that I have been helping with the NICU themes.