Week 1: The Journey Begins

Week 1

(My first week was one week ago.)

My first week at Earl Swensson Associates was really exciting for me. I was just excited to see how a commercial interior design firm  functions behind the scenes and what goes into the design process. I was welcomed in with open arms and immediately given tasks to handle, which was encouraging to see our role as interns to put to good use and to feel like part of the team. I’m interning beside two other girls from Auburn and Cincinnati, together the three of us make up the interiors intern department and run things as smoothly and quickly as possible.

The first week we spent on ordering fabrics, making finish boards, creating contract boards and editing floor plans in Photoshop. For a lot of these different projects we spent this week learning the 'how to's' of putting it all together and what the proper way it should be visualized. We also have got to meet countless reps who have been showing off their carpet, wall covering, fabrics, ceiling tiles, and other materials. I’ve really loved getting to be involved in so many numerous projects already and just seeing the different designers around us and the way they work. Not to mention the work environment here is very inviting, everyone is so kind and willing to listen to you and talk to you about your questions. I feel like it’s a very close-knit group of people working beside each other, which has been a treat.

I talk with Leslie about the organizational structure of the company as well. We had to ask Janet (a designer who has been around longer than Leslie) about what kind of company Earl Swensson Associates is. She said we are  in fact a corporation, from there Leslie went on to explain how the structure of the company looks. (Below there is a graph to explain what I am writing) Basically, it starts with David (who is now in charge of the company) then the principals then the architects and the interior designers. For the interior designers we have horizontal structure and are more concerned with people collaborating together instead of having a senior designer, designer, and junior designer. It is a very family focused environment to encourage team work and that we are all working towards the same goal. With the architects it is a little more vertical structure but they still believe in the working as teams, I guess the only difference is when you are an architect starting out at the company they call you an EP which is referring to them as "intern architects" but really they have graduated and working full-time with the company. Some peoples titles change but some architects that have been around for years are still considered an EP. So there structural system is very different. I love that the interiors department is a horizontal structure and is more concerned with getting the projects accomplished and what the end result is and not where it's going to move them on the vertical scale.

I figured I’d start off by introducing you two the people I spend most of my time with and then we’ll go from there. So from the first week I’ll introduce to my friend and fellow intern, Lauren.

Lauren and I arrived on the same day to start work together and found out we had a mutual friend. Lauren is a soon-to-be graduate from Auburn (this internship is her last part and she graduates in August.) It’s been really fun getting to talk to the other interns about what their programs at school is like and what their favorite part of the design process is like. Lauren enjoys the construction document phase and getting to do the research, as do I. Lauren also interned with a residential firm last semester so we get to compare notes. I’m really thankful for the girls I work with they are both wonderful, very talented, and willing to work together to get the job done. (Not to mention they have impeccable style.)

Comments

[MBR]

Sounds like you started off very well. Glad to hear ESa did a good job of giving an orientation. The organizational chart is fine, but what about the other departments that are different from the design areas? Could you update your post with all the positions and how they fall within the overall structure. As you will learn as the weeks unfold, there is more to running a business than just design. What about the business side? Also, I would post the image a bit larger (save larger) and then post as a thumbnail around 300 - 400 px, and then the reader can open up the image to see in detail. Your writing is clear and organized. You may want to separate the weekly summary, focus and intro into 3 separate sections to maximize the organization. There is still a bit of editing you could do -- wording and some grammar -- to refine the post even further. Very good start! Congrats!