The End of the Beginning

This Week’s Activities: 

Tuesday office meetingWow! I can’t believe how fast the summer is coming to a close! It has been 9 weeks since I started at Lauderdale Design Group, and this will be my last blog post. I feel like I started yesterday, but at the same time I feel like I have been working there for ages. I was immediately welcomed into LDG with open arms and I have learned so much in just the short 9 weeks that I have been reporting back to y’all about my experience. I have met so many wonderful people, been introduced to endless great products, and gained knowledge in the professional interior design work environment. 

I feel so lucky that I was given the opportunity to work with Lauderdale Design Group. Joy, Deborah, Dani, Cathy, & Jess have become my greatest mentors and a great second family. I am honored to say that I have been offered a job with Lauderdale into the fall as a paid intern. I am so excited that I get to stay on the team and be part of the amazing work Lauderdale Design Group is producing. 

Cleaning out the textile section of our materials libraryThis week I made great progress with getting our materials library in order. Since Neocon, we have been getting tons of new products in from reps that were showcased and we started to run out of room to store them. We have a limited amount of space in our library so this week I went through all the sections of our library and weeded out the stuff we would never use, duplicate items, and discontinued products. I was able to clear out enough products to make room for the new updated items.  

I also did quite a bit of work on our Salon Project. I helped Deborah select ceramic tile for the back of house and hair station flooring, as well as help her order some luxury vct for the retail portion of the building. I made a up to date finish key and schedule to go along with that using prisma color pencils for the final finish presentation as well. We are also trying to match a wall covering to the existing chain curtains that the Salon has. This became one of my tasks and I ordered around 10 different options for our upcoming meeting this Monday.  

Jess and I spent some time at the UT Music Building. Our task was going through each room and making sure that the furniture ordered for it was in place. This was a long and grueling task because many of the rooms are locked so we would have to call UT maintenance to open each door for us. Luckily, he was very understanding and helpful when it came to helping us out that afternoon. 

Knox Heritage Summer Supper at Marleen Davis's House, Setting upSaturday I volunteered on behalf of Lauderdale Design Group for the Knox Heritage Summer Supper at Professor Marleen Davis’s house. It was so much fun and I absolutely loved meeting all the great volunteers. It was amazing that almost all the stuff was donated and the event looked amazing. I was so happy because I got to work with my close friend and classmate, Monica Cota. We had so much fun and it was great to spend some time with her before she leaves for Finland to study abroad. We spent the better part of the morning setting up for the event. This included moving tables and chairs from the carport into the room the dining was taking place. We also set the tables up and prepared everything presentation wise. We then headed to Fresh Market to get some last minute groceries for the event. We spent some time doing food prep, cutting lemons, butter, and plating items for easy use at the bar. When guests started to arrive we were the appetizer servers. My tray had bacon wrapped water chestnuts with a barbecue glaze and Monica’s tray had cream cheese, chive, and sausage stuffed mushrooms. 

Monica and I in our serving apronsOnce the guests were seated Monica and I made sure everyone had the beverages of their choice. We served cocktails, red and white wine, coffee, and water throughout the four course meal. We also helped clear and rinse dishes throughout. After the guest finished their meals, we were able to help clean up the dining room and start packing up all the dishes, tables, chairs, etc. Luckily, we didn’t have to clean the dishes, we only had to stack them up in the crates to be taken back to the rental place Monday morning. It was a long night, but so gratifying. I really enjoyed myself and hope to continue volunteering with Knox Heritage in the future. They were even kind enough to give me a floral centerpiece as gratitude. It was just such a fun event to be a part of! 

This Week’s Focus:

Lauderdale Design Group’s design philosophy is to create timeless spaces that are current. They strive to work with their clients to create the perfect space that is both functional and stylish. They love to “design local” and choose to hire local artisans and order most their products from companies whose warehouses are within 500 miles, but most certainly in the United States. Lauderdale Design Group aims to please and always designs with their clients in mind. 

This Week’s Introduction: 

Lori Wilson, Project Manager for Capital Projects at UTKThis week I am introducing Lori Wilson. I met Lori my first day as a design intern with Lauderdale Design Group, so I think it’s a great way to end my blog with her introduction. She has been a constant during my time at LDG and I think she just might be the most fun too. Lori is from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She went to college right here at The University of Tennessee-Knoxville. She is currently a Project Manager for Capital Projects at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Any of the projects Lauderdale Design Group does with UTK involves Lori. Lori is momma to two handsome sons that she is extremely close to. She is very involved in Knoxville’s design community and has tons of friends that she is so close to she calls them family. She is a great friend of all the ladies at our office and we love working with her! She has become a great mentor for me since I have been with LDG. Some of her hobbies include reading, traveling, and gardening. Lori’s job keeps her extremely busy though!