Week 9: Final Week

Summer Supper MenuAalto vase at Summer SupperThe mission/ purpose of Knox Heritage

The mission of Knox Heritage is to restore and maintain historic buildings and homes. I have known this mission since the beginning of my Knox Heritage internship. During my internship I have been able to experience what this really means. I have also learned that Knox Heritage is not just a business but an organization with a passion for history and beauty. Everyone I have met at Knox Heritage from office staff, board members, and volunteers all have so much joy when working on projects or talking about historic structures. Knox Heritage is a place where everyone always seems to enjoy their job and gain excitement from working. The work environment is one of the most positive environments I have experienced.

This Week (and Last Week)

I am combining this week and last week in this blog because I went on vacation in between. Last week I got to spend time in the Salvage Room working with clients. I got to help them choose the correct items for their needs. For example one lady wanted to find a door for her historic house. I helped guide her to one that was the correct size and style for her home. I also labeled the measurements on the doors so customers could easily find the correct size they needed. I took inventory of all of the items at Nostalgia so it would be easier to answer questions customers had about items and so we would know what we need to take to Nostalgia when the supply is low.

Door Entrance From Keller HouseBeth and I went to Lenoir City last week to document items from the historic Keller home. The Salvage Room will be having a sale in Lenior City two Saturdays later in the month. We measured, organized, and photographed items there. One of the most interesting items there was an entire staircase. Throughout my internship I have seen many spindles, treads, and risers from old staircases but I have never seen all of the parts to a single staircase together and not assembled in a house. 

Last week I also helped pack up the Westwood house. It was one of the most interesting things I have gotten to do so far in my internship. I mostly packed books and magazines. Many books were given to the first family family members that lived there as gifts and they had personal letters in them. Most of the books and magazines were from the 1800s and early 1900s. Some of my favorite books included art books from the 1800s and a set of Charles Dickens novels printed in the 1800s! I also got to see some of the plans for the renovation!

Summer Supper FruitsThis week I got to help with another Summer Supper. It was at Marleen and TK Davis's house. It was interesting to see a house that an architect lives in. Everything seems like it is just the right item/ material in just the right place. The home was built in the 50s by Barber McMurry Architects. The supper theme was 50s and 50s music was played throughout the home. I went the day before the supper and met with the rental company. The day of the supper I helped set up, served during the dinner, and helped clean afterwards. I enjoy working at the Summer Suppers because I get the opportunity to meet new people and to learn about the history of a home in Knoxville! 

New People

I am introducing two new people this week because one week I was not able to introduce anyone.

Melissa CharlesI have been able to work with Melissa Charles who is one of the committee leaders. She plans the Knox Heritage Summer Suppers. She is one of the hardest workers I have ever met. The Summer Suppers are one of the most enjoyable Knox Heritage events because of her dedication. She is a part of the special events committee in Knox Heritage. She is also a Knox County teacher at Holston Middle School. She aims for perfection and cares about those she is planning events for. Melissa's attitude reminds me that it does matter to pay attention to details when designing and to always aim for a happy client.

Mark DonaldsonThe next person I am going to introduce is Mark Donaldson. He and his wife Pat volunteer with the Summer Suppers. The Donaldsons have a pet cat and currently live in Knoxville.  Mark is the Director of the Metropolitan Planning Comission. He is originally from Minnesota. I have family in Wisconsin not too far away from where Mark is from and he was familiar with where they lived. Mark became interested in the Summer Suppers when he moved here because he wanted an activity to become part of the community. Mark is also half Finnish! His mother is Finnish. Mark has never lived in Finland but he has visited and said it was a wonderful experience! Since I am going to go to Finland soon this was great news. 

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!

Week 9: The Ending

I can't believe it has been 9 weeks at ESa. Time sure does fly by really quickly and what a wonderful experience it has been!  

This week at work I've spent the majority of my time working with Kearra Barkley. Kearra is does some Health care but she does a lot of Education work as well. I love doing things for Kearra because she explains things thoroughly, she likes to gives me tips (which are VERY helpful) and when I ask her questions she answers them even if they are really dumb. So I've been pulling different types of tile for a project in Winchester, VA for a university called Shenandoah. It started out that I was just pulling looks but then we have started pricing things out and I've had to go back and find tile for cheaper. Kearra has taught me lots of tricks like try to buy as much from the same company as possible because then it will be cheaper and their sizes will match up. I've also spent my week pulling boards together, ordering tons of samples, and sending back lots of carpet. We are kind of in between jobs right now, I feel like everyone has deadlines within the next few weeks but right now everyone is just busy working away. I also got to spend some time this week with Leslie going over our evaluations of what it's been like at ESa. I've thoroughly enjoyed going over those with her and seeing things from her perspective and not my own. I feel like I've learned so much and they've been able to steer my in the right direction of what else I need to grow in.

What happens when you have a lot of projects and not enough space.

The design philosophy at ESa is "Anyone who has a passion for design should also have a passion for humanity." Mr. Earl Swensson himself has founded ESa around this philosophy and this is what he asks of the designers at his firm. Which I believe to be very true at ESa, before I came Abbey told me that ESa is a very special place and very different from a lot of other firms. Everyone that is there is a team, which they have done their best to make it this way. It's one thing to say that, it's another thing to actual do it. I have watched over the course of this summer as the designers have been passionate about the work they do and seen the underling message of what can we give to the people. I've seen it in the luncheons with have with different companies where we are taking about ergonomics and how can we better improve the lifestyle of nurses, make better chairs for them to sit in and design that will benefit them so they can give back to the community around them. I've been in informals where designers ask lots of questions of how things can meet code or colors we can add for the clients benefit or ways they can accomplish something impactful for the designers. These people I'm surrounded by do not only care about humanity but they care about the people they meet with and the community they work with. I think it is one of the reasons they are so good at what they do. They listen to the needs of others and try to meet them. And when they see issues and see ways they can address things they do. And people know that. The reps that come as them there opinions and how they can better their products to meet these needs. I've seen this design philosophy been lived out at ESa, which I think is a really cool thing.

AlanaThere are so many more designers I could introduce to you, I've barely skimmed the surface of all of them but I'll introduce to you one of the first people I've worked with at ESa and one of the smartest, Alana. Alana went to University of Tennessee-Martin she graduated in 2001 and started working at ESa in August of 2001. Alana is very very good at what she does. She works on Health care Design projects and I feel like she knows everyone at ESa and knows them very well. She also has really good questions she asks, and is wiling to tell people what she thinks about their product and what they need to do to benefit the needs of their clients. Not only is Alana smart but she does things really fast and she is wiling to help you learn. She is the first person who let me work on Revit and she explains things so clearly that I only have to be told once. All the interns have worked on different projects for Alana and she is usually the first person we go ask if they need help. She can always help us find something to do and has another project to give us. We like Alana not just because she gives us something to do but because we have all benefited from her knowledge. 

The Vanderbilt Plaza next to Loews where I work.

Well, I usually tell ya'll a funny story but I guess I'll finish off with a closing word instead. At ESa, I have learned a lot about: Photoshopping perspectives, label making, dry mounting, Revit, making finish boards, ordering fabrics, sending professional e-mails, and communicating. The amount of knowledge I have gained has been such a gift and I'm excited to move forward with that information and to get to use it on new projects that I have at UT. I have only praise to give ESa as they continue to do great things in the community of Nashville, Health care Design around the world and push forward to be a voice for humanity. Thanks for letting me be apart of it all! And also to my intern friends, Lauren and Anna I could not have made it through this internship without them, they have taught me so much and we have laughed so hard.