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 8: A Beautiful (Work) Life

This Week’s Activities:

Joy, Cathy, and I collaborating on LDG laundry roomThis week at Lauderdale Design Group was jam packed! It was by far the busiest week yet, and was also my favorite week so far. We had so much going on and I got the opportunity to meet so many great people. I also had a lot of fun this week and got to see some of my classmates who are also doing internships.

Monday involved a lot of prep work for the huge UT residence hall finishes meeting Lauderdale hosted Tuesday. I helped Dani and Jess do some plot and printing, as well as help pull some furniture selections. I also helped Joy write a paragraph long proposal about LDG’s education experience. I am so lucky to work with a company that has experience with such a wide range of design genres. I also did a little research on making materials boxes to keep finish selections in while the projects are on hold. 

Tuesday was all about the UT residence hall finishes meeting. I helped set everything up for the meeting, I also helped clean up and organize the office in preparation for visitors. I helped get together drinks for our guest and sat in on the meeting. When the caterer arrived I helped her get everything set up. I was in charge of taking the notes for the meeting. I got to see one of my classmates, Stephanie Woodle, who was there with her boss Tiffany. They came from facilities planning because this was a UT building. Once the meeting was over, lunch was served, and the meeting ended, I helped clean up. I then typed up all the notes Jess and I had written during the meeting. We also had a rep meeting later that afternoon with Jay Lanier from Interface carpets. Our area rug in the office is an interface product and they have some very innovative products. 

UT Music Building ShootWednesday I was on site at the UT Music Building shoot all day long. In the morning I helped unload all of the props and things brought for the shoot. I ran back to the office to get even more props once we decided we needed even more. We then did a lot of setting up for the shoots and styling of the shots. We were able to get a lot of the shots styled with the help of CBI, who provided out the Knoll furniture used throughout the building. For lunch we went over to the Art+Architecture Building for a rep meeting with Knoll Textiles. They brought us some yummy Zoe’s Kitchen and we reviewed their new products while eating. Then we headed back to Music to style and shoot more photos. We ended up getting 6 shots, and will probably need to have another full day in order to get everything we need. The building is so large that it takes much longer to get all the photos we need. Jess and I packed up all the props and took them back to Lauderdale to unpack and put away everything. It was a long day, but also a great one. Denise Retallack, our photographer is such a joy to work with and I always enjoy spending time working with her at the shoots. I look forward to seeing the pictures!

Edelman Leather Rug SampleThursday was a crazy day in the office. We had rep meetings all day long. Our first rep was with Edelman Leather. She had some amazing new products and it was so much fun to hear about how the leather is made and the process for making their products. She also told us about how to get purses/belts/wallets made from the leather samples that aren’t being manufactured anymore! Which we all would love to get. Their products are truly one of a kind and I am obsessed. We had a lunch meeting with Vicky Colman from Coalesse as well. She had some awesome products to show us and also helped Dani & Deborah with some furniture specs for a future project. It was a lot of fun to get to know Vicky and she has such a great line to represent. We also got to meet the rep for J+J Invision, a carpet manufacturer we didn’t currently have in the library. It was great to get some new products. I spent most my time with reps and in the materials library organizing. I also helped Deb pull some pin board panel fabrics.

Dani's Surprise Birthday CelebrationOn Friday morning Dani, Joy, and I headed over to the Westwood House on Kingston Pike. This will be the new headquarters for Knox Heritage. The house was absolutely amazing and the history was even more interesting. I got to see Monica Cota, one of my close friends and class mates who is a intern for Knox Heritage. I also got to see one of my professors, Sandy Martin. It was a great visit and nice meeting all the other designers collaborating and donating their time to renovate the house. LDG will be renovating all the corridors and bathrooms. I also spent some time pulling poms for a rug in the UT Music Building lobby and space planning for the mailroom. At the end of the day, we surprised Dani after a grueling meeting with a Birthday celebration. It was so much fun and I feel so lucky to work with LDG. They truly love and support each other. Something that I think sets them apart from the other firms in town. They are like family.  

This Week’s Focus:

UTRH Finishes PresentationThis week I am focusing on learning about Lauderdale Design Group’s presentation techniques and computer applications. LDG uses indesign, photoshop, and powerpoint to make their client presentations. They always have a hard copy of their work to show clients as well as to mark up with notes during meetings. They bring samples of all their materials to meetings as well. When giving a presentation they use the computer to pull up a digital copy of their work alongside their physical materials. On large projects, they sometimes choose to hire someone to create 3D renderings and movies that showcase their ideas and designs. They set up all their materials on a table and vocally present their projects to clients on a regular basis. 

In general, LDG always presents their ideas and design in a clear, organized manner. They are prepared for meetings and use the aid their selected materials, floor plans, and furniture selections to guide their presentations. 

This Week’s Introduction:

Cassidy Barnett, CBIThis week I am introducing Cassidy Barnett. Cassidy is origionally from Gatlinburg, TN. She always knew she was going to attend college at UTK because her parents went there, and it was always a tradition she wanted to carry on. She majored in interior design because she always had a passion for interiors and decorating, and knew that she wanted to make a career of it! Since graduating from UTK, Cassidy has become a Project Manager for an aligned Knoll dealer called CBI (Contract Business Interiors). She found out about the job opportunity through a college friend who introduced her to Mr. Vance of CBI. Cassidy loves working for CBI. Every day is different. It is a fast-paced environment and she loves the CBI culture. Cassidy is grateful to have been given the opportunity to work for such a great company right out of school. She plans to stay with CBI and look for potential opportunities to grow within the company. 

Cassidy enjoys regularly volunteering at Ignition Church. She also does finger paintings when she has the time. See her website here. Some of her work is currently on display/for sale at the Plum Gallery in Bearden. 

Week 7: A New Face

This Week’s Activities:

This was a very low key week at Lauderdale Design Group. Joy was out of the office enjoying some vacation time, and we were so happy to welcome Jess King back for a month or so in preparation for Deborah going on maternity leave. I had never met Jess, though she was in the program at UT while I was a freshman. I was so happy to meet her and she is truly an inspiration for all interior design students. I’ll go into more details later in my introduction!

Great addition to LDG's materials library, a book of awesome rugs. I learned something new this week about product manufacturer’s... when once company comes out with new products, they ALL do. Yes, just like clothing stores, product manufacturers have new lines that come out at the end of summer, just in time for the fall and winter season. My inbox was full of emails from product rep’s wanting to set up meetings with the LDG design girls to go over their newest products. I spent a big chunk of time working around everyone’s busy schedule to set up rep meetings. We also had quite a few reps come into the office this week with new products. We had a great lunch meeting with Alli Mair, of mohawk, who showed us some great new carpet samples. We also had a really fun meeting with Jennifer Mullins, the rep for 3form. 3form has some amazing new products coming out and some great design ideas. All of their products have a great story behind the design concept. We met with many more reps than this, but those two had my favorite products! I am so lucky to meet all these great product reps and learn about the different product manufacturers in the design industry. As the student chapter president of ASID, I look forward to using my new connections to make our annual vendor show truly spectacular this year!

Materials for higher education/hospitality projectCathy was out of the office this week so I took over answering the phones, and some of the office chores that she usually attends to. It made me realize how much she truly does for us. I watered the plants, took out the trash and recycling, checked the mail, and emptied staff trash cans. I actually enjoyed doing these small tasks, and the way our office is set up, makes it extremely easy to keep the place in tip top shape. 

I spent a large chunk of time continuing with the LDG laundry room project this week as well. Joy wanted me to present what I had come up with when she returns from vacation this Monday, so I was busy at work. I asked Dani what I needed to have, which ended up being floor plans, and elevations, spec sheets for products used, and a price sheet. Last week I came up with multiple different floor plans using a couple different products. So this week I narrowed it down to one and created a final floor plan, as well as elevations that show what each wall in the space will look like. I also picked out my final products, and printed out the sheets. Pricing the laundry room was fairly easy and I look forward to hearing what Joy has to say about what I have to show her! 

This Week’s Focus:

The relationships Lauderdale Design Group produce through staff/client interaction are the most important that they have as a firm. Much of their work comes through referral and repeat clients. LDG keeps project records for ten or more years after the project is finished. It is their responsibility to maintain the information relevant to a project. Samples are the most important because LDG is the one responsible for archiving the materials used on the projects. Follow-up appointments after project completion are encouraged and clients are always welcome to contact with question or concerns after completion of project. In the design industry, a designer never stops growing and learning. Every project is different, requiring varied skill sets. A LDG client, who oversees many projects always says “I don’t mind learning something on a project. I just don’t want to re-learn it on the next project.” Mistakes are inevitable, but designers should learn from them and avoid making the same mistake in the future. That is one of the many ways LDG designers learn from projects. It is important to LDG to stay connected with clients from completed projects. They like to have repeat clients, and stay on projects. After a project is finished, future updates will be charged as add service or as a new project entirely. LDG works with many of their clients long after project completion. Lauderdale works in corporate, hospitality, higher education, and residential facility types, with a wide range of client types.

This Week’s Introduction:

Jess King, Designer, LDGThis week I am introducing Jess King. Jess has been working as a intern and designer at Lauderdale Design Group on and off for over a year. She has rejoined the team this week to stay for a month in preparation for Deborah leaving on maternity leave. Jess is from Philadelphia, PA. She chose to study interior design not really knowing what it entailed but thinking it could be a fun career path. She visited The University of Tennessee-Knoxville campus and fell in love with the art + architecture building. It was one of the more affordable schools she toured as an out of state student that she was accepted to. Upon her graduation from UTK she decided to go on to pursue a masters degree in architecture at The University of Texas. She has a great desire to teach and was craving to know more about this career path. Interior Design was fascinating to Jess but she needed to know about the bigger picture. She has work experience as a intern for UTK professor Barbara Klinkhammer, doing drawings for Barbara’s book being a color theory TA. Some of her hobbies include reading, traveling, playing the piano, and being with friends. 

Week 6: Learning Experiences

This Week’s Activities:

Working on the IIDA Composing Great Design competition slide showsIt was great to get back into the swing of things at Lauderdale Design Group after the long 4th of July weekend! This week I was happy to continue with some of my on-going projects. As usual I kept up with my email, opening and storing packages, and keeping the materials library updated.  I also kept up with the phones, scheduled rep meetings, and did some internal laundry room cad work. This week was also a great one for me because I started my first ever file cabinet that hold my information and work that I have been doing on projects! It is so nice to stop using a folder and actually start filing things into my desk by project names. I should have organized myself better from the beginning, but now I know!

I have been working on putting together a materials board for one of LDG’s higher education/hospitality projects for quite some time now. As I stated previously I ordered all the materials being used in preparation to actually make the boards...3 weeks later, all the samples have all finally arrived! I have organized all the samples by the space that they will be used in. This will make it easier when I go to make the boards, which we are doing a board for all major spaces. For example, we will have a typical corridor board, lobby board, typical room, etc. We decided we would really like the boards to have some type of frame so I spent a bit of time researching where to purchase them and how to make them yourself. I also researched different board layout and different ways to title block the boards and label the items. We also went ahead and configured a list of the items we will need to make the boards, like double sided tape, foam core, sticky back, etc. and got those items purchased. Of course, now everything is prepared, but it is protocol that the previous phase is finished and approved before the next phase that includes the material boards can be started. So I am waiting for the okay to begin the boards. 

Company meeting with Joy, Deborah, Dani, and CathyJust like last week, creating the IIDA Competition Slide Shows has been a big priority for me this week. I have spent countless hours editing plans in photoshop and creating graphics, etc to go in our submissions. Like I previously mentioned, LDG has entered to compete in both the corporate and residential categories of the competition and have two projects going into the corporate section. We really would like our submissions to stand out and the projects to speak for themselves. It has been tricky to work with the template they gave us but keep our LDG aesthetic in tact. Overall, I think they powerpoint presentations have turned out really well and I think everyone will be happy with the end product. Keep your fingers cross we win something!

Thursday was a huge day for Lauderdale Design Group, and for me personally as a intern. I got to participate in my first quarterly company meeting! It was so much fun and a great learning experiment for me! The first thing we did was go over our mission statement and elevator statement. We made little changes as well as coming up with a design slogan to go on our email signatures, notepads, proposals, etc. We also spoke about different marketing things the company could do. We spoke about their previous first friday and how often they would like to participate, how to find local artists to showcase for first friday, and how long to keep the artist work showcased in our office. It was a great way for us to brainstorm ideas. We also talked about our personal and professional goals, companies we admire, and social media marketing. We are looking forward to the upcoming website and facebook renovations and can’t wait to showcase the amazing photographs Denise has shot for us. Thats about it for this week!

This Week’s Focus: 

Lauderdale Design Group Materials Library This week the focus is on furnishings, fixtures, and equipment resources. It is very important at LDG that we keep our resource library up-to-date and very well stocked. Since I first started working with LDG it has been one of my job descriptions to keep the library in order. LDG keeps it’s material library up-to-date in a multitude of different ways. We are constantly getting emails from reps who want to come over and present their newest products. I am in charge of scheduling those rep meeting and then filing the product samples after the meetings are over. We also have reps sending us new product samples on a regular basis that I also file away. Some reps choose to do a drop in, which does not take any time away from the designers. Instead, they will look through our library and determine what samples we need to be given and then update our library by themselves. Whenever I receive samples from reps I always let Dani and Deborah know so that they can view for future projects. 

Our materials library is organized with Tall, large black bookcases that line the right interior wall of the office. They are categorized as follows, wall coverings, flooring, paint, furniture, lighting, textiles, surfaces, etc. The loose items that do not come in a book, such as textiles and surfaces, are stored in clear plastic bins for easy access. Those bins are labeled by manufacturer name, or sample type for surfaces. This makes it extremely easy for the designers to go to the section they are looking for, pull the manufacturer, and find the product. The way our materials library is organized is very clear and concise and it took me only a couple days to get a handle on where to find what I was looking for, as I am constantly filing samples away. 

This Week’s Introduction:

Mary Holt and her 2 beautiful daughter's.This week I am introducing you to Main Solutions product rep, Mary Holt. Mary has lived in Atlanta, GA since 1985. She grew up in Greensboro, NC and graduated from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before deciding to move to Atlanta and attend Interior Design school. Upon graduation, Mary worked in Atlanta as a designer for several years at Quantrell Mullins & Associates. She started as a junior designer but soon found that she had way too much energy to sit behind a desk all day. So she joined a multi-line rep team in 1989 and began selling both furniture and textiles. Four years later, in 1993, the owners of the rep firm scaled back, giving Mary the opportunity to continue on her own with her career. She partnered with Rick Proffitt and found Main Source in 1993. Their business was very successful and they sold primarily furniture and textiles. In 2004, they merged to create a bigger group of partners and manufacturers. Mary and the team at Main Solutions love the products they represent and watching them evolve, bringing out products that are relevant to the changing needs or designers and spaces. Mary has two children, age 10 and 8. She loves traveling to the beach to relax away from the hustle and bustle of Atlanta. She also has a wonderful white lab who is both kind and loving. While at the beach they enjoy shelling, riding waves, antiquing, and much more! 

Week 5:Fourth of July...Where has the time gone?

This Week’s  Activities: 

Dani and Deborah consulting on a residential design projectThis week was a short week for Lauderdale Design Group. The office was closed on Thursday and Friday due to the 4th of July holiday. The office was very relaxed and there was much less activity than the usual work week. 

As usual, I checked/responded to emails, kept the materials library updated, and unpackaged and stored incoming packages. I also ordered return labels so that we can send back the larger samples that we don’t necessarily need in our materials library, such as 24x24 inch carpet squares. 

I spent time working in the materials library. I helped Deborah pull fabrics to go on the back cushions of chairs in one of our sports office projects. This was a great experience because I was focusing on color matching to the fabric on the rest of the chair as well as choosing a fabric that was masculine and “sporty”. I really appreciate having the chance to help with design work and do some material selecting.  

LDG existing laundry room, a small space projectOne of my big projects I worked on this week was the residential marketing books. Lauderdale Design Group already had marketing books for education and corporate design, but needed some for residential. The marketing books consist of project plans, photos, project summary, as well as concepts. I worked on putting together the marketing books for our two completed residential projects: Kiawah Cottage and View Point Residence. I really enjoyed working in InDesign on this as well as editing photos in photoshop to be put in the books. 

I also spent a large chunk of time this week doing programming for our laundry room. Currently, the room is not being used to its full potential and we are hoping to find storage solutions that will help create a multi-functional space. We want to have storage for cleaning supplies, but also have hanging space as well as hamper space. I measured and laid out the plans in autocad before moving on to research different affordable storage options. It is an extremely tight space so meeting to programming needs will be a challenge I am excited to tackle. 

IIDA competition slideshowLastly, I worked on our IIDA competition submissions. LDG has entered to compete in both the corporate and residential categories of the competition and have two projects going into the corporate section. I spent a lot of time organizing the information to go into the slideshow for each entry as well as editing plans in photoshop. I have started creating our entry powerpoint’s and am enjoying this design project. The competitors are given a slideshow layout to use so it is important that we find a way to make our slideshow stand out and really make a statement with our work. 

This Week’s Focus: 

This week the focus was on procurement and related business practices; estimating; project costs and fees; and budget management. Lauderdale Design Group does not have an in-house purchasing department to purchase product goods. The company specifies the products and sends out for bidding and purchasing to different manufacturers. Project fees depend on the client. They are based off the state fee schedule in some cases, especially if it is government work. However, in most situations the project fees are based on hours worked and the different design phases. LDG will create a schedule that has the different phases and an amount of hours for each phase. This is how they determine how much a project will cost. This will add up to 100%, but can be broken down into smaller percentages. In all cases the schedule will be negotiated to make it the best possible situation for LDG and their clients. Costs are handled by phase. After each phase is completed, the bill will be sent before the next phase can be started. The project budget is managed in a digital computer program called Praesto. On the program each program has its own account in which the the amount of hours are divided into phase. This is how the designers track their hours as well as make sure they are not going over on their allotted hours for that phase. It also helps keep track of the timing to make sure the project is being executed in the time allowed.

This Week’s Introduction:

Denise Retallack, photographerThis week I am introducing Denise Retallack, local photographer. Denise went to college to study marine biology. However, a couple years into school she took an interest in art. She took art classes (2d design, ceramic) and her art teacher loved her work and knew she had natural talent. At that time she decided marine biology wasn’t for her, so she switched to an art major. Denise didn’t know what to do with her degree after graduation, so she ended up working as a graphic designer for a couple of years, but knew that wasn’t really what she wanted to do. She ended up taking an internship with a commercial photographer, which really opened her eyes to photography. She decided to go back to school at Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara. She worked for a landscape architecture firm for a couple years as their in house photographer, where she fell in love with architectural photography. She decided that her time was up there and she wanted to start up her own business. That’s when she decided to move to Knoxville to be close to her sister and start her business. Her business grew in the Knoxville market and she now works in Charleston as well. Some of her hobbies include yoga, walking on the beach, boating, and just about any outdoor activity. Denise has done an amazing job photographing some of LDG’s projects and we have loved working with her. We are excited to work with her in the future!