Design Diary: Week 2
Tuesday-June 9th
I started out the day by researching design inspiration for a bathroom. I started with the concept of "luxurious" and contemporary high end finishes in neutral luster tones. Found some super interesting ideas and state of the art technology. Next I put up and re-organized some of the fabric books. Even small tasks like this are helpful because now I am much more knowledgeable of the types of fabrics, manufactures, color ways and styles, and price points. I also researched specific fabrics online to find their specs, and wholesale price so that Amy could create rough proposal estimates. Most of the fabric companies have online data bases of their products which makes it really easy to find information and order memos. This information is only for registered designers (to protect wholesale cost markup) however, I do wish there was a way that these resources could be accessible to students as well. Near the end of the day I helped measure a floor plan to determine counter length, bathroom wall length, etc. so that Amy could send estimates to the tile company.
Wednesday-June 10th
My day started with a meeting with the rep from Jerry Pair. http://www.jerrypair.com They are a company that manufactures high end fabrics, wall coverings, furniture and lighting fixtures for residential application. They specialize in beautiful silks but have a leather and outdoor line as well. Jerry Pair is partners with the Jim Thompson who is known for his unique art of silk weaving and he also has a less expensive line called the No. 9 collection. I was intrigued to know how much psychology is involved in the design process. Amy knew exactly what kind of products and price points her clients would request and therefore only asked for memo's and information on things she knew would sell.
Next we went to an ASID meeting at a local restaurant with amazing food (that I turned down, don't ask me why). The speaker was with HB&G and gave an interesting CEU on column options. He explained the different manufacturing processes and applications for wood, stone, aluminum, PVC, and fiberglass for custom columns and railings.
After lunch I went along to a job site to help measure. The project is actually an old 1920's house that the clients would like to restore to its old charm and period. This is the same floor plan we measured yesterday for tile estimates and at the site we checked those measurements as well as locating and notating the existing switching, electrical, and HVAC system.
Thursday-June 11th
Met with the Masland/Fabrica http://www.maslandcarpets.com/Default.aspx http://www.fabrica.com/Default.aspx rep this morning and looked at new designs and styles for carpet and rugs. I had never heard of these companies before but was excited to see the range of products they offer. I spent the rest of there day searching and researching for the perfect fabrics for two different projects. The first project is for a young girls room that is fun, colorful, bright, and young. The main colors were pink and green and so initially I was searching for coordinate colors and patterns and then the search led to a specific dupe for the butterfly fabric shown. The client loved the butterflies but the price point of this particular fabric was a little out of the price range per yard. I did some online searches from Kravet, Thibaut, Greenhouse fabrics, Duralee, and found a few different options that we ordered memos of.
The second extended search involved finding a bolder blue colored leopard type print to upholster a clients love seat. We were looking for something more traditional in natural, small scale, bolder/ richer blue tones, and a certain price point. Once again I spent time researching different companies online as well as our book collection to try and find the perfect dupe and we did come up with some comparable options.
I started out the day by researching design inspiration for a bathroom. I started with the concept of "luxurious" and contemporary high end finishes in neutral luster tones. Found some super interesting ideas and state of the art technology. Next I put up and re-organized some of the fabric books. Even small tasks like this are helpful because now I am much more knowledgeable of the types of fabrics, manufactures, color ways and styles, and price points. I also researched specific fabrics online to find their specs, and wholesale price so that Amy could create rough proposal estimates. Most of the fabric companies have online data bases of their products which makes it really easy to find information and order memos. This information is only for registered designers (to protect wholesale cost markup) however, I do wish there was a way that these resources could be accessible to students as well. Near the end of the day I helped measure a floor plan to determine counter length, bathroom wall length, etc. so that Amy could send estimates to the tile company.
Wednesday-June 10th
My day started with a meeting with the rep from Jerry Pair. http://www.jerrypair.com They are a company that manufactures high end fabrics, wall coverings, furniture and lighting fixtures for residential application. They specialize in beautiful silks but have a leather and outdoor line as well. Jerry Pair is partners with the Jim Thompson who is known for his unique art of silk weaving and he also has a less expensive line called the No. 9 collection. I was intrigued to know how much psychology is involved in the design process. Amy knew exactly what kind of products and price points her clients would request and therefore only asked for memo's and information on things she knew would sell.
Next we went to an ASID meeting at a local restaurant with amazing food (that I turned down, don't ask me why). The speaker was with HB&G and gave an interesting CEU on column options. He explained the different manufacturing processes and applications for wood, stone, aluminum, PVC, and fiberglass for custom columns and railings.
After lunch I went along to a job site to help measure. The project is actually an old 1920's house that the clients would like to restore to its old charm and period. This is the same floor plan we measured yesterday for tile estimates and at the site we checked those measurements as well as locating and notating the existing switching, electrical, and HVAC system.
Thursday-June 11th
Met with the Masland/Fabrica http://www.maslandcarpets.com/Default.aspx http://www.fabrica.com/Default.aspx rep this morning and looked at new designs and styles for carpet and rugs. I had never heard of these companies before but was excited to see the range of products they offer. I spent the rest of there day searching and researching for the perfect fabrics for two different projects. The first project is for a young girls room that is fun, colorful, bright, and young. The main colors were pink and green and so initially I was searching for coordinate colors and patterns and then the search led to a specific dupe for the butterfly fabric shown. The client loved the butterflies but the price point of this particular fabric was a little out of the price range per yard. I did some online searches from Kravet, Thibaut, Greenhouse fabrics, Duralee, and found a few different options that we ordered memos of.
Overall, this was a very educational and enjoyable week. Looking forward to the challenges and excitements of next week.
Design Diva,
K.L.E
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