Q:        How long have you been a practicing interior designer?

 

A:         I have been working at Ashley McGraw Architects, in their k-12 design studio, since September 2013 and prior to that I was working with Sedgwick Business Interiors for almost two and a half years with their Healthcare Team. 

 

While I haven't been in the field a very long time I feel I have been able to learn a lot about different areas of the interior design profession that you only get with on the job experience!

 

Q:        What is your educational background and training?

 

A:         I attended Philadelphia University in Philadelphia, PA. A small school about 15 minutes outside of center city. There I received my Bachelor of Science in Interior Design. While in school I worked at an architecture firm in Southern New Jersey working on tenant fit outs for dental offices.  

   

While in college I also worked (still do occasionally) for a marketing company which is also an interest of mine which has led to me being interested in building a brand for our Chapter and learning how to market ourselves to our members and future members!

 

More...

 

ASID Announces 2014 National Award Winners

The ASID Awards represent the Society's highest level of professional recognition. Recipients are outstanding members of the design community who demonstrate an unyielding commitment to advancing the profession and harnessing the power of design to improve the human experience. This year's winners represent important work taking place in healthcare design, education and research, technology innovation and workplace design. 

 

The winners are:

  

Designer of Distinction: 
Tama Duffy Day, Gensler, for her impressive body of work demonstrating the measurable effects of design on productivity, efficiency and innovation.  

 

Design for Humanity: 
Judith Heerwagen, U.S. General Services Administration's Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings, for her pioneering research in biophilia, which examines how building and workplace design influence organizational effectiveness as well as occupant behavior, health and work performance.

 

Design Innovation:  

Haworth for its new cloud-based technology that will transform collaboration and communication in the workplace.

  

Nancy Vincent McClelland Merit Award:  Amy Campos, Amy Campos Architect, for her innovative approach to interior design, which has proven successful in her practice and in the classroom. 

 

The four recipients will be honored at the Society's annual Celebration awards gala in Los Angeles at Paramount Studios.

   

To read more about these winners and their work, and to purchase a ticket to Celebration, visit www.asid.org.

 

 

Editor's Note:

For any of our Board members board members who go to Leadership training in LA this year you will be able to see this presentation at the gala, which will be part of the event and will be covered for all to go to!  

http://www.bellacorpro.com/?v=4  

 

 

Q: How long have you been a practicing interior designer?

A: I have been working at Ashley McGraw Architects, in their k-12 design studio, since September 2013 and prior to that I was working with Sedgwick Business Interiors for almost two and a half years with their Healthcare Team. While I haven't been in the field a very long time I feel I have been able to learn a lot about different areas of the interior design profession that you only get with on the job experience!

Q: What is your educational background and training?

A: I attended Philadelphia University in Philadelphia, PA. A small school about 15 minutes outside of center city. There I received my Bachelor of Science in Interior Design. While in school I worked at an architecture firm in Southern New Jersey working on tenant fit outs for dental offices.

While in college I also worked (still do occasionally) for a marketing company which is also an interest of mine which has led to me being interested in building a brand for our Chapter and learning how to market ourselves to our members and future members!

Q: Was there any singular event or experience that led you to interior design as a profession?

A: I can't say I have a single event that led to want to be an interior designer. I enjoyed my art classes in High School and learned about the profession from one of my teachers who attended Syracuse University. Like most I thought of it as what you see on HGTV until I talked with professionals in the field who were able to steer me towards what they do on a daily basis in the commercial world of interior design. Not that I haven't questioned my profession decision ( especially during late nights in the design studio at school) It evolved for me and I think that's what drew me into it and has kept me going. There are so many different directions the interior design professional can go!

Q: Which of your teachers was the most influential on your design education?

A: Credit would have to go to all the art, design and history professors I have encountered from High School all the way through my college experience. There is no way I could have become the designer I am today without every single one of them. I was pushed outside my comfort zone to design and create in ways I don't think I thought would ever be possible.

Q: Do you think it is important that design students gain apprentice-type experience workings, say, in a cabinetry shop - or on a construction site?

A: I can't say I ever had experience doing any of these things. During an internship I was able to go along with the other designer to do field work as well as to see construction in progress. For me I would say that was a huge influence is seeing what I was doing and how it turned out! If a student were able to get some experience in one of these fields it would only make them stronger in experience for future employers.

Having been with a furniture dealer prior to coming into my current position has allowed me to assist co-workers now understand that portion of the design process and how to work with that portion of the interior design world! I have been very fortunate to work with some great sub-contractors who are more than willing to help show me how they do things and what they think the best solutions are for my needs!

Q: What was your most rewarding and enjoyable design undertaking?

A: I would have to say that the most rewarding experience I have has so far has been working with the ASID NYU/CE community. I recently completed the REDISCOVER ASID Network event where we had over 35 vendors available for our members and the rest of the design community available to come and see. We also provided multiple CEU's, an NCIDQ Q&A class, student portfolio review, and so much more! I spent over a year organizing and planning the event ( along with Janice Medina and Cathy Emilian) While at the end I was completely exhausted it was amazing seeing what we were able to put together and accomplish for our Chapter! Pictures are on our Facebook Page to see what went on!

Q: As a design professional how do you think designers with significant experience can truly help design students?

A: Having been on a student board in college (IIDA in Philadelphia) we worked hard to get professionals to come to our school and talk with us, show us, teach us, critique us and help us grow. Those people were some of the most influential of all. They look at your work from a real world perspective and ask questions you may not have ever thought of when creating your school projects.

Being on a board now as a professional I still feel it is important to reach out to our student chapters and be there when students ask for help. These are the designers of our future. I see it as an investment of my time to go in and work with the students so they can come into the profession and grow and be better than we are. ( Not too much better though, I would like to keep my job!) What we bring to these students is our real world experiences, trials and tribulations so they can work in a way which will prevent them from having the same issues we have gone through.

Being in Syracuse I have been lucky to team up with the students at Syracuse University and their student chapter to hold events and bring professionals to them. In the fall we held a small event where professionals in from different parts of the interior design world. ( Manufacturers Rep, Commercial Designers & Residential Designers) We are also working to do a small portfolio review with them as well at the beginning of may (if anyone is interested in helping out ;-) )

Q: What do you see as the future for professional design associations/affiliations?

A: It's not always easy to be a part of a professional association. (Heck it's expensive!) But I think it is important so that we can grow and interact as a community. Our chapter lost a lot of members back when the economy bottomed out and it is great to see people coming back. We are still rebuilding and creating a name for ourselves in the design community again. I think we fight a lot of stereotypes for only serving one type of design type versus another but our chapter is so diverse and wide spread that we are working to benefit both commercial and residential designers. And why shouldn't we? You never know where your career will lead you to and we want to be there to help everyone out! Now this is where I am going to push that we need our members to help us out so we can help them! We need people to volunteer to be on committees and help us organize events. Without our members helping us create a strong community our board won't be able to serve you in an appropriate manner. So please let us know if you can help out. Even an hour a week would make a huge difference/

Q: Given that you have spent some time in the design resource sector, you have probably gained a unique perspective in regards to Allied Professionals and the role
they play in a chapter.

A: Please describe your experiences and how you think they may contribute to your continued growth as a design professional.

We need our members to be involved! I am not just talking about Allied Professionals - I mean everyone! Professionals, Students, Industry Partners. 

Without our members we won't have a chapter. We as a Board want to be able to provide everything we possibly can to our Membership but there are so few of us and so many members. 

With more people involved we all will be able to learn from one another and become stronger designers.

The Olean home and garden show is coming up in April.

The Olean Home and Garden Show is bringing back demonstrations to the show floor this year. In the past, the seminars were held in other rooms off the beaten path and didn't get the attendance we wanted.

If you would like to come and talk COLOR/DESIGN and be an expert at our show.

Speaker Topics Wanted:
Choosing Serene Color Schemes
How To Select the Right Paint and Color For Your Home
Combine Colors Like a Design Expert

Our home show is April 11 - 13, 2014
William O. Smith Recreation Center

The Olean Home and Garden Show will gladly place speaker in a hotel down in Olean as well as pay for mileage.

Apply by email below.
Thanks!

Meme

Meme Krahe Yanetsko
Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce
[email protected]