Busy, Busy, Busy

This week has been a busy one, but a good one.  After, seeing all of the memos at the clients house I was put in charge of purchasing everything we want to keep.  It sounds simple but complications always come up.  They are out of stock, discontinued.... I ordered sheets for the clients daughter but parts of the set was out of stock in twin size.  Contacting this company is nearly impossible though, they always returned my calls after hours or on the weekend.  So, ordering a simple set of sheets turned into a whole ordeal throughout the week.  Ridiculous.  Speaking of sheets, another clients hand printed sheets came in with dirt on it.  We took it to the cleaners and they said they could get it off.  So we crossed our fingers and hoped for the best.  The sheet came back worse than before.  It seems so silly making a big deal about sheets but it's difficult getting products the way you want them and getting vendors to cooperate.

I do a lot of work for Linnea and Todd, whenever I find jobs slowing down I turn to Amy.  I haven't decided if this is a good thing or not.  Every day this week when I ask Amy if I can help her with anything she has me sketch for her.  Super intimidating because I'm not the most confident sketcher but at the same time it is fun to use my creativity.  I've sketched furniture, beds, elevations, and pantries for Amy.  Every time I finished a sketch Amy would have me correct minute details, over and over and over.  It's hard to read whether she is happy with my style or it is just the designer side of her being uber picky about details.  But she always seems happy with my drawings.  The downside is I keep having nightmares about never ending sketches for Amy.

Griffin and I got to put our model building to use this week.  We made plinths out of foamcore.  If you know what a plinth is you are better off than me.  I think Todd loves it when I ask what random words mean.  It kind of feels like being in Germany again, should I ask what this means or pretend like I know what is going on?  Usually I opt for the fools persona.

The Foamcore Plinths

Thanks to Griffin and his Birthday I got to eat Chocolate Cake too

Mary, my siiiiiista, came to visit this week/weekend.  It was fun showing her the store and introducing her to everyone.  I took her to the PDC (Pacific Design Center) with me.  I'm still not sure if she was overwhelmed or awestruck.  The PDC is full of different showrooms, fabric, furniture, rugs etc.  I took her to a couple fabric showrooms.  I was looking for outdoor fabric for a client.  We browsed through tons of fabrics and got samples of the ones we were interested in.  I collected a few samples for myself along the way :)  We stopped in a few furniture showrooms and I came across an intriguing sconce.  For the last couple weeks Linnea, Griffin and I have been looking with zero luck for the perfect sconce for a client.  This one was perfect until I found a sales rep and got the ticket price on it.  $1100, I don't know how fly the client will be on that price tag.

The almost perfect Sconce

Along with working on design projects I get jobs in the shop or for NickeyKehoe's networking.  Before the party last week Griffin and I worked on collecting the contacts everyone has and we created a giant list of professionals, clients, vendors, regulars etc.  Now that the party is over we are in charge of cleaning up the list.  I have been busy finding all of the bounced e-mails and correcting their contacts, deleting duplicates or unsubscribed ones.  Along with that NickeyKehoe has opened up a Pinterest account.  I have been taking pictures and loading photos onto the account for Todd and Amy.  They have boards for specific clients so they pin it for the client to look at for ideas.  I'm actually surprised at how many of our clients use pinterest.  There are a lot of celebrities out there, just sayin.  It's fun helping Todd out with his computer difficulties.  He can work a computer but isn't very swift on it, it kind of reminds me of helping my Aunt Martha learn the computer.

One of the images for the Pinterest Board

Here are some of the Adventures I had with Mary this week:

 Side Walk Star - Caveman Style

(we are going to the real stars today)

Rodeo Drive

With the Rich and Famous at Rodeo Drive

Don't claim Chicago style pizza unless it really is, Poser

Epic Cupcake Vending Machine

Well I think you have enough details from this week.  I have been informed that I need details in my blog.  I hope this suffices.

Crowds, Crowds and More Crowds

This week was another filled week of phone calls, errands, cleaning up and art.  I got to draw a couple pieces of furniture for Todd and Amy.  The drawings got sent to the carpenter and hopefully I get to see the prototype before I leave.  It's really neat seeing the process of designing and creating your own piece of furniture.  I have been working with Todd a lot on a specific project.  Last week I sat in on a client meeting and help Todd and the Client choose furniture, afterwards I memo'd all of the furniture to her house.  (Memo: the process of borrowing a piece of furniture for a few days to see how it looks in your house)  On Tuesday all of the furniture was delivered and I got to walk around with Todd and the Client to see what worked and didn't work.  The next day I went to the house by myself and told the movers what to take back and made sure the house looked nice.  It was fun being responsible for something and having a bit more interaction.

On top of the usual tasks, this week the NK Shop celebrated their move into a new location.  We spent all day Thursday arranging, cleaning, running errands and preparing the store for the party.  It was a busy and long day.  The party was a lot of fun.  Lots of people came and I got to meet all kinds of designers, sales reps and other industry people.  It was a great opportunity to network and socialize.

Crowded Shop Partying it up

On top of work I found myself on multiple adventures as usual.  I got to see:

The Griffith Observatory

The Architecture and Design Museum

2x8 Taut Exhibit at the A+D

Coolest Race Track at the LACMA

African Inspiration at the LACMA

Great Table and Benches at the LACMA

Let's face it, the LACMA is the cool place to be

Adventurous Shopping at the Alley

Eating up some Delicious Rice Bowls at Truck Norris!!!

 And Best of All... Moonrise Kingdom

A Movie Everyone should Watch and Love

Half Way Through

This week has begun to feel a bit more like a routine.  I have a good handle on orders and errands and find plenty of opportunities to talk on the phone.  I worked more with Todd this week.  I put together inspiration boards, sketched some furniture ideas, memo'd a ton of furniture and whatever else.  Even though the storage room is finished a few hours were spent back there.

On an exciting note, Griffin and I field measured the house where our visiting designer project was based.  It was really neat seeing the actual room we worked on and how different we imagined it.

Me in Mr. Sullivan's Dining Room

And Outside the House

On top of visiting houses we rearrange the shop and store windows.  Here is a little of our hard work

 On top of work I had a couple more exciting bicycle trips.  One especially, found me in front of the Walt Disney Concert Hall.  I especially felt like I hit the jack pot when around the corner I found the MOCA (museum of contemporary art) on their free day.  So, lucky me I saw some amazing pieces by Rothko, Mondrian, Warhol and others.

The weekend ended with Sandcastles at the Beach, a Delicious British Dinner, Fantastic Murals and a Hike to the Griffith Observatory.

Adventures on a Bicycle

Week 2 has been a nice adventure.

Working with Todd and Amy has stayed relaxed and busy.  I've ordered furniture & fabrics, organized the storage room, ran errands, made tons of phone calls, drew some plans/shop drawings, met vendors and the list goes on.  I finally made it to the PDC (Pacific Design Center) this week.  It is an amazing place and it's hard not to go into every showroom.  I am sure Griffin and I downed every chocolate and cookie we came across.  Thank you PDC for keeping poor college students well nourished.

After work I try seeing the city and getting exercise.  Unfortunately, my bicycle Jade, hasn't agreed with me.  Every time I go riding my back tire gets a flat on the way home.  Super Lame!  I finally got my rim fixed and to test her out I rode Jade to Rodeo Dr.  Now my adventures begin...

Here is a list of this past weeks adventures:

At the Getty with Griffin & Stephanie

My favorite piece at the Getty

Self-Portrait as Midas

View from the Getty

 Beachin at Sunset - Santa Monica

 Biked to Griffith Park to see the Observatory

Took the Wrong Path and Wound up on the other Mountain Oops

At least I got to see an awesome view of the City

Working Hard at the Light Shop

 Frank Gehry's House

 Learned to surf on Memorial Day

 Best Display on Rodeo Drive - Louis Vuitton

 Party at the LACMA - Cool "Jewel" Piece

Love LA?  Why, Yes I do!