I picked up an Education Minor! In order to make my design center a reality I need to get a better sense of how schools work, how to adequately teach kids and obtain hands on experience doing so. I took an education class last semester where I was able to create a lesson plan about art, nutrition and sustainability. Click Here and Here for 2 Youtube videos that will help further explain the lesson plan. Below are posters I made for my initial ideas. I had the children create Utensil pouches so that they can have their own metal fork/knife/spoon to enhance their eating experience. They created the pouch out of wool, which is a sustainable resource. Moving forward, I'm applying to teach two classes on sustainability & product design to elementary and middle school students this summer. Wish me luck!!!
This summer I interned at a small residential design firm in downtown Minneapolis. I experienced a number of different things. Below are blog entries from my design blog that I wrote throughout the summer as well as a couple of pictures. enjoy :)
Entry #1
This summer for 2 .5 months I will be working for Twist Interior Design in Minneapolis, MN Day 1 – I love it O_O! I pull up to the location of my internship. Or should I say walk up. I caught the bus downtown and had to walk 5 blocks. Google Maps said my Internship was right next to a spaghetti restaurant, but I didn’t see it. Turns out the firm shares a door with the restaurant. Fun fact, a lot of small design firms are hidden within a building full of other offices, But this doesn’t mean they are average or basic by any means. Design firm offices are pretty. SO PRETTY O_O and functional. I step inside and am greeted right away. I can tell already I’m going to like it here. Green and wood is the basis of this office. Rustic and distressed wood floors are laid all throughout the office. It’s an open setting, but my office is a bit secluded from everyone else. I’m fine with that. I have two large windows. My office is in the space used to put together material and fabric swatches. I love it O_O. The ceiling has exposed wood beans and HVAC systems. The beans are distressed wood and most of the walls are real brick. You can tell this was an old building refurbished into an office building. My tasks: They came back to back to back! Phone, calls, working with color swatches, picking out pillows and more. I was kept busy .Time went by fast. I loved it. Tomorrow we’re going to one of the project sites and we have an event on Thursday. So good so far. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention it’s a small residential design firm so I’ll be able to get a feel of a lot of different tasks. Once I get a car I’ll be able to start running errands picking up materials, and what not. That’s it! pictures of the office that I could snap without being a creeper to come soon!
Entry #2
I don’t really plan to post daily. Just when something exciting or new happens. Today we visited one of the project sites. It was a three story mansion in a small neighborhood in the Twin Cities. Boy. oh boy. There was so many bathrooms I lost count. It was a historic house with servants quarters and everything. The view was gorgeous. and the third floor housed their kids playroom and two offices. The house was still heavily under renovation, but it was still beautiful! The downstairs bathroom was like a modern day peacock room! The work I did today: Couple phone calls Paint Specifications for the Master bath, sitting room, dressing room and actual room. While we were at the house we took measurements for two bathrooms and took pictures of the two in progress. That’s it! We have an event tomorrow. So more to come on that.
Entry #3
So the firm has been going paperless and putting all of their vendors into an online grid. I’ve been doing this task and as I’ve been doing so I’ve stumbled upon some really great brands. The pictures I’ve been adding so far and will continue to add probably until around August will be of brands I’ve found and other furniture and lighting bits I’ve stumbled upon during this internship. My blog is growing. Help it grow more! share my url with another design lover. thank you :) Entry #4 Last Day of My Internship And no one is here. LOL! I show up, and the door is locked and the lights are off. I panic slightly, then just go over next door to another office to talk to a friend I’ve made. I check my email and see that one (out of three) of my coworkers made a quick pick-up/ drop off run so she’d be there soon. no biggie, I go grab some tea from caribou. So to conclude this experience...Small business can be so unpredictable. but also stressful. Interior design can be incredibly complicated, but also so simple. Owning your business can be a pain, but also so rewarding There’s always a back end to everything in life. The negatives make the positives that much more sweet. I interviewed my boss the other day. Here are some things she said that stood out to me…. - Everything individually must be beautiful. Don’t ignore the small things. - Face your fears everyday. It makes you a stronger person and gives you the ability to think on your feet - Look in the mirror one day and tell yourself everything you need to do in order to be who you want to be. There’s always room to improve. End. for more entries about things I learned in my internship checkout my blog! it's linked in the tab bar or here: http://defyndesign.tumblr.com/
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College Pro Painters is my most current business venture & internship. I decided to own my own exterior house painting business. below is a list of things I've learned during the venture.
+ Know how much your materials cost BEFORE you tell the homeowner. Right down to the last cent plus tax
+ Have a WELL written out contract. Have nothing be a question. Address everything
+ Have a well written out proposal forget NOTHING.
+ Not sure how long it'll take for the job? OVER estimate. It's better to finish early than to take longer than the homeowner thought you would. That's when they get angry.
+ It is important to meet the customers needs, but it's also important for them to know Who's in charge of the job and knows what's best. Listen to the customer, but also let them know what's up
+ Have a plan. Spread it far and wide. tell the same thing to the homeowner and your workers so that there is no confusion. Memorize the plan. Write it out and hang it up somewhere.
+ Be Honest. Don't emphasize your personal problems. Tell them the truth with emphasis on how it effects the job and what you'll do to fix it.
DESIGN FIRM IDEA
For an update of my current venture idea check out the PDF Below! it's a rough outline. Any questions and comments through my email are greatly appreciated!!
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Nov. 2012 - After the Collegiate Entrepreneurship Conference
Hello! So, I was not accepted to do the Elevator Pitch competition, however the conference was a great learning experience.
I learned that not only is there no time like the present, but many people have the same passion as I do, which is to work with children. My summer camp idea is still floating around in my mind, but....
my ultimate entrepreneurial dream is to start a Design company that builds Community Centers, Shelters and homes in Low Income neighborhoods so that the children in those neighborhoods can have a better environment to grow up in.
I'd also love to create a curriculum for after school programs/summer programs and camps to teach high school women about the workforce after college and how they can and should strive for out of the ordinary careers. For example, many students strive to be doctors, lawyers and teachers which is fine, but what about Industrial Designers? Chefs? Event Planners? Judges? There are so many different careers out there that they don't know about. I'd love to give them the chance to learn about them.
That's all for now! updates to come soon.
Also, Currently in the process of declaring my EEE Major. And a minor in Real Estate to come before the end of my Junior Year.
2012 CEO Conference!
I'm attending and am a Mo`derator for the CEO Conference this November. I entered an application for the Elevator pitch Competition and I will find out if i was accepted on October 19th. Here's the Business idea layout for the Business I proposed:
DECIDE TO DESIGN
BUSINESS: A DESIGN SUMMER CAMP
TARGET: BOYS AND GIRLS OF COLOR
DESCRIPTION: HIGH SCHOOL AGED BOYS AND GIRLS OF COLORWHO ARE INTERESTED IN PURSING (GRAPHIC, INTERIOR, INDUSTRIAL, FASHION, COMMUNICATION) DESIGN AS A CAREER, HOBBY OR BUSINESS. WE’LL ALSO PROVIDE A SECTOR FOR ARCHITECTURE. THIS PROGRAM SATIFIES A NEED FOR DIVERSITY IN THE DESIGN WORKPLACE AND OPENS THE DOORS FOR MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR MINORITIES TO ACHIEVE MORE THAN THE NORMAL/STEREOTYPICAL CAREERS (LAWYER, DOCTOR FOR EXAMPLE)
PROFIT: CAMPER TUITION, INVESTORS, DONATIONS
IDEA: I’M ONE OF ONLY 2 AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN IN MY DESIGN CLASSES AND THERE AREN’T THAT MANY AMERICAN DESIGNERS OF COLOR WE NEED TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT. THIS CAN HELP DO SO.
INNOVATIVE: 9
There aren’t an abundant amount of design camps that focus all all design aspects JUST for high school students of color. There are design camps out there like iD tech but they focus on learning software. We would focus on that as well as design elements and hands on projects
FEASIBILITY: 7
Hurdles: money, resources, location